land The sustaining foundation of this story, and all of life. The Book of Mormon people were promised a sacred land on which to live the ways of their God. This land was set apart after the flood (ebb and flow) of Noah. It was then offered to the Jaredites, who fell into iniquity, then to the Nephites and Lamanites, who fell into darkness, and finally to (white) Christian Americans via Christopher Columbus and the founding fathers of the U.S.. Today, the LDS believe that they live in a "promised land," on which they have a sacred responsibility to prepare this land for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the subsequent destruction/cleansing of this land.
