Scattering as a necessary prerequisite for the gathering -- Part 2 of 2

In part 1, we looked at the prophesied scattering of Israel, a major theme of the Book of Mormon.  This scattering is necessary for the gathering to take place.

In this post, we'll look at a few of the many references to the gathering of Israel in the Book of  Mormon. As with the scattering of Israel, many references to the gathering of Israel in the last days can be found in the Book of Mormon.  This is a major theme.

Lehi prophesied about the gathering of Israel:

14 And after the house of Israel should 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 the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer. (1 Nephi 10)

Nephi also prophesied about the gathering:

12 Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. (1 Nephi 22)

14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever. (2 Nephi 29) 

Nephi quoted Isaiah about the gathering of Israel:

12 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. (2 Nephi 21)

Mormon wrote about it as well:

26 And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be. Amen. (3 Nephi 5)

Jesus Christ teaches about the gathering several times, perhaps most notably in 3 Nephi 20:

13 And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.

18 And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.

29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.

33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.

When President Nelson speaks of the utmost importance of the gathering of Israel, he is speaking of the fulfillment of a prophecy that is thousands of years old!


I also see temple themes embedded within this pattern of scattering and gathering. In order to progress back to the presence of the Father with a physical body, we chose to leave His presence and "come down" to an uncertain and dreary place, undergoing a type of scattering, but not without a promise that messengers would visit us and show us the way back -- a plan from the beginning to gather us in. This mortal phase is about hearkening to those messengers and following the path back to the tree of life. If the fall represents a scattering, the everlasting covenant represents the gathering.

What is the word of God? -- Part 2

In a recent post, I fleshed out a broader definition of "the word of God," to include more than just the printed scriptures.  The rod is a metaphor for our covenants. The rod is held in the hand of the divine messengers who are given charge over the covenant path. Just as John is given a rod to measure the worshippers in the temple (see Revelation 11:1), modern-day prophets hold the authority to measure us as a people of God and keep us in green pastures.

Thinking about the word "rod" in this context helped unfold another context:

A Latter-day Rod

Isaiah uses the word "rod" in the context of the restoration:

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.
4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (2 Nephi 21/compare Isaiah 11)

3 What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse?
4 Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power. (D&C 113)

Nephi summarizes

8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.
9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire. (2 Nephi 30)

Compare this prophecy of the "great division among the people" to the words spoken by the Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith:

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. (JS--H 1)

"My name should be had for good and evil among all nations" 

As has been discussed in other posts, the name "Joseph" comes from a Hebrew root meaning "God will proceed to." Thus, the proceeding of this latter-day restoration of God's people is intended to create a division among the people, the word of God that is given is designed to separate the righteous from the wicked.

"An ensign to/for the nations"

"An ensign to/for the nations"

This phrase shows up twice in the Book of Mormon, both times in quoted Isaiah passages.

26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them. (2 Nephi 15)

12 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. (2 Nephi 21)

"Ensign" could also be translated "banner," "standard," or "sign," and comes from the Hebrew root "nes." These are both clear references to the work of gathering of Israel. The verse in 2 Nephi 21 comes directly after we are told "the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people." 

Elder Holland speaks of a time when early church leaders felt that this prophecy was being literally fulfilled:

As has often been told from this pulpit, Brother Brigham led a handful of leaders to the summit of that hill and proclaimed it Ensign Peak, a name filled with religious meaning for these modern Israelites. Twenty-five hundred years earlier the prophet Isaiah had declared that in the last days “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains,” and there “he shall set up an ensign for the nations.”
Seeing their moment in history as partial fulfillment of that prophecy, the Brethren wished to fly a banner of some kind to make the idea of “an ensign for the nations” literal. Elder Heber C. Kimball produced a yellow bandana. Brother Brigham tied it to a walking stick carried by Elder Willard Richards and then planted the makeshift flag, declaring the valley of the Great Salt Lake and the mountains surrounding it as that prophesied place from which the word of the Lord would go forth in the latter days. (source)

As I try to understand the symbols used in Isaiah, I look at other instances in the bible where these same words are used. I noticed this verse in Exodus 17:

15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. (NIV)

Interestingly, all three of these chapters contain military language. Since a "banner" can refer to a flag raised to rally troops, this detail caught my attention.  Notice the symbolism in Exodus 17, when Moses is commanded to raise his staff and hold it aloft while the army of the Israelites battles the Amalekites, who had attacked them.  When he is weary, he sits upon a stone and others support his arms until the battle is won. In commemoration of the victory, Moses builds the altar and names it "The Lord is my Banner." We have a staff, a stone, and an altar, all associated with a prophet.

As for the military imagery, we get a lot of that in Isaiah, and for me it indicates that the intended effect of the work of gathering is to invite all men to come unto Christ and be become a new creature through priesthood ordinances.  This creates a certain amount of carnage as a by-product.

More about staffs and the power of the word in the near future. 

The gathering of Israel as a second Exodus

Lord Wilmore and I have posted about various topics lately involving symbols that somehow seem related and it’s all starting to come together. This is not planned, it just seems to happen that we have considered different pieces of a puzzle making a big, beautiful picture. Recently I've been thinking about and studying the Exodus in relation to the gathering of Israel. It is very much related to what Lord Wilmore has recently posted on the highway symbolism.

I don’t think we should confuse this “highway” with the modern-day highways we tend to think about when we hear the word. The way is still “strait and narrow”, but it is an elevated, ascending way (explanation here).

My thought process started when I noticed all the Exodus references in Isaiah, even though he is talking about the gathering of Israel. I have long been fascinated by all the symbolism we find in the Exodus but this added a new layer.

Here are some examples of Exodus references in Isaiah passages, some of which have already been quoted in recent posts.

2 Nephi 21:16/Isaiah 11:16

And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

1 Nephi 20:20-21/Isaiah 48:20-21

20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.21 And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also and the waters gushed out.

2 Nephi 14:5/Isaiah 4:5

And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense.

Why does Isaiah refer to the Exodus so much when he is really talking about the latter-day gathering of Israel? Because the Exodus of the children of Israel is symbolic for the latter-day gathering of Israel. Walking on this highway that Lord Wilmore has posted about, is a spiritual Exodus for the remnant in the latter days. Recall that there is both a physical and spiritual aspect to this topic. Recall also that the way is typically through the wilderness. Let us have a look at the symbols in the Exodus and how they relate to the spiritual gathering today:

Leaving Egypt

I have posted some thoughts about this before. Egypt = Worshipping the beast/the natural man = Sin. Leaving Egypt = repentance. The children of Israel had to leave Egypt. The latter-day remnant needs to leave sin and try to put off the natural man as a first step to become the covenant people.

Applying the blood of the lamb

This one is obvious and well-known. The children of Israel had to strike the blood of the lamb on the door posts, prepare their meal a certain way and other things with clear symbolic references to Christ. Only He can make leaving Egypt/sin possible. The latter-day remnant must also apply the blood of the lamb. Christ is the center of the gathering of Israel.

The sea/cloud and pillar of fire

As Paul stated, the children of Israel “were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2). They crossed the Red Sea (God made a way through it, see Isaiah 43:16), they had a cloud to lead them by day and a pillar of fire by night. The latter-day remnant must be baptized both by water and by fire. This is the gate for the covenant people, just as the Red Sea was a gate to the highway in the desert that had to be opened. For the Egyptians, who were non-Israelites, this gate was closed. This was not because of their ancestry but because of their unwillingness to listen to and obey the Lord (Exodus 5:2). Regardless of our ancestry, we are numbered among Israel through baptism and confirmation. This is the first covenant we enter into and makes us part of the covenant people.

Bread from heaven and water from the rock

Entering through the gate was just the beginning (2 Nephi 31:19). The children of Israel had to walk the way through the wilderness. There they drank water from the rock (Christ) and ate bread from heaven (also Christ, see John 6:48-51). The latter-day remnant can renew the covenants they have entered into when partaking of the sacrament, the bread and water that symbolize Christ, to give them strength along their journey in the wilderness of life.

The mount Sinai

The children of Israel were asked to sanctify themselves to be able to endure God’s presence on the mountain and receive the higher law and priesthood. The latter-day remnant is asked to sanctify themselves to be able to enter into the “mountain of the Lord”, the temple, to receive “the fulness of the priesthood” (D&C 124:28). As we know, Israel ended up receiving the lesser law. But Moses’ feet on mount Sinai giving Israel the lesser law was a “type of things to come”, namely Christ’s and messenger’s/angel’s feet on the mount Zion giving the higher law which is the new and everlasting covenant (see more details here and here).

The Children of Israel failed to fully walk this Way of Holiness through the wilderness. As a result, they did not “enter into His rest”. Their failure is an example that we can learn from so we don’t make the same mistakes. The Lord will gather his elect and it’s up to you and me to be among them.

To summarize:

• God has prepared a “Highway of Holiness” in the latter days for the remnant of the House of Israel
• Walking on this way is a spritual journey consisting of repentance, applying the atonement, baptism and confirmation/the gift of The Holy Ghost, the sacrament and all the covenants received in the temple through the Melchizedek Priesthood
• President Nelson and other church leaders today have referred to this as “the covenant path”
• Anyone who walks on this highway is numbered among the House of Israel, because by entering through the gate (baptism) they are adopted into it
• The Exodus of the Children of Israel walking on a way through the wilderness, although a real event, is also symbolic of the spiritual exodus of the latter-day remnant of the House of Israel on the Highway of Holiness
• The Highway of Holiness goes through the wilderness of our lives, our mortal experience, and ultimately leads to the promised land/”His rest”/the tree of life

I know there are a lot of links in this post, but if you haven’t read them before I recommend spending some time with it for a fuller understanding and context. The symbolism here is clear and beautiful.

A Highway of Holiness for the Remnant -- Part 2

In my last post, we looked at Isaiah's mention of a "way of Holiness" and its connection to covenants and the temple.

Today, we'll look at another mention of the highway, and flesh out a context for this prophecy, specifically to the latter-days.

"Recover[ing] the Remnant"

2 Nephi 21/Isaiah 11 is one such example. The highway which will allow them to

11 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, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 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. ...
15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind he shall shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry shod.
16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. (2 Nephi 21/Isaiah 11)

Connection to the Restoration

We live in this long foretold day, when the Lord has set again to recover the remnant of His people for the second (and final) time. The highway which is prepared for this people -- to allow them to "go over dry shod" -- is the Everlasting Covenant administered in the Church, including the ordinances of the temple. Recall that "shall set again" is translated from the same Hebrew root that gives us the name Joseph. The restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith was part of the plan from the beginning.

Also recall that Lehi taught his son Joseph that Joseph in Egypt prophesied that he had:

"obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light—yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom." (2 Nephi 3:5)

It seems a central purpose for the restoration was not just to restore lost knowledge, but to restore the covenants which will protect us from drowning in the waters of the world, or the depths of hell.  The covenant path will allow us to avoid these pitfalls, into which we would otherwise be led -- out of darkness, out of captivity, into light and freedom.

The "mighty wind" of the Lord

It is worth noting that the use of the word "wind" in verse 15 could just as well have been translated "Spirit," giving us this reading: "...with his mighty Spirit he shall shake his hand over the river."

In the next post, we'll connect even more symbols associated with these verses, and we'll tie them in to the temple, or at least to the two ways.