2 And he spake unto them concerning their rebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea.
The first thing Lehi reminds his sons about is how the Lord
has been merciful to them even though they had been rebellious, and
specifically on the water when they tied up Nephi. He could have cited other
examples, but that one was still fresh. I don’t think they had been in the
Promised Land for too long at this time. At any rate, that was an instance
where they could not deny the Lord’s hand. Some of the other experiences they
might rationalize away, especially after some separation by time, but the
timing of that storm was just too much to be coincidence. It was an undeniable
show of God’s power and mercy, not Nephi’s personality that spared their lives,
even though they had rebelled.
In a way, this parallels how we teach about the Atonement. We
start with the Fall of Adam and Eve, and how man was lost as a result, if not
for the mercy of the Atonement. That Fall created the need for a Savior,
otherwise justice would demand that man could not return to Heavenly Father,
due not only to Adam’s Fall, but due to our own sins. Once we realize our
hopeless condition, we are ready to hear about mercy. Once Lehi’s sons
recognized their hopeless condition they were ready to talk about mercy. They
had personal experience with God’s mercies, as do we all. We just need to
recognize it.
- 1 Nephi 18: 9 (9–20)
- Alma 18: 38
