The Scattering and Gathering of Israel
The Book of Mormon offers insight into the fulfilment of
prophecy as we read of the literal scattering of a tribe of Israel, where they
came from, where they went and how they got there. We do not however have such
records i\of all the scattered tribes of Israel, though we are promised that we
will eventually have them.
The Book of Mormon offers much commentary upon the subject.
One of Nephi’s favorite themes is the scattering and
gathering of Israel. This probably because he understood that his father’s
house was scattered and that according to prophecy. Apparently, his brothers
were having a difficult time understanding the prophet teachings of their
father and a sought Nephi’s help. Nephi’s explanation to his brothers of the teachings
of their father, Lehi gives us important understanding into the doctrine of the
scattering and gathering of Israel.
3. Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things
pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house
of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth,
and also among all nations. (1 Nephi 22:3-8)
“…the house of Israel,” refers to all tribes.
“…sooner or later,” means that the scattering is ongoing.
“…upon all the face of the earth,” means to every part of
it, a complete coverage.
“…among all nations.” Means among every nation upon the
planet
(Support References: Deut. 28:64, Lord shall scatter thee
among all people, Lev. 26:33; Jer. 9:16; Ezek. 20:23; 22:15, I will scatter you
among the heathen, Deut. 4:27; Neh. 1:8; Ezek. 12:15; D&C 45;19, Lord shall
scatter you among the nations, Jer. 5:19, …shall ye serve strangers in a land
that is not yours, Jer. 29:18, …removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, Ezek.
6:8, …when ye shall be scattered through the countries, Hosea 9:17, …shall be
wanderers among the nations, Amos 6:7, …sift the house of Israel among all
nations, Luke 21:24, …led away captive into all nations, 3 Nephi 16:8, …have
scattered my people who are of the house of Israel)
4. And behold, there are many who are already lost from the
knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the tribes
have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of the
sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have
been led away.
“…there are many who are already lost…” By this time the Northern kingdoms had
already been conquered and scattered, but there could have been others led away
prior to or since, such as Lehi, Ishmael, and Mulek.
“Yea, the more part of all the tribes have been led away;”
Nephi uses this language “led away” because he sees that the scattering is a
deliberate action by God. There is a purpose in it.
“…they are scattered to and fro…” Meaning that they are
spread out or thinned both far and wide.
“…upon the isles of the sea;” The isles of the sea refers to
any continent or island not directly joining the land of Israel and the regions
then known.
“and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know
that they have been led away.” It remains
a mystery for the most part who went where.
5. …Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to
my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of
other countries by the hand of the Lord.
6. Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit
which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be
brought by the hand of the Lord.
7. wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall
bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments
which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they
shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of
iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their
sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever. (2 Nephi 1)
Others would be led to this land from other nations, but
only those whom the Lord would bring. When you consider the major migrations to
this land you can’t escape the enormity of the African migration. I think that
we might erroneously exclude them from this prophecy because we consider their
migration to this country to be coerced by wicked men, and we consider their
condition here to have been a curse, not a blessing. But if Lehi’s prophecy is
taken literally than we must see that they were brought to this land by the
hand of God. Lehi prophesied that they would be cursed because of iniquity, and
then liberated according to righteousness. They came as idolaters but were taught
about Jesus Christ and introduced to the Bible. Most of them, over time,
embraced the gospel which resulted in their liberation from captivity.
The question is, why were they brought here?
We believe that Lehi and his family as well as Mulek were
scattered to the promised land of America. Both were of the tribe of Joseph
through Manassas. We believe that the European migration of the Gentiles to the
promised land was largely a migration of the tribe of Ephraim which was scattered
into those countries.
But what of the African migration? Who are they?
If the tribes of Israel were scattered among all nations and
throughout all the earth, and their blood mixed with all people upon the earth
then we could assume that the blood of Israel was scattered among them as well.
They are also a branch grown over the wall and gathered to the promised land in
time to receive the blessings of freedom and the restored gospel.
Israel was scattered because of their rebellion, but also to
infuse the blood of Israel into the nations of the earth as a fulfillment of
the promise made to Abraham that “…in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the
literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be
blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel,” (Abraham 2:11)
“The Lord scattered and afflicted the twelve tribes of
Israel because of their unrighteousness and rebellion. However, the Lord also
used this scattering of His chosen people among the nations of the world to
bless those nations” (Guide to the Scriptures, Israel-The gathering of Israel)
“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 lands of their inheritance. (2 Nephi
10:8)
There are not many cases in which the Gentile nations
“carried” scattered Israel anywhere. Perhaps to some degree this could apply to
scattered Judah during and after World War II. However, the most dramatic
example of the Gentiles “…carrying them forth…” must be the displacement of the
African race.
No other race of people was “carried by the gentiles” in
such impressive numbers to any land like the Africans were to the western hemisphere,
even though their migration was coerced. But there is a precedence for that as
well, as the northern kingdoms of Israel were conquered by Syria and coerced
into slavery and scattered, and Judah was conquered by Babylon and coerced into
servitude as well. But in all these cases, to the degree that they learned and
accepted the gospel they were liberated and blessed.
That we do not have a record of the migration of most of the
tribes or family of Israel to the nations of the earth is not surprising. We
would have no record of Lehi and his family if not for the Book of Mormon.
Furthermore, the curse upon the Lamanites has made it difficult to identify
them as of the house of Israel without the aid of the Book of Mormon.
It would not be a stretch then to assume the same of any
other nation.
An analysis of the displacement of the Africans reveals yet
another very interesting fact. Most of them came from the nations of the Ivory
Coast, the Gold Coast, the Congo and Angola. (See Map 1)
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| Map 1 |
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| Map 2 |
We will some day know their story completely as their
history is revealed during the ongoing restoration of all things.
For now, we look forward to the continuing restoration of
the tribes of Israel.
In conclusion, the kingdom of God on the earth is the
spiritual and temporal gathering place for Israel. God had promised a
miraculous gathering and so it is. As a church we consider us all brothers and
sisters, children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and children of God.
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