Coming to the Knowledge of Their Redeemer

In Jacob’s discourse in 2 Nephi 10, he prophesied about three different groups of people and their need to come to the knowledge of their Savior.  He began by referring to “this righteous branch of which I have spoken,” referring to 2 Nephi 9:53 in which he alluded to the righteous among the Nephite posterity who would not be destroyed.  Though they would have fallen into unbelief, he foretold that they would ultimately come to the “true knowledge of their Redeemer,” speaking of their acceptance of the gospel in the latter days.  Later in the chapter Jacob gave these words of the Savior about that Nephite remnant, “Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God” (v2,19).  What was most important to Jacob and the Lord about his posterity was that they would ultimately come to the knowledge of their Savior and worship Him.  And we certainly see that in the way that so many of the people of Central and South America have indeed received the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

               The second group that Jacob spoke of were the Jews at Jerusalem who would reject the mortal Savior’s ministry and their descendants.  He said, “But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified.”  They would suffer and be scattered because of their rejection of the Lord, but ultimately one day the prophecy is that they will come to know Him: “But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance” (v3, 7).  What was most important from Jacob’s perspective to tell about those Jews was their rejection and later acceptance of the Savior.  That is what matters most in the history of a people. 

             Jacob also referred to the Gentiles who would be on this land in 2 Nephi 10, and he emphasized their need to accept the Savior.  He quoted these words of the Lord: “The Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land. And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land….  For I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words” (v11, 14).  This land is meant to be a free land with no kings upon it so that the Savior Jesus Christ can be our king here.  The Gentiles on this land will be blessed if they will look to Jesus Christ as their light.  This is what Moroni would emphasize at the end of the Book of Mormon: “This is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12).  There will be many important things that happen in the gathering of Israel and the restoring of various peoples to the physical land of their inheritance in the last days, but what is most important for all of these groups is that they come to the knowledge of their Savior Jesus Christ.  As Jacob summed up at the end of this powerful chapter, we must all “reconcile [ourselves] to the will of God” and know that “it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved” (v24).  No matter what people we belong to or what physical lands we reside on, it is our own coming to the knowledge of our Redeemer and our salvation through His grace that matters most.