THE PROMISED LAND —–   AMERICA

            The first ever record we have of anyone coming to America was in the days of the Tower of  Babel, of which the account can be found in Genesis Chp. 11 in the  KJV version of the Bible.

It was during that time that because of the wickedness of the people, God confounded the languages and people were scattered throughout the earth, speaking different languages.  There were so many wicked, corrupt people on the earth, that it was necessary for God to do what he did.  There was one group of people however, that were more righteous than the others so God directed them to come to America.  Their language was not confounded. They were to become known as the Jaradites.

This account is found in the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon.  The reason that the Book of Mormon is so important, not only to Mormon readers, but to the rest of the world, is because in it are writings from the ancients that came here in the beginning.  The metal plates containing their record were found by the people of King Limhi on an ancient battlefield.  They were in possession of these records until other peoples from their tribe visited King Limhi and he told them of the plates they had found and ask if they knew of anyone who could translate them.  They told  him that King Mosiah would be able to, so they were given to those people who took them back to King Mosiah.  He did translate them and it is known as the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon.

Basically what happened was that the Lord directed this group of people to the shores of the  ocean and these are some of the instructions that they were given by the Lord;

Ether 2:7-12  And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.  And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that who 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.  And now, we can behold the decrees of God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of  his wrath shall come upon them.  And the fulness of his wrath cometh up upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.  For behold, this is a land which is choice above all  other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.  And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.  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 thither to done.  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, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

They were instructed on how to build eight barges.  They were to be like a dish, with openings on the top and on the bottom.  They were to be entirely enclosed and the openings were to let in fresh air.  They were built such that the waves could pound them, but barges could withstand their fury.  A person known  only as the brother of Jared, knew they would need light.  He prayed diligently for help in know how they should light the barges.  Then he goes up on a mountain and forges out sixteen stones and takes them to a place where he laid them out and cried out in great anguish for the Lord to touch them to make them light up. This is what happened:

Ether 3:6-14  And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched for this hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger.  And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.  And the Lord saw that the brother  of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him, Arise, why hast thou fallen?:  And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.  And the Lord said unto him; Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger.  Sawest thou more than this?  And he answered: Nay Lord, show thyself unto me.  And the Lord said unto him:  Believest thou the words which I shall speak?  And he answered:  Yea,Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a Good of truth, and canst not lie.  And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself to him, and said:  Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye area brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.  Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people.  Behold, I am Jesus Christ.  I am the Father and the Son.  In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.

            So after  this happened, the brother of Jared went back with the stones and they proceeded on their journey and the Lord brought them to this, the promised land of America.  We do have their records and also those of the later peoples, the Nephites and Lamanites who also came and of whom the American Indians are a remnant.  So what the Lord said way back in those early, early days is still in force and we are reaching a very dangerous time, more so than ever before in the history of this country. We are more threatened by the wicked than we have ever been at this very time.  It’s time to do all we can to turn to the Lord and repent and follow Him.  He is a  God of love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, self control and so many other things.  We owe it to ourselves and our families to pull our heads out and do all we can to do the will of the Lord.

Thanks to Reader’s Magnet and Author’s Lounge for giving me opportunity to express my feelings.