The small meal, the grand feast, Adam and Eve, and ancient temple worship -- Part 3: "Fulness"

In the first two posts in this series (here and here), we looked at the commandment given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28 and five important aspects of that commandment:

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1)

We then connected the command to "replenish" the earth with the story of Noah and showed that in the process of keeping God's commandments, Noah went from offering God a measure of the creation to having "all things" delivered "into [his] hand" (Genesis 9:2-3).

"Replenish" is the KJV translation for the Hebrew word "male" as discussed in these previous posts.  There is a related word from the same root, "melo" which means "fulness" or "multitude."

The first time "melo" appears in the Old Testament, it shows up in a unique expression associated with Ephraim.

"mə·lō- hag·gō·w·yim" -- "Multitude of nations/fulness of the Gentiles"

18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this [Manasseh] is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he [Manasseh] also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. (Genesis 48)

"Multitude of nations" could also be translated "fulness of Gentiles" (see this post). That is an important detail because it connects this blessing with numerous other scriptures. 

As I've thought about the latter day gathering, it occurs to me that this blessing given by Israel to Ephraim is profoundly significant:

10 And then cometh the day when the arm of the Lord shall be revealed in power in convincing the nations, the heathen nations, the house of Joseph, of the gospel of their salvation.

11 For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Doctrine & Covenants 90)

The fulness of the Gospel is being preached to the fulness of the Gentiles, in fulfillment of Jacob's prophecy.

33 He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.

...

41 He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here. (Joseph Smith -- History 1)

In the next post in this series, we'll take a closer look at the detailed prophecies in the Book of Mormon which speak of the "fulness of the Gentiles" and the "fulness of the Gospel" in the latter days.