Book of Mormon Lesson
# 40—3 Nephi 16; 20–21
Then Will I Gather Them In
Introduction
Sara’s blog post last
week talked of pondering and praying. Our RS/Priesthood lesson included a talk
by Pres. Uchtdort on saving families. This week’s lesson is on the gathering of
Israel. And I cannot think of gathering
without that enduring image of the Savior longing to gather Israel: “How often
would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under
her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37). Our focus this week is
not so much on physical gathering, although I understand the desire of parents
especially to gather their children in their arms in times of trouble, but more
on spiritual gathering and what that means. Here are some questions that the
manual wants us to ponder:
·
What is the house of Israel?
(1 Nephi
15:14) (3 Nephi
20:25–26). (1 Nephi
5:14).
·
Who are the Gentiles?
·
What do the Gentiles have to
do with the scattering and gathering of Israel? 3 Nephi
16:7–9 and 21:1–5.
·
What sign has been given to
show that the latter-day gathering of Israel has begun? 3 Nephi 21:2–7
and 29:1–2
·
As members of the Church,
what are our responsibilities in the gathering of Israel?
Reading over this
week’s scriptures, I was struck with 3 Nephi 16:10 and searched to see what our
General Authorities have said about it. Surprisingly both the manuals and
General Conference messages are silent on the topic. So this led me to believe
that we are not yet at this extreme stage of rejection of the Gospel and there
is yet time as the Lord says in verse 13 for the people of the world to “repent
and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my
people, O house of Israel.” And the question is, what is our role, our
responsibility as disciples of Christ in aiding the people of the world to
avoid the calamitous situation of verse 10 and effect verse 13?
1. The Savior
prophesies of the scattering of the house of Israel.
First a word of
explanation as to what constitutes a Gentile
and what constitutes a Jew:
The majority of references in the Book of Mormon to the word gentile are references to anyone who is
not a Jew. A Jew was anyone who was a descendant of Judah and anyone from the
land of Jerusalem—like the children of Lehi. President Joseph Fielding Smith
(1876–1972) explained that by this definition many Gentiles did have the blood
of Israel: “In this Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, the gospel came first
to the Gentiles and then is to go to the Jews. [See D&C
19:27.] However, the Gentiles who receive the gospel are in the greater
part, Gentiles who have the blood of Israel in their veins” (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph
Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66], 4:39).
Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles described this as well: “We have heretofore identified the Jews as
both the nationals of the kingdom of Judah and as their lineal descendants, all
this without reference to tribal affiliation. And we have said, within this
usage of terms, that all other people are Gentiles, including the lost and
scattered remnants of the kingdom of Israel in whose veins the precious blood
of him whose name was Israel does in fact flow. Thus Joseph Smith, of the tribe
of Ephraim, the chief and foremost tribe of Israel itself, was the Gentile by
whose hand the Book of Mormon came forth, and the members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have the gospel and who are of Israel by
blood descent, are the Gentiles who carry salvation to the Lamanites and to the
Jews” (The Millennial Messiah
[1982], 233). [1]
One final quote about
how Gentiles are brought into the House of Israel:
President Joseph Fielding Smith said: “Every person who embraces the
gospel becomes of the house of Israel. In other words, they become members of
the chosen lineage, or Abraham’s children through Isaac and Jacob unto whom the
promises were made. The great majority of those who become members of the
Church are literal descendants of Abraham through Ephraim, son of Joseph. Those
who are not literal descendants of Abraham and Israel must become such, and
when they are baptized and confirmed they are grafted into the tree and are
entitled to all the rights and privileges as heirs” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols.
[1954–56], 3:246).[2]
Verse 4 explains why
Israel was scattered.
2. The Savior
prophesies of the spiritual gathering of the house of Israel.
Key to the spiritual
gathering of the house of Israel is the Book of Mormon. Two talks in our recent
General Conference stand out: Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., “There is Power in
the Book,”[3] and
Elder Gary E. Stevenson, “Look to the Book; Look to the Lord.”[4]
If the Book of Mormon
helps us in our spiritual preparation to be gatherers with the Lord in these
last days, then too, our attendance at Church, and especially at sacrament
meeting is essential to our spiritual wellbeing and preparation. Last week we
figuratively watched as the Savior instituted the sacrament among the Nephites.
In this week’s reading, He again administers the sacrament. It is thrilling to
see our own Priesthood holders administer and pass the sacrament each week. And
again, we were taught about the importance of the sacrament at General
Conference. Would it help to imagine that we were in the presence of the Savior
as He administered and passed the sacrament? Would that influence how we
prepare for the Sabbath? Elder Peter Meurs gave us five ways to prepare.[5] Pres.
Eyring teaches us about gratitude for the sacrament.[6] And
Elder Brian K. Ashton talked about the sacrament as part of the Doctrine of
Christ.[7]
3. The Savior
prophesies of the temporal gathering of the house of Israel. 3 Nephi
16:16 20:14,
22–34.
Since we are in
America, and to a certain extent, we, or perhaps our ancestors, gathered here, this explanation from the
Institute Manual is helpful:
Jesus taught the Nephites that Heavenly Father gave them the land of
America as an inheritance. Lehi also had received this promise when he arrived
in the promised land (see 2 Nephi 1:5).
This confirmed the blessing that Jacob gave to Joseph when he said, “The
blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors
unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills” (Genesis 49:26).
The phrase “utmost bound of the everlasting hills” refers to the Western
Hemisphere. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) explained: “The Lord
gave … America, as an everlasting possession to Joseph, the son of Jacob. His
posterity, when cleansed from sin, and when they come forth in the resurrection, shall
inherit this part of the earth. This land shall be theirs forever” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp.
Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 1:88).[8]
President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) explained that by
accepting the gospel covenant, we comply with the law of the gathering: “Now,
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 [1982], 439).
Videos
3 Nephi 20—Who is the
Seed of Abraham
3 Nephi 21—The Book
of Mormon Gathers Scattered Israel
