Gathering and Scattering

Volume Three—Chapter Twenty-Three GATHERING AND SCATTERING OF ISRAEL

#The Lord’s Chosen People—the House of Israel

The faithful ancient patriarch Abraham committed himself unwaveringly to the service of the Lord and was blessed to be able to enter into a grand covenant with him.1 In making this covenant, the Lord promised Abraham: (1) a promised land; (2) a vast posterity both in this world and in the eternal worlds; (3) access to the priesthood and the gospel; (4) that his posterity would bless all families of the earth, both in and out of the house of Israel, by taking the gospel message to them; and, ultimately, (5) admission into the Lord’s celestial presence.

The Lord extended the right and blessing to enter into this same covenant to Abraham’s progeny. This right was passed along through the patriarchal lineage to Isaac, to Jacob (Israel), to Jacob’s twelve sons, and to their posterity, the “house” of Israel. Those born here on earth into the lineage of Abraham may enter into this covenant with the Lord. For each individual descendant of Abraham, participation in the covenant is conditional. Each must maintain and progress in his allegiance to the gospel of Jesus Christ here on earth in order to keep the covenant in force. Otherwise he loses his place.

The right to participate in this covenant is a special privilege. Abraham’s seed are a thus a chosen people. They are chosen to be born into his lineage.

The scriptural word “chosen” is most interesting and has two quite distinct meanings. To be chosen, in a spiritual context, sometimes means to be singled out for a special blessing. In a well-known scriptural passage, to be “chosen” means to be granted celestial glory: “Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen” (D&C 121:34). This verse teaches that many are called or foreordained in the premortal world to particular righteous purposes in mortality. The “few” that are true to this foreordination here on earth will be chosen—blessed with a celestial resurrection. Alternatively, in the phrase “chosen people,” chosen is used to mean selected for a particular foreordination. Each of the Lord’s chosen people is singled out to be born on earth into the covenant lineage of Abraham.

To be chosen does not mean that an individual is blessed with more favorable circumstances or an easier road to exaltation. It does not mean they are loved more by God. Those of the house of Israel are chosen or called to serve in much the same way that each of us today may be called to service in the Church. Those receiving premortal appointments are also spoken of as having been “elected” or “ordained of God.” We may thus speak of a chosen or elect people. These are the Lord’s covenant people here on earth.

Those not born into the house of Israel can win a position in that elect body by entering into and progressing in the Church and gospel of Jesus Christ here on earth. They are then accepted “by adoption” into the house of Israel. Hence, whether or not you are in the house of Israel depends more on your heart than on your genes.

Why all this emphasis on the house of Israel anyway? Not everyone is born into the house of Israel. Why is it so important? In the Lord’s plan there is no exaltation outside of the house of Israel. An individual can be reconciled to God only by being received into the house of Israel either by birth or by adoption. Then each must continue to prove himself worthy of that appointment. The Savior himself is Israel’s king.

Why are some born into the covenant line, while others are not? Are those born into the house of Israel somehow better than the others? It is clear that those who were more valiant and who made more progress in the first estate are privileged to be born into the house of Israel here in mortality. Rather than being easier for them to earn their exaltation, however, it will likely be even more difficult because: “Of him unto whom much is given much is required” (D&C 82:3). Yet it is logical to suppose that these chosen people have the potential to progress faster and farther than those who were less valiant in the pre-existence. This potential may be realized if they continue, in mortality, to be valiant in righteousness and obedient to the Lord’s commands.

#Gathering

What is the purpose of gathering, and why would the Lord wish to gather his people? Perhaps we can best understand his divine yearning by examining an analogous phenomenon. One of the compelling instincts earthly mothers possess is the need to gather their children about them. Mothers are happiest when their sons and daughters are gathered near. Then she can reassure herself that they are safe. She can make certain their needs are fulfilled. She can nurture and teach each personally and individually. By contemplating this powerful maternal drive, we may come to understand something of the desire the Lord has to gather his children about him. It is clear that the Savior’s desire is shared equally by the Father. On one occasion during his mortal ministry, the Savior looked over Jerusalem and wistfully pined: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37).

The Lord gathers us into his Church so that he can teach us via his prophets and other teachers, encourage us, protect us from the vicissitudes of the world, counsel us, and succor us in other ways. The Lord would have his people separate themselves from the sins of the world (spiritual Babylon) and gather to their own safe refuge—their “promised land” or “Zion”—that they might together learn the ways of God and become enabled to serve him more fully. Each of us is in need of protection from the evils of the world.

Another highly significant reason for the physical gathering is to allow the saints to have access to the blessings of the temples and the covenants they enter into there. Joseph Smith taught that the main object of gathering the people of God in any age to certain places is “to build unto the Lord a house whereby he could reveal unto his people the ordinances of his house and the glories of his kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation” (TPJS, 307-08).

The only circumstances under which the Lord will assist in his people’s gathering are true repentance and conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 43:1-7; Jeremiah 3:12-23; 16:11-21; 1 Nephi 10:14; 2 Nephi 9:2; 10:6-7; 3 Nephi 20:29-33).

The ultimate gathering will take place in the celestial kingdom where the Father and the Son will welcome their eternal celestial family with arms outstretched. There, the Father and Son will rejoice in their safe arrival and nurture and instruct them for eternity.

It is also important to acknowledge that a people, as a whole body such as the house of Israel, may be gathered, but the most important gathering to the blessings of the gospel is the “gathering” of each individual. Each person must accept Christ and his gospel and become, in his own right, one of the Savior’s chosen and covenant people, indeed a worthy citizen of the house of Israel.

#Two Types of Gathering

Gathering has two components—spiritual and temporal. The spiritual gathering occurs when a people accept Christ and join his Church. The temporal gathering consists in moving to that physical location where the saints have gathered (2 Nephi 9:2). The sequence of gathering generally is first to Christ and his church, and then to specific locations. President Spencer W. Kimball explained the spiritual gathering and suggested that temporal gathering was not, in all cases, essential:

The gathering of Israel consists of joining the true church and their coming to a knowledge of the true God. . . . Any person, therefore, who has accepted the restored gospel, and who now seeks to worship the Lord in his own tongue and with the saints in the nations where he lives, has complied with the law of the gathering of Israel and is heir to all of the blessings promised the saints in these last days (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball, 439).

The eventual temporal gathering of Israel in this final dispensation is to occur in two separate places:

1. The tribe of Judah will gather to its own land of promise—to Jerusalem and Palestine, also called “Zion.” The land of Israel has been dedicated for this purpose in this dispensation on more than one occasion.

A question to ponder: Do you see the current gathering of the Jews in the land of Israel as a manifestation of the prophesied “gathering” of the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem in the latter days? Certainly it is not the spiritual gathering that will occur. The gospel is not playing a part in the current Zionist movement in Palestine. That movement and gathering is more of a political affair. Who can doubt, however, that the Spirit of the Lord is beginning to move upon the tribe of Judah as we see unfolding a preliminary phase of the temporal, latter-day gathering of Judah.

2. The “lost” ten tribes will gather to the New Jerusalem or “Zion” on the North American continent. Some of these may return in a group. Obviously, others of the ten lost tribes are dispersed throughout the nations of the world. Who are they? Where are they? Most who have joined the Church in this last dispensation are told in their patriarchal blessings that they are of the “loins of Ephraim.” They are the scattered remnants of the ten lost tribes—mostly from the tribe of Joseph.

The “center pole” of the “tent” under which this segment of Israel will be gathered is to be located in Jackson County, Missouri. The several “stakes” of this tent will be located all over the earth.

#Latter-Day Gathering

To initiate the gathering of the house of Israel in the latter days, the Lord raised up a mighty nation among the Gentiles—the United States of America. A special servant was selected from among these “Gentiles,” and through him the gospel was restored. This servant, of course, was the prophet Joseph Smith (2 Nephi 3:7, 11-12, 14-15; 3 Nephi 21:9-11). The keys of this gathering have been passed on directly by the laying on of hands since Joseph Smith received them from Moses in the Kirtland temple on April 3, 1836. The work has been continued by each President of the High Priesthood in this final dispensation. Under their direction, an army of valiant missionaries have spread, and will continue to spread, over the earth to proclaim the restored gospel and bring scattered Israel back to the fold. Another means by which this great final gathering will be accomplished will include the translation and distribution of the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 29:1; Ether 4:17).

Thus, the United States of America will become an ensign to the world and to all Israel. Its missionaries may be referred to in scripture, particularly the Book of Mormon, as “Gentiles” even though many of them are, by descent, of the house of Israel. They are “Gentiles” by virtue of the fact that culturally they belong to the “mighty nation among the Gentiles.” Also, the Book of Mormon is wont to refer to any non-Jew as a “Gentile.” Through this missionary work, the Lord will bring the Israelites out of “captivity” or “out of obscurity and out of darkness” to the lands of their inheritance—to Jerusalem or to the New Jerusalem. Zion will thus be established. All who fight against Zion—the “great and abominable church” or the “whore of all the earth”—will be destroyed.

Is there a difference between being “gathered” and being “redeemed” or “restored”? Not only will Israel be gathered geographically from their dispersed state throughout the world, but also the gospel will be “declared among them,” and they will be redeemed or “restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers” (2 Nephi 30:5).

The final gathering to occur in this last dispensation will be done under difficult circumstances. We are taught in prophetic scripture that a veil of darkness shall cover the earth before the Lord’s second coming (Moses 7:61; D&C 112:23). This veil, likely one of spiritual darkness, shall only be removed at the time of or just before the Lord’s second coming (D&C 38:7). Perhaps this veil of darkness is now in place and has not yet been removed. Those of us involved in the final gathering of Israel will labor under the handicap of the spiritual unresponsiveness caused by this veil.

It is clear from the scriptures that at least part of the gathering will occur after the return of Christ to the earth and after the beginning of the Millennium (1 Nephi 22:15,24- 25; 3 Nephi 21:24-26). At the time of Christ’s advent—at the onset of the Millennium, the wicked will be burned as stubble, for God will not suffer that the wicked will destroy the righteous. The righteous will be preserved and need not fear. During the Millennium, the Holy One of Israel will rule in might, power, and glory. These factors will facilitate the gathering and restoration of the house of Israel which will continue throughout the Millennium.

#Scattering

The dispersion or scattering of a people occurs when they apostatize from the truth (Deuteronomy 28:15, 25, 64; Jeremiah 16:11-13; 2 Nephi 6:9-11; 10:5-6; Helaman 7:19). Moses prophesied what would happen if the Israelites rebelled against God: “The Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you” (Deuteronomy 4:27). Also: “The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other” (Deuteronomy 28:64).

It’s natural to assume a punitive motive on the part of the Lord in scattering a people. I have made the point several times previously in these volumes, however, that the Lord is not inclined to withhold his blessings or penalize a people for purely punitive reasons. When an organized society, as a group, apostatizes, a comfortable culture of apostasy begins to perpetuate among the people. It seems likely that Lord’s strategy is to dismantle the apostate society and disrupt their sense of comfort, hoping they will thereby find their way back.

On occasion there may be other reasons for a people to be scattered. For example, the Lord might lead a group of people away from the main body of apostate Israel intending to raise up a righteous branch and preserve them from the sins of the rest of Israel. By this means is the blood of Abraham preserved and spread throughout the world. The Lehites in the Book of Mormon are just such an example.

#The Historical Gatherings and Scatterings of Israel

I will summarize the historical temporal scatterings and gatherings that have befallen and will befall the house of Israel as a people. The chronology of the Old Testament remains controversial. Estimates for the duration of captivity of the Israelites in Egypt vary between 215 and 430 years. Estimates of the date of the exodus vary between 1440 BC and 1260 BC. The Lord raised up Moses and commanded him to lead them and gather them into their promised land. Before the children of Israel were allowed to take possession of Palestine, the Lord warned them through Moses that if they failed to keep his commandments, they would be driven from their land and scattered among other nations. Their entry into Palestine (in 1400 BC or 1220 BC?) was the first gathering of Israel to their promised land, though some might argue that this gathering might not have been wholly merited by the repentance and righteousness of the Israelites. In Palestine they lived through the period of the rule of judges and through the reigns of the great Israelite kings Saul, David, and Solomon. During this period, the Israelites relentlessly distanced themselves from the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In about 931 BC King Solomon died, and a scattering began as civil war divided the whole of Israel into the Kingdom of Israel in the north, with its center in Samaria, and the Kingdom of Judah in the south, with its center at Jerusalem. The northern kingdom consisted of ten tribes and was initially led by Solomon’s rebel military leader Jeroboam. The dominant tribe of the northern kingdom (actually a sub-tribe) was comprised of the descendants of ancient Joseph’s son Ephraim. Thus these northern ten tribes are often referred to as simply “Ephraim.” The southern two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) were led originally by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. We may refer to the southern kingdom as “Judah.”

All Israel, both in the north and in the south, did continue to apostatize, and the stage was set for a major scattering of all Israel.

Between 732 and 722 BC, the Assyrian army crushed the northern Kingdom of Israel and took captive 27,290 of its educated aristocracy and anyone with any leadership ability. These were carried away—back to Assyria. Their fate from that point on is, historically, undocumented. Were they subsequently simply dispersed among the many nations, or did some of them remain together in a body? While it is clear that many were scattered and dispersed in several countries, there is a possibility that some of them remained together in a group. This possibility finds some support in scripture (see Jeremiah 3:12; D&C 110:11; 133:26-34) and in apocryphal literature (book of Esdras) which suggests they traveled into the “north country.” We know also that the resurrected Christ went forth to minister among the “scattered” ten tribes after his visit to the Nephites (3 Nephi 15:15; 16:1-3; 17:4). Did he visit scattered remnants, perhaps, by then, combined with other peoples? Or, did he visit a group of Israelites descended from the ten tribes who had remained together in a group?

The southern kingdom existed precariously until 587 BC when the Babylonians conquered Judah and partially destroyed the city of Jerusalem. The Jews were carried off to exile in Babylon. Once in Babylon, instead of being absorbed into Babylonian society, the Jews preserved their religion, their culture, and their sense of national identity by excluding Babylonian influence whenever possible.

In 539 BC the Babylonian empire was conquered by Cyrus, King of Persia. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their ancestral homes. Some did return and sought to reestablish themselves on the scale of their former power. However, others had already left Babylon for other locations. By the time of Jesus, probably two-thirds of all Jews lived outside the Holy Land, with Jewish communities scattered throughout the Mediterranean region and the Near East, where many persisted into the twentieth century AD. The Jews never were again a truly independent people. This gathering of the Jews in 539 BC, however, does qualify as the second great gathering.

Some have suggested that the time of Christ’s mortal ministry was a significant period of gathering of Israel. After all, the keys of gathering were restored to the earth by Moses on the Mount of transfiguration at that time. Certainly the Lord did “set his hand” to gather Israel at that time. It turned out to be, however, a gathering that did not fully succeed.

The culmination of the scattering of Israel occurred in AD 70 after the Savior’s ministry. Some four years previously the Jews had revolted against ruthless Roman leadership. Rome retaliated in force, and in August of AD 70, Jerusalem fell. Hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants were slaughtered or died from the famine incident to the siege, and thousands more were sent to the arena as victims for Roman entertainment, sold into slavery, or forced into exile. The Jerusalem temple was burned to the ground, and Jerusalem itself was leveled. The scattering of Israel was thus complete. From that time forth, the Jews became wanderers, a people without a country, a nation without a home. Many settled in Europe, as well as the Mediterranean and Near East as already mentioned.

The great and final gathering of the Jews, and indeed all Israel from the four corners of the earth, will occur in this final dispensation as predicted by many prophecies.

#Summary of the Gatherings and Scatterings of Israel

#Scatterings Gatherings

1400-1220 BC Joshua leads Israelites into Palestine

931 BC Civil war divides

Israelites into northern

Kingdom of Israel and southern

Kingdom of Judah

732-722 BC Assyria captures

and carries away many people

of northern kingdom of Israel

(ten tribes).

596 BC Lehites “scattered”

from Jerusalem and gathered

to New World

587 BC Babylon captures

southern kingdom of Judah

539 BC Cyrus of Persia defeats Babylon and allows Judah to return to their homeland

AD 30 Christ’s mortal ministry and

establishment of his Church in the Old World AD 70 Rome destroys

Jerusalem and scatters the

Jews

AD 300 Apostasy from Christ’s

Church in Old World is complete

AD 385 Lamanites destroy

and scatter the Nephites—

Lamanites also scattered

AD 1522 Spanish under

Cortez further scatter some

of the remnants of Book of

Mormon people

AD 1830 Church restored. Onset of final gathering of Israel

AD ?? Gathering of Jews to Palestine—after Christ’s second coming

For a discussion of covenants and covenant making, see volume 2, chapter 3.