Nephi’s Freedom Thesis

K. Douglas Bassett

1 Ne. 4:14; Jarom 1:9-10; Omni 1:6; Mosiah 1:7; 2:22,31; Alma 36:1,30; 37:13; 38:1; 48:15,25; 50:19-22; 3 Ne. 5:22; Prov. 14:34; Lev. 26:3-6; Deut. 8:11-14,17; D&C 71:9; 124:45-46; 2 Chron. 20:12-20; Isa. 54:17; Doctrines of Salvation, Smith, 3:73-74; Conference Report, Oct. 1965, p. 146; Conference Report, Oct. 1961, p. 30; This Nation Shall Endure, Benson, p. 145; Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 342; refer to 2 Ne. 1:7,20, 30-32; Ether 2:7-9,12,15; Alma 48:15

“All we have to do is to live up to the commandments of God, and we can destroy all the munitions. And there is no nation under the sun, today, or yesterday, or tomorrow that can touch us. Is that fanciful? Is that wishful thinking? Not if you believe in God. If you know that God lives, and that Jesus is Christ, and that they have the world and everything within their power, it is not fanciful.” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 159)
“O foolish men who think to protect the world with armaments, battleships, and space equipment, when only righteousness is needed! … Perhaps it is too simple for us to see. We look to foreign programs, summit conferences, land bases. We depend on fortifications, or gods of stone; upon ships and planes and projectiles, our gods of iron—gods which have no ears, no eyes, no hearts. We pray to them for deliverance and depend upon them for protection … like the gods of Baal.” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 416)
[Lincoln’s remarks following the victory of Gettysburg] “In the stress and pinch of the campaign there, I went to my room, and got down on my knees and prayed God Almighty for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His country, and the war was His war, but that we really couldn’t stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. And then and there I made a solemn vow with my Maker that if He would stand by you, boys, at Gettysburg, I would stand by Him. And He did, and I will! And after this I felt that God Almighty had taken the whole thing into His hands.” (Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln’s Life - Stories and Speeches, Selby, p.222)
“This land is a land choice above all other lands, and God has blessed the people upon this land. He has fulfilled the words recorded in this book time and time again, that those who should come up to fight against the people of this land should not prosper.” (Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, Oct. 1899, p. 18)
“This America is no ordinary country. It is a choice land, ‘choice above all other lands’ (1 Ne. 2:20). It has a tragic and bloody past, but a glorious and peaceful future if its inhabitants really learn to serve their God. It was consecrated as a land of promise to the people of the Americas, to whom God gave these great promises:

‘It will be a land of liberty to its people’ (2 Nephi 1:7).

‘They shall never be brought down into captivity’ (2 Nephi 1:7).

‘And there shall be none to molest them’ (2 Nephi 1:9).

‘It is a land of promise’ (1 Nephi 2:20).

‘It shall be free from all nations under heaven.’

‘There shall be no enemies come into this land.’

‘It shall be free from bondage’ (Ether 2:12).

‘There shall be no kings upon the land’ (2 Nephi 10:11).

‘I will fortify this land against all other nations.’ (2 Nephi 10:11).

‘He that fighteth against Zion shall perish’ (2 Nephi 10:13).

“But these promises, glorious though they be, desirable as they are, can come only ‘… if they will but serve the God of this land who is Jesus Christ… .’ (Ether 2:12). There is only one way. That infallible cure is simply righteousness, obedience, Godliness, honor, and integrity. There is no other cure. Mountains of arms and ammunitions will not guarantee safety, for enemies can also build fortifications and missiles and bomb shelters. If we would but believe the prophets! For they have warned that if the ‘inhabitants of this land are ever brought down into captivity and enslaved, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land’ (See 2 Nephi 1:7).” (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, Oct. 1961, pp. 30-31)

Latter-Day Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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