NOTES.
1. Hebrews.—Shem is called "the father of all the children of Eber," as Ham is called father of Canaan. The Hebrews and Canaanites were often brought into contact, and exhibited the respective characteristics of the Shemites and the Hamites. The term "Hebrews" thus is derived from "Eber" (Gen. x, 21; comp. Numb, xxiv, 24).—Bible Cyclopedia, by Fausset.
The writer of the article "Hebrew" in Cassell's Bible Dictionary questions the evidence on which the derivation of "Hebrew" from "Eber" or "Heber" is asserted, and says: "All that can be confidently affirmed is that the term is employed of Abraham, and of the descendants of Jacob in general. The interest attaching to the word, coupled with its obscure origin, suffices to account for the many speculations in regard to it. It may be added that some scholars have found the name 'Hebrews,' a little changed, on the monuments of Egypt. If this interpretation is verified, it will be of value, as showing that when the Egyptians called Joseph a Hebrew, they employed the designation which was accepted among them."
2. Jews.—The term properly signifies "a man of Judah," or a descendant of Judah, but the word came to be applied to all those who were otherwise designated 'Hebrews.' It does not appear to have come into use until long after the revolt of Jeroboam and the ten tribes, and so long as the kingdom stood, it was naturally employed of the citizens of the kingdom of Judah (II Kings xvi, 6; xxv, 25); but it rarely occurs in this sense. After the exile it took the extension of meaning which it has to the present day. It was adopted by the remnants of all the tribes, and was the one name by which the descendants of Jacob were known throughout the ancient world; certainly it was far more common than 'Hebrew.' It occurs in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, etc., is found in the Apocrypha; and is common in Josephus, and in the New Testament."—Cassell's Bible Dictionary.
"Under the theocracy they were known as Hebrews, under the monarchy as Israelites, and during foreign domination as Jews. The modern representatives of this stock call themselves Hebrews in race and language, and Israelites in religion, but Jews in both senses."—Standard Dictionary.
3. Zenos.—"A Hebrew prophet, often quoted by the Nephite servants of God. All we are told of his personal history is that he was slain because he testified boldly of what God revealed to him. That he was a man greatly blessed of the Lord with the spirit of prophecy is shown by that wonderful and almost incomparable parable of the Vineyard, given at length by Jacob (Jacob, chap. v). His prophecies are also quoted by Nephi (I Nephi xix, 10, 12, 16), Alma (Alma xxxiii, 3, 13, 15), Amulek, Alma (xxxiv, 7), Samuel the Lamanite (Helaman xv, 11), and Mormon (III Nephi x, 16)."—Dictionary of the Book of Mormon, by Elder George Reynolds.
4. The Journeyings of the Lost Tribes.—Esdras, whose books, as stated in the text, are classed among the apocrypha, describes a vision, in the course of which the Ten Tribes are noticed in this way:—"Those are the tribes which were carried away captives out of their own land in the time of Oseas [Hosea] the king, whom Shalmanezer, the king of the Assyrians, took captive, and crossed them beyond the river; so were they brought into another land. But they took counsel to themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth unto a further country where never man dwelt, that they there might keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land. And they entered in at the narrow passage of the river Euphrates. For the Most High then showed them signs, and stayed the springs of the flood till they were passed over. For through the country there was a great journey, even of a year and a half, and the same region is called Arsareth (or Ararah). Then dwelt they there until the latter time, and when they come forth again, the Most High shall hold still the springs of the river again, that they may go through."—II Esdras xiii.
Concerning the journeyings of the Ten Tribes toward the north, Elder George Reynolds, in his little work Are We of Israel? says:—"They determined to go to a country 'where never man dwelt,' that they might be free from all contaminating influences. That country could only be found in the north. Southern Asia was already the seat of a comparatively ancient civilization; Egypt flourished in northern Africa; and southern Europe was rapidly filling with the future rulers of the world. They had therefore no choice but to turn their faces northward. The first portion of their journey was not however north; according to the account of Esdras, they appear to have at first moved in the direction of their old home; and it is possible that they originally started with the intention of returning thereto; or probably, in order to deceive the Assyrians, they started as if to return to Canaan, and when they crossed the Euphrates and were out of danger from the hosts of Medes and Persians, then they turned their journeying feet toward the polar star. Esdras states that they entered in at the narrow passage of the river Euphrates, the Lord staying the springs of the flood until they were passed over. The point on the river Euphrates at which they crossed would necessarily be in its upper portion, as lower down would be too far south for their purpose. The upper course of the Euphrates lies among lofty mountains; near the village of Pastash it plunges through a gorge formed by precipices more than a thousand feet in height, and so narrow that it is bridged at the top; it shortly afterward enters the plain of Mesopotamia. How accurately this portion of the river answers to the description of Esdras of the 'Narrows' where the Israelites crossed!"
"The tribes shall come; they are not lost unto the Lord; they shall be brought forth as hath been predicted; and I say unto you there are those now living—aye, some here present—who shall live to read the records of the Lost Tribes of Israel, which shall be made one with the record of the Jews, or the Holy Bible, and the record of the Nephites, or the Book of Mormon, even as the Lord hath predicted; and those records, which the tribes lost to man but yet to be found again shall bring, shall tell of the visit of the resurrected Christ to them, after He had manifested Himself to the Nephites upon this continent." From address by the author October 8, 1916, see Proceedings of 87th Semi-annual Conference of the Church.
LECTURE XVIII.
THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL.
Article 10.—We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes, etc.
1. The Gathering Predicted.—Terrible as was the chastisement decreed on Israel for their waywardness and sin, amounting, as it did, to their dissolution as a nation, and to a virtual expulsion from the sight of the Lord's favor; fearful as has been their denunciation by Him who delighted to call them His people; through all their sufferings and deprivations, while wandering as outcasts among alien nations who have never ceased to treat them with contumely and insult, when their very name has been made a hiss and a byword in the earth;—they have ever been sustained by the sure word of Divine promise, that a day of glorious deliverance and blessed restoration awaits them. Associated with the curses under which they writhed and groaned, were assurances of blessings. From the heart of the people, as from the soul of their mighty king in the day of his deserved affliction, has poured forth a song of tearful rejoicing:—"Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell."[976] The sufferings of Israel have been but necessary chastening by a grieved yet loving Father, who planned by these effective means to purify His sin-stained children. To them He has freely told His purpose in thus afflicting them, and in His punishments they have seen His love, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,"[977] and "Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, O Lord."[978]
2. Though smitten of men, a large part of them gone from a knowledge of the world, Israel are not lost unto their Father; He knows whither they have been led or driven; toward them His heart still yearns with paternal love; and surely will He bring them forth, in due time and by appointed means, into a condition of favor and power, befitting His chosen and covenant people. In spite of their sin, and the tribulations which they would assuredly bring upon themselves, the Lord said:—"And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God."[979] As complete as was the scattering, so will be the gathering of Israel.
3. Bible Prophecies concerning the Gathering.—We have examined a few of the biblical predictions concerning the dispersion of Israel; in all cases the blessing of eventual restoration was associated with the curse. Among the early prophecies, we hear the Lord declaring that it shall come to pass that when thou, Israel, "shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: and the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers."[980]
4. Nehemiah pleads in fasting and prayer that the Lord would remember His promise of restoration if the people would turn unto righteousness.[981] Isaiah speaks with no uncertain words of the assured return and re-union of scattered Israel, saying:—"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left.... And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."[982]
5. The restoration is to be complete; there shall be a united people, no longer two kingdoms, each at enmity with the other; for, "The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim."[983] With the words of a fond Father, the Lord thus speaks of His treatment of Israel and brightens their desolation with promises:—"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."[984]
6. After giving a terrible recital of the people's sins and the penalties to follow, Jeremiah thus voices the will and purpose of God, concerning the subsequent deliverance:—"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. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks."[985] And again:—"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth.... Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord."[986]
7. "Backsliding Israel," "treacherous Judah," are the terms of reproof with which the Lord addressed His recreant children; then He commanded the prophet, saying: "Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers."[987]
8. To Ezekiel the Lord also declared the plan of Israel's restoration:—"Thus saith the Lord God; behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel: and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all."[988]
9. That the re-establishment is to be a permanent one is evident from the revelation given through Amos, wherein we read that the Lord said:—"And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God."[989]
10. As a fitting close to our selection of biblical prophecies, let the words of Jesus of Nazareth be read, spoken while He lived among men: "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."[990]
11. Book of Mormon Prophecies.—The gathering of Israel claimed the attention of many prophets whose teachings are recorded in the Book of Mormon, and not a little direct revelation concerning the subject is preserved within the pages of that volume. We have noted Lehi's discourse in the valley of Lemuel, in which that patriarch-prophet compared the house of Israel to an olive tree, the branches of which were to be broken off and scattered; now may we add his prediction regarding the subsequent grafting-in of the branches. He taught that, "after the house of Israel shall 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 a knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer."[991]
12. Nephi, quoting the words of the prophet Zenos,[992] emphasizes the declaration that, when purified by suffering, Israel shall come again into the favor of the Lord, and then shall they be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, and the isles of the sea shall be remembered.[993] Jacob, the brother of Nephi, testified to the truth of the prophecies of Zenos, and indicated the time of the gathering as a characteristic sign of the last days. Consider his words:—"And in the day that he shall set his hand again the second time, to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh."[994]
13. Among the most comprehensive predictions regarding the restoration of the Jews is the following utterance of Nephi:—"Wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea, and also Babylon shall be destroyed; wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered by other nations; and after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations, for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation, until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind; and when that day shall come, that they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs to be expedient that they should believe these things, and the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men."[995]
14. Nephi, commenting on the words of Isaiah regarding the sufferings and subsequent triumph of the people of Israel, states the condition upon which their gathering is predicated, and says of God:—"That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation, until the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and fold of God; when they shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise."[996]
15. It is evident from these and many other passages that the time of the Jews' return is to be determined by their acceptance of Christ as their Lord. When that time comes, they are to be gathered to the land of their fathers; and in the work of gathering, the Gentiles are destined to take a great and honorable part, as witness the further words of Nephi:—"But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance. And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the land of their inheritance. Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?"[997]
16. The assistance which the Gentiles are to give in the preparation of the Jews, and of the remnant of the house of Israel established on the western continent, is affirmed by several Book of Mormon prophets; and, moreover, the blessings which the Gentiles may thus bring upon themselves are described in detail.[998] A single quotation must suffice for our present purpose; and this the declaration of the risen Lord, during His brief ministration among the Nephites:—"But if they [the Gentiles] will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance, and they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also, as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem; and then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst; and then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father, to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name; yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father, among all nations, in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance."[999]
17. Modern Revelation Concerning the Gathering.—We have found abundant proof of the severely literal fulfilment of prophecies relating to Israel's dispersion. The predictions relative to the gathering have been but partly fulfilled; for, while the work of concentration has been well begun, and is now in active progress, the consummation of the labor is yet future. It is reasonable, then, to look for revelation and prophecy concerning the subject, in modern scripture as well as in the inspired writings of former times. Speaking to the elders of the Church in this dispensation, the Lord declares His purpose to gather His people "even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,"[1000] and adds: "And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect, for mine elect hear my voice, and harden not their hearts; wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father, that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked."[1001]
18. Hear further the word of the Lord unto the people of His Church in the present day, not only predicting the gathering of the Saints to Zion, but announcing that the hour for the gathering has come:—"Wherefore, prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my Church.... Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you, go ye out of Babylon, gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."[1002]
19. Extent and Purpose of the Gathering.—Some of the prophecies already cited have special reference to the restoration of the Ten Tribes; others relate to the return of the people of Judah to the land of their inheritance; yet others refer to the re-establishment of Israel in general, without mention of tribal or other divisions; while many passages in the revelations of the present dispensation deal with the gathering of the Saints who have numbered themselves with the Church of Christ as re-established. It is evident that the plan of gathering comprises:—
1. Return of the Jews to Jerusalem.
2. Restoration of the Ten Tribes.
3. Assembling in the land of Zion of the people of Israel from the nations of the earth.
20. The sequence of these subdivisions as here presented, is that of convenience only, and has no significance as to the order in which the work is to be done. The division last named constitutes the present great work of the Church, though the labor of assisting in the restoration of the Lost Tribes is included. We are informed by revelation, given in the Kirtland Temple, that the appointment to and the authority for this work were solemnly committed to the Church. And through whom should such authority be expected to come? Surely through him who had received it by Divine commission in a former dispensation of united Israel. Moses, who was the chief representative of Israel's God when the Lord set His hand the first time to lead His people to the land of their appointed inheritance, has come in person and has committed to the latter-day Church the authority to minister in the work now that the Lord has "set his hand the second time" to recover His people.
21. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, each of whom had been duly ordained to the apostleship, testify of the manifestations made to them, in these words:—"The heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."[1003] The importance of the work thus required of the Church was emphasized by a later revelation, in which the Lord gave this command:—"Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations; firstly upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews. And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion.... Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion. And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountain of the Lord's house. Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon."[1004]
22. The last sentence of the foregoing quotation expresses the purpose for which this work of gathering the Saints from the nations of the earth has been ordained. The Lord would have His people separate themselves from the sins of the world, and depart from spiritual Babylon, that they may learn the ways of God and serve Him the more fully. John the Revelator, while in exile on Patmos, saw in vision the fate of the sinful world. An angel came down from heaven, "and he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."[1005]
23. The faith of the Saints teaches that in the day of the Lord's righteous fury, safety will be found in Zion. The importance which the Latter-day Saints associate with the work of gathering, and the fidelity with which they seek to discharge the duty enjoined upon them by Divine authority in the matter of warning the world of the impending dangers, as described in the Revelator's vision, are sufficiently demonstrated by the great extent of the missionary labor as at present prosecuted by this people.[1006]
24. Israel a Chosen People.—It is evident that the Lord has conferred the choicest of blessings upon His people Israel.[1007] With Abraham, the patriarch of the nation, God entered into a covenant and said:—"I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."[1008] This was to be an everlasting covenant.[1009] It was confirmed upon Isaac,[1010] and in turn upon Jacob who was called Israel.[1011] The promises regarding the multitudinous posterity, among whom were to be counted many of royal rank, have been literally fulfilled. No less certain is the realization of the second part of the prediction, that in and through Abraham's descendants should all nations of the earth be blessed. For, by a world-wide dispersion, the children of Israel have been mingled with the nations; and the blood of the chosen seed has been sprinkled among the peoples.[1012] And now, in this the day of gathering, when the Lord is again bringing His people together to honor and bless them above all that the world can give, every nation with the blood of Israel in the veins of its members will partake of the blessings.
25. But there is another and a more striking proof of blessings flowing to all nations through the house of Israel. Was not the Redeemer born in the flesh through the lineage of Abraham? Surely the blessings of that Divine birth are extended, not only to the nations and families of the earth collectively, but to every individual in mortality.
26. Restoration of the Ten Tribes.—From the scriptural passages already considered, it is plain that, while many of those belonging to the Ten Tribes were dispersed among the nations, a sufficient number to justify the retention of the original name were led away as a body, and are now in existence in some place where the Lord has hidden them. To them Christ went to minister after His visit to the Nephites, as before stated.[1013] Their return constitutes a very important part of the gathering, characteristic of the dispensation of the fullness of times.
27. To the scriptures already quoted as relating to their return, the following should be added: As a feature of the work of God in the day of restoration we are told:—"And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves, and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them. And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence. And there shall they fall down, and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim; and they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy. Behold this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows."[1014]
28. From the express and repeated declaration, that in their exodus from the north the Ten Tribes are to be led to Zion, there to receive honor at the hands of some of the children of Ephraim, who necessarily are to have previously gathered there, it is plain that Zion is to be first established. The establishment of Zion will receive attention in the next lecture.
NOTES.
1. Gathering Now in Progress.—The Latter-day Saints "are building up stakes of Zion in the Rocky Mountain valleys, and in this way are fulfilling predictions of the ancient prophets. Isaiah hath it written, '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 ii, 2-3). It is remarkable how minutely the Latter-day Saints are fulfilling the terms of this prophecy: 1. They are building the temples of God in the tops of the mountains, so that the house of the Lord is truly where Isaiah saw it would be. 2. The Saints engaged in this work are people gathered from nearly all the nations under heaven, so that all nations are flowing unto the house of the Lord in the top of the mountains. 3. The people who receive the gospel in foreign lands joyfully say to their relatives and friends: Come ye, and let us go up to the house of the Lord, and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths."—Roberts' Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, p. 409.
2. Israel a Chosen People.—"The promise to Abram that he should become a great nation, has been fulfilled in his chosen seed occupying the land of Palestine, as such, for fifteen hundred years. It will again be fulfilled when they become a nation on that land forever. The history of the eastern hemisphere for the two thousand years which intervened between the calling of Abraham and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, witnesses that every nation that fought against Israel, or in any way oppressed them, passed away. Time will show the same general result from the destruction of Jerusalem to the millennium. The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the time when the Lord should favor Israel, said, 'All they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish' (xli, 11). 'I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood' (xlix, 27). 'I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink of it again: but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over.'"—A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel, by Elders Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, pp. 246-247.
3. Israel Among the Nations.—"When we reflect that it is thirty-two centuries since the enemies of Israel began to oppress them in the land of Canaan, that about one-third of the time they were a people in that land they were more or less in bondage to their enemies; that seven hundred years before the coming of Christ the ten tribes were scattered throughout western Asia; that we have no record that any have as yet returned to the land of their inheritance; that nearly six hundred years before Christ, the Babylonish captivity took place, and that, according to the Book of Esther, only a small part of the Jews ever returned, but were scattered through the 127 provinces of the Persian empire; that Asia was the hive from which swarmed the nomadic tribes who over-ran Europe; that at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans the Jews were scattered over the known world; we may well ask the question, Does not Israel to-day constitute a large proportion of the human family?"—Compendium, by Elders F. D. Richards and James A. Little, p. 90.
LECTURE XIX.
ZION.
Article 10.—We believe ... That Zion will be built upon this [the American] continent, etc.
1. Two Gathering Places.—Some of the passages quoted in connection with the dispersion and the subsequent re-union of Israel, make reference to Jerusalem which is to be re-established, and Zion which is to be built. True, the latter name is in many cases used as a synonym of the first, owing to the fact that a certain hill within the Jerusalem of old was known specifically as Zion, or Mount Zion; and the name of a part is often used figuratively to designate the whole; but in other passages, the separate and distinctive meaning of the terms is clear. The prophet Micah, who ministered during the seventh century before the birth of Christ, "full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might,"[1015] predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and its associated Zion, the former to "become heaps," and the latter to be "plowed as a field;"[1016] and then announced a new condition which is to exist in the last days, when another "mountain of the house of the Lord" is to be established, and this is to be called Zion.[1017] The two places are mentioned separately in the prophecy:—"For the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."[1018]
2. Joel adds this testimony regarding the two places from which the Lord shall rule over His people:—"The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem."[1019] Zephaniah breaks forth into song, with the triumph of Israel as his theme, and addresses the daughters of both cities:—"Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem."[1020] Then, the prophet predicts separately of each place:—"In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack."[1021] Furthermore, Zechariah records the revealed will in this way:—"And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem."[1022]
3. When the people of the house of Jacob are prepared to receive the Redeemer as their rightful king, when the scattered sheep of Israel, have been sufficiently humbled through suffering and sorrow to know and to follow their Shepherd, then, indeed, will He come to reign among them. Then a literal kingdom will be established, wide as the world, with the King of Kings on the throne; and the two capitals of this mighty empire will be, Jerusalem on the eastern hemisphere, and Zion on the western. Isaiah speaks of the glory of Christ's kingdom in the latter days, and ascribes separately to Zion and to Jerusalem the blessings of triumph:[1023]—"O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God."[1024]
4. The Name "Zion" is used in several distinct senses. By derivation, the word Zion, or, as written by the Greeks, Sion, probably meant bright, or sunny; but this commonplace signification is lost in the deeper and more affecting meaning which the word as a name and title came to acquire. As stated, a particular hill within the site of the city of Jerusalem was called Zion. When David gained his victory over the Jebusites, he captured and occupied the "stronghold of Zion," and named it the city of David.[1025] "Zion" then was the name of a place; and it has been applied as follows:
1. To the hill itself, or Mount Zion, and, by extension of meaning, to Jerusalem.
2. To the location of the "mountain of the house of the Lord," which Micah predicts shall be established in the last days, distinct from Jerusalem. To these we may add another application of the name as made known through modern revelation, viz.:
3. To the city of Holiness, founded by Enoch, the seventh patriarch in descent from Adam, and called by him Zion.[1026]
4. Yet another use of the term is to be noted—viz.: a metaphorical one—by which the Church of God is called Zion, comprising, according to the Lord's own definition, the pure in heart.[1027]
5. Jerusalem.—As a fitting introduction to our study regarding the new Zion, yet to be built, as we shall presently see, on the western hemisphere, let us briefly consider the history and destiny of Jerusalem,[1028] the Zion of the eastern continent. The word Jerusalem is generally believed to mean by derivation the foundation or city of peace. We meet it for the first time as Salem, the abode of Melchizedek, high-priest and king, to whom Abram paid tithes, in the nineteenth century before Christ.[1029] We find a direct statement concerning the identity of Salem and Jerusalem by Josephus.[1030] As noted, the city was wrested from the Jebusites by David;[1031] this was about 1048 B.C. During the reigns of David and Solomon, the city as the capital of the kingdom of undivided Israel acquired great fame for its riches, beauty, and strength, its chief attraction being the marvelous temple of Solomon which adorned Mount Moriah.[1032] After the division of the kingdom, Jerusalem remained the capital of the smaller kingdom of Judah.
6. Among its many and varied vicissitudes incident to the fortunes of war,[1033] may be mentioned:—the destruction of the city and the enslaving of the inhabitants by Nebuchadnezzar, 588-585 B.C.;[1034] its re-establishment at the close of the Babylonian captivity[1035] (about 515 B.C.); and its final overthrow at the disruption of the Jewish nation by the Romans, 70-71 A.D. In importance, and in the love of the Jews, the city was the very heart of Jewry: and in the estimation of Christians, it has ever been invested with sanctity. It occupied an important place in the earthly mission of the Redeemer, and was the scene of His death, resurrection, and ascension. The Savior's high regard for the chief city of His people is beyond question. He forbade that any should swear by it, "for it is the city of the great King;"[1036] and because of its sins, He lamented over it as a father for a wayward child.[1037]
7. But, great as is Jerusalem's past, a yet greater future awaits her. Again will the city become a royal seat, her throne that of the King of Kings, with permanency of glory assured.
8. The Latter-day Zion; New Jerusalem.—The biblical statements concerning the Zion of the last days as separate from the ancient or the re-established Jerusalem of the east, are silent regarding the geographical location of this second and modern capital of Christ's kingdom. We learn something, however, from the Bible as to the physical characteristics of the region wherein Zion is to be built. Thus, Micah, after predicting the desolation of the hill, Mount Zion, and of Jerusalem in general, describes in contrast the new Zion, wherein the house of the Lord is to be built in the last days. These are his words:—"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."[1038]
9. The prophecy of Isaiah is not less explicit regarding the mountainous character of the country of modern Zion;[1039] and, furthermore, this writer assures us that the righteous man only shall be able to dwell amid the fiery splendor of this new abode; and of him the prophet says:—"He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks;" and adds the statement that the land shall be very far off.[1040] In another passage, he mentions a gathering place "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia," and, "on the mountains" where the Lord is to "set up an ensign" to the world.[1041]
10. The teachings of the Book of Mormon, and the truths made known through revelation in the present dispensation, regarding the Zion of the last days, while agreeing with the biblical record as to the general description of the situation, and the glories of the city, are more explicit in regard to the location. In these scriptures, the names Zion and New Jerusalem are used synonymously, the latter designation being given in honor of the Jerusalem of the east. John the Revelator saw in vision a New Jerusalem as characteristic of the latter times.[1042] Ether, writing 600 B.C. as a prophet among the Jaredites,—a people who had inhabited parts of North America for centuries before Lehi and his followers came to this hemisphere,[1043]—foretold the establishment of the New Jerusalem on this continent, and emphasized the distinction between that city and the Jerusalem of old.
11. The Nephite prophet, Moroni, in the synopsis of the writings of Ether, says of the latter, that he saw concerning the land of North America, "That it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the Holy Sanctuary of the Lord." And adds: "Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a new Jerusalem, upon this land; And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come; after it should be destroyed, it should be built up again a holy city unto the Lord, wherefore it could not be a New Jerusalem, for it had been in a time of old, but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel: And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type: For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph, that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph, that he should perish not; Wherefore the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come, when the earth shall pass away."[1044]
12. Jesus Christ visited the Nephites in North America soon after His resurrection, and in the course of His teachings said:—"And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you."[1045] Our Savior predicted further, as set forth in a previous lecture,[1046] that the Gentiles, if they would repent of their sins, and not harden their hearts, should be included in the covenant, and be permitted to assist in the building of a city to be called the New Jerusalem.[1047]
13. Ether the Jaredite, and John the Revelator, separated by more than six centuries of time and prophesying on opposite hemispheres, each saw the New Jerusalem come down from heaven, "prepared," says the Jewish apostle, "as a bride adorned for her husband."[1048] We have already spoken of the Zion of Enoch,[1049] a city once situated on the North American continent, whose inhabitants were so righteous that they too were called Zion, "because they were of one heart and one mind."[1050] They, with their patriarch leader, were translated from the earth, or, as we read, "it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into His own bosom, and from thence went forth the saying, 'Zion is fled.'"[1051] But before this event, the Lord had revealed unto Enoch the Divine purpose in regard to humanity, even unto the last of time. Great events are to mark the latter days; the elect are to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth to a place prepared for them; the tabernacle of the Lord is to be established there, and the place "shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem." Then Enoch and his people are to return to earth and meet the gathered elect in the holy place.
14. We have seen that the names Zion and New Jerusalem are used interchangeably; and, furthermore, that righteous people as well as sanctified places are called Zion; for, by the Lord's special word, Zion to Him means "the pure in heart."[1052] The Church in this day teaches that the New Jerusalem seen by John, and by the prophet Ether, as descending from the heavens in glory, is the return of exalted Enoch and his righteous people; and that the people or Zion of Enoch, and the modern Zion, or the gathered elect on the western continent, will become one people.
15. The Book of Mormon is explicit in foretelling the establishment of Zion on the western continent; but the precise location was not revealed until after the restoration of the priesthood in the present dispensation. In 1831, the Lord commanded the elders of His Church in this wise:—"Go ye forth into the western countries, call upon the inhabitants to repent, and inasmuch as they do repent, build up churches unto me; and with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that ye may purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto you; and it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God; and the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord shall also be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion."[1053]
16. Later revelations called the elders of the Church to assemble in western Missouri,[1054] and designated that place as the land appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the Saints.[1055] "Wherefore this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion."[1056] The town of Independence was named as "the center place," and the site for the temple was designated, the Saints being counseled to purchase land there, "that they may obtain it for an everlasting inheritance."[1057] On August 3rd, 1831, the temple site thus named was solemnly dedicated by the prophet, Joseph Smith, and his associates in the priesthood.[1058] The region round about was also dedicated, that it might be a gathering place for the people of God.
17. Such, then, is the belief of the Latter-day Saints; such are the teachings of the Church. But the plan of building up Zion has not yet been consummated. The Saints were not permitted to enter into immediate possession of the land, which was promised them as an everlasting inheritance. Even as years elapsed between the time of the Lord's promise to Israel of old that Canaan should be their inheritance, and the time of their entering into possession thereof,—years devoted to the people's toilsome and sorrowful preparation for the fulfilment,—so in these latter-days, the Divine purpose is held in abeyance, while the people are being sanctified for the great gift, and for the greater responsibilities associated with it. In the meantime, the honest in heart are gathering to the valleys of the Rocky Mountains; and here, in the tops of the mountains, exalted above the hills, temples have been erected, and all nations are flowing unto this region. But Zion shall yet be established on the chosen site; she "shall not be moved out of her place," and the pure in heart shall surely return, "with songs of everlasting joy to build up the waste places of Zion."[1059]
18. But gathered Israel cannot be confined to the "center place," nor to the region immediately adjacent; other places have been and will be appointed, and these are called Stakes of Zion.[1060] Many stakes have been established in the regions inhabited by the Latter-day Saints, and these are to be permanent possessions; and thence will go those who are appointed from among the worthy to receive possession of their inheritances. Zion is to be chastened, but only for a little season,[1061] then will come the time of her redemption.
19. That time will be appointed of God, yet it is to be determined according to the faithfulness of the people. Their wickedness causeth the Lord to tarry; for, saith He:—"Therefore, in consequence of the transgression of my people, it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion."[1062] And again,—"Zion shall be redeemed in mine own due time."[1063] But the Lord's time in giving blessings unto His people is dependent upon them. As long ago as 1834 came the word of the Lord unto the Church:—"Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people ... they might have been redeemed even now."[1064]
NOTES.
1. Jerusalem.—"The city has, in different ages, borne a variety of names, and even in the Bible it has several designations. Salem, mentioned in Gen. xiv, 18, was perhaps its name in the time of Melchizedek, and it is certainly so called in Psa. lxxvi, 2. Isaiah (xxix, 1, 7) calls it Ariel. Jebus, or Jebusi, the city of the Jebusites, was its name in the days of Joshua and the Judges (Josh. xv, 8; xviii, 16, 28; Judges xix, 10, 11), and this name continued in use till David's time (I Chron. xi, 4, 5). Some have thought that Jerusalem is itself a corruption of Jebus-Salem, but it is a theory unsupported by facts. Jerusalem is also termed 'the city of David,' 'the city of Judah,' 'the holy city,' 'the city of God' (II Kings xiv, 20; II Chron. xxv, 28; Neh. xi, 18; Psa. lxxxvii, 3). To this day it is called el-Kuds, or 'the holy,' in most countries of the East. No city in the world has received more honorable appellations; our Savior himself called it 'the city of the great King.'"—Bible Dictionary, Cassell & Co., p. 600.
2. The Founding of Zion in Missouri.—"... A company of Saints known as the Colesville Branch—from their having lived at Colesville, Broome County, New York—had arrived in Missouri, and having received instructions to purchase the lands in the regions around about Zion, they secured a tract of land in a fertile prairie some ten or twelve miles west of Independence, in Kaw township, not far from the present location of Kansas City. On the 2nd of August [1831]—the day preceding the dedication of the temple site—in the settlement of the Colesville Saints, the first log was laid for a house as the foundation of Zion. The log was carried by twelve men, in honor of the Twelve Tribes of Israel; and Elder Sidney Rigdon consecrated and dedicated the land of Zion for the gathering of the Saints."—Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, by Elder B. H. Roberts, p. 352.
3. Temple Site, Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.—"Taking the road running west from the Court House for a scant half mile, you come to the summit of a crowning hill, the slope of which to the south and west is quite abrupt, but very gradual toward the north and east.... This is the temple site. It was upon this spot on the third day of August, 1831, that Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and Joseph Coe, and another person whose name I cannot learn, for there were eight in all—men in whom the Lord was well pleased, assembled to dedicate this place as the temple site in Zion. The eighty-seventh psalm was read. Joseph [the prophet] then dedicated the spot, where is to be built a temple on which the glory of God shall rest. Yea, the great God hath so decreed it, saying: 'Verily this generation shall not pass away, until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house.... And the sons of Moses, and also the sons of Aaron, shall offer an acceptable offering, and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed.'—(Doc. and Cov. sec. lxxxiv, 5, 31.)"—Elder B. H. Roberts, Missouri Persecutions. See "The House of the Lord," by James E. Talmage, Chapter V.