The Lord Hath Created the Earth
Yesterday ESPN’s College Game Day was broadcast from BYU in Provo, Utah in preparation for the football game between BYU and Notre Dame. At one point during the broadcast, the announcer Pat Mcafee pulled out a Book of Mormon and began to read from it. He read this verse found in 1 Nephi 17:36: “Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it." He then said, “As Nephi said about the children possessing it, and I don’t know if this is what the Book of Mormon was referring to, but if they were possessing offense, I think BYU’s great at it.” It was met with a lot of cheers from the BYU crowd who were clearly cheering not just for the football team but for the Book of Mormon itself. And though it was lighthearted—and certainly not the interpretation that Nephi had in mind—I thought it was positive to see the Book of Mormon get some national air time like that. Surely Nephi could have never imagined that...