Insights from the Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi 2:20

Here Lehi (a prophet living in Jerusalem about 600 B.C.) has fled out of the city with his family as the Lord commanded him to do. The people in Jerusalem were attempting to take his life because of his preaching. Two of Lehi's sons Laman and Lemuel rebelled against him in the wilderness. Nephi was much saddened by the behavior of his older brothers. He prayed for guidance and comfort. And the following words were spoken to him by the Lord.

"And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands." ~ The First Book of Nephi 2:20

Our Heavenly Father has given us, His children, a promise after a promise. Here we learn of the patter of how the promises are fulfilled.

The promise spoken of in this particular verse is "ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise...". It goes on to describe this land how it is chosen above all others. The condition is: "...inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments...". This is all Father asks here.

This is the pattern in EVERYTHING relating to the blessings and promises of our Father. No one is an exception. No one escapes the conditions of repentance and obedience. Additional verse in Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21

Another beautiful detail in this verse is how we can read it to ourselves today. For Lehi and his family the land of promise was very physical, a very tangible place. Today it is rather rare that the Lord would command someone to flee and leave everything behind. Especially when there is not always an immediate threat of being murdered.  Replace the word land with the word life.

Our Heavenly Father has prepared a life to each and every one of us, a life that is better and brighter than any other. When we follow the commandments given by our Father who as a God knows all things, we will find ourselves on a path that will lead to greatest happiness and peace in this life and to our Heavenly Home in the life to come.