Now that the Lehites are tied into this prophecy, Nephi further personalizes it by explaining that the Gentiles who will be their salvation will be upon “the face of this land,” not in some far-off locale. Preceding the eventual redemption, however, will be a further scattering of this remnant of Israel at the hand of the powerful Gentiles. Nephi refers to a double redemption. The second is that the Gentiles will restore the gospel to Lehi’s descendants as his tree of life vision foretold (1 Ne. 13:38–40). Nephi may not have understood the first fulfillment during this conversation with his brothers, but he understood that meaning when he wrote this passage. A more proximate salvation by means of the Gentiles was a theme in the sermon Nephi asked Jacob to give (2 Ne. 6–9).
History: This is a prophecy that has more than one fulfillment. Certainly the early Saints would have read in this passage the rise of the United States. However, there are only two requirements: it must be a “great” nation and it must scatter the descendants of Lehi. The United States clearly fulfilled that role in North America, but Spain was much earlier and much closer to the lands of the Nephites. It is quite possible that the prophecy intended the Spanish conquest rather than the rise of the United States.