2 Nephi 1:10

"10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in ^aunbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all things by faith; having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise—behold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true ^bMessiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is ^cjust shall rest upon them."

I believe that Lehi is prophesying through this whole chapter. He continues prophesying about his seed and all those that inherit this land. So, that means us, too. In the beginning of verse 10, the comment that "when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief" struck me. It doesn't say if, it says when. This leads me to the question, did every people that came to the Americas eventually fall into a state of unbelief (in God)? Will every people, including the ones here now, fall into a state of unbelief? Well, we do know that there were many civilizations that have lived here and all of them have suffered the consequences of their unbelief. I believe that will be so in this time, too. We are given the same promises and the same prophesies of destruction are foretold to us, in the last days (from all scriptures), as they are for the groups that have lived here. We also know that the Lord has established His church and work and they won't be destroyed any more, as they had in the past. So, I am led to think that this promise applies to all, but will be fulfilled for those who do not follow the commandments.

So, it seems that serious consequences come for those who have a certain level of knowledge and testimony and then reject the Lord. I believe that relatively only a few of us have such knowledge. However, the saying still goes, if you follow the commandments you'll be blessed. If you don't you won't.

2 Nephi 1:9

"9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a ^apromise, that ^binasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall ^cprosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall ^dkeep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their ^einheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever."

This verse is a very insightful verse. Lehi obtains a promise from the Lord regarding his people and all others who will come to possess the land of the Americas. The promise is this: inasmuch as those who are led out of the land of Jerusalem to the Americas shall keep the commandment, they shall prosper. They shall be kept from all other nations, that being all other peoples in Europe, Africa, and Asia. They shall possess the land by themselves and live off the fruits thereof. The promise is reiterated, if they keep the commandments they shall be blessed in this land and there shall be none to molest them or take away their land. They shall live safely forever.

As we will see, this is a promise of the Lord and was fulfilled to the very letter. When the Nephites were good, they prospered and lived in peace with the Lamanites. When they let pride and disobedience come into their lives, which happened on frequent intervals, the Lamanites were stirred up to war against them. So, I am led to think about when the time came that other nations came over to the Americas, for example Pilgrims from England, had the descendants of Lehi fallen into a state of wickedness so that the promise of having nations come to molest them be fulfilled? I believe so. The indigenous people of the Americas were oppressed and pushed inland, mostly by England on the north and Spain and Portugal on the south. Nephi had foreseen this (see 1 Nephi 13, specifically verse 14). Some wonder why such bad things happened to the people when Columbus and others came to the Americas. Many people nowadays blame him for it. We see from scripture that they had broken their promise with the Lord. It seems, however, that there were good pockets, too. Think of the story of the first Thanksgiving. However, generally speaking we cannot judge what happened to them as many do. The Lord has His ways and purposes. Isaiah 55:8-9 says:

"8 ¶ For my ^athoughts are not ^byour thoughts, neither are your ^cways my ^dways, saith the Lord.

"9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ^aways ^bhigher than your ways, and my ^cthoughts than your thoughts."

Modern prophets have told us that the colonization of America was one of the Lord's stepping stones for the restoration of the gospel. People came to the Americas for religious freedom. They felt that the Church of England did not worship how they were supposed to, according to the scriptures (the New Testament, in particular). Such devotion to the Lord merited the time for the restoration to take place and a marvelous work and wonder wrought (see Isaiah 29:14).

Going back to the posterity of Lehi. The Lord says "Come unto me" 66 times in the scriptures. Those that do, and repent and keep the commandments will find Him, and prosper, no matter of what origin they might be.

2 Nephi 1:8

"8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be ^akept as yet from the knowledge of other ^bnations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.

The verse of our post today mentions that in the wisdom of the Lord, He is keeping this land from the knowledge of other nations. Jesus briefly mentions that there are other lands with people who follow Him on them when he was preaching one day. In John 10:14-16 it says:

"14 I am the good ^ashepherd, and ^bknow my ^csheep, and am known of mine.

"15 As the Father knoweth me, even so ^aknow I the Father: and I lay down my ^blife for the sheep.

"16 And ^aother ^bsheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be ^cone fold, and one shepherd."

These sheep He mentions here are of the Americas and probably includes the isles of the sea, too. In 3 Nephi 15:11-24, Jesus explains to the Nephites about the above scripture from John and that the people to whom He spoke it at the time did not understand it. It might be that people who only believe in the Bible interpret it this way, too. Jesus explains:

"11 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he ^asaid unto those twelve whom he had chosen:

"12 Ye are my ^adisciples; and ye are a ^blight unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of ^cJoseph.

"13 And behold, this is the ^aland of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you.

"14 And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should ^atell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.

"15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the ^aother tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.

"16 This much did the Father ^acommand me, that I should tell unto them:

"17 That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one ^ashepherd.

"18 And now, because of ^astiffneckedness and ^bunbelief they ^cunderstood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the ^dFather concerning this thing unto them.

"19 But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were ^aseparated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you.

"20 And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity that they know not of them.

"21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: ^aOther sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one ^bshepherd.

"22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the ^aGentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be ^bconverted through their preaching.

"23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the ^aGentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the ^bHoly Ghost.

"24 But behold, ye have both heard ^amy voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath ^bgiven me."

And so, because of the Book of Mormon, we can see why Jesus said what He said and no more. The nations of the world would overrun this land. One might say that they have given the land a run for its money even now, but I believe that this land is still holding up. It has truly blessed the world to save this land. Even now it produces many goods for the world's consumption. It is a huge blessing. However, we are not being too careful in some areas. I still feel that the crisis that we are going through is because people are "buying" things that they cannot afford and maxing out their credit cards. When you run up this debt personally and as a country, one day it will catch up to you. Well, I hope that we can continue on no matter what happens.

2 Nephi 1:6-7

"6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall ^anone come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.

"7 Wherefore, this ^aland is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of ^bliberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound ^ccursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever."

Verse 6 shows to me that this land of the Americas is truly a promised and protected land of the Lord. This verse states that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord. Who has come to this land? I'm sure that there are many who came to this land that we are not currently aware of. But, there are the Jaredites, Nephites, and Mulekites from the Book of Mormon. There are Olmecs, Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs. Then there were Vikings, British, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and several other European countries. Today there are some from all nations that come to this land. I still believe that the Lord's promise of none coming to this land save by His hand is true. I even thought about myself. I was born here in this land, in the United States, in the latter days. I believe that it was also by the hand of the Lord that I came here, too. I am thankful.

Verse 7 states the promise and the accountability of those that come to this land. Those who are brought here to this land by the hand of the Lord have it consecrated unto them, that is the land was set apart to be a sacred place for them. This is the promise that was given to them that makes it a sacred land. The people that live here shall serve the Lord by keeping His commandments that He has given them. If they do so, they shall have liberty. It shall be a land of liberty or freedom. They shall never be brought down into captivity. If they ever do, it shall be because of iniquity, or because they didn't heed the commandments, and for those people, the land shall be cursed with that captivity which could come in many forms. However, again, for those who are righteous, it shall be blessed forever. I believe that this promise can come to pass personally as well as collectively. The scriptures here point us and motivate us to be more righteous.

2 Nephi 1:3-5

"3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which they had obtained—how ^amerciful the Lord had been in ^bwarning us that we should flee out of the land of Jerusalem.

"4 For, behold, said he, I have ^aseen a ^bvision, in which I know that ^cJerusalem is ^ddestroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have ^eperished.

"5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a ^aland of promise, a land which is ^bchoice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath ^ccovenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath ^dcovenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be ^eled out of other countries by the hand of the Lord."

Nephi tells us more about what his father, Lehi, said to his family. In verse 3, we see that Lehi feels that the Lord was merciful to them because he warned them to leave Jerusalem and come to another land, a promised land for their inheritance, the Americas. I think that we can learn that the Lord is merciful to us and that we need to thank Him for all those mercies that He has granted unto us. They are many. We need to ponder and search for them, because many are not obvious to us. Think about if your children noticed some of the things that you have done for them and thanked you for it, you would be so happy!

In verse 4, Lehi shares with us that the Lord showed him a vision in which Jerusalem was destroyed, and had they remained in Jerusalem, they would have been destroyed. We know that the Babylonians had taken prisoners when they invaded. However, I think that it is important to note that Lehi says that they would have perished. What a mercy the Lord had given them.

He starts out verse 5 by saying that they have had some afflictions. I think that for anyone that has traveled for 8 years in a desert, a year or two on a beach, and perhaps another year or so on the ocean, there are bound to be many afflictions. This type of journey is a life-changing experience and will be a memory they will have to keep for the rest of their lives. But notwithstanding all of that, they now had a promised land. It is a choice land. That is this land is a choice land. The Lord covenanted with Lehi that it would be a land of inheritance for his family. It will be a promised land to him and his children and all those that will be led to it, like the Mulekites (see Omni 1:12 and on), and later on, the Europeans.

I wonder how Lehi felt about his covenant with the Lord and the promised land. I think that it would be similar to how I feel about the covenants that I have made with Him. One such covenant is the covenant made at baptism. When we are baptized we promise to keep the commandments and take upon ourselves the name of Christ. I know of many that have made the covenant and some do keep it, but then some do not. Let's learn our duty and keep the covenants that we have made to be more like Jesus Christ and follow Him.

2 Nephi 1:1-2

"1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of teaching my brethren, our ^afather, Lehi, also spake many things unto them, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.

2 And he spake unto them concerning their ^arebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea."

We now begin the second book of Nephi. He continues right where he left off and says that after he had finished talking with his brothers and teaching them from his experiences and from the scriptures, Lehi began to speak with them. It seems that perhaps the conditions were right for him to testify of what was right and call them to repentance.

From verse 1, we see that Lehi's first teaching, mentioned in the chapter, is to remind his sons that the Lord had done great things for them: to bring them out of the land of Jerusalem so they wouldn't be killed, providing food and water for them in the wilderness, wives for families, and the list there could go on and on.

In verse 2, Lehi talks to them about their rebellions on the ship that they built for crossing the ocean to the Americas. They behaved themselves poorly. We are sure that the Lord was not pleased because they tied up Nephi and the Lord sent a great storm, which nearly drowned them. Lehi reminded them that the Lord was merciful in sparing them.

They should be grateful to the Lord for these many things that they were given. We, too, should be grateful to our Heavenly Father for the many things that we have from Him. We are blessed with many things for our survival. Think about the job you have and who truly allowed you to be blessed with that position. It provides money for food and clothes. I am grateful for the job that I have. I know that it is Him who blessed me with it.

1 Nephi 22:30-EoC

"30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the ^aplates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.

"31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the ^acommandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen."

These are the last two verses of the book of 1 Nephi. They are classic Nephi in that they highlight his big theme: You must be obedient. It is really the best way to live life. You will prosper and be saved. I think that he is also speaking to us in addition to his brothers.

He says that we should consider the truthfulness of the things that are on the plates of brass. He states that the plates of brass testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments (see Mosiah 2:41 for a testimony from another, who was king/prophet). Nephi loves the plates of brass, especially the writings of Isaiah on those plates. In recent chapters we have just gotten a taste of Isaiah's writings, and how Nephi likes them.

In the last verse, Nephi says that we should not suppose that only he and his father were the only ones who have testified of and have taught these things. I wonder what he meant by that? Did he mean that there were many prophets from the brass plates that have testified? Did he mean that there were others from his family that have testified of the necessity of being obedient? Perhaps, Sam, Sariah, Jacob, Joseph, Nephi's sisters?

I want to add my testimony that if one is obedient to the commandments then he is happy and prospers. This doesn't mean that there are no trials, we all will have them, but we will know how to handle them and bear them with patience and happiness and seek to learn from them.

1 Nephi 22:27-29

"27 And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must come ^aaccording to the flesh.

"28 But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will ^arepent.

"29 And now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further as yet concerning these things."

Nephi is straightforward (see 2 Nephi 31:2-3) here and simply says that all these things (that have been prophesied concerning the last days) must come to pass, temporally. He prophesies (promises) that all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Lord if they but just repent. What an important promise that we need to heed. Finally, Nephi says that this is all that he will say about these things. This is perhaps because he is at a point in time of the prophesies of the future that was forbidden to say (see 1 Nephi 14:28) or he might be at a point in which further revelations to his brothers would be "casting pearls before swine" (see Matthew 7:6).

1 Nephi 22:26

"26 And because of the ^arighteousness of his people, ^bSatan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of ^cmany years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel ^dreigneth."

In the end of verse 25, we see that the righteous who are spared shall come unto the Good Shepherd and find pasture. This time is describing the Millennium, or a 1000 years of peace and freedom where Jesus will reign. In verse 26, we see one of the most important things that will occur in that time of pasture. Here is the entry from the Guide to the Scriptures about the Millennium (see also the entry on Second Coming of Jesus Christ):

The Millennium is:

"The thousand-year period of peace that will begin when Christ returns to reign personally on the earth (A of F 1: 10)."

Events of the Millennium:

"People will not lift up sword, neither learn war any more, Isa. 2: 4 (2 Ne. 12: 4; Micah 4: 3).
"Land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden, Ezek. 36: 35.
"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, Rev. 20: 4.
"Because of righteousness, Satan has no power, 1 Ne. 22: 26.
"I will dwell in righteousness on earth a thousand years, D&C 29: 11.
"When the thousand years are ended, I will spare the earth for a little season, D&C 29: 22.
"The great Millennium shall come, D&C 43: 30.
"Children of the righteous will grow up without sin, D&C 45: 58.
"Children shall grow up until they become old; men shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, D&C 63: 51.
"In the beginning of the seventh thousand years, the Lord will sanctify the earth, D&C 77: 12.
"They [meaning those of the Second Resurrection, I believe] live not again until the thousand years are ended, D&C 88: 101.
"Satan shall be bound for a thousand years, D&C 88: 110.
"The Millennium is described, D&C 101: 23-34.
"For a thousand years the earth shall rest, Moses 7: 64."

The important thing in this verse to apply to our day, besides the knowledge that Satan will be bound or not able to do anything to the people because of their righteousness during the Millennium, is that he can be bound today, right now, if we choose not to heed his temptations. So, how can we avoid and not follow his temptations? King Benjamin has this advice to give (Mosiah 4:29-30):

"29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin [i.e., give in to Satan's temptations]; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

"30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not ^awatch yourselves, and your ^bthoughts, and your ^cwords, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and ^dcontinue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not."

We can bind Satan by being righteous today. That we may do so.

1 Nephi 22:25

"25 And he ^agathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his ^bsheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find ^cpasture."

In the last days, the Lord will begin a marvelous work and wonder. This is the missionary work that is going forth at this time. As you read this message, the Lord is gathering his children from the four quarters of the earth. Just as a good shepherd, the Lord numbereth His sheep, us, and we know Him. I like the analogy of Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd. A shepherd watches over his sheep and keeps track of every one. He is with them all the time. Thus, they know Him. They know His voice and come when called. If they stray too far, beyond the reach of his voice, He leaves the "ninety and nine" and goes and rescues the one (see Matthew 18:11-14). When He finds and comes back with the one, He rejoices because the one has returned.

In missionary work, we have to talk with everyone about the gospel because if they know Him, the message we share will resonate within them. They will want to return to the fold. All those who do this shall be part of that one fold with Him as the one Shepherd. Remember what we talked about what will happen to those that do not come and follow Him.

He shall feed them and in Him we shall find pasture, or, I believe, rest. He is the Bread of Life (see John 6:35). May we ever work hard to find those that are lost and bring them to the pasture of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

1 Nephi 22:24

"24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as ^acalves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great ^bglory."

I thought about this scripture for a while, especially the part that says that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall. What does that mean? I tried to look up some things about raising cattle, but didn't find anything conclusive. So, the righteous must be led up and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, might, power, and great glory. Plus, this must all happen speedily. Well, I think that we will learn more about this tomorrow, with the analogy of sheep.

1 Nephi 22:22-23

"22 And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh—

"23 For the time speedily shall come that all ^achurches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become ^bpopular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the ^cdevil are they who need fear, and tremble, and ^dquake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be ^econsumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet."

Here Nephi continues to explain some of the topics of the latter days, brought up by Isaiah, to his brothers. Still, I find it interesting that Laman and Lemuel are interested in the latter days. It is an time period far beyond their own. I suppose that they must have had a concern for their posterity or at least a little interest in the prophesies of the prophets. It is too bad that it didn't last or have a greater impact on them. I find it interesting because one might think that Laman and Lemuel would not be concerned because they were wicked and thought a lot about themselves and the treasures of the earth. Owing to those qualities, these verses we consider here are vital for them, because in the end people such as themselves will meet their fate immediately.

In verse 22, we see that Nephi stresses again that the righteous need not fear and they will be the ones that will not be confounded in the last days. This means that the wicked will be confounded by the devil and his church, as the next part of the verse states. In the end, it says that the kingdom of the devil is set up among those which are in the flesh. This could mean that it is set up by those who are living and not dead, resurrected, or still waiting to come down. It could also mean that the kingdom of the devil is set up among those who are in the flesh, or who live after the manner of the flesh.

In verse 23, we see that Nephi goes into more detail about these thoughts concerning the kingdom of the devil. Nephi begins by mentioning that the church of the devil has certain qualities. It consists, but probably is not limited to, all churches (or perhaps ways of thinking) who are built up to get gain, to get power over the flesh, and to become popular in the eyes of the world. He singles out those who see the lusts of the flesh, who seek the things of the world, who do all manner of iniquity, and who (thus) belong to the kingdom of the devil. These people and organizations must have several things happen to them. They need to fear, tremble, and quake. They need to be brought down low. They need to be consumed as stubble. These sayings must come to pass because these are according to the words of the prophet (Isaiah).

So, are we, who belong to the church, guilty of some of these things? I would imagine so. We are people. We are working on overcoming the "natural man" and becoming saints through the atonement (see Mosiah 3:19). But that is the thing, are we trying to figure out if our live are patterned the way they should be? If one reads these verses, we need to think, "Okay. Do I, or an organization I belong to, try to get gain, power over the flesh (in a negative way), and/or become popular in the eyes of the world (or even those around me). Do I seek the lusts of the flesh? Do I seek the things of the world (big house, expensive car, cool electronic gadgets perhaps)? Things that are way out of my budget (see Jacob 2:18-19)? Do I do all manner of iniquity?" Let's review our lives and repent of the things we need to. Let's change for the good and for the better, thus when we are faced with the decision and we know what we should do, let's have the courage to do it. If we do what it right, the righteous consequences shall come immediately or in the end and we will know that Heavenly Father is happy with us.

1 Nephi 22:20-21

"20 And the Lord will surely ^aprepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A ^bprophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be ^ccut off from among the people.
"21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this ^aprophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute ^bjudgment in righteousness."

In these verses we see that Jesus Christ is the person who will be our guide. In verse 20, Nephi testifies that the words of Moses will come to pass. Moses said that the Lord will raise up a Prophet like him (Moses) and the people need to listen and heed the words of this Prophet. If the people did/do/will not heed the words of the Prophet they shall be cut off from among the people, which means, I believe, cut off from the righteous, spiritually speaking.

In verse 21, Nephi testifies that this Prophet is the Holy One of Israel, and that even though He has stated a commandment to listen and heed His words, Nephi testifies that he will execute judgement of the obedience of the people to His words in righteousness. Application: follow the words of the Savior and you won't be cut off. Also, He will judge righteously.

1 Nephi 22:18-19

"18 Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel.

"19 For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off."

We consider these two verses in our entry today (#200). We continue Nephi's discussion with his brothers about the latter days and what will happen to the wicked. What I found interesting was that Nephi says that these things must shortly come. Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke must come. It must be on the face of this earth. (Does this mean that other worlds would not have to have this happen?) It will come and be according to the manner of the flesh, if they harden their hearts against the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. I suppose that this is a sign of the justice of God.

Nephi continues on and reiterates the fact that the righteous shall not perish and that those who fight against them shall be cut off (probably from the presence of the Lord).

We will include this last entry from the Book of Mormon Institute manual for 1 Nephi 22 about the verses we've been talking about:

1 Nephi 22:17. The Ultimate Triumph of God’s Work

"I would like you to know that in these, the last days, the Lord has predicted that there shall be two simultaneous movements. One of these movements is the great tribulation that shall come upon the world. The wicked will destroy the wicked.
"The other great movement which will be going forward simultaneously is that there shall be a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and it shall roll forth and eventually fill the whole earth. The Church to which you and I belong is that stone. It has been cut out of the mountain without hands, and your destiny and mine is to help roll it forth.
"Now do you suppose for one moment that the judgments of God are going to interfere with the progress of his work? He is consistent, isn’t he? Although he will pour out his tribulations upon the wicked, he nevertheless will carry forward his work, and his people, under divine protection, will roll forth that stone until eventually it fills the whole earth.
"And so, says the Book of Mormon: 'For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
"'Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of this wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.' (1 Nephi 22:16–17.)
"I believe that. In the midst of all these tribulations God will send fire from heaven, if necessary, to destroy our enemies while we carry forward our work and push that stone until it fills the whole earth!
"Your destiny is to do that very thing, and this is the kind of protection you will have. You do not need to fear about world conditions. You do not need to fear about anybody. Just serve the Lord and keep his commandments and build the Kingdom, and as you do so you will be protected in these last days” (Mark E. Petersen, in Conference Report, Oct. 1960, p. 82)."

1 Nephi 22:16-17

"16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the ^awrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.

"17 Wherefore, he will ^apreserve the ^brighteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire."

These two verses are comforting to me in that verse 16 states clearly that the Lord will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous. The wicked may try to do many things against the righteous, and they may succeed, but the Lord will not let the wicked end their eternal progression. The key, then, to this verse for us is would the Lord consider us righteous? Are we following the commandments as He would have us? If we feel we must repent of something, then we should. Don't fall into a trap and think that all is lost. I read once that righteousness is more of a direction. Are we headed out of bad areas and habits into good ones? Remember that repentance is a change. If we head out of bad areas and habits, and then go back into them, that is not a change in behavior. But don't give up!

In verse 17, we see that the Lord will do what it takes to preserve the righteous, even if it means destroying them by fire. The thing is that now I don't think that the righteous have too much persecution. We seem to be doing okay, but that might change. Apparently it will change because these verses are about the last days. We'll see. Finally, we have a comment at the end of 17 that makes me scared a little, but I know that in the end it will be okay. It is the part where the prophet (Isaiah) says that the righteous will be saved, even if it so be as by fire. I interpret this comment in a way that means that the wicked will be taken care of, for example, by fire. It might be that the righteous (who are in the world, but not of the world) will be taken with the wicked, but their souls will be saved and the wicked ones not.

So, to end on a good note, Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have ^apeace. In the ^bworld ye shall have ^ctribulation: but be of good ^dcheer; I have ^eovercome the world" (John 16:33).

1 Nephi 22:15

"15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as ^astubble; and the day cometh that they must be ^bburned."

In our last post, we talked about being on the Lord's side. In verse 15, we see another reason to follow the Lord and not Satan. Satan shall not have power in the end. He doesn't even hold up his followers anyway (see 2 Nephi 26:22, Alma 30:60, 3 Nephi 9:2), thus following him is never a good idea. Anyway, his power shall be taken away and all those that are proud and do wickedly shall be eliminated, well their wicked lives here on earth shall be and they shall be resurrected (see Alma 11:38-46) and be judged. This shall happen in the last days and this hasn't happened yet.

1 Nephi 22:14

"14 And every ^anation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall ^bfall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that ^cfight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the ^ddust and great shall be the fall of it."

In this verse, we see that there is a prophesy that the church of the devil will fall. This verse says that they will be destroyed by falling to the dust, and great shall be their fall. They fight against Zion. The Lord will not, in this dispensation, allow the wicked to destroy the church. It is here forever. So, He allows the wicked to destroy themselves. Also, anyone that tries to fight the house of Israel will fall into the pit they dug to capture the people of the Lord. The events described in this scripture have not entirely come to pass. The church of the devil is still alive and strong. Thus, today's lesson is for us to be on the Lord's side.