Chapter 21
Israel will be
gathered when the Book of Mormon comes forth—The Gentiles will be established
as a free people in America—They will be saved if they believe and obey;
otherwise, they will be cut off and destroyed—Israel will build the New
Jerusalem, and the lost tribes will return. About A.D. 34.
The Savior continued teaching about the gathering of
Israel. He told them He would give them
a sign when these things were about to take place. “And I will set a sign among
them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish,
Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off,
that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare
my glory among the Gentiles” (Isaiah 66:19).
At that time, the house of Israel shall become a part of
Zion.
“Brigham [Young] understood that, as prophesied, the coming
forth of the Book of Mormon was a signal to the world that the restoration of
Israel had begun (see 3 Nephi 21:1–7): ‘The Lord has been operating for
centuries to prepare the way for the coming forth of the contents of that book
[the Book of Mormon] from the bowels of the earth, to be published to the
world, to show to the inhabitants thereof that he still lives, and that he
will, in the latter days, gather his elect from the four corners of the earth.
. . . The Lord has dictated and directed the whole of this, for the bringing
forth, and establishing of his Kingdom in the last days.’”[1]
He told them this is their sign – when these things happen,
it will be made known to the Gentiles about the remnant of the house of Jacob.
“And after the house of Israel should 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 the knowledge of the
true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer” (1 Nephi 10:14).
“Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know
that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land” (Ether
4:17).
“And gave [Joseph Smith] power from on high, by the means
which were before prepared, to translate the Book of Mormon;
“Which contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness
of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also;
“Which was given by inspiration, and is confirmed to others
by the ministering of angels, and is declared unto the world by them—
“Proving to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and
that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and
generation, as well as in generations of old” (D&C 20:8-11).
“He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold
plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the
source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the
everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the
ancient inhabitants” (Joseph Smith-History 1:34).
“The power of the Spirit bestowed on believers will be
instrumental in restoring the remnant of the house of Jacob (3 Nephi 21:2).”[2]
When these things are made known to them of the Father, they
will come forth from Him to them and the Nephites.
“And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered
abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the
west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the
knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them” (3 Nephi 20:13).
“And also that the seed of this people may more fully
believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this
people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome
people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea,
even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their
unbelief and idolatry” (Mormon 5:15).
“While discoursing to both the Lamanites and Nephites before
him, Jesus as well speaks to their descendants, saying that the Book of Mormon ‘shall
come forth of the Father, from [the Gentiles] unto you’ (3 Nephi 21:3). He
confirms the prophecies of Isaiah that in the last days the children of Lehi
will be gathered both physically and spiritually. ‘Then is the fulfilling,’ he
says, ‘of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of
Israel" (3 Nephi 20:12).’”[3]
In the Father’s wisdom, they will be set up in this land as
a free people through His Father’s power.
“And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered
together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
“And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also
that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against
them to battle.
“And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of
captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other
nations” (1 Nephi 13:17-19).
“According to the laws and constitution of the people, which
I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and
protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;
“That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining
to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that
every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.
“Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in
bondage one to another.
“And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of
this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose,
and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (D&C 101:77-80).
The prophecies will come forth from a remnant of the
Nephites. As Richard Dilworth Rust explained, this is a prophecy of the coming
forth of the Book of Mormon.
When this happens, the covenants the Father made with the
house of Israel will be fulfilled.
“Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto
David” (Psalms 89:35).
“But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the
Gentiles—for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land,
and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who
are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been
trodden under feet by them;
“And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles,
and also the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of
Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, and I have caused
my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted,
and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become hated by
them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them—
“And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you:
At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the
fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above
all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled
with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of
hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations;
and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my
gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from
among them.
“And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto
my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.
“And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the
Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto
you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of
my gospel” (3 Nephi 16:8-12).
“This doctrine of the gathering is one of the important
teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord has
declared: “I give unto you a sign … that I shall gather in, from their long
dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them
my Zion.” The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a sign to the entire world
that the Lord has commenced to gather Israel and fulfill covenants He made to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We not only teach this doctrine, but we participate
in it. We do so as we help to gather the elect of the Lord on both sides of the
veil.”[4]
[1] Brigham
Young and the Book of Mormon, W. Jeffrey Marsh, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10/2 (2001):12.
[2]
Book
of Mormon Pneumatology, John Christopher Thomas, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 24 (2015): 221.
[3]
The
Book of Mormon, Designed for Our Day, Annual FARMS Lecture, 27 February
1990, Richard Dilworth Rust.
[4]
The
Gathering of Scattered Israel, President Russell M. Nelson, October 2006
General Conference.
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