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The Spirit and Wrath of God, 1 Nephi 13:10-19

1 Nephi 13:10-19

In prophetic terms, Nephi is describing the colonization of America and the Revolutionary War. In this group of verses, there are two forces, both originating from God. the Spirit or power of God( I don't think the two are equal) and the wrath of God. Nephi also refers to the Spirit of the Lord and the power of the Lord. All these powers Nephi says that he saw working upon or with the events that transpired.

Why was the wrath of God upon the seed of Nephi's brethren? Why did the Spirit of the Lord favor the Gentiles that came to America? From any historical stand point, it doesn't seem fair to derive an accurate conclusions. From scriptural accounts, we know that the ancestors of the Lamanites that remained had long ago rejected the true religion. The exiled Gentiles that came to find peace in America also were striving as best as they could to live the Christian faith as best they understood it.

Then as we look forward only a few years, we see that among a displaced people who were striving the best they could to scratch out a modest existence, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored. So even before the time of Joseph Smith, we see the hand of God at work in preparing the stage for a great and a marvelous work to begin.

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