2 Nephi 10:18-22

Continuing his discussion of the gentiles, Jacob warns the people that the gentiles “will afflict they seed by the hand of the Gentiles” (2 Nephi 10:18).  Even so, the hearts of the gentiles will be softened by the Lord.

Again, we see an example of Nephi’s influence of Jacob.  During his vision, the angel told him:

Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren.

Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren.

1 Nephi 13:30-31

Not only will the hearts of the gentiles be softened, “they shall be like a father to them” (2 Nephi 10:18).  For this, the gentiles will be blessed and someday become a part of the house of Israel.

Towards the end of his life, Nephi would write this about the gentiles.  “I also have charity for the Gentiles.  But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation” (2 Nephi 33:9).   Preaching to the Nephites on this continent, the Savior would tell the Nephites:

And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel.

But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel.

3 Nephi 16:12-13

In his final words in 3 Nephi, Mormon addressed the gentiles directly:

Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel.

3 Nephi 30:2

The promised land will be consecrated to the Nephites, Lamanites, and “them who shall be numbered among thy seed forever” (2 Nephi 10:19).  Returning again to Nephi’s vision, Nephi said, “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” (1 Nephi 13:15).

Bruce Boehm discusses the promised land.

In one sense the entire promised land is a foreign land to the Nephites. As Israelites, the land of Canaan was also the land of their inheritance. This is what Ammon seems to mean when he says that they are separated from the rest of the house of Israel in a land foreign to the other Israelites (see Alma 26:[36])[1]. Yet Lehi tells his sons that "the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever" (2 Nephi 1:5). Further, throughout the Book of Mormon, Nephite prophets recognize that the Lord has given them the Americas as the land of their inheritance (see 2 Nephi 10:19).

Both of these references to the promised land as a foreign land seem unusual unless we see the land of promise in terms of its spiritual significance. The Nephites, as the ancient Israelites, recognize that (in the spiritual sense) they are in a foreign land. Even the promised land is not the true inheritance of the Nephites. The promised land, as in the Old Testament, acts as a type or shadow pointing toward eternal life. Nephi makes it clear that "all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him [Christ]" (2 Nephi 11:4). The promised land is no exception; "given of God," it typifies Christ through pointing the Nephites' eyes toward the salvation and exaltation which come through Christ.¹⁸ Thus, recurring exodus to a new inheritance points readers forward to eternal life and reminds them that we must seek for an everlasting inheritance beyond this telestial world.[2]

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[1] Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land. (Alma 26:36)

[2] Wanderers in the Promised Land: A Study of the Exodus Motif in the Book of Mormon and Holy Bible, Bruce J. Boehm, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed September 30, 2013.