Samuel was the last judge of ancient Israel and a prophet, active from about 1125 BC during the shift from the rule of the judges to the monarchy. His mother, Hannah, had vowed in prayer that if she were given a son she would dedicate him to the Lord; once weaned, Samuel was presented to Eli the priest and remained in his service (1 Samuel 1).
As a child under Eli, Samuel heard the Lord call him by name. He first took the voice for Eli’s, then answered, “Speak, for thy servant heareth,” and began his ministry (1 Samuel 3:10). From Dan to Beersheba, all Israel knew him to be a prophet of the Lord (1 Samuel 3:20).
Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of Israel and afterward anointed David (1 Samuel 9-16). During his ministry in the Americas, the risen Christ named him among the prophets who testified of Christ: “all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me” (3 Nephi 20:24). Peter made the same statement, that the prophets from Samuel onward foretold those days (Acts 3:24).