At first glance, not a very cheery or Christmas-y piece of Scripture. But Nephi lived at a time of much contention and dissension amongst the descendants in America. I guess he was practicing a little hard love. But he is prophesying the good work. He is prophesying that the Savior won't just visit those Jews in Jerusalem and Israel, but also those across the sea in America. They too will be given signs of His birth and death and resurrection.
He also prophesies that justice will be given and will be hard. That God will not forget the murders of His saints and His prophets.
There is a lesson there. Think of all the prophets and saints that have given their lives for His work. I am not only thinking of those like the Prophet Joseph Smith, who died for the Gospel. But the others who died because they were doing the right thing. Because they died standing up for the widows and the orphans like the nuns that died in Guatemala and El Salvador, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor, who died defying the Nazis. They too will be remembered by our Heavenly Father.
We all will be remembered if we only stand up for Him and His desires for us. As it says in Zechariah 7:9-10, "...execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother. And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let not of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart."
It is my prayer that we all incorporate that in our every action and thought.
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