11 Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten.
While I have been applying these verses to the inhabitants of
this land generally (today as well as in Lehi’s time), this verse seems to be
directed specifically to Lehi’s seed. While the prophecy may yet come to pass
applying to us in our day, it has already been fulfilled in regards to the
American Indians. They have been scattered and placed on reservations and had
their lands taken away from them during the 1800s. Of course, the world in
general would not acknowledge this, but these last few verses make it clear
that history would have been much different and kinder to the children of Lehi
if they had not rejected the Lord. By so doing they lost the Lord’s protection.
The spiritual application seems obvious. As we maintain our
covenant relationship with the Lord, we have his protection. As we stray, that
protection erodes and we are open to being conquered by Satan. The Savior spoke
of this in his parable of the talents (see Matthew 25: 14–30). If we don’t
“prosper in the land,” an indication that we are keeping His commandments, then
the “land” will be taken from us. Or you could plug in “talents” instead of
“land.” Or more to the point, spiritual gifts and eternal rewards are what we
are really talking about. Let’s do all we can to retain the lands of our
eternal inheritance.
- 1 Nephi 13: 14 (12–20)
- 1 Nephi 22: 7
- Mormon 5: 19 (19–20)
