He Inviteth All to Come Unto Him

Yesterday Elder Stevenson spoke at an event celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. with the NAACP and quoted this verse of the Book of Mormon: “He inviteth … all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; … and all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33).  In connection with this passage he also suggested that statements about black skin being “a sign of a curse” in the Book of Mormon are false.  The reason for this was a recent publication which stated so much but which was promptly rescinded by the church and for good reason: the Book of Mormon never says that.  It says rather that “a mark of dark skin came upon the Lamanites after the Nephites separated from them.” The current Come, Follow Me manual comments, “The nature and appearance of this mark are not fully understood. The mark initially distinguished the Lamanites from the Nephites. Later, as both the Nephites and Lamanites each went through periods of wickedness and righteousness, the mark became irrelevant as an indicator of the Lamanites’ standing before God. Prophets affirm in our day that dark skin is not a sign of divine disfavor or cursing. The Church embraces Nephi’s teaching that the Lord ‘denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female.’”  While we don’t fully understand why such a mark was placed on the Lamanites, it doesn’t really matter to us; what is clear from the Book of Mormon over and over again is that all of God’s children are precious in His sight and are invited equally to come unto Christ. 

               Here are a handful of those passages which speak to the equity of God’s love for his children.  In the very first chapter of the Book of Mormon, Lehi saw in vision the Lord on His throne and declared, “Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!” (1 Nephi 1:14)  His mercy is over all the inhabitants of the earth no matter who they are, and if we come unto the Lord we will be saved.  We see this for example in the story of the conversion of the Lamanites by Ammon and his brethren.  After recounting part of this story Mormon commented, “Thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name” (Alma 19:36).  All people are invited to repent and believe on the Savior and can receive of His grace and forgiveness like these once rebellious Lamanites.  Alma taught the same thing as he invited the Nephites in these words: “Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you” (Alma 5:33).  The Savior confirmed this when He told the Nephites, “Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me” (3 Nephi 9:14).  The promise is that “whosoever will come” will be received by the Savior—there is no restriction based on anything other than a true desire to come unto Him. 

Nephi emphasized this principle of inclusivity in a powerful way in some of his final words in the Book of Mormon.  He declared, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation. Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price…. Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance. Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden” (2 Nephi 26:24-28).  Those words are a powerful testimony of the Lord’s love for all of His children, no matter their race or background, their education or wealth, their gender or nationality.  The key is in repentance and righteousness; that is how we come unto Him and whosoever will come may come unto Him.  Nephi’s final invitation represents that of the Book of Mormon as a whole and is to all humanity: “And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ.”