Gift of Eternal Life (1 Nephi 15, part 2)

Prophecies abound in the BOM of the descendants of Lehi accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ and coming to the understanding that their ancestors were of the House of Israel.  In the early days of The Church, Joseph Smith felt an urgency to take the gospel to the American Indian tribes that were accessible.  These efforts didn't yield much success.

-William Armitage, 1890

Here's one such prophecy from 1 Nephi 15.  After a little lecturing to his brothers, Nephi tried to explain to his brothers that Lehi's prophecy about the natural branches of the olive tree being grafted in to the true olive tree was about their own kids' children's kids' children.

1 Nephi 15: 13

13.  And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fullness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after The Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fullness of the gospel of The Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed.
14.  And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of The Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of His doctrine, that they may know how to come unto Him and be saved.

Do you think Joseph Smith was disappointed when his missionary efforts among the American Indians didn't yield the fruit he'd hoped?  Maybe.  Did he wonder about the truth of this prophecy?  Oh, I don't think so. Not in the least.

So, how's that prophecy doing now days? Here's part of a talk by Terrence L. Hansen from the Ensign in 1972.

The Church in Central America

By Terrence L. Hansen

This year the countries of Central America are noting the twenty-fifth anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries there. There are now two missions and a stake, and the way has truly been opened for the Lord’s work. In Guatemala and El Salvador eight chapels are now in use, six are under construction, and several others are being planned.

Membership of the Guatemala-El Salvador Mission in March 1972 was 23,404, with approximately 6,000 in the Guatemala City Stake.

This map is from 2011. All of the dots represent LDS Temples.  In order for a Temple to be built there must be a need for it by way of active members of The Church.  You can check out more info on the Mormon horde at http://www.allaboutmormons.com/.  I copied and pasted a graph here, but it disappeared & won't come back.  Maybe it's false doctrine.

Hey, are you ok?  Wake up, man!  Sorry I'm being boring again.  I'll give you a speech, read 3 scriptures, and I'm gone.

I had some trouble putting this post together.  Google's Blogger has some difficulties sometimes.  When I click on the preview option to see what you would see if I publish it, it shows stuff that I didn't put in or put in, but took out.  It also doesn't show stuff that I did put in.  Anwayz, this is my 4th attempt at this, and so I'm just going to leave it as is.  I think you can survive one lame post, can't ya? 

K.  3 Scriptures...

1 Nephi 15: 20

20.  And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah, who spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel; and after they were restored they should no more be confounded, neither should they be scattered again.  And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my brethren, that they were pacified and did humble themselves before The Lord.

The restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our day and the gathering in of the house of Israel is of great importance. Lehi is of the house of Israel, and so the missionary work going on in Mexico and Central and South America, as well as the Latino and American Indian communities here in the States is very exciting stuff.  The Book of Mormon is a key instrument in fulfilling this prophecy.

1 Nephi 15: 25

25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.

Have you ever had a friend or relative that you didn't bother sharing the gospel with because you just couldn't see that it would do any good?  Nephi saw into the future of Laman and Lemuel and knew what their decisions were going to be, yet he put such effort into trying anywayz.

1 Nephi 15: 36

36.  Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.

Peace be with you...