=Article 10.=--We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and
in the restoration of the Ten Tribes, etc.
=1. The Gathering Predicted.=--Terrible as was the chastisement
decreed on Israel for their waywardness and sin, amounting, as it did,
to their dissolution as a nation, and to a virtual expulsion from the
sight of the Lord's favor; fearful as has been their denunciation by
Him who delighted to call them His people; through all their
sufferings and deprivations, while wandering as outcasts among alien
nations who have never ceased to treat them with contumely and insult,
when their very name has been made a hiss and a byword in the
earth;--they have ever been sustained by the sure word of Divine
promise, that a day of glorious deliverance and blessed restoration
awaits them. Associated with the curses under which they writhed and
groaned, were assurances of blessings. From the heart of the people,
as from the soul of their mighty king in the day of his deserved
affliction, has poured forth a song of tearful rejoicing:--"Thou wilt
not leave my soul in hell."[977] The sufferings of Israel have been
but necessary chastening by a grieved yet loving Father, who planned
by these effective means to purify His sin-stained children. To them
He has freely told His purpose in thus afflicting them, and in His
punishments they have seen His love, "For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth,"[978] and "Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, O
Lord."[979]
[977] Psa. xvi, 10; Acts ii, 27.
[978] Heb. xii, 6.
[979] Psa. xciv, 12; see also Prov. iii, 12; James i, 12; Rev.
iii, 19.
=2.= Though smitten of men, a large part of them gone from a knowledge
of the world, Israel are not lost unto their Father; He knows whither
they have been led or driven; toward them His heart still yearns with
paternal love; and surely will He bring them forth, in due time and by
appointed means, into a condition of favor and power, befitting His
chosen and covenant people. In spite of their sin, and the
tribulations which they would assuredly bring upon themselves, the
Lord said:--"And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their
enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to
destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the
Lord their God."[980] As complete as was the scattering, so will be
the gathering of Israel.
[980] Levit. xxvi, 44; see also Deut. iv, 27-31.
=3. Bible Prophecies concerning the Gathering.=--We have examined a
few of the biblical predictions concerning the dispersion of Israel;
in all cases the blessing of eventual restoration was associated with
the curse. Among the early prophecies, we hear the Lord declaring that
it shall come to pass that when thou, Israel, "shalt return unto the
Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command
thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with
all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and
have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all
the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of
thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence will
the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: and
the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers
possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and
multiply thee above thy fathers."[981]
[981] Deut. xxx, 2-5.
=4.= Nehemiah pleads in fasting and prayer that the Lord would
remember His promise of restoration if the people would turn unto
righteousness.[982] Isaiah speaks with no uncertain words of the
assured return and re-union of scattered Israel, saying:--"And it
shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again
the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be
left.... And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall
assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of
Judah from the four corners of the earth."[983]
[982] Neh. i, 9.
[983] Isaiah xi, 11-12.
=5.= The restoration is to be complete; there shall be a united
people, no longer two kingdoms, each at enmity with the other; for,
"The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah
shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not
vex Ephraim."[984] With the words of a fond Father, the Lord thus
speaks of His treatment of Israel and brightens their desolation with
promises:--"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great
mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee,
saith the Lord thy Redeemer."[985]
[984] Verse 13; see also Ezek. xxxvii, 21.
[985] Isa. liv, 7-8.
=6.= After giving a terrible recital of the people's sins and the
penalties to follow, Jeremiah thus voices the will and purpose of God,
concerning the subsequent deliverance:--"Therefore, behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth,
that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but,
The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land
of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and
I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their
fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and
they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they
shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of
the holes of the rocks."[986] And again:--"Behold, I will bring them
from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the
earth.... Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in
the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him,
and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed
Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than
he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and
shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord."[987]
[986] Jer. xvi, 12-16.
[987] Jer. xxxi, 7-8, 10-12.
=7.= "Backsliding Israel," "treacherous Judah," are the terms of
reproof with which the Lord addressed His recreant children; then He
commanded the prophet, saying: "Go and proclaim these words toward the
north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I
will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith
the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine
iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and
hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and
ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding
children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take
you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed
you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when
ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the
Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord:
neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither
shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time
they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations
shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem;
neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil
heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of
Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to
the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers."[988]
[988] Jer. iii, 12-18; see also xxiii, 8; xxv, 34; xxx, 3; xxxii,
37.
=8.= To Ezekiel the Lord also declared the plan of Israel's
restoration:--"Thus saith the Lord God; behold, I will take the
children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and
will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of
Israel: and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no
more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any
more at all."[989]
[989] Ezek. xxxvii, 21-22; see also xi, 17; xx, 34-42; xxviii, 25;
xxxiv, 11, 31.
=9.= That the re-establishment is to be a permanent one is evident
from the revelation given through Amos, wherein we read that the Lord
said:--"And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel,
and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they
shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also
make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon
their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land
which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God."[990]
[990] Amos ix, 14-15.
=10.= As a fitting close to our selection of biblical prophecies, let
the words of Jesus of Nazareth be read, spoken while He lived among
men: "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other."[991]
[991] Matt. xxiv, 31.
=11. Book of Mormon Prophecies.=--The gathering of Israel claimed the
attention of many prophets whose teachings are recorded in the Book of
Mormon, and not a little direct revelation concerning the subject is
preserved within the pages of that volume. We have noted Lehi's
discourse in the valley of Lemuel, in which that patriarch-prophet
compared the house of Israel to an olive tree, the branches of which
were to be broken off and scattered; now may we add his prediction
regarding the subsequent grafting-in of the branches. He taught that,
"after the house of Israel shall be scattered, they should be gathered
together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the
fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree, or the
remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to a
knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer."[992]
[992] I Nephi x, 14; see also Jacob v.
=12.= Nephi, quoting the words of the prophet Zenos,[993] emphasizes
the declaration that, when purified by suffering, Israel shall come
again into the favor of the Lord, and then shall they be gathered from
the four quarters of the earth, and the isles of the sea shall be
remembered.[994] Jacob, the brother of Nephi, testified to the truth
of the prophecies of Zenos, and indicated the time of the gathering as
a characteristic sign of the last days. Consider his words:--"And in
the day that he shall set his hand again the second time, to recover
his people, is the day, yea, even the last time that the servants of
the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his
vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh."[995]
[993] See Note 3, p. 340.
[994] I Nephi xix, 16; see also I Nephi xxii, 11, 12, 25; II Nephi
vi, 8-11.
[995] Jacob vi, 2.
=13.= Among the most comprehensive predictions regarding the
restoration of the Jews is the following utterance of Nephi:--"Wherefore,
the Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea, and also Babylon
shall be destroyed; wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered by other
nations; and after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath
scourged them by other nations, for the space of many generations,
yea, even down from generation to generation, until they shall be
persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement,
which is infinite for all mankind; and when that day shall come, that
they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with
pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another
Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs to
be expedient that they should believe these things, and the Lord will
set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their
lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous
work and a wonder among the children of men."[996]
[996] II Nephi xxv, 15-17.
=14.= Nephi, commenting on the words of Isaiah regarding the
sufferings and subsequent triumph of the people of Israel, states the
condition upon which their gathering is predicated, and says of
God:--"That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy
prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation,
until the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church
and fold of God; when they shall be gathered home to the lands of
their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of
promise."[997]
[997] II Nephi ix, 2; see also I Nephi xv, 19; xix, 13-16; II
Nephi xxv, 16, 17, 20; III Nephi v, 21-26; xxi, 26-29; xxix, 1-8;
Mormon v, 14.
=15.= It is evident from these and many other passages that the time
of the Jews' return is to be determined by their acceptance of Christ
as their Lord. When that time comes, they are to be gathered to the
land of their fathers; and in the work of gathering, the Gentiles are
destined to take a great and honorable part, as witness the further
words of Nephi:--"But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day
cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I
covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the
flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance. And it
shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long
dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the
earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of
me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the land of their
inheritance. Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers
unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore,
the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath
spoken it, and who can dispute?"[998]
[998] II Nephi x, 7-9; xxx, 7; see also Isaiah xlix, 23; III Nephi
v, 26; xx, 29.
=16.= The assistance which the Gentiles are to give in the preparation
of the Jews, and of the remnant of the house of Israel established on
the western continent, is affirmed by several Book of Mormon prophets;
and, moreover, the blessings which the Gentiles may thus bring upon
themselves are described in detail.[999] A single quotation must
suffice for our present purpose; and this the declaration of the risen
Lord, during His brief ministration among the Nephites:--"But if they
[the Gentiles] will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not
their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall
come in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of
Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance, and
they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also, as many
of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city,
which shall be called the New Jerusalem; and then shall they assist my
people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the
face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power
of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst; and
then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this
gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I
say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among
all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes which have been
lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. Yea, the work
shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father,
to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call
on the Father in my name; yea, and then shall the work commence, with
the Father, among all nations, in preparing the way whereby his people
may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance."[1000]
[999] III Nephi xxi, 21-27; Ether xiii, 8-10.
[1000] III Nephi xxi, 22-28.
=17. Modern Revelation Concerning the Gathering.=--We have found
abundant proof of the severely literal fulfilment of prophecies
relating to Israel's dispersion. The predictions relative to the
gathering have been but partly fulfilled; for, while the work of
concentration has been well begun, and is now in active progress, the
consummation of the labor is yet future. It is reasonable, then, to
look for revelation and prophecy concerning the subject, in modern
scripture as well as in the inspired writings of former times.
Speaking to the elders of the Church in this dispensation, the Lord
declares His purpose to gather His people "even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings,"[1001] and adds: "And ye are called to
bring to pass the gathering of mine elect, for mine elect hear my
voice, and harden not their hearts; wherefore the decree hath gone
forth from the Father, that they shall be gathered in unto one place
upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in
all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent
forth upon the wicked."[1002]
[1001] Revelation given 1830, Doc. and Cov. xxix, 2; see also x,
65; xliii, 24.
[1002] Doc. and Cov. xxix, 7-8; see also xxxi, 8; xxxiii, 6;
xxxviii, 31; cxxxiii, 7; xlv, 25; lxxvii, 14; lxxxiv, 2.
=18.= Hear further the word of the Lord unto the people of His Church
in the present day, not only predicting the gathering of the Saints to
Zion, but announcing that the hour for the gathering has
come:--"Wherefore, prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify
yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my Church.... Yea,
verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the
Lord is unto you, go ye out of Babylon, gather ye out from among the
nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other."[1003]
[1003] Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 4, 7.
=19. Extent and Purpose of the Gathering.=--Some of the prophecies
already cited have special reference to the restoration of the Ten
Tribes; others relate to the return of the people of Judah to the land
of their inheritance; yet others refer to the re-establishment of
Israel in general, without mention of tribal or other divisions; while
many passages in the revelations of the present dispensation deal with
the gathering of the Saints who have numbered themselves with the
Church of Christ as re-established. It is evident that the plan of
gathering comprises:--