The Mercies of First Nephi

The book of First Nephi is a story of a two families being separated from a wicked people and led to a precious and blessed land. These families are shown the merciful hand of the Lord again and again. Despite physical and spiritual weakness, the Lord showed a pattern of mercy to these families that we need to understand. We may not slay our enemies or build a ship or sail across an ocean, but the challenges we face require strength and deliverance, forgiveness and understanding — the very things that Lehi and Ishmael’s families needed.

In the very first verse of the Book of Mormon, Nephi, Lehi’s righteous son, declares the theme of his writings to be the goodness of God. He writes that he was “highly favored of the Lord in all [his] days. As he continues to write, he shows that the mercies of God and thus God’s favor are extended to all who will come unto Jesus Christ in faith.

Nephi talks about the tender mercies of the Lord. He wrote of redemption and deliverance and of the coming of a Messiah. As the story of his Father’s family and the family of Ishmael unfolds in Nephi’s account, he shows that the Lord prepares the way for and strengthens those who follow Him.

Lehi is inspired to take his family into the wilderness to escape persecution. As Nephi and his brothers return not once but twice to Jerusalem, Nephi writes about these themes of redemption, deliverance, preparation, mercy, and strength. Not only does the Lord deliver the families, he delivers Nephi personally from those who try to kill him.

Also, in the early chapters of First Nephi, we read of sacrifices offered in a pattern that reminded the people of the Lamb of God and the giving of His life. We read about a vision given first to Lehi and then to Nephi that teaches the great pattern of God’s mercy. The vision is significant because it shows God’s love and thus His mercy is available to all. Sadly, this love and mercy is sought by few.

Nephi records some of the prophecies of his father as well as his own. Nepgi and his broter Jacob also begin sharing some of Isaiah’s prophecies. All of these prophecies paint a broad picture of the generations of the children of men and especially the children of Israel. They share a theme of God’s children taken captive, led away temporally and spiritually, and then reclaimed and gathered by a God full of mercy, redemption, and healing.

Near the end of the book we witness continued deliverance, from sin and pride, from the  threatening wrath of a great storm and the wrath of God as the families are finally led to what they consider an isle of he sea, which they know as the promised land.

There are some 45 main themes of mercy found in First Nephi. Many of them appear in various forms throughout the book. Here’s a list:

1. Goodness
2. Mercy
3. Redemption
4. Deliverance from bondage or captivity
5. Deliverance from destruction
6. Sacrifice as a foreshadowing of the atonement
7. Preparing the way
8. Strengthening or making mighty
9. Preservation
10. Being saved
11. The love of God
12. The names of the Messiah that point to His work and glory
13. Resurrection
14. Gathering
15. Knowledge of the mysteries of God
16. Making clean and pure
17. Beauty
18. Living Waters
19. Condescension of God
20. Healing
21. Blood of the Lamb
22. Plain, pure, and precious things
23. The power of God
24. Lifted up at the last day
25. Being numbered with Israel
26. Blessed
27. No more confounded
28. Convinced of peace and life eternal
29. Nourishment from the true vine
30. Greatest gift of God
31. Directed by the Lord
32. Anger turned away
33. Sweetness, happiness, joy
34. Promised, precious lands
35. A voice of thunder used in mercy
36. Doing all things expedient for man
37. Waters of baptism
38. A light into the Gentiles
39. Driven by he wind in mercy
40. Loving kindness
41. Long suffering
42. Salvation of the Lord
43. Leading them by the way
44. Teaching them to profit
45. Remembering them

In all there are some 165 of 618 verses that refer to mercy of one sort or another.  This is more than 25 percent of the book’s verses. Nephi’s prophecy of Christ’s advent in 1 Nephi 19 makes clear the purpose of His coming — mercy. Fifty percent of the verses in this chapter refer to it. In 1 Nephi 21, Isaiah’s prophecy of the gathering of Israel in the last days exceeds that, with 58 percent of its 26 verses relating to the mercy of God.

Each and every chapter of the book of First Nephi mentions mercy. It is the thread that ties the story together. Nephi wants his readers to learn to recognize the merciful hand of the Lord in their lives. How many times have I read this book without fully appreciating this theme? It has forever changed the way I relate to the Book of Mormon.