1 Nephi 17: 37

37 And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.

People who say that the prophet has no business talking about non-religious things like politics do not understand this verse. Brigham Young said that, “all power is ordained of God and is in his hand. He sets up a kingdom here, and pulls down another there at his pleasure…If the people of God in ancient days had continued holy they would have continued in power and authority to this day” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 19). Of course the prophet can speak to politics. These powers are given and taken by God, and as God’s mouthpiece on earth, the prophet can speak for the Lord on whatever subject he is directed to.

The full quote:

“Whether they make good or bad use of it, all power is ordained of God and is in his hand. He sets up a kingdom here, and pulls down another there at his pleasure. He breaks the nations like a potter’s vessel; he forms a nucleus, and around it builds up a kingdom or nation, permitting the people to act upon their own agency, that they may do right, or corrupt themselves, as did the Children of Israel; and after they have become ripe for destruction, they will be scattered to the four winds. If the people of God in ancient days had continued holy they would have continued in power and authority to this day” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 7:148)

• Psalm 1:6
• Proverbs 14:34
• 1 Nephi 4:13
• Ether 2:10

1 Nephi 17: 36

36 Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.

I think probably at this time, even non-believing Jews at least believed in the creation as recorded in scripture. So I think Nephi is reminding his brethren that God did not create the earth on a whim, and it was for the main purpose that it be a place for his children and some of His other creations to live. He is also saying that because he created the earth, God can pretty much do His will here, and create circumstances where that can be fulfilled.

• Isaiah 45:18

1 Nephi 17: 35

35 Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.

When the scriptures say the Lord is no respecter of persons, they don’t mean that He has no respect for persons. They mean that He will accept anyone into His kingdom who is willing to live according to the commandments He gives. He makes that offer to anyone and everyone, no matter their race, religion, gender, age, income, or a hundred other ways we mortals separate ourselves. Because the offer is made to everyone, it shows that He loves everyone, or He “esteemeth all flesh in one.” Everyone gets the same deal. Then, after we make the deal, or the covenant, or even if we live righteously without a covenant, then we are “favored of God.” I think Heavenly Father is well aware that most people who live on the earth will not even hear the full gospel while in this life, let alone accept it. But I also think that’s not as big a deal to Him as we usually make it out to be. Surely He takes this life in context of the eternities, and surely He knows there will be a chance for everyone to make covenants with Him. That, after all, is part of His plan. That’s why we have temple ordinances for the dead. So I think it must be more important to Father that we live a good life, that we accept as much of the Gospel as we are given or understand, even if we don’t recognize it as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, if a person’s non-Christian religion teaches him to not kill or steal, and that person lives according to that teaching, I believe it will be counted as righteousness for him. This is because it agrees with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and because they lived accordingly. Would they have been much better off to be baptized with proper authority and receive the other saving ordinances? No question. But again, that’s why we have temples, and we must take the long view on things like this. People who live good lives are more likely to accept the Gospel and these ordinances in the next life than those who reject the Light of Christ and live according to the flesh instead of according to conscience.

The people that the children of Israel destroyed had rejected the gospel, which they apparently had the chance to accept or reject. And the Lord gives a nation plenty of time to get their collective lives in order before He destroys them. Genesis 15:16 indicates that the Lord knew about how long it would take for the inhabitants to become fully ripe for destruction: in the fourth generation after his people had been in Egypt (see Genesis 15:13–16). It’s just interesting to see this scenario in this light. The Lord promises this particular land to Abram for his inheritance, but Abram is not strong enough to take the land by force from the current inhabitants. Also, the current occupants (Amorites) are not yet full of iniquity, so it’s not their time yet. So about the time that Abram’s people would begin to receive attention from the Amorites, due to their increased numbers and strength, the Lord takes them away to Egypt, where they grow greater and stronger. They are allowed to grow until the iniquity of the Amorites is full, at which time the Pharaoh decides the Israelites are a threat to his kingdom. I don’t think that timing is coincidental. So the Lord delivers Israel out of Egypt, and teaches them for the next 40 years how to be an independent nation with their own government, etc. Remember that they had spent the last 4 generations under someone else’s rule, and the last part of that as slaves, so they had no government of their own. Now they are sufficiently strong physically, spiritually, and civically to remove the wicked Amorites (and others in the land) and claim the Promised Land given to Abram.

Nephi is telling his brethren that after all that, the Jews are in the same position as the Amorites were in, ready to be taken down because their iniquity is full.

• Genesis 15:16
• Exodus 23:31
• Deuteronomy 7:10
• Psalm 145:20 (1–21)
• John 15:10
• Acts 10:15 (15, 34)
• Romans 2:11
• 2 Nephi 26:33 (23–33)
• D&C 82:10 (8–10)

1 Nephi 17: 34

34 Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay.

The antecedent to “they” in this verse is the former inhabitants of Israel’s Promised Land. Nephi is making the point that the difference between these former inhabitants and the Israelites was righteousness. We often wonder at the disobedience of the children of Israel, but they obviously were more righteous than a lot of other people, including those who were in their promised place. If that people had repented (after the manner of Nineveh, years later when called to repentance by Jonah), their story would have been different. The thing that made Israel more choice than these other nations was their righteousness (and their covenant, but that is a topic for a different entry). The wicked don’t make covenants with God.

1 Nephi 17: 33

33 And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

The implication here is that if the former inhabitants of Israel’s Promised Land had been more righteous they may not have been driven out and destroyed. This is not stated specifically, but I suppose the Lord had probably sent prophets to call them to repentance. This is something He always does (Amos 3:7). It looks like they didn’t repent, so after warning them He followed through. And just “coincidentally” at this time, the people who had been promised the land are led from bondage in another country. So in the Lord’s economy He used the people to whom the land was promised to punish the unrepentant occupants of the Promised Land. He punished the wicked and fulfilled a promise in one move.

1 Nephi 17: 32

32 And after they had crossed the river Jordan he did make them mighty unto the driving out of the children of the land, yea, unto the scattering them to destruction.

The real point Nephi is making in this verse is coming up in the next few verses, but I think there is at least one other noteworthy thing here. It’s important to note that the Lord will accomplish His purpose and keep His covenants, even if the obstacle to be faced seems insurmountable. The children of Israel were to posses the land covenanted to Abraham, even if there were other people already living there. In verse 35 we’ll learn the nature of those people, and that they had been warned to repent. I’m sure there were many more people in these established nations, and much better prepared armies, yet the Lord led Israel into battle, and time after time they won the day, usually completely wiping out whole societies, not just conquering. The Lord could have accomplished the same thing with some other means, like He did with Sodom and Gomorrah, but He chose to perform a different kind of miracle this time.

1 Nephi 17: 31

31 And it came to pass that according to his word he did destroy them; and according to his word he did lead them; and according to his word he did do all things for them; and there was not any thing done save it were by his word.

There is some interesting wording used here that really can be taken a couple of different ways. And both ways are, I think, correct, and both ways are important to understand. The phrase, “according to his word,” is powerful for at least two reasons, both of which support Nephi’s point. The first way in which this can be understood is that the Lord keeps His word. When He tells His people something, He follows through according to His word. If He says He will destroy someone, He will follow through. When He says He will lead them, He follows through with that as well. The Lord simply keeps His word. He has a proven record of that, and since that is what He has always done, we can count on it being what He will always do. He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (1 Nephi 10:18, among others that say the same thing). If there is anything or anyone we can count on being completely consistent, it is God.

The second way this phrase can be taken is hinted at right at the end of the verse: “there was not anything done save it were by his word.” This tells us that He has the power to keep His word by the power of his word. He has the power to perform miracles, such as parting the Red Sea, bringing water out of solid rock, providing light and protection in miraculous ways, and a lot of other things recorded and not recorded. He had the consistency to keep His word, and He has the power to perform according to and by His word. These are important to remember in spiritual matters as well. I’m thinking specifically of the Atonement. Not only does He promise to provide a pathway back to Heavenly Father, He has the power to keep that promise.

• Numbers 26:65

1 Nephi 17: 30

30 And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient for man to receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God.

Here Nephi implies that their exodus is like the one led by Moses. He starts to get his brethren to liken the scriptures to their own situation. Remember that the Lord had provided miraculously for the Lehites’ light and direction so they didn’t need to build fires (see vs. 12–13). Nephi’s brethren are well aware of their own history, so they know that the reason the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness was because of their rebellions. Again, the implication here is that if the Lord would punish His chosen people once for rebellion, He would do it again. The whole point that Nephi is leading them to is that the Lord has power to provide a way to keep His commandments. He also has power to bless His people with the things that are expedient, or suitable and appropriate for them. But, if His people rebel, He’s not afraid to punish as well. He can and will keep His word.

The use of the word “expedient” is interesting to me. The Lord knows what is best for us, and He will bless us with the things we ask for if it is expedient for us. If we ask for things that are “not expedient for [us], it shall turn unto [our] condemnation” (D&C 88:65). Usually the things that are not expedient for us are things that we ask for in our lust for more; we think that what we have is not enough. Watch out if the Lord blesses you with things that are not expedient for you. A couple of examples from the scriptures come to mind. When the children of Israel were begging for some meat to give variety to that boring old manna (miraculously provided, by the way), the Lord sent them so much quail that they couldn’t consume all of it. Some tried to consume more than was expedient, and the Lord killed them with the very object of their lusts (Numbers 11:31–35). Another example: the Jews got more than they could handle in terms of knowledge from God because of their lust for the knowledge and mysteries of God, and this turned to their condemnation as well (Jacob 4:14). It’s interesting to contrast that attitude with that of another Nephi generations after this first Nephi. The later one was promised that the Lord would bless him with whatever he asked for because he would “not ask that which is contrary to [the Lord’s] will” (Helaman 10:5). In other words, the Lord trusted that Nephi would only ask for expedient things.

• 1 Nephi 17:12–13
• D&C 18:18
• D&C 88:64 (64–65)
• Definition: expedient—suitable, appropriate