I remember to have read in the Book of Mormon certain passages that bear upon this thought. We are told in that precious volume of scripture that when the floods receded from this land it became a very choice land unto the Lord, a land that, through this word of the Lord from the Nephite race, receives its most precious descriptive name. At any rate, this was the decree: "After the waters had receded from off the face of this land, it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof."

This is recorded in the Book of Ether, which Moroni translated and added to the compilation made by his father. And further it is said — and this information was first imparted unto the Nephites — as I remember it, Brother Ivins quoted part of it — that all those who should come to this land should be brought of the Lord; that it was a choice land in which should be assembled those whom God would lead, by the inspiration of his Spirit, unto this land. This truth was especially made known unto the Jaredites, and stands as follows — that if they kept not the commandments of God they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them:

"And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise ; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon themi. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity. * * *

"Wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off ; for it is the everlasting decree of God. * * *

"And this cometh" —

And this, by the way, is the comment of Moroni upon this fact which had been brought vividly before him from the Jaredite record. Now, he makes a very wonderful contribution in this comment:

"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."

Now, of course, Moroni, in making this comment, had before him the vivid recollection of the destruction of the Jaredites to the last man, and he had before him also the destruction of the Nephites, with the exception of a few who had fled to the land southward. Hence these lessons, so vividly before him, warranted him in sounding this note of warning unto the great Gentile nation that was to occupy this choice land in the last days, the land choice above all other lands.

"That ye may repent," he continues, "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.

"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."

Then again, there are two great prophecies in the Book of Mormon, and I think after the witness which the Book of Mormon bears to the divinity of the Christ, affirming that he is the Son of God, and after affirming that he is the Savior of the world, and after bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel — then I think that this new American witness for God has its next important item in the fact that it lays down these prophecies concerning the great Gentile nation that should rise and which would scatter the children of Israel upon the face of the land, and yet, afterwards, be touched by the spirit of pity and concern which would lead them to seek the preservation of the inhabitants of the land; that the seed of Joseph, so wonderfully gathered here and developed into a multitude of nations, should not be utterly destroyed, but should be preserved, and that, too, by this great nation that should be such an instrument in scattering them in the earth. The promises of the Lord in respect to these things are very wonderful and make the Book of Mormon one of the most valuable books that has ever been preserved, even as holy scripture.

This is said in regard to the above nation, which constitutes the first prophecy, namely:

"Thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, * * * thou seest that the Lord will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren."

So there was this prediction. Now, of course, perhaps the world will not admit that this was a prophecy uttered some six hundred years before the coming of the Christ upon this land; but it must be inevitably conceded that these words are prophetic, because they were uttered in 1830, when the Book of Mormon was published. At that time, of course, the Gentile nation here under the government of the United States numbered but about thirty millions; and now, behold, the great Gentile nation has become so increased in numbers and in power that there are perhaps nearly a hundred and thirty millions that constitute the citizens of the United States.

As for its power and dominion above all other nations of the earth, it has become somewhat customary to speak of America, but we generally mean the United States of America. Some of the Latin American republics take exception to this assumption of supreme domination in the western world, and demur from such homage being given to the United States. But nevertheless it is a fact which exists, and the dominating political power, the master spirit and dominant power in a political way, is this Anglo-Saxon republic known as the United States of America.

. . .

I see a beautiful unity in these things found in the Book of Mormon and the testimonies to which we have listened during this conference. I think we have the right to lift up the drooping hand, and to speak the word of encouragement to' the people of the United States, and chiefly for this reason, that neither the government of the United States, in its achievements and in its character of great leadership, nor the Church, has yet reached the climax of those things for which they were established. So my faith is that we have a right to expect recovery and renewal of faith with God, and fellowship with him ; for we still bow the knee and still proclaim that Jesus is the Christ, the God of this land and of all the earth. And as long as that is our national attitude, I believe that the light of hope is not obliterated.

I pray God to bless the nation, to bless the Church, and all that pertains to it, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.