Lifespan

Approximately 100-57 B.C.

Ministry

Helaman was a son of Alma, the son of Alma, and served the Nephites as a prophet and military commander. His military career is best known for his service at the head of 2060 sons of Ammonite converts to the Church, known as the sons of Helaman or Helaman’s stripling soldiers. He also served as the chief priest of the Church.

Preparation and Calling

When Helaman was a young man, he stayed behind while his father and brothers served a mission to the Zoramites. During this time, he managed many of his father’s domestic and ecclesiastical affairs, including keeping the sacred records.

Interaction with God

We have no record of visions or personal conversations with Deity or even angelic visitations. However, Helaman was a man of great faith and devotion to a God whom he committed his entire life to.

Social Situation

Helaman strove to maintain the Church at a time when the Nephites were being engaged in a lengthy war by the Lamanites. He administered the affairs of the Church, and when it became more important to defend his people militarily, he went to war at the head of a band of 2060 untried young men. Following the war, he returned home and lived out the rest of his life convincing the wicked of the need to repent and otherwise leading the Church once again.

Key Teachings

“Helaman . . . went forth, and did declare the word of God with much power unto the convincing of many people of their wickedness, which did cause them to repent of their sins and to be baptized unto the Lord their God” (Alma 62:45).

Living with the Prophet

When Helaman was a young man, a group of Lamanites named the Ammonites repented of their wicked ways and joined the Church. They made an oath to never take a human life again for any reason. Later, however, when war with the Lamanites broke out, they were tempted to break their oath rather than allow the Nephites to lay down their lives in their defense. Helaman and some others convinced them to keep their oath. Instead, Helaman led a number of their young men who had not made that covenant into war. Miraculously, not one of them was killed despite their many battles, which they contributed to their mothers having trained them in faith. Helaman exemplified showing faith in times of extreme difficulty. Consider how you might display your faith in God by taking on a challenging task. Discuss your thoughts with a spiritual leader or family member, and share with them your commitment. Then do it.

Sources

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, s.v. “Helaman.”

Book of Mormon, Reader’s Edition, ed. Grant Hardy.

Lifespan

Exact dates are unknown. Tradition holds that Peter was martyred in Rome in approximately A.D. 64 or 65.

Ministry

Peter, along with fellow Apostles James and John, formed the inner core or presidency of the Twelve Apostles. He was at the Mount of Transfiguration and Gethsemane with them. His ministry was also extended through letter writing (see the Epistles of Peter). (more…)

Lifespan

Exact dates are uncertain, but scholars estimate that he wrote his book between 609-598 B.C.

Ministry

Little is known about the prophet Habakkuk. His ministry took place in Judah in approximately 600 B.C., although exact dates and ranges cannot be fixed. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Interestingly, the book of Habakkuk is addressed to God rather than being written as a history of God’s dealings with His children. As a result, we see Habakkuk complaining to God about the challenges of life, and we then get to read His answer. The prophet complains again, and God answers again. Finally, Habakkuk writes a powerful song of faith in God, expressing his belief that all will be well in the end.

Scome scholars have noted with interest that the insights gained in reading of Habakkuk’s struggles to understand God’s purposes in letting His people suffer have strong parallels to the writings of the modern prophet Joseph Smith as the fledgling Mormon church was being driven from community to community while Joseph himself was being held captive in deplorable conditions in a Missouri jail (Doctrine and Covenants 121-123).

Social Situation

The Babylonian armies were on their way to overwhelm and bring away Judah into captivity. The Judeans were of course fearful and questioning God about what would happen and why. The book of Habakkuk is insightful because it captures a central question of religion in general: what is God’s purpose or intent with me, and what am I to do?

Key Teachings

His central message was that regardless of what might happen, happiness and joy can be obtained through faithfulness to God.

Prophecies of Christ

“Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed” (Hab. 3:13).

Living with the Prophet

The book of Habakkuk is unusual in that it is addressed to God rather than being a historical narrative of a series of events. He complains to God about his challenges, and God responds. He complains again, and again God responds. Does this sound familiar relative to your own relationship to God? Resolve to follow Habakkuk’s example of coming to a strong faith in God that all will be well in the end-and quit complaining to God about your problems. He is aware of everything you experience and will ensure that you receive the challenges and successes you need to grow. Have faith in that, and be grateful for a God who cares!

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Habakkuk, the Book of”

Book of Doctrine and Covenants

Lifespan

10??-1015 B.C. (There are no references to David in any records outside the Bible, so these dates cannot be collaborated from other sources.)

Ministry

David was anointed by Samuel in 1063 B.C., became king of the southern kingdom in 1055, and united both Judah and Israel under his reign in 1047.

Preparation and Calling

The Lord instructed Samuel the prophet to seek out a son of Jesse, a farmer and keeper sheep from Bethlehem in Judah, to anoint as the next king. After reviewing Jesse’s oldest seven sons, he saw the youngest, David, and heard the Lord say, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” Samuel promptly “anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:12-13). Subsequent experiences during his youth brought him into the king’s court as his harp player and armor bearer, and brought him to battle the giant Philistine warrior Goliath. These and other military experiences were important to David’s particular calling because of his later dual role as prophet-king over all Israel.

Interaction with God

David as an individual is emotional, passionate, and creative. His relationship with God seems to echo those traits. The psalms, many of which are attributed to him, reveal the heights and depths of his feelings-his pleadings for forgiveness, his soaring praise for a benificent God, his devotion to the Almighty, his recruiting of God’s power in revenge on the unholy. But little is recorded of how David received God’s word in response-open vision? dreams? angelic ministrants? Because these more dramatic experiences are not mentioned, perhaps David simply was led by a spirit of prophecy and of revelation which came by means of a still, small voice that spoke to his soul.

Social Situation

David is one of the best-known of all biblical figures. His life can be divided into four major sections: (1) a youthful shepherd, (2) a member of the court, (3) a fugitive, and (4) king over all of combined Israel.

David first won favor with the royal court of Saul, king of Israel, because of his musical skills. Soon after came the famous triumph over Goliath, the giant warrior of Gath and champion of the Philistines.

His friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan, creates considerable tension, as the conflict between David and Saul grew. David married Saul’s daughter, Michael, and secured his own considerable military force. Although he had opportunity to kill Saul, David’s respect for Saul’s position prevented him from doing so. But when Saul died, David became king of the southern kingdom of Judah, and shortly after brought the northern kingdom of Israel into his rule as well.

One of David’s failings was recorded with the story of Bathsheba. His lust for her began a downward slide of the house of David, and before long rape, murder, and rebellion erupted within his own family.

In short, David was passionate and full of faith. That passion both fueled his success and caused his eventual demise. At its highpoint, the kingdom of David was remarkable for his ability to consolidate a divided kingdom under a single devotion to the Lord.

Key Teachings

Through his psalms and his life, David teaches that God has all power and reigns over all. It is in God that we find protection, solace, peace, joy, prosperity, vengeance, and purpose.

David also seemed to have a clear sense of the coming Messiah, and many foreshadowings of His advent are contained in the psalms that bear David’s name.

Prophecies of Christ

David’s psalms are filled with foreshadowings of the coming Christ. Here are but a few:

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsake me? . . . “The assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. . . . They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Ps. 22:1, 16, 18).

“Lift up your heads, . . . and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory” (Ps. 24:9-10).

“They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Ps. 69:21).

“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. . . . The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:1, 4).

“I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (Ps. 118:21-22).

Living with the Prophet

One of David’s best-known experiences was his battle with Goliath. Through faith in God and a well-placed stone, a young man took down a seasoned giant of a warrior. We all have Goliaths to face in our daily lives, whether they be a physical addiction, social peer pressure, economic need, or a myriad of other challenges that may seem simply too big for us to overcome. But we each have a bit of David in us. Beyond that, David succeeded because he had God’s support with him. So do you. Choose one of your Goliaths today, and invite God’s help in defeating that imposing challenge!

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mircea Eliade, vol. 4, s.v. “David”

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

Psalms

1 Kings

The Religion Book: Places, Prophets, Saints, and Seers, Jim Willis, pp. 170-75

Lifespan

Unknown (approx. 2000 B.C.?)

Ministry

Unknown. His travels began in the Fertile Crescent near Haran, moved southeast to the Chaldean Ur, and west to Canaan and Egypt.

Preparation and Calling

As a youth, Abraham was nearly sacrificed to a local god by false priests. At the last second, God sent an angel to save his life. After marrying Sarah, Abraham was commanded to leave his father’s house and land and go to Canaan, along with Sarah, his father, and his nephew Lot and his wife.

While yet in Haran, God appeared to him and apparently ordained him to the calling of prophet. The book of Abraham states his experience thus: “The Lord appeared unto me [Abraham], and said unto me: Arise, . . . for I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice. . . . Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee” (Abraham 2:6, 12).

Interaction with God

Whisperings and promptings of the Spirit, angelic visitors, visions, and direct visits from Deity-all of these figured into Abraham’s personal and prophetic ministry.

Abraham’s relationship with God both confirmed and tested his faith in God. When Abraham was a youth, God sent an angel to rescue him from an altar of human sacrifice. This dramatic experience taught Abraham of God’s power and of his nature-he was not a demander of sacrifice and fear but a God of love and intelligence. While in the land of Haran, Abraham received his prophetic commission when God appeared to him in person and taught him of the priesthood and of his duties.

Throughout his remaining years, God frequently spoke to Abraham through the power of His Spirit, sent angels to instruct and protect on several occasions, and at times instructed Abraham in ways that tried his soul (such as giving away Sarah to the political leaders of Canaan and Egypt and the apparent sacrifice of his son Isaac). Before entering Egypt, Abraham was shown a mind-expanding vision of all creation, including the workings of the planets and the stars (Abraham 3-5; Sefer Yetsirah).

Perhaps Abraham’s greatest trial and greatest confirmation of faith was his requested sacrifice of Isaac, for not only did God ask him to take the life of his long-awaited promised son but this request came from the very God who had saved his life from just such a fate years earlier. Abraham had spent his entire life following a God who now seemed to change His nature, and yet he obeyed. As a result, Isaac was spared, and three great religions today all claim Abraham as a spiritual father to their people-Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

Social Situation

Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were required to undergo repeated tests of personal faith. Those required of Abraham include giving up his homeland, giving his choicest land and herds to his nephew, not having a child until he and Sarah were well past the childbearing years, sending his firstborn into the wilderness to his apparent destruction,  and being asked to sacrifice his promised son Isaac on an altar to God. Sarah was also tried considerably, twice being delivered up as a potential wife for a local king, rescued only by her adherence to her beliefs, and promised a son when she was beyond her childbearing years. Miraculously, she survived to bear a son when she was in her later years, a son who became a mighty leader in Israel-Isaac.

Key Teachings

Abraham is a key figure for several religions, including Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

As a young man, Abraham’s life was threatened by local priests who wanted to sacrifice him live on an altar. Gathering together his wife and family, he left the lands of his birth and left for Canaan. Famine soon forced them to move on to Egypt. After some interaction with the pharaoh, Abraham and Sarah returned to Canaan.

Though childless, Abraham received a promise from God that Sarah would yet have a child. In her old age, she did indeed conceive and bear a son, Isaac, who would become the center of what is considered Abraham’s greatest trial in a life filled with faith-testing trials. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son in a hearkening back to his own youth and a forward look to the atonement of Jesus Christ, when the Only Son of God was “sacrificed” on the cross.

Abraham’s greatest teachings are perhaps veiled in the stories of his life as he obeyed every command given him by God. Two themes that he began and that are perpetuated by most if not all subsequent prophets in the Old Testament: (1) the Messiah would eventually come, and (2) in the last days, Abraham’s covenant would be reestablished.

Living with the Prophet

Abraham had great faith in God, partly because he was willing to obey whatever God asked of him even when that task seemed unpleasant-or worse! Exercise your faith in God by asking Him about His prophets on earth today, even though the answer might both bless your life and add challenges to it.

Lifespan

Born November 14, 1907 in Boise, Idaho.

Died March 3, 1995 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ministry

Howard W. Hunter was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of twelve. At age 51, he was ordained an Apostle by President David O. McKay. From ages 56-64, he was president of the Church’s Genealogical Society, the last two years of which he also served as the Church Historian. In 1988, at age 80, Howard W. Hunter was sustained as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, and was sustained as President of the Church at age 86, where he served for but nine months before passing away. (more…)