1 Nephi 1:20

[Heather]

1 Nephi 1:20

And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

Quotes for Discussion

Nephi’s Freedom Thesis
All we have to do is to live up to the commandments of God, and we can destroy all the munitions. And there is no nation under the sun, today, or yesterday, or tomorrow that can touch us. Is that fanciful? Is that wishful thinking? Not if you believe in God. If you know that God lives, and that Jesus is Christ, and that they have the world and everything within their power, it is not fanciful.
Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, edited by Edward L. Kimball [salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], 159


Lincoln’s remarks following the victory of Gettysburg
In the stress and pinch of the campaign there, I went to my room, and got down on my knees and prayed God Almighty for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His country, and the war was His war, but that we really couldn’t stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. And then and there I made a solemn vow with my Maker that if He would stand by you, boys, at Gettysburg, I would stand by Him. And He did, and I will! And after this I felt that God Almighty had taken the whole thing into His hands.
Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln’s Life – Stories and Speeches, Selby, p.222

American, No Ordinary Country
This America is no ordinary country. It is a choice land, "choice above all other lands." (1 Nephi 2:20.) It has a tragic and bloody past, but a glorious and peaceful future if its inhabitants really learn to serve their God. It was consecrated as a land of promise to the people of the Americas, to whom God gave these great promises:
"It will be a land of liberty to its people." (2 Nephi 1:7.)
"They shall never be brought down into captivity." (2 Nephi 1:7)
"And there shall be none to molest them." (2 Nephi 1:9.)
"It is a land of promise." (1 Nephi 2:20.)
"It shall be free from all nations under heaven."
"There shall be no enemies come into this land."
"It shall be free from bondage." (Ether 2:12.)
"There shall be no kings upon the land." (2 Nephi 10:11.)
"I will fortify this land against all other nations." (2 Nephi 10-12.)
"He that fighteth against Zion shall perish." (2 Nephi 10:13.)

But these promises, glorious though they be, desirable as they are, can come only ". . . if they will but serve the God of this land who is Jesus Christ...." (Ether 2:12.) There is only one way. That infallible cure is simply righteousness, obedience, Godliness, honor, and integrity. There is no other cure. Mountains of arms and ammunitions will not guarantee safety, for enemies can also build fortifications and missiles and bomb shelters. If we would but believe the prophets! For they have warned that if the "inhabitants of this land are ever brought down into captivity and enslaved, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land." (See 2 Nephi 1:7.)
Elder Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1961, Afternoon Meeting 30


O foolish men who think to protect the world with armaments, battleships, and space equipment, when only righteousness is needed!...Perhaps it is too simple for us to see. We look to foreign programs, summit conferences, land bases. We depend on fortifications, or gods of stone; upon ships and planes and projectiles, our gods of iron—gods which have no ears, no eyes, no hearts. We pray to them for deliverance and depend upon them for protection…like the gods of Baal.
The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 416


Tender Mercies
See Elder David A. Bednar, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2005.


I have occupied considerable space in referring to those peculiar circumstances which have attended me during life, and to sum the matter up it stands thus:--I have broken both legs—one in two places—both arms, my breastbone and three ribs, and had both ankles dislocated. I have been drowned, frozen, scalded and bit by a mad dog—have passed through several severe fits of sickness, and encountered poison in its worst forms—have landed in a pile of railroad ruins—have barely been missed by passing bullets, and have passed through a score of other hairbreadth escapes.
It has appeared miraculous to me, that with all the injuries and broken bones which I have had, I have not a lame limb, but have been enabled to endure the hardest labor, exposures and journeys—have often walked forty, fifty, and on one occasion, sixty miles in a day. The protection and mercy of God has been over me, and my life thus far has been preserved; for which blessings I feel to render the gratitude of my heart to my Heavenly Father, praying that the remaining of my days may be spent in his service and in the building up of his kingdom.
As told in Best-Loved Stories of the LDS People, ed. Jack M. Lyon, Linda Ririe Gundry, and Jay A. Parry [salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997], 319

[Hemidakota]

Daniel H. Ludlow stated, origin of the term "or out of the waters of baptism"

The term "or out of the waters of baptism" did not appear in the first edition of the Book of Mormon. It first appeared in the edition of 1840 on page 53, and the sentence in which it appeared was punctuated as follows: "Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, (or out of the waters of baptism) who swear by the name of the Lord," etc. It is not absolutely clear who was responsible for the insertion of this phrase, although the title page of this edition indicates that it was the "Third Edition, Carefully Revised by the Translator" and was published in Nauvoo, Illinois.

In the "Committee Copy" of the Book of Mormon that was used by Elder James E. Talmage and his committee in making the changes for the 1920 edition, the words "or out of the waters of baptism" were not printed in the text although they had been inserted in red ink in parentheses. However, the parentheses were crossed out by red pencil. These words are printed in the current edition of the Book of Mormon without the parentheses.

[rameumptom]

Deliverance is a powerful term.

Each of us needs deliverance in different ways, but we often seek to the wrong deliverer. The Jews in Jesus' day were seeking a Messiah that would deliver them from physical enemies, such as Rome. Many seek deliverance from pain and anguish through self-medication of alcohol and drugs (both prescription and illegal). Many seek deliverance through the temporary happinesses promised by the world and Satan - wealth, over abundance of food, luxury cars, rich clothing, etc.

It is in Nephi's time that the idea of a Messiah or Deliverer becomes very acute. Prior to Isaiah, the idea of the Messiah is not well known in the Bible, only hinted at. But Isaiah, Jeremiah and other prophets of the time become very clear in the prospects of a Deliverer. Why at this time? Because we see the collapse of the house of Jacob, beginning with the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and then of Judah a century later. Believing that God would not forever abandon his chosen people became a very important concept for those living during the Babylonian captivity. Reminders of the great deliverer, Moses, as a symbol and a forerunner of the Great Deliverer, Jesus Christ, are important.

Is it remarkable that the book of law, the book of Deuteronomy is found in the temple in Josiah's time? No wonder people would seek a new Messiah, when a hidden/lost book of Moses is found! Lehi would probably have been a young man during this event, and highly impacted by its meaning. Imagine the first Passover in decades to occur during Josiah's reign - a reminder of the Passover (deliverance) and the preparation of the people to enter into the promised land - symbol of entering God's presence.

Most Christians in Joseph Smith's time would have scoffed at the idea of prophets detailing the coming of the Messiah, as did Nephi. Now, we are finding Dead Sea Scrolls (including one in stone just discovered) that prophesied of a suffering Messiah - very different than the mighty Deliverer/Messiah sought after by most people in Jesus' day.

What they didn't understand is that physical deliverance means nothing if we lose our souls in the long run. We needed to be delivered from Death and Hell, physical and spiritual death, the two greatest captors of all.

Here we find the first consideration of grace in the term "tender mercies." God views us as his children, and as we show forth faith in Him, embracing His way as we accept his family name, he delivers us. Was deliverance an easy thing for Lehi and his family? No. They still had to wander through the wilderness until they reached the promised land. During that sojourn, Nephi and Lehi both found themselves upon a high mountain and entered God's promise - very much like the story of Moses on Sinai during the Israelite sojourn in the wilderness!

The wilderness of telestial world that we live in becomes our purifying experience. It separates the wheat from the tares, the Nephis from the Lamans. But it becomes a necessary requirement, for it is in the wilderness that we are prepared to enter into God's presence and are delivered by him. If we all lived in swanky uptown apartments, who would need or want deliverance? The wilderness shows us who we really are inside, encouraging some to be humble, compelling many to be humble (Alma 32), and leaving the rest as dross.

Because we all go through this wilderness, almost all mankind will be delivered from hell! A kingdom of glory awaits almost all people throughout the world and throughout world history. Of all the peoples in world history, we are only certain of one person becoming a son of perdition: Cain.

Truly Christ is a mighty Deliverer, and shows this forth in his tender mercies. Even if he has to compel many of us to repent by thumping us on the side of the head occasionally to get our attention.