“There Shall None Come into This Land Save They Shall Be Brought by the Hand of the Lord”

D. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner

The Lord covenanted to give Lehi’s posterity an everlasting possession of land in what we call the Americas, along with “all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.” That same Lord comments on the immigration of groups of people to this land of the Americas, “There shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.” America is for all the good and righteous people of the world. President Anthony W. Ivins of the First Presidency taught in 1932 that the Lord “brought the faith of the devoted Puritans of New England; he brought the patriotism of the Dutch at New York; he brought the gallantry of the cavaliers of Virginia; the light-hearted energy of the French of New Orleans. Just the kind of composite body of men to establish a government that could not be dominated by any particular race or tongue, but made composite, that all men might be welcomed to it, live under and enjoy its privileges.” 1

The God of this land, who is Jesus Christ, describes this land as “choice above all other lands” (v. 5; see also Ether 1:42; 2:10, 12), and the covenant includes divine title to the land, plus security in the land, based on the inhabitants’ obedience. See “The Promised Land—All of the Americas,” accompanying the commentary at Ether 2:7–12.

Verse by Verse: The Book of Mormon: Vol. 1

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