As I study the scriptures I am continuously amazed about two things: 1. how merciful the Saviour is and 2. how incredibly wise He is. The Book of Mormon is replete with examples of both of these attributes of the Saviour but none more powerful than the restoration of the Church borne out of His mercy and accomplished through His wisdom. Following the Saviour's death and that of His apostles we learn in 1 Nephi chapter 13 that the efforts of 'the great and abominable church' destroyed the converting power of the Bible which gave Satan great power and caused many to stumble and be in an awful state of blindness. Bruce R McConkie has stated that 'all organizations of whatever name or nature - whether political, philosophical, education, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious - which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 137-38) fall in the category of 'the great and abominable church'.
The corruption of the Bible lay not only in interpretations of various men but in alterations and substantial deletions by "local churches of gentile composition, into whose hands the [Gospels] came at an early time [in the 70's and 80's A.D.] (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 7, Ch 2, p 26-7). The translation of Hebrew text to Greek "presented further problems such as scholastic incompetence and theological bias of the translators which caused them to change the meaning or paraphrase texts that were either unclear or embarrassing to them. Concrete terms in Hebrew came out as abstract terms in Greek. Expressions about God deemed by the Greek translators to be crude or offensive because they described Deity as the Holy Man that he is, rather than the immanent spirit they supposed him to be - were changed or toned down or deleted entirely. Passages setting forth the so-called anthropomorphic nature of Deity were simply assumed by the translators to be false and were translated, paraphrased, and changed accordingly...(Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p 403).
When Nephi wanted to know the things his father had seen (1 Nephi 11:1) he was not only shown the meaning of Lehi's dream but was given a panoramic vision of this world to the end of time (see 1 Nephi 14:18-30). Nephi was devastated when he saw the future of the promised land and the slain of his people (1 Nephi 15:5) but the Lord told him that his people will be the means of blessing the Gentiles who stumble in darkness because of the loss of the plain and precious things from the Gospel of the Lamb. He had devised a wise plan to counteract the cunning of the devil and He told Nephi about it: "I will manifest myself unto they seed, that they shall write many tings which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, an also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb. And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation" (1 Nephi 13:35-6). These writings of course became the Book of Mormon. Twice in this chapter the reason for this wise plan is preceded with "I will be merciful unto the Gentiles" (vs 33, 34). And God in His mercy employed His wisdom to carry out this plan beginning with a very important man.
This man was Christopher Columbus and what an amazing and godly man he was! He must have been given the mission to discover the new world and the remnant of 'Lehi's seed' before the foundation of this earth for the Lord made all the knowledge available to him in preparation for such an important task. What was the purpose of him discovering this new land? For the restoration of the plain and precious truths hid in a hill which had been lost from' the record of the Jews' (1 Nephi 13:23) and to bring the Gentiles out of 'the awful darkness' according to Christ's mercy (1 Nephi 13:32, 34). It needed to be a new land for the gospel to be restored for "if the Lord had not prepared the way by laying the foundations of this glorious nation [America], it would have been impossible (under the stringent laws and bigotry of the monarchial governments of the world) to have laid the foundations for the coming of this great kingdom. The Lord has done this" (President Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], p 409). Speaking in his own words of his role in discovering a land that would offer religious freedom to all, Columbus said:
"From my first youth onward I was a seaman and have so continued until this day....The Lord was well disposed to my desire, and he bestowed upon me courage and understanding; knowledge of seafaring He gave me in abundance, of astrology as much as was needed, and of geometry and astronomy likewise. Further, He gave me joy and cunning in drawing maps and thereon cities, mountains, rivers, islands and harbours, each one in its place. I have seen and truly I have studied all books - cosmographies, histories, chronicles and philosophies, and other arts, for which our Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my emprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed, But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me (Jacob Wasserman, Columbus, Don Quixote of the Seas, pp 19-20, 46)
Speaking of the importance of the land of America and Columbus' role in its' discovery Orson Pratt, an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles provides additional interesting insight:
"In those early and perilous times, our men were few, and our resources limited. Poverty was among the most potent enemies we had to encounter; yet our arms were successful; and it may not be amiss to ask here, by whose power victory so often perched on our banner? It was by the agency of that same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country, whose mounds, bones and remains of towns, cities and fortifications speak from the dust in the ears of the living with the voice of undeniable truth. This same angel presides over the destinies of America, and feels a lively interest in all our doings. He was in the camp of Washington; and, by an invisible hand, led on our fathers to conquest and victory; and all this to open and prepare the way for the Church and kingdom of God to be established on the western hemisphere, for the redemption of Israel and the salvation of the world.
This same angel was with Columbus, and gave him deep impressions, by dreams and by visions, respecting this New World. Trammelled by poverty and by an unpopular cause, yet his persevering and unyielding heart would not allow an obstacle in his way too great for him to overcome; and the angel of God helped him - was with him on the stormy deep, calmed and troubled elements, and guided his frail vessel to the desired haven. Under the guardianship of this same angel, or Prince of America, have the United States grown, increased, and flourished, like the sturdy oak by the rivers of water (Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, Vol 6, p 368, July 4, 1854)
I hope there was a degree of comfort in Nephi's heart, despite the destruction of his people, when he was shown the glorious future of the promised land and the power that would come upon those who embraced the covenants restored through a Gentile of the seed of Joseph (2 Nephi 3:7-15). His vision of the Church of the Lamb of God should also give us comfort amidst the evils of our day. Nephi saw that the saints' numbers in our day were few and that the devil gathered together multitudes of people among all nations to fight against the Church of God. There is, however, one thing that the multitudes who fight against the Church do not have while the saints do:
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory" (1 Nephi 14:14).
We are the covenant people. We are endowed with God's power with which we can defeat armies and nations who fight against the Church and will do so because the Kingdom of God will prevail, never to be taken from the earth again. The scriptures describe the restoration of the gospel and the organization of the Church as 'a great and a marvelous work' (1 Nephi 14:7, 3 Nephi 21:9). The Church is, however, not an empty constitution but an active institution of people without which it would not flourish. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explained that the significance of the Church is two-fold:
"This church, the great institutional body of Christ, is a marvelous work and a wonder not only because of what it does for the faithful but also because of what the faithful do for it. Your lives are at the very heart of that marvel. You are evidence of the wonder of it all" (in Conference Report, Oct 1994, 42; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, p 32)
Remember: Satan might be marching with his armies to steal, kill and destroy but he does not have the power on his best day to take you out on your worst day....
"For a small moment have I forsaken thee,
but with great mercies will I gather thee"
3 Nephi 22:7
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