Question
Gramps,
Was that really Samuel that the Witch of Endor summoned? Was it a lie? Was it a demon?
Karl
Answer
Karl,
While I could not find any official doctrine or statement clarifying this passage, the Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel offers some explanation, including quotes from General Authorities. You can read the full text in sections 25-33 through 25-35, but I’ll summarize the principles and information here.
This section references section 16-5, the end of which explains that the Hebrew word for someone who uses “familiar spirits” essentially means “ventriloquist”. The Hebrew is explained in more detail on this page at BlueLetterBible.org. This suggests that despite the text reading as if a spirit appears, the expectation of the people of that time is that the “medium” is speaking on behalf of the dead rather than a spirit being visible to all present – hence the “ventriloquist” concept. This also suggests that the individual supposedly speaking for the dead is a fraud.
The manual points out that Saul had become insensitive to the Spirit and the Lord had declined to answer him by any of the means the Lord had previously used (see 1 Samuel 28:6). This is our first hint that the scene with the witch is false: if the Lord will not answer Saul by the means the Lord Himself established, why should we believe that the Lord would answer Saul, or permit Saul to receive an answer, via means which the Lord had expressly forbidden (see Leviticus 19:31 and similar verses)?
The manual then quotes Elder McConkie, who points out that the supposed communication through mediums is often arranged (false), that such things are contrary to God’s law, and that it is turning to an evil source. The manual then quotes Joseph Fielding Smith in Answers to Gospel Questions, where he explains regarding witches or similar persons:
It is beyond rational belief that such persons could at any period in ancient or modern times, invoke the spirits of departed servants or handmaidens of the Lord. They are not at the beck and call of witches, wizards, diviners, or necromancers. Pitiable indeed would be the condition of spirits in paradise if they were under any such control. They would not be at rest, nor be able to enjoy that liberty from the troubles and labors of earthly life which is essential to their happiness, but be in a condition of bondage, subject to the will and whims of persons who know not God and whose lives and aims are of the earth, earthy.
In his full response, President Smith pointed out that Saul did not see Samuel or anyone other than the witch and had to rely on what she said. Any conversation was “conducted through the medium.” Finally, he states that even if an evil spirit was involved, it would not be unlike Satan to mix truth with lies (what the witch told Saul did, in fact, happen).
Beyond the Institute manual, it may be of interest to note that in the Joseph Smith Translation (in a part not included in the Church’s version of the Bible), Joseph Smith changed the story such that, rather than offering to summon a spirit, the witch offers to bring up the words of a spirit:
11 Then said the woman, “The words of whom shall I bring up unto thee?” And he said, “Bring me up the words of Samuel.”
12 And when the woman saw the words of Samuel she cried with a loud voice. And the woman spake to Saul, saying, “Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Saul.”
13 And the king said unto her, “Be not afraid, for what sawest thou?” And the woman said unto Saul, “I saw the words of Samuel ascending out of the earth.”
14 And she said, “I saw Samuel also.” And he said unto her, “What form is he of?” And she said, “I saw an old man coming up covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped his face to the ground and bowed himself.
15 And these are the words of Samuel unto Saul: “Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?” And Saul answered, “I am sore distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called thee that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.”
There is no indication that Saul saw or heard any spirit, only that the woman told Saul what she saw. So while the original (verse 15) suggests that Samuel is present and spoke to Saul, the Joseph Smith Translation suggests that the witch told Saul “the words of Samuel”.
In light of the restored gospel and what we know about how God works, and that God limits the power of Satan and his followers, and that God would not allow the spirits of the righteous to be subject to those who practice such forbidden evil as described here, I think it’s safe to believe that Samuel was not there, and that if there was any spirit at all, it was an evil spirit.
I hope this helps you to better understand this passage.
Gramps
