"For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contendeth with thee"
2 Nephi 6:16-17
I was thinking of this first sentence and what it is asking, and I imagine that the question is being asked because these are cases where no mere human can do anything. When the captivity is legal or the person being persecuted or picked on is up against someone too powerful to oppose. And God is saying, yes, I will save my people even from legal and powerful captivity, because I'm here to save everyone who believes on me, no exceptions.
I think that part of this at least requires a necessary mental shift when we are thinking about God. Sometimes we worry about conflicts between God's laws and man's laws. Normally, they don't come into conflict, because God tells us specifically to obey the law of the land. However, just as Nephi was prompted to do something very much not legal for God's purposes, so God himself is above the law. This of course doesn't mean that we should break the law willy-nilly, or start praying for God to let us rob a bank, or anything else that is illegal, but it does set some mental priorities. God comes first, even before power and legality. And what is interesting about that is that those are things that we have learned to respect in this life... how much more should we respect God?
Today, let's have faith that God will save us even from things that seem impossible to escape. The more we turn to him, the more he will help and deliver us (D&C 88:63). Let's look to him no matter the situation or the other considerations. He is always the most important factor.
But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contendeth with thee"
2 Nephi 6:16-17
I was thinking of this first sentence and what it is asking, and I imagine that the question is being asked because these are cases where no mere human can do anything. When the captivity is legal or the person being persecuted or picked on is up against someone too powerful to oppose. And God is saying, yes, I will save my people even from legal and powerful captivity, because I'm here to save everyone who believes on me, no exceptions.
I think that part of this at least requires a necessary mental shift when we are thinking about God. Sometimes we worry about conflicts between God's laws and man's laws. Normally, they don't come into conflict, because God tells us specifically to obey the law of the land. However, just as Nephi was prompted to do something very much not legal for God's purposes, so God himself is above the law. This of course doesn't mean that we should break the law willy-nilly, or start praying for God to let us rob a bank, or anything else that is illegal, but it does set some mental priorities. God comes first, even before power and legality. And what is interesting about that is that those are things that we have learned to respect in this life... how much more should we respect God?
Today, let's have faith that God will save us even from things that seem impossible to escape. The more we turn to him, the more he will help and deliver us (D&C 88:63). Let's look to him no matter the situation or the other considerations. He is always the most important factor.
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