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.

Reverence

“Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:30).

Recently, Elder Kenneth Johnson, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, was the visiting General Authority at our stake conference. It has long been my belief that the most spiritual of the general sessions at such conferences is the one held Saturday evening. It is viewed as an adult session to which generally the more faithful are in attendance. As such, the distractions from the proceedings are minimal allowing those present to enjoy a spiritual uplift.

When the usual opening for such a meeting was completed and the stake president had given his brief remarks, the remainder of the meeting was turned over to Elder Johnson. The first thing he did was to call all who were in attendance to repentance. In words that left no room for personal interpretation, he made clear that the noise we in the congregation had made prior to the start of the meeting was absolutely inappropriate. How he asked could we expect to receive personal revelation or inspiration from the proceedings if we were not reverent in preparation for and during the session? For almost two hours, he taught us what behavior on our part was necessary to receive the personal revelation that we must have if we hope to be successful in living the gospel in these wicked times. Here was a visiting authority who taught from the scriptures and left behind a very specific understanding of what we should change in our approach to all Church meetings if we expect to receive the desired benefits from our attendance.

Sister Linford and I have been more aware of the general irreverence we have experienced in the Church meetings we have attended since returning from our temple mission almost two years ago. Some with whom we have discussed this matter have outwardly assumed that our sensitivity stemmed from the fact that we spent five of every seven days laboring in a temple. But they have misunderstood. The congregations of German Saints with whom we worshipped each Sunday taught us that noise and confusion do not have to reign before and after our services and to continue to distract during the service itself. We were particularly impressed with the reverence we experienced in the congregations in Bernburg and Meerane. Quiet reverence reigns in their chapels beginning at least ten minutes before the beginning of their Sacrament Meetings. Even in the larger congregations located in Freiberg and Leipzig, for example, the reverence before the start of meetings would be a worthy example for most of the stateside congregations that we have visited in recent years. Clearly, irreverence is unnecessary and inappropriate in our worship services. True reverence requires thoughtful, overt action. It is not a passive activity.

What are some of the hallmarks of behavior that distinguish reverent from irreverent congregations? Reverence will improve when and where leaders [Priesthood leaders, auxiliary leaders, and classroom teachers] make it a priority and an expectation. Members generally follow their leaders’ instructions and examples. Reverence music is played before the beginning of our major services for a reason. We should take advantage of this time to make final personal preparations for that which is to follow. Unnecessary conversation during meetings is by definition unnecessary and disturbing to those sitting close by. How we address one another while at church is also a factor that contributes to or detracts from reverent behavior. When have we experienced President Thomas S. Monson stand to conduct a session of general conference and heard him say, “Good morning, you guys. It is great to see you all here this morning”? When did the use of “brothers and sisters” become passe’? We are addressed as “guys” from the pulpit, by teachers in classes, by quorum leaders, and full-time missionaries. Such a form of address is irreverent. More and more, investigators attending meetings are address by their given names, a practice that continues right through the ordinance by which they are confirmed members of the Church. Commencing meetings and classes late is another form of irreverence that is becoming more and more the accepted norm. If anyone is asking themselves why these actions are forms of irreverence, the answer is simple. All of these things and more are examples of behaviors that diminish the importance and sacredness of what we are about in the Lord’s Church.

In order to understand how we ought to reverently approach our religious meetings, we need only ask ourselves what steps we take to ensure that we receive the necessary inspiration while preparing to speak in sacrament meeting [not "sacrament"] or to teach a lesson in an auxiliary class. Not seeking such inspiration when we are preparing for such assignments is to court disaster.

We cannot expect to receive Inspiration in an inappropriate environment. We will most probably not receive heaven's direction while in the midst of watching or listening to inappropriate media. We need to have cleared our minds of all unworthy images and thoughts. Our creative setting should be a quiet one. Our effort should be prefaced with a prayer offered while on our knees and beseeching God for inspiration in order that we might accomplish our assigned task in a manner that would have His approval.

Possibly, these thoughts might provide hints as to the steps we might take as we prepare to attend our regular Sunday gathering, conference sessions, and firesides. Approaching these gatherings with prayerful preparation and reverent desires would better place us in a position to receive the inspiration we desire while in attendance at such gatherings with our fellow Saints.

God Speaks to His Modern-day Prophets

The ninth Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”

The thirteen declarations of belief from which the above Article is taken were published on March 1, 1842 in the Times and Seasons of Nauvoo, Illinois. By that date, the Prophet Joseph Smith had translated the Book of Mormon through the inspiration and power of God, and the printed product had been in circulation for twelve years. Between June 1830 and February 1831, the Prophet received by revelation the contents of the Book of Moses that contains revelations given to the ancient prophets Adam and Enoch as recorded by Moses. The Book of Abraham, a translation by the Prophet Joseph Smith of Egyptian papyri that came into his possession earlier, began to appear in the Times and Seasons on March 1, 1842. These latter two works are published today as a portion of the Pearl of Great Price. In 1831, the Prophet began his inspired translation of the Old and New Testaments that was a work in progress for more than two years. Although he did not live to see his work on the Bible published, we use his translation today to enhance our understanding of many important verses of Biblical scripture. By March 1842, 129 of the 138 revelations and writings published today in the Doctrine & Covenants had been documented by the Prophet Joseph Smith. The remaining nine revelations and writings were received or published by the latter-day prophets, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Joseph F. Smith.

With these evidences before us, what insights may we draw from them? First, God is not a respecter of persons and has manifest Himself to his spirit children in mortality far more than we realize. While instructing the Prophet Nephi concerning the shortsightedness of future generations to accept only the Bible as being the revealed word of God, the Lord said, “Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; . . .” (2 Nephi 29:7-9).

Second, during the mortal mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the “running together” of the words of God to several nations was accomplished with the intended result that in this final dispensation, we are benefited by having available for our use some of the words and testimony of God directed to our distant ancestors.

Third, the heavens are open, and God has spoken to His modern-day prophets. The Lord’s true Church has been restored to the earth, and thus the Kingdom of God is on the earth. If it is His Church and Kingdom, then ought we not to expect that He is at its head? How else other than by revelation to His chosen prophets would He be able to direct His work here? The contents of the Doctrine & Covenants provide tangible proof of this direction.

Fourth, the successful and intricate workings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in these last days complicated as they are by the evil conduct of many and the effects of plagues of disease and natural disasters are evidence that the Lord is still at the head of His Church directing it by revelation. The major thrusts of the Church’s missionary program illustrate the Church’s three major goals and more. Full-time missionaries are preaching the gospel to non-members in most of the world’s nations. Missionaries who have been called to serve in the Church Educational System (CES) are busy teaching the gospel to members of the Church thus working to “perfect the saints” while also spending time to seek out and strengthen particularly the challenged single adults in the areas to which they have been assigned. Other full-time missionaries are serving as temple ordinance workers in many temples around the world where the Church membership is unable to fully staff their local temples. In many areas of the developing world, humanitarian missionaries are working to alleviate the debilitating effects of disease and death through the improvement of medical care, personal hygiene, clean water supplies, and an improved understanding of nutrition, to mention only some of the more obvious areas of focus. All of these endeavors and many, many more illustrate the continuing revelation from God whereby these efforts are administered according to His direction.

So the reality today is as the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote in 1842, we Saints accept and seek to apply in our lives and activities the revealed word of God whether received in ages past or in these modern times. We also believe that revelation continues day by day to the prophets, seers, and revelators who stand next to Jesus Christ in the leadership of His Church. This continuing direction we await and wholeheartedly accept, for by doing so our lives are improved, and we become more valiant workers in His Kingdom.

The Revealed Word of God

Our Heavenly Father’s mission statement was given to Moses by the Lord Jesus Christ when he, Moses, was caught up into a high mount and spoke with the Lord face to face. “For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Immortality and eternal life are not synonymous terms. Immortality is a free gift we receive as a consequence of Jesus Christ’s atonement, and all who are born into this world will necessarily share in this boon irrespective of their worthiness that is, the degree of their obedience to the commandments of God. Eternal life refers to the quality or nature of the existence that God the Father lives, “Eternal” being one of his names (Moses 7:35).

The glorious truth then at the center of Elohim’s purpose as the Father of our spirits is that we are born into mortality with the potential to eventually become as He is. While at least many if not most individuals in today’s Christian world recoil at such a thought, it is no less the single most important insight that any human being may possess. Once this truth is accepted in principle, the individual has purpose and direction that will last for eternity. And the companion of this wonder is that the knowledge of the means by which this end may be achieved is freely available for our acceptance.

But where in all of the Bible is our Heavenly Father’s mission statement to be found? Were it not for the life and mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we would still be ignorant of God’s overarching purpose. Among other revelations, the Prophet was privileged to received a portion of that which was given to Moses in ancient times including this “pearl of great price.” Indeed, this great truth is not so clearly expressed anywhere else in any scripture within our possession today.

This then brings us to one of the many issues by which the priests, the ministers, and the membership of today’s Christian churches very clearly condemn themselves to remain living in ignorance of God’s great hope for them. For they utter the very words the Lord foretold the Prophet Nephi some twenty-five hundred years ago that they would say in these last days. “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:3). How misdirected must a person be to declare that God would reveal Himself to but a portion of His children in time and space leaving the vast majority of His offspring to wander in darkness and be lost because of their ignorance? How misguided must a person be to believe that the words of God given to mankind in some distant time and locality should offer the necessary direction and enlightenment for all of God’s children into whose hands it might fall in all other times and in all other localities? How unenlightened must a person be who fails to understand how incomplete and abused by the workings of men are the words of the modern-day Bible?

Yet it is because of mankind’s present state of spiritual rebellion that the words of the eighth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sufficient to send many individuals in today’s conflicted Christian world into a state of apoplexy. “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” But what this Article does not say is even more important to people living in this generation. For the truth of the matter is that God has spoken and still does speak to His prophets in our day. The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of revelations given mostly to the Prophet Joseph Smith. It represents by no means all of them. And all of the Lord’s chosen Prophets who have followed and will follow Joseph Smith until the Savior’s second coming have been, are, and will be the recipients of His revealed word for the benefit of the children of God and the governance of His Church. In addition, we possess additional revelations given to prophets relevant to the Bible’s era that are published under the title of the Pearl of Great Price.

Further, it should be understood that we Saints of modern days are aware that much, much more scripture exists in the world than the small amount that is within our hands today. For God is not a respecter of persons and thus would not and did not leave His deserving spirit children to struggle in this mortal world ignorant of His existence and of a knowledge of His love and expectations for them. The day is coming when these many records will be made available, and the truths of His many works down through the history of this world will be manifest to all who are worthy. For now, He has made it clear that we have that portion of the record necessary for our salvation and commensurate with our worthiness.

The Gifts of the Spirit

One of the hallmarks of Jesus Christ’s true Church is the possession of spiritual gifts among its membership for the edification of all within the Church. These gifts are given by the Holy Ghost to the faithful believers of the Lord’s gospel by means of the Light of Christ, the force through which the Holy Ghost accomplishes His mission. “They are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; . . . To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:9 & 12). Instructions relative to the gifts of the Spirit may be found in chapters 12, 13, and 14 of 1 Corinthians; in chapter 10 of Moroni; and in D&C 46: 8-33. Given their essential role in the gospel, these gifts are the subject of the seventh Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.”

For the purposes of this writing, Section 46 of the D&C will serve as the gospel text. Faith is one of the gifts of God, but not all of the faithful receive it. To some is given the gift of belief, the ability to believe in and to follow the words and works of the faithful, thereby successfully satisfying the first principle of the gospel namely, faith. (verses 13-14)

Another gift, the gift of the “differences of administration,” is a working understanding of the complex duties and responsibilities that exist within the Church’s organization whereby the Lord’s work is accomplished through the efforts of the Priesthood brethren and those called to serve in its auxiliaries. The Kingdom of God on the earth must be a house of order if it is to fulfill its earthly mission. (15)

Each faithful member of the Church has received at least one gift of the Spirit according to the promise given. Those gifts which we individually possess and nourish will have a bearing upon the types of callings we will receive from our Church leaders. The gift of “diversities of operations” allows Church administrators to call members who possess gifts appropriate to those required for their new callings. It is for this reason that I have been called during my lifetime to serve in a variety of administrative and teaching callings but have never been called to be a scout master, even though I am an Eagle Scout. It is even more clear that no ward will ever have to suffer my being called as their organist. (16)

Wisdom and knowledge are gifts of the Spirit. It is one thing to acquire knowledge; it is another to use it wisely. We are commanded to gain knowledge through study and experience. But the wise use of this acquired knowledge allows us to be more successful stewards of all that which God has entrusted to us for our learning and progression. (17-18)

The power to heal and to be healed are also among the enumerated gifts. The gift of healing goes far beyond the ability to give a Priesthood blessing and command the sufferer to “rise and walk.” Many of our members are employed in one way or another in the dietary, medical practitioner, and medical research professions. Many Priesthood brethren are called upon rather frequently to participate in blessings to the sick or injured. While the wording of most blessings is not dramatic, miracles do occur often in a quiet way observed mostly by those close to the recipient. Those who receive such blessings have a major role to play in their success. An individual who does not believe that receiving a blessing will be to their benefit will most likely experience little or none. Faith is the first principle of the gospel, and an absence of faith in God and the power of His Priesthood will generally yield the unbeliever minor benefits. (19-20)

Miracles happen for the benefit of the believers. It has been my experience that non-believers generally seek or assume dramatic ends when they speak of miracles. We believers know otherwise. We know that miracles happen far more often than our non-believing friends would imagine. We realize that their happenings are almost always anything but dramatic, but that in their quiet way their effects are powerful. Two of the richest sources of miracles in my life concern themselves with missionary work and the blessing of the sick. (21)

The dictionary defines “prophesy” as “to speak as a prophet.” A prophet is someone who having authority and being inspired by the Holy Ghost teaches or preaches the gospel bearing testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ and of the truthfulness of His gospel. Thus this gift is possessed by many members of the Lord’s Church. When asked, “Do you believe Joseph Smith, Jun., to be a Prophet?” the Prophet himself responded to the inquiry thusly: “Yes, and every other man who has the testimony of Jesus. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.--Revelation,. xix: 10th verse” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 119). (22)

The ability to discern between good and evil spirits is another gift of the Spirit. More specifically, this gift concerns itself with the ability to discern between the Light of Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost, on the one hand, as opposed to the workings of the devil, on the other. This gift is important to those who administer in the Lord’s kingdom as well as those who comprise its membership. (23)

The gift of tongues and the gift of the “interpretation of tongues” were manifest in the Church founded by the Lord during His mortal ministry. They have also been manifest in the restored Church. The traditional workings of these two gifts in conjunction with each other have never been experienced personally by this writer. However, the gift of tongues to the extent that those called to the Lord’s service are blessed with an enhanced ability to learn and use foreign languages to assist in the dissemination of the gospel is very much a gift experienced often by the Saints in today’s Church. (24-25)

The Lord concluded this enumeration of the gifts of the Spirit saying, “And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:26).