2 Nephi 1:15

"15 But behold, the Lord hath ^aredeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his ^bglory, and I am encircled about eternally in the ^carms of his ^dlove."

As we continue with our scripture study, we come back into Nephi's record of Lehi's final discussion of the most important gospel topics with his entire family. I am inferring that they are the most important things because if you think about it, what would you say, and to whom would you speak, when you know that you are going to pass on from this life.

It is a blessing for Lehi for him to know, and as such testify, that the Lord has redeemed his soul. He has saved him from the depths of hell. It is a blessing for Lehi to have seen the glory of the Lord. It is possible that he has seen the glory of the Lord on a number of occasions. If we remember back to the first chapter of 1 Nephi, we have an account of a time, most likely the first, when he beheld His glory (1 Nephi 1:5-15):

"5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his ^aheart, in behalf of his people [the Jews at Jerusalem].

"6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a ^apillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did ^bquake and tremble exceedingly.

"7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being ^aovercome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.

"8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a ^avision, even that he saw the ^bheavens open, and he thought he ^csaw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

"9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his ^aluster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

"10 And he also saw ^atwelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

"11 And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and ^astood before my father, and gave unto him a ^bbook, and bade him that he should read.

"12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the ^aSpirit of the Lord.

"13 And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine ^aabominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning ^bJerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be ^ccarried away captive into Babylon.

"14 And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy ^apower, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who ^bcome unto thee that they shall perish!

"15 And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him."

I am particularly touched by the last part of this verse. He is encircled eternally in the arms of His love. I know that we can have an inkling of what that is in this life. There have been many times in which I have been sad, hurt, or frustrated. I have prayed for such love, calmness, and peace and have received it.