America is the Land of Zion

At some point, not only will we have the records of the Jaradites, but we will also have the full record of Joseph, which, as the Lord revealed through the prophet Ezekiel, would one day be joined with the record of Judah, as two testaments of Jesus Christ, joined together as one in the hands of the people. That is, when the two nations, the nation of Joseph (both Ephraim and Manesseh), and the nation of Judah (both Judah and Benjamin), become one nation again, their records, and those of the other tribes of Israel, which will also be restored, the records of which also testify of the divinity of Christ, will become one, as well.

This we can plainly understand from the voices of the dust, as we read the following words of Mosiah himself, spoken to his son Helaman, when he passed to him the records of Joseph, which their fathers had brought with them, from the land of Jerusalem, and with which he had been entrusted:

And now, my son Helaman, I command you that ye take the records which have been entrusted with me;
And I also command you that ye keep a record of this people, according as I have done, upon the plates of Nephi, and keep all these things sacred which I have kept, even as I have kept them; for it is for a wise purpose that they are kept.
And these plates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the genealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning—
Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.
And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.
Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.
Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their words brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer.
And who knoweth but what they will be the means of bringing many thousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of our stiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and iniquities, to the knowledge of their Redeemer?
Now these mysteries are not yet fully made known unto me; therefore I shall forbear.
And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God. And he said: if ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land—but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence.
And now remember, my son, that God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he will keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.
And now behold, I tell you by the spirit of prophecy, that if ye transgress the commandments of God, behold, these things which are sacred shall be taken away from you by the power of God, and ye shall be delivered up unto Satan, that he may sift you as chaff before the wind.
But if ye keep the commandments of God, and do with these things which are sacred according to that which the Lord doth command you, (for you must appeal unto the Lord for all things whatsoever ye must do with them) behold, no power of earth or hell can take them from you, for God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.
For he will fulfil all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers.
For he promised unto them that he would preserve these things for a wise purpose in him, that he might show forth his power unto future generations.
And now behold, one purpose hath he fulfilled, even to the restoration of many thousands of the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth; and he hath shown forth his power in them, and he will also still show forth his power in them unto future generations; therefore they shall be preserved.
Therefore I command you, my son Helaman, that ye be diligent in fulfilling all my words, and that ye be diligent in keeping the commandments of God as they are written. (Alma 37:1-20)

That the Lord will bare the arm of his power in bringing to pass this great restoration of the nations of Israel and their records, testifying of Christ, is certain. He will bring to light the knowledge of hidden things by means of seers, things that could not have been known otherwise, things that will confound the wise among men, who, because of their learning, reject the things of God as foolishness.

Indeed, he already has done so, in many wonderful and marvelous ways. As we can clearly see now, in bringing these things to light, Joseph Smith was called as a prophet of God, but even more, he was a seer and revelator, a choice seer and revelator, preordained to come forth in the latter days to commence the great work of Jehovah in gathering his ancient covenant people from the four quarters of the earth. In his own words, known as the Doctrine and Covenants of the Latter-Day Saints (formerly, the Book of Commandments), the Lord, speaking through the prophet Joseph Smith, commands all the world, but especially the Christian world, to listen and understand his message:

Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together.
For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.
And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.
And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days.
And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them.
Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth.
Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord have decreed in them shall be fulfilled.
And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious;
Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure—
Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompence unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.
Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear:
Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;
And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth.
And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;
For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;
And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets—
The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh—
But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;
That faith also might increase in the earth;
That mine everlasting covenant might be established;
That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.
Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.
And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known;
And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed;
And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent;
And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time.
And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon.
And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually—
For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
It is a simple viagra cialis prix fact that every branded medicine has its generic version. Work with a physical therapist or personal trainer to gather a workout routine that is right for you – as an hypertensive, to add insult to injury! Why, then, don’t you viagra pills for sale go for something natural that will give you a better idea of how the medication treats impotence. You can keep the band safely for 20 minutes and remain effective for about 4 buy cheap viagra hours after intake. The pellet can produce a response time of up to ten minutes shorter than the injected mixture. cialis online sales And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.
And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh;
For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgement upon Idumea, or the world.
Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful and the prophecies and promises, which are in them shall all be fulfilled.
What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.
For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. Amen. (D&C 1)

Thus, again we see the Lord bringing to pass a great separation of the righteous from the wicked. He will gather out his people to Zion, as he did before the flood, and, while they shall be safely gathered in, as wheat is gathered into the garners of the husbandman, the wicked, whether Jew or Gentile, will be left as tares in the field, all bundled up and ready to be burned at the return of the Son of Man in power and glory. In that day, the wicked who refuse to repent, shall be destroyed from off the face of the earth by fire, as they were by water in the days of Noah, for they who come shall burn them, saith the Lord.

The secret to survival, as always, is repentance. Men must repent and come unto the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved. To help us understand this in no uncertain terms, the Lord has given the Gentiles the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. By means of this book, containing the voices of those who have slumbered in the dust, speaking directly to us by way of dire warning, we learn that our beloved land of freedom, America the Beautiful, is a land choice above all others and that those who possess it must serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, or be swept off, when they are fully ripe in iniquity.

This is quite a different world-view than the nations of the Gentiles hold today. The United States of America is the most powerful nation on earth. It has been the envy of the world for its economic power and influence. As the leader of the Gentile nations, it possesses the most advanced technology, the most political influence, and the most economic power in the world.

Yet, the most important thing to recognize about this fact is that it is a direct result of the blessings of the God of Israel upon the Gentiles, because of the faith which our forefathers had in him, on account of the witness they had received of him in Europe, contained in the Holy Bible, which witness was the testimony of the Jews to them, confirmed in their hearts by the Holy Spirit of Truth.

Because of this great faith which our fathers had in the God of the land, and because of his judgments upon his people, the former inhabitants of the land, who had rejected him, the Gentile nations of Europe, and later elsewhere, were led to this land, which is choice above all other lands. They were led here by the hand of the Lord, and they were set up here, as a free nation.

The Lord showed the ancients of this land that this would be the case, long before it came to pass. They had been led to America from Jerusalem, led to the American continent, the land of promise, by the hand of the Lord, before Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, around 600 B.C. One of them, named Nephi, the faithful son of his father Lehi, the leader of the group, was shown the ultimate destiny of this choice land, by an angel, sent from the presence of God to instruct him.

According to his record, contained in the Book of Mormon, the journey to America by Columbus, and its subsequent settlement by the Gentile nations, was a deliberate act of mercy by the God of Israel, in bringing about his purposes, which, as we have seen, are to keep his covenant with Enoch that he would call upon the children of Noah, so that he could preserve them, and so that a remnant of them would remain among all nations, so long as the earth should stand.

The great part that America would play in the work of the Lord was not manifest much in the record of the Jews, except in relatively obscure instances. This was because this part of the Lord’s work, his strange work, pertained more to the tribe of Joseph. Therefore, an understanding of it was not had among the Gentiles in Europe and other places, before the discovery of the “New World,” by Columbus. Yet, the Lord showed it in remarkable detail to the descendants of Joseph in America, in order that it might eventually be manifest to the Gentiles, after the fact so-to-speak, in order to test them and to try their faith in the latter days. In his record, Nephi writes:

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.
And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms.
And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.
And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.
And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.
And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.
And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.
And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.
And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.
And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.
And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.
And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.
And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.
And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?
And I said unto him: I know not.
And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.
And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.
Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.  (1 Ne 13:1-27)

As we read these words, it’s as if a great veil were taken from our eyes, as the truth of what really happened, when Christ was crucified, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews were scattered, is laid before our eyes in plainness and simplicity: The precious truth that came from the Jews, such as Peter, James, John and Paul, to the world of the Gentiles, the Romans, the Greeks, the Barbarians, etc, of the Western World, was corrupted by a great and abominable church, which was formed by the devil to torture and murder the saints of God, which it did for more than a thousand years!

When we think of the torture and murder of the early Christians, most people think of the Roman Coliseum, but the Coliseum now lies in ruins. The powers of the Roman Emperors to bind, torture and slay the Christians, for their benighted amusement, has long since crumbled into oblivion. However, the power of the Roman church has only grown in strength, since that day, and is as menacing to the saints of God today, as ever it was in ancient days, but its devilish nature is hidden from view, for now.

What the angel showed Nephi was that, by the power of God, the Gentile saints were able to escape the oppression of the great and abominable church, by the discovery and subsequent settling of America, where they were able to throw off the shackles of the church.

But the angel shows Nephi that part of the reason for this great delivery from the captive clutches of the great and abominable church, was because the wrath of God was upon the descendants of his brothers in this, the promised land, as well as upon the “mother nations” of the Gentiles, who gathered together to battle against the humble Gentile saints of God.

Indeed, Nephi beheld that the Spirit of God was upon those Gentiles, fleeing from the great and abominable church, insomuch that they obtained their freedom, by becoming the “rod,” as it were, in the hands of God, to smite the seed of Nephi’s brethern, mostly sweeping them off their land that the Gentiles might obtain an inheritance in the land of promise for themselves, wherein they have prospered exceedingly, ever since.

But the conditions upon which their liberty is based are strict: As the ancient inhabitants clearly understood, the Gentiles must continue to keep the commandments of the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, in order to continue to prosper in the land, or be swept off the land in turn, when they become fully ripe in iniquity.