The Americas, “the land of promise,” “choice above all other lands,” has been specifically preserved by the Lord for those people he brings (see commentary at 2 Nephi 1:5–6), “for a righteous people.” And if they abandon him after establishing themselves here, and become “ripened in iniquity,” to the “fulness of iniquity,” he will remove them from the land. The Book of Mormon is a witness of that truth: two civilizations, the Jaredite and Nephite, were “swept off” and destroyed when they abandoned their God.
The Book of Mormon is given to the inhabitants of the Americas to lead them to repentance and to help them avoid the calamities that would otherwise come upon them. Serving America’s God, Jesus Christ, precludes the possibility of bondage and captivity.
The Promised Land—All of the Americas
The scriptures and the modern prophets clearly identify all of the Americas as the land of promise and the inheritance of Zion for God’s righteous people:
Alma 46:17: “[Moroni] named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty” (emphasis added).
Joseph Smith: “You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion—where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the Prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When Elders shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it.”8
President Spencer W. Kimball, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, at a meeting held in Guatemala City 16 November 1952 offered a prayer in Spanish to dedicate the lands of Central America for the preaching of the gospel. Following are excerpts from the English translation of the dedicatory prayer.9
“We stand this day on the land of Zion, the promised land made sacred by the works, the movements and the activities of the righteous saints and prophets of earlier times and especially sanctified by the repeated visits of Thy Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ… .
“ … These children of Lehi, … this part of Zion, even to Central America, … [and] the great truths of Thy everlasting Gospel have been established on this land through Thy Son Jesus Christ in person … [and all this happened on] our American Zion… .
“Thy spirit has touched these Central American countries … and [we] ask that the seed of Lehi in these Central American countries and the gentiles among them may see and hear and understand and have the courage and fortitude to accept and live the exalting program of Thy divine gospel … that this great people may be converted and be healed.”
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “The Book of Mormon … contains a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.”10
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “[Joseph] became the birthright son in the house of Israel and received an inheritance in the lands of the Americas. (See Ether 13:8.)”11
Elder Mark E. Petersen: “If the modern nations of the Americas will repent and serve the Lord, great blessings will be theirs, for the prophet has said: ‘… this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ… .’ (Eth. 2:12.)”12
President Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “To the peoples who should inhabit this blessed land of the Americas, the Western Hemisphere, an ancient prophet uttered this significant promise and solemn warning: ‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.’”13
President Spencer W. Kimball: “About twenty-five centuries ago, a hardy group left the comforts of a great city, crossed a desert, braved an ocean, and came to the shores of this, their promised land. There were two large families, those of Lehi and Ishmael, who in not many centuries numbered hundreds of millions of people on these two American continents… . They were given, by the creator of this land, a clear title to the Americas—a certificate of title, free and clear of all encumbrance.”14
President J. Reuben Clark Jr.: “The Constitution of the United States is the basic law for all of the Americas, or Zion, as it has been defined by the Lord.”15
“Clearly, if the people of this land, this whole land of America, all of it, must serve Jesus Christ, ‘the God of the land,’ or be swept off, and this is the very gist of all and every blessing promised for, and every judgment uttered against this land, then God must so provide that men in all the Americas could serve Him.”16
Book of Mormon Reference Companion: “The story of the Jaredite civilization gives perspective to the history and destiny of the Americas as ‘a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof’ (Ether 13:2).”17
Encyclopedia of Mormonism: “Several doctrines taught within the book of Ether are greatly valued among Latter-day Saints, namely, that prosperity in the Promised Land (the Americas) is conditioned on serving ‘the God of the land who is Jesus Christ’ (Ether 2:12).”18 “The Book of Mormon Peoples, including the family of Lehi and the Jaredites, were given a promised land in the hemisphere now called the Americas, on condition of keeping God’s commandments (1 Ne. 2:20; Ether 1:42–43).”19