Lessons for Our Day From the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ - 2024
Lesson No. Thirty-Four

A Choice, Chose, an Covenant Land - Ether 2

The United States is a choice land in many ways: It is choice geographically, among many other things, because:

- Waterway network: “The Americans benefit from a geographic feature that exists in few other places on the planet, and nowhere else in such useful arrangements: barrier islands…The American barrier island chain turns three thousand miles of exposed coastland into dozens of connected, shielded bays…The most compelling feature of the American maritime system…is that the Mississippi River is a network of six major navigable tributaries, most of which have several of their own…The United States has 17,600 miles of internal waterways…and is a greater length of internal waterway than the rest of the world combined” (Philip Zeihan, The Accidental Super Power, p. 46-47).

- “The majority of the lower 48 states is within the temperate climate zone – warm enough for people to live and crops to grow, cool enough to limit the populations of deadly, disease carrying insects” (Ibid, p. 50).

- Quality of the land: “The greater Midwest is absolutely massive: With 139 million hectares under till, it is the largest contiguous stretch of high quality farmland in the world” most all of which “can be reached easily, with some 90 percent of it within 150 miles of some sort of navigable waterway” (Ibid, p. 50).

- Protecting core: “The United States…is one of the most physically secure regions on the planet” (Ibid, p. 52). The reason is that it is protected by two oceans on the East and West.

The United States is a choice land because it was founded and established by God:

- Nephi saw in vision that Columbus was guided by “the Spirit of God”, and that “it wrought upon [the Pilgrims and other early settlers]; and they went forth out of captivity….and they did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them… and they were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations… [He]beheld that they did prosper in the land” (1 Nephi 13:12-19).

- To protect our agency, the Lord “established the Constitution of [the United States] by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose” (DC 101:77-80).

First and foremost, the United States is a choice, chosen and covenant land because of the Father’s covenant regarding this land:

- Jesus taught, it was “wisdom in the Father that [the latter day Gentiles] should be established in [the United States], and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that [The Book of Mormon] might come forth….that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel” (3 Nephi 21:4, emphasis added).

- Moroni also spoke of God’s covenant concerning this land, that it is “a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth” – This phrase, or one very close to it, is used four times in Ether 2. (See Vs 7, 10, 12, 15) It is used an additional 8 times in the rest of the Book of Mormon (See 1 Nephi 2:20; 13:30; 2 Nephi 1:5; 10:19; Jacob 5:43; Ether 1:38, 42; 13:2). Each of these 12 references to a choice land in the Book of Mormon refers to a land of promise which the Lord has prepared for His people who He has made covenants with, and in many cases it refers specifically to the United States.

The terms of the God’s covenant: “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…” (Ether 2:12, also vs 8, 9, 10).

The consequences of breaking the covenant: “And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them” (Vs 8, see also 9, 10, 12).

The people of the latter days are warned: “And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done” (Vs 11).

Most people in the United States believe in Jesus Christ, and many desire to serve Him: “Polls indicate that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in a higher power, engage in spiritual practices and consider themselves religious or spiritual….At 67% Christianity is the most widely professed religion, and the United States has the largest Christian population in the world….(Wikipedia, Religion in the United States).

In general the trend of religious participation in the United States is down: “Social scientists have noted that beginning in the early 1990s, the percentage of Americans professing no religious affiliation began to rise from 6% in 1991 to 29% in 2021 — with younger people having higher rates of unaffiliation. Similarly, polling indicated a decline in church attendance, and the number of people agreeing with the statement that religion is "very important" in their lives” (Ibid).

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints religious participation is growing rapidly. In the last 6 years, while President Russell M. Nelson has been our prophet, the growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, particularly with regard to temples and temple worship, has been miraculous. At the end of 2024 there are 367 temples announced, in planning, under construction, or operating worldwide. More than one-half, 208, of those are in the United States.

The Church of Jesus Christ is now few in numbers compared to the world, but “the saints of God, [are] also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth [are] small…And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory” (1 Nephi 14:12, 14). This refers to temple covenant members.

Testimony – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the authorized administrator of the Gospel of Jesus Christ worldwide. This Church is headquartered in the United States. Its leaders travel the world on the passports and under the protection of the United States. The Lord’s Restored Church will get stronger and stronger, and it can be compared with the leaven the Savior spoke of that will leaven the United States and lift the whole world. (See Luke 13:21)

Released on November 17th. 2024.