Even though the Lord will bring others to the promised land,
it is wisdom that the Lord keep knowledge of the land from other nations at
this time. Were they to know of this
land, it would be overrun and his descendants would lose the land as their
inheritance.
Lehi pronounces the conditions the Lord has placed on those
wo are led to this land. This will be a
common theme throughout the Book of Mormon:
“inasmuch as those whom the Lord
God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they
shall prosper upon the face of this land” (2 Nephi 1:9). Shortly before his death, Lehi would emphasis
this to his family. “For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as
ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye
will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence” (2
Nephi 4:4). As Alma2 was calling on the
people of Ammonihah to repent, he asked them:
“Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying
that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the
land? And again it is said that:
Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the
presence of the Lord” (Alma 9:13).
Steven Olsen writes:
… [I]n the course of Lehi's final
blessing to his righteous posterity, in which he twice repeats the formal terms
of the covenant of the promised land (2 Nephi 1:9, 20), Lehi partially defines prospering:
"They shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept
from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves... .
And there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their
inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever" (2 Nephi 1:9; see v.
31). According to Lehi, protection, peace, persistence, and safety are the
hallmarks of those who keep God's covenants in the promised land.[1]
Should they lose their faith after receiving these great
blessings of the Lord as well as a knowledge of His great and wonderful works,
and reject Christ, the Lord’s judgments will come upon them.
The Lord will bring other nations to this land. They will have the power to take away their
lands and they will be scattered and smitten.
In vision, Nephi was shown others coming to this land.
And
I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed
of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came
down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even
unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
And
it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other
Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
And
it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of
promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my
brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.
And
I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did
prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were
white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were
slain.
And
it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out
of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord
was with them.
And
I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and
upon the land also, to battle against them.
And
I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God
was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
And
I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered
by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
And
it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I
beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.
1 Nephi 13:12 - 20
S. Kent Brown explains:
Many of Lehi's teachings and
prophecies are found in the record of his last blessings and instructions to
his family before his death (see 2 Nephi 1:1-4:12). This account, using Lehi's
own words, is clearly a direct quotation from his record. Written in the first
person, it is doubtless part of what Nephi referred to when he said that Lehi's
record contained "many things which he prophesied and spake unto his
children" (1 Nephi 1:16). In these last blessings, Lehi taught his
children principles for successful living in the promised land and prophesied
of a time when his posterity would reject their Redeemer and rebel against the
principles of righteousness. They would then lose the lands of their
inheritance and be "scattered and smitten" (2 Nephi 1:11).[2]
[1] Prospering
in the Land of Promise, Steven L. Olsen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 20, 2013.
[2] Nephi's
Use of Lehi's Record, S. Kent Brown, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 20, 2013.
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