Like all great blessings from the Lord, Lehi's family “obtained a land of promise” by covenant 2 Nephi 1:5. If the people lived up to the commandments of God, the land would prosper and be safe from invading powers 2 Nephi 1:6–7, 9–10. If the inhabitants of the land reject the Savior, they also reject the blessing 2 Nephi 1:10–12. We know through the study of history, that this happened. Now this is a land of promise again if we can live up to it. Sadly, I feel it slipping away.
“Our Father in Heaven planned the coming forth of the Founding Fathers and their form of government as the necessary great prologue leading to the restoration of the gospel. Recall what our Savior Jesus Christ said nearly two thousand years ago when He visited this promised land: ‘For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth’ (3 Nephi 21:4). America, the land of liberty, was to be the Lord’s latter-day base of operations for His restored church” Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1987, ).
By this time, Lehi was old. He spoke clearly to his sons to get their attention “awake … from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which [they were] bound” 2 Nephi 1:13 and 2 Nephi 1:14, 21, 23). Sinfulness is like being in a deep sleep and being bound by chains, because it give the adversary power over us and makes us forget the light. “One of the effects of disobeying God seems to be the creation of just enough spiritual anesthetic to block any sensation as the ties to God are being cut. Not only [does] the testimony of the truth slowly erode, but even the memories of what it was like to be in the light [begin] to seem . . . like a delusion” Henry B. Eyring, “A Life Founded in Light and Truth,” Brigham Young University 2000–2001 Speeches [2001], 81.
“arise from the dust … and be men” 2 Nephi 1:21. According to Lehi, the qualities of a righteous man include: unity between believers, righteousness, and loyalty 2 Nephi 1:21–27. The world’s definition of manhood is conquest, over-bearing, and warring. Jesus was none of these but gentle, loving, and child-like with the power of godliness on his countenance.
Lehi said because he had chosen the path of true manhood, he was "encircled about eternally in the arms of His [Jesus] love" 2 Nephi 1:15. Like Lehi, every resident of the earth can repent and choose to obey to redeemed and “encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.”
