2 Nephi 10:20, 23--The Lord; Also, You Are Free To Choose

20. And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.
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23. Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.

This is the last part of Jacob's sermon that Nephi includes before quoting extensively from Isaiah. Here Jacob speaks to the people about the promises of the Lord to them. He reminds them that they are a branch of the house of Israel. He prophesies of the Savior's crucifixion by the Jews and says their iniquities will bring upon them destruction, but that in the day they choose to believe in Christ and follow him, they will be restored to the land of their inheritance. To fulfill his covenant, the Lord needs to destroy the works of darkness before he can restore to the house of Israel the promises he has made.

The Nephites are a branch of the house of Israel, and the Lord's promises apply to them as well. Their seed will be afflicted by the Gentiles, but in the end they will receive this land as their inheritance. It's important that they remember this, that they see the big picture and recognize what the Lord is doing. Remembering the Lord will ensure that they receive the land of their inheritance rather than the hand of destruction.

How does remembering the Lord help us lay aside our sins and keep our heads from hanging down? Verse 20 uses remembering the Lord in the context of feeling cast off, forgotten, isolated, driven from what you thought was your inheritance. The Nephites have been driven not just from Jerusalem, but also from their first settlement in the Americas. Then they have just heard prophecies about the destruction and scattering of the house of Israel. They may very well feel cast off and forgotten, like the promises will never be fulfilled to them.

I think we all have moments when we feel this way. In these times it's easy to hang our heads, get depressed, and not care if we sin a little here and there. In fact, we might even search out a little sin as we try to satisfy the flesh with immediate gratification in an effort to feel something besides sadness, hopelessness, or just plain numb. But if we will remember the Lord, we will gain strength to lift our heads and look forward to the better land to which he is leading us. We will be cheerful and confident and gladly put our sins aside because we no longer desire them or their effects. We need to always remember that he keeps his promises.

Verse 23 tells us to remember that we are free to act for ourselves, to choose life or death. No matter how strong a temptation, we can overcome it through Christ. Because of the atonement, we can choose. It is always our choice.