The Lord said, “I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth” and raise up “a great nation” and “there shall be none greater.” President Joseph Fielding Smith clarified that all of North, Central, and South America constitutes a “choice land”:
“The Book of Mormon informs us that the whole of America, both North and South, is a choice land above all other lands, in other words—Zion. The Lord told the Jaredites that he would lead them to a land ‘which is choice above all the lands of the earth.’”5 See also Joseph Smith’s statement quoted in the commentary at 2 Nephi 12:3.
Notice that one of the reasons the brother of Jared was promised this blessing from the Lord was because he had prayed fervently for a “long time.”
The Lord’s statement “I will go before thee” provides a paradigm for all disciples of every age. This same promise was repeated in this dispensation: “For I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88). Every missionary in our day, for example, is sent forth with this promise.