Descendants of father Lehi will be afflicted in future centuries by the “Gentiles,” though the Lord will “soften the hearts of the Gentiles” that they will treat these remnants of Israel with fatherly kindness, and “the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel.”
The Lord has consecrated these lands of Zion for the inheritance of those he brings to them (see commentary at 2 Nephi 1:5–6 and 7–11). Western Zion is “a choice land … above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me.” That is a specific stipulation for those who live in the Americas: the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ, wants worship (adoration, reverence, devotion) centered on him—which is the only way his people can become like him and merit his kind of life, celestial and eternal life.