The Gathering of Israel

Some of the events surrounding the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ are encapsulated in our tenth Article of Faith: “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.”

In the tenth century B.C., the house of Israel was divided into two kingdoms which were located north and south of each other. The Kingdom of Judah or the southern kingdom was comprised of the tribe of Judah and most of the tribe of Benjamin. Jerusalem was its capital. This kingdom was destroyed through successive Babylonian invasions occurring at about the start of the sixth century B.C., and over time most of its inhabitants were taken away into captivity. The Kingdom of Israel or the northern kingdom was comprised of the remaining ten tribes. Because of one tribe’s dominance, collectively they are also referred to as the tribes or kingdom of Ephraim. About 721 B.C., the Assyrians invaded the area of the northern kingdom taking most of its inhabitants away to the North. Given the dearth of information concerning their eventual destination or destinations, we generally refer to them as the “lost tribes.”

In the last days and during the early stages of the Millennium, Israel will be gathered home. This gathering of which ancient and modern prophets have foretold is presently underway. To the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord said in 1831, “Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour [of His coming]. Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion. And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountains of the Lord’s house” (D&C 133:11-13). Eventually, the Lord’s Kingdom by which He will reign personally upon the earth will have two centers, Old Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem. Even though the latter-day gatherings have commenced, the reconstruction of the old capital and the construction of the new Zion have not. The location of the New Jerusalem will be in the vicinity of the city of Independence, Missouri and is well documented having been spoken of in specific terms in revelations received by and in discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith. (See D&C 84:2-5, for example.) The authority to make the necessary preparations for the gathering of Israel and the restoration of the ten lost tribes was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by Moses in the Kirtland Temple when he appeared to them in 1836 (D&C 110:11).

While the descendants of Judah will be gathered to Jerusalem, the remainder of Israel will be gathered to Zion or the New Jerusalem on the American Continent. Isaiah and Jeremiah both prophesied concerning these events: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2-3). “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” (Jeremiah 16:14-15).

With His coming, the wicked, in this case those who are destined to inherit the telestial kingdom, will be cleansed from the earth making it possible for the earth to be restored to its paradisiacal glory or the state in which it existed at the time our first parents inhabited the garden of eden. The governments of the earth will be thrown down and “Christ will reign personally upon the earth” by means of the Kingdom which He has established in preparation for His coming namely, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.