1 Nephi 1:12-15

The One, Christ, gave Lehi a book and he was commanded to read the book.  He did, and while he read the book, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.

He read a warning from the Lord.  It said, “Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem— that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.“ (1 Nephi 1:13).  This repeated warnings from the Lord:  “And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there” (2 Kings 23:27) and “And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets” (2 Kings 24:2).

The Lord also warned the Israelites they would be taken captive to Babylon.  “Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs [OR officers] in the palace of the king of Babylon” (2 Kings 20:17 - 18)

The day finally arrived. 

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts [OR siege-walls] against it round about.

So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread [OR food] for the people of the land.

Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.

But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.

Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.

And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.

Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.

Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,

And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:

And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.

Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away [OR had deserted], that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.

Jeremiah 52:4 - 15

Having read the book, and seeing great and marvelous things, Lehi proclaimed:

Great and marvelous are thy works,
O Lord God Almighty!
Thy throne is high in the heavens.
and thy power, and goodness, and mercy
are over all the inhabitants of the earth;
and, because thou art merciful,
thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee
that they shall perish! (1 Nephi 1:14)[1]

Nephi would later write, emphasizing the principle that those who come to the Lord will not perish.

He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him.  Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.

Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.

Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.

2 Nephi 26:24 - 28

Alma₂ taught the people of Zarahemla this concept.

Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.

Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life [see 1 Nephi 8:5-28]; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;

Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire—

For behold, the time is at hand that whosoever bringeth forth not good fruit, or whosoever doeth not the works of righteousness, the same have cause to wail and mourn.

Alma 5:33 - 36

The Savior, speaking to the Nephites after the destruction at His death, reinforced this principle.

O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life.  Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

3 Nephi 9:13 - 14

Lehi continued to rejoice and praise God for what he had seen.  Nephi writes,

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. (1 Nephi 1:15)[2]

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[1] Formatting for verse 14, The Calling of Lehi as a Prophet in the World of Jerusalem, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 21, 2012.

[2]Formatting for verse 15,  A Reader's Library, Kristine Hansen, and Keith Lawrence, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 21, 2012.