Some have erred by supposing that statements made by Book of Mormon prophets, in which they applied the prophecies of old World prophets to their own people, applied only to the descendants of Book of Mormon people or the Lamanites. This has led them to greatly exaggerate the role the Lamanites will play in the events of the last days. Faithful Lamanites will play a role equal in importance to that of all the faithful descendants of Abraham. Their destiny is to become as one with the other tribes of Israel with whom the covenants and promises of the fathers were made.
“Which Were Written Unto All the House of Israel”
An essential principle in interpreting Book of Mormon prophecy will be announced here and repeated again in the commentary on 3 Nephi because of its importance. A misunderstanding of scripture results when a prophecy made to all the house of Israel and then applied to the descendants of Lehi by Book of Mormon prophets is assumed to find its fulfillment only in the activities of the descendants of Lehi. For example, suppose that the bishop of the Far Distant Ward, so named because of its location, attended the general conference of the Church so that he could take the instruction of the Brethren back to his ward. Suppose also that among the subjects discussed at the conference was the matter of temple work and the importance of doing ordinance work for the dead, the message of the conference being that neither the Saints nor their ancestors can be saved if that work is not done. Now, when Bishop Nephi of the Far Distant Ward reported on the message of conference to his people, he would say in effect, “The members of this ward must do ordinance work for the dead, for unless we do that work, neither we nor our dead can be saved.”