13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.
Nephi is reminded that the Lord makes way for His righteous purposes often by removing the wicked obstacle. He teaches us to do the same thing with our personal obstacles. In Matthew 5:29–30 we are taught that if there is something preventing our righteousness, we should remove it (“if they right eye offend thee, pluck it out…it is profitable for thee that one of thy members shall perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”). It is not God’s work that is frustrated, but man’s. And if the wicked need to be removed to make room for the righteous, so be it. This really does have application in our personal lives. If there is a part of our personal lives that is preventing our coming to Christ, some sin that is an obstacle, we should remove it and replace that sin with a positive righteous practice. In this way we repent; in this way we return to our Heavenly Father. I’m reminded of King Lamoni’s father, who in praying after Aaron taught him, said he would “give away all [his] sins to know [God].”
- Matthew 5: 29–30
- D&C 3:1–4
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