1 Nephi 17:13-14 -- On The Promised Land

"And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.
Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem."
1 Nephi 17:13-14


This is interesting for many reasons... the progression of the promised land *being* Jerusalem (or at least part of it, when the Israelites were led out of Egypt), and then Lehi and his whole group being led from there to somewhere else, and that new place being the promised land. Perhaps Egypt was the promised land temporarily too, as Joseph was placed there so that he could save his people from famine. Perhaps all lands are promised lands at one time or another... or perhaps we all have different places in our lives that are promised in the sense that it is clearly where we need to be, and we have a work to do there.

That's another thing that is interesting... the whole idea of promised land not as just a destination, but as a stepping stone to another thing.  The whole "After ye have arrived" thing reminds us that arriving isn't the end, and just the whole situation emphasizes that too.  They get to this land and there aren't cities to take over... there is just wilderness.  So it was a promised land, but also a huge challenge.  And I think that is what promised lands are supposed to be.  Being led there is totally right, but it isn't an intro to a life of perfect ease ... it's an invitation to meaningful work.  God intends to deliver us not just from the destruction of the body, but from the mind-numbing destruction of purposeless existence.

Today, let's not "stop beyond the sea in the wilderness" but "come forth even unto the land of promise" (Ether 2:7).  Let's find the place that God has prepared for us, and let's engage in the meaningful work that we can accomplish.  ... And if we don't know what the place or the work is yet, well... that's exactly what prayer is for.  Let's talk to God and get on the same page with him about where we should go and what we should do--allowing him to be the light in the wilderness to lead us to the promised land... and then, after we arrive, let's stick with him and do our good work. :)