2 Nephi 1:6 - 1:10
2 Nephi 1:6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.
Lehi tells us that no one will come here that is not lead here by the hand of the Lord. So if I interpret this correctly, everyone that I see on the streets was is here by invitation of the Lord. That they are enoying the same blessing as myself and I should not consider myself any better than anyone else here.
2 Nephi 1:7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.
This land of promised is only for those who the Lord brings here. The Lord tells Lehi that it will be a land of Liberty to those who are brought here if they will live according to gospel principles. If they do not then they may lose this promise that they will be free from foreign domination or from kings and lose their freedoms. And if that happens then the land will be cursed for the wicked as a means to get them to repent. But for the righteous, they will have the freedom to worship and live the gospel as they please.
2 Nephi 1:8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.
Even thought if would be nice if the world knew about this great promise given to those who will be lead here, it will not become general knowledge. If it did the land would be overrun with all sort of people who would should not be here. People who would not understand that it was a land of promise and not appreciate it as such..
2 Nephi 1:9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that 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; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.
Lehi has received a promised from the Lord that anyone who is brought out of the land of Jerusalem to this land will prosper if they will keep His commandments. This appears to apply to those specifically who are lead away from Jerusalem. So does this promise only apply to them and no one else who is brought here?
They will also have the promised that no one else will know about the land and they will have it to themselves and anyone else that is brought there. No one will try to take the land from them and they will live here without fear of foreign invaders or internal strife if they will live according to the commandments of the Lord.
2 Nephi 1:10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all things by faith; having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise—behold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just shall rest upon them.
Lehi prophecies that if they become wicked they will feel God’s judgments. One will know that this happening when they lose the following:
1.Knowledge of the how the earth was created.
2 How man came to be.
3.Knowledge of what the Lord has done for man since the beginning.
4.The power given to man to do great works. They will think they did it on their own.
5.They will lose the knowledge of how faith gets things done.
6.That man has had guidance from God in the form of commandments.
7.That man was brought to this land by the Lord. They did not discover it by accident.
8.They will lose a knowledge of Jesus Christ, their redeemer, and the result will be their destruction.
It is interesting to note that civilizations that have been here in the Americas in the past are no longer around anymore. Look at the ruins here. We have little idea who they were built by or just what happened to the people who lived in them. They seemed to have disappeared over night. However, civilizations in other parts of the world are still around after many thousands of years. Check out the Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, etc. This promise of destruction therefore only applies to this continent and not to other parts of the world. How would have Joseph Smith known this?
