Mercy

I have started the Book of Mormon again. One of the main themes of the Book of Mormon is mercy. The Lord is merciful unto those that he has chosen. Those that are chosen have done specific things to become highly favored of the Lord. It wasn't a random selection by the Lord. Lehi actually showed his faith by doing something that took a lot of courage: obey the Lord's command and walk out on a street corner and start preaching. The last verse of 1 Nephi 1 says,

20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away....

These were very dangerous times. The Jews didn't want to hear what a prophet had to say. Lehi put his life in the Lord's hands. Would I be able to do that?

...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, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

Nephi states at the beginning of his book, that he wants to show the reader that this isn't a random God who just lets wickedness take its course and does nothing to protect his people. He is an active God that delivers those that put their trust in him and show by their actions that they mean it. God is merciful to those that he has chosen even if it requires that he makes the person mighty so he can be delivered from seemingly insurmountable odds.