The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, begins with a son's abridgment of his father's writings and teachings. The first chapter provides some background information and context clues for the subsequent abridgment and narration, and concludes with a powerful testimony. That testimony is that God's tender love and merciful ways are abundant in the lives of all who have faith in Him. The actual wording of the verse of scripture is as follows:
"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith..." (1 Nephi 1:20).
"Because of their faith," all children of God can be "chosen." However, it is up to each individual son or daughter of God to actively build a relationship with Him and develop faith in Him. In the New Testament, Christ taught his disciples that it's the quality - not the quantity - of faith that matters, because faith like unto a mustard seed would be sufficient to move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Therefore, we can conclude that any amount of faith is sufficient to be included among "those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith." We are His children and He loves us. He wants to bless us; and in fact, He does bless us. The windows of heaven are open and the Lord's tender mercies truly do fill our lives. Whether or not we recognize it, and whether or not we're grateful, depends upon our faith in Him.
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