Remember How Great Things the Lord Has Done
Posted by david on December 16th, 2006
The Lord has done great things for our fathers in delivering them from afflictions and bondage. This Christmas season, let’s follow the counsel of Moroni to remember the tender mercies of Jesus Christ and to ponder them (Moroni 10:3), for he can deliver us too.
In the following scripture references, note the language used to describe the mercies shown the children of men. I’ve highlighted that language in bold and underlined the words indicating how Jesus Christ our Savior has shown his people great mercy.
Book of Mormon Title Page
Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.
2 Nephi 1:1-3
1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of teaching my brethren, our father, Lehi, also spake many things unto them, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.
2 And he spake unto them concerning their rebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea.
3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which they had obtained—how merciful the Lord had been in warning us that we should flee out of the land of Jerusalem.
2 Nephi 9:53
53 And behold how great the covenants of the Lord, and how great his condescensions unto the children of men; and because of his greatness, and his grace and mercy, he has promised unto us that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would preserve them; and in future generations they shall become a righteous branch unto the house of Israel.
Mosiah 27:16
16 Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them. And now I say unto thee, Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off.
Alma 62:50
50 Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.
Ether 6:12, 30
12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.
30 And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.
Moroni 10:3
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
Mark 5:1-20
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
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6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
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8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
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18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.





It is so hard for us to contemplate in our own lives all that the Lord has done. We can look in the Scriptures and see almost as an after thought all the miracles, wonders, and blessings given to His children. Then we wonder how Israel and the Nephites can so easily forget and become wicked.
At the same time, there are so many of those same kinds of things that are possible in our daily lives. It is like the Lord is saying “if you can see what I have done before, why can’t you have the faith today?” I am afraid that only a handful of us really have the faith of a mustard seed needed to move mountains. Perhaps its because our memories are so short and our problems seem large. On top of that, we live in an age where doubt and wickedness are considered honorable. If you can’t sense it in the here and now then it doesn’t exist. That is completely opposite of the Lord’s admonition to have faith and look beyond this world to something greater. And that takes remembering the great things the Lord has done in the past and believing it can happen to us.
How can we build the kind of faith necessary for the Lord to do great things in our own lives?
Comment # 1 left by Jettboy on December 16th, 2006
I can’t even fathom the number of times we’re told to “remember” in the scriptures. Indeed, if we would humble ourselves and ponder all these miracles God has done, there is no way we would rebel and disobey God. Clearly we would be convinced that following Him leads to security and prosperity. But we forget, don’t pay attention, and disregard such things quite often. Hence the constant call to remember.
Comment # 2 left by Connor Boyack on December 16th, 2006
When Pres. Hinckley invited us to read the Book of Mormon last year, I decided to look for a few themes. One of them was the Lord’s deliverance and tender mercies. I found these kinds of things all throughout the book! It was an awesome experience, and a great reminder of great things the Lord has done and can do!
Comment # 3 left by Michelle on December 16th, 2006
This is a very nice review. Thanks for the reminder.
Comment # 4 left by Eric Nielson on December 16th, 2006
If we take the time to be aware of the blessings (which are almost infinite) in the scriptures and in our own lives, then we cannot help but be humbled and made grateful.
Comment # 5 left by Naiah Earhart on December 21st, 2006