3. Assembling in the land of Zion of the people of Israel from the
nations of the earth.
=20.= The sequence of these subdivisions as here presented, is that of
convenience only, and has no significance as to the order in which the
work is to be done. The division last named constitutes the present
great work of the Church, though the labor of assisting in the
restoration of the Lost Tribes is included. We are informed by
revelation, given in the Kirtland Temple, that the appointment to and
the authority for this work were solemnly committed to the Church. And
through whom should such authority be expected to come? Surely through
him who had received it by Divine commission in a former dispensation
of united Israel. Moses, who was the chief representative of Israel's
God when the Lord set His hand the first time to lead His people to
the land of their appointed inheritance, has come in person and has
committed to the latter-day Church the authority to minister in the
work now that the Lord has "set his hand the second time" to recover
His people.
=21.= Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, each of whom had been duly
ordained to the apostleship, testify of the manifestations made to
them, in these words:--"The heavens were again opened unto us, and
Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the
gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading
of the ten tribes from the land of the north."[1004] The importance of
the work thus required of the Church was emphasized by a later
revelation, in which the Lord gave this command:--"Send forth the
elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the
islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all
nations; firstly upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews. And
behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord
unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion.... Let them,
therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion. And let them who
be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountain of the Lord's
house. Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the
midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon."[1005]
[1004] Doc. and Cov. cx, 11.
[1005] Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 8-9, 12-14.
=22.= The last sentence of the foregoing quotation expresses the
purpose for which this work of gathering the Saints from the nations
of the earth has been ordained. The Lord would have His people
separate themselves from the sins of the world, and depart from
spiritual Babylon, that they may learn the ways of God and serve Him
the more fully. John the Revelator, while in exile on Patmos, saw in
vision the fate of the sinful world. An angel came down from heaven,
"and he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful
bird.... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and
God hath remembered her iniquities."[1006]
[1006] Rev. xviii, 2, 4-5.
=23.= The faith of the Saints teaches that in the day of the Lord's
righteous fury, safety will be found in Zion. The importance which the
Latter-day Saints associate with the work of gathering, and the
fidelity with which they seek to discharge the duty enjoined upon them
by Divine authority in the matter of warning the world of the
impending dangers, as described in the Revelator's vision, are
sufficiently demonstrated by the great extent of the missionary labor
as at present prosecuted by this people.[1007]
[1007] See Note 1.
=24. Israel a Chosen People.=--It is evident that the Lord has
conferred the choicest of blessings upon His people Israel.[1008] With
Abraham, the patriarch of the nation, God entered into a covenant and
said:--"I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless
them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee
shall all families of the earth be blessed."[1009] This was to be an
everlasting covenant.[1010] It was confirmed upon Isaac,[1011] and in
turn upon Jacob who was called Israel.[1012] The promises regarding
the multitudinous posterity, among whom were to be counted many of
royal rank, have been literally fulfilled. No less certain is the
realization of the second part of the prediction, that in and through
Abraham's descendants should all nations of the earth be blessed. For,
by a world-wide dispersion, the children of Israel have been mingled
with the nations; and the blood of the chosen seed has been sprinkled
among the peoples.[1013] And now, in this the day of gathering, when
the Lord is again bringing His people together to honor and bless them
above all that the world can give, every nation with the blood of
Israel in the veins of its members will partake of the blessings.
[1008] See Note 2.
[1009] Gen. xii, 1-2; see also Gal. iii, 14, 16.
[1010] Gen. xvii, 6-8.
[1011] Gen. xxvi, 3-4.
[1012] Gen. xxxv, 11-12.
[1013] See Note 3.
=25.= But there is another and a more striking proof of blessings
flowing to all nations through the house of Israel. Was not the
Redeemer born in the flesh through the lineage of Abraham? Surely the
blessings of that Divine birth are extended, not only to the nations
and families of the earth collectively, but to every individual in
mortality.
=26. Restoration of the Ten Tribes.=--From the scriptural passages
already considered, it is plain that, while many of those belonging to
the Ten Tribes were dispersed among the nations, a sufficient number
to justify the retention of the original name were led away as a body,
and are now in existence in some place where the Lord has hidden
them. To them Christ went to minister after His visit to the Nephites,
as before stated.[1014] Their return constitutes a very important part
of the gathering, characteristic of the dispensation of the fullness
of times.
[1014] Pp. 338-339.
=27.= To the scriptures already quoted as relating to their return,
the following should be added: As a feature of the work of God in the
day of restoration we are told:--"And they who are in the north
countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their
prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves,
and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their
presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great
deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them. And in the barren
deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched
ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth
their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants. And the
boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.
And there shall they fall down, and be crowned with glory, even in
Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of
Ephraim; and they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy.
Behold this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of
Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his
fellows."[1015]
[1015] Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 26-34.
=28.= From the express and repeated declaration, that in their exodus
from the north the Ten Tribes are to be led to Zion, there to receive
honor at the hands of some of the children of Ephraim, who necessarily
are to have previously gathered there, it is plain that Zion is to be
first established. The establishment of Zion will receive attention in
the next lecture.