Scattering foretold by Lehi

1. Scattering foretold by Lehi 1 Ne. 10:12-13 - Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an olive-tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered upon all the face of the earth. 13 Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be led with one accord into the land of promise, unto the fulfilling of the word of the Lord, that we should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.

2. Why Was Israel Scattered? "Israel was scattered because she apostatized; because she broke the Ten Commandments; because she rejected the prophets and seers and turned to wizards that peep and mutter; because she forsook the covenant; because she gave heed to false ministers and joined false churches; because she ceased to be a peculiar people and a kingdom of priests. When she became as the world, the Lord left her to suffer and live and be as the world then was." (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, p. 186.)

3. Assyrian Scattering about 722 B.C. of the Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom 2 Kings 15:29 - In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

4. Babylonian Scattering about 587 B.C. of the Southern Kingdom of Judah 1 of 2 1 Kings 25:1,3 - 1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, thatNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

5. continued… 2 Kings 25:6-7 - 6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

6. Roman Scattering about 70 A.D. of the Jews About 70 A.D., when Nero was the Emperor of Rome, an uprising occurred in Judea, and Nero sent his armies to put down the revolt. Jerusalem was conquered, and in time the Romans scattered most of the Jewish people. (Daniel H. Ludlow, “The Scattering and Gathering of Israel,” C.E.S. Symposium, B.Y.U., 1987)

7. A Promised Gathering "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. … "Though smitten of men, a large part of them gone from a knowledge of the world, Israel are not lost unto their God. 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 blessing and influence befitting His covenant people. In spite of their sin and notwithstanding the tribulations that they were bringing 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: I am the Lord their God.' As complete as was the scattering, so shall be the gathering of Israel." (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 328–29.)

8. Gathering to an Ensign "Many ancient prophecies foretold that in the last days the Lord would set up an ensign 'to the nations, a standard to which Israel and the righteous of all nations might gather. (Isa. 5:26; 11:10–12; 18:3; 30:17–26; 31:9; 49:22; 62:10; Zech. 9:16.) This ensign is the new and everlasting covenant, the gospel of salvation (D. & C. 49:9); it is the great latter-day Zion (D. & C. 64:41–43); it is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 228.)

9. A Literal / Physical Gathering "By and by the Jews will be gathered to the land of their fathers, and the ten tribes, who wandered into the north, will be gathered home, and the blood of Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, which is to be found in every kingdom and nation under heaven, will be gathered from among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles who will receive and adhere to the principles of the Gospel will be adopted and initiated into the family of Father Abraham, and Jesus will reign over his own and Satan will reign over his own." (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, pp. 121–22.)

10. A Spiritual Gathering "Now, the gathering of Israel consists of joining the true church and their coming to a knowledge of the true God. … Any person, therefore, who has accepted the restored gospel, and who now seeks to worship the Lord in his own tongue and with the Saints in the nations where he lives, has complied with the law of the gathering of Israel and is heir to all of the blessings promised the Saints in these last days." (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, pp. 438–39.)

11. Ephraim’s Role in the Gathering 1 of 2 "It is essential in this dispensation that Ephraim stand in his place at the head, exercising the birthright in Israel which was given to him by direct revelation. Therefore, Ephraim must be gathered first to prepare the way, through the gospel and the priesthood, for the rest of the tribes of Israel when the time comes for them to be gathered to Zion. The great majority of those who have come into the Church are Ephraimites. It is the exception to find one of any other tribe, unless it is of Manasseh.

12. Quote continued… • "It is Ephraim, today, who holds the priesthood. It is with Ephraim that the Lord has made covenant and has revealed the fulness of the everlasting gospel. It is Ephraim who is building temples and performing the ordinances in them for both the living and for the dead. When the 'lost tribes' come—and it will be a most wonderful sight and a marvelous thing when they do come to Zion—in fulfilment of the promises made through Isaiah and Jeremiah, they will have to receive the crowning blessings from their brother Ephraim, the 'firstborn' in Israel." • (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:252–53.)

13. Doctrine and Covenants 133:26-34. • 26 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. • 27 And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep. • 28 Their enemies shall become a prey unto them, • 29 And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.

14. Doctrine and Covenants 133:26-34. • 30 And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim, my servants. • 31 And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence. • 32 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. • 33 And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy. • 34 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.

15. Scriptures of the Lost Tribes 2 Nephi 29:12-13 - For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it. 13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.

16. The Ten Lost Tribes will bring their scriptures also! As if all this were not enough, the splendid Book of Mormon advises that a third scriptural witness is yet to come from the lost tribes (see 2 Nephi 29:12-14). Its coming is likely to be even more dramatic than the coming forth of the second testament. Those who doubt or disdain the second testament of Christ will not accept the third either. But believers will then possess a triumphant triad of truth (see 2 Nephi 29:12-14)… We do not know when and how this will occur, but we are safe in assuming that the third book will have the same fundamental focus as the Book of Mormon—"that . . . their seed [too] . . . may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer" (3 Nephi 16:4).

17. …continued If there is a title page in that third set of sacred records, it is not likely to differ in purpose from the title page in the Book of Mormon, except for its focus on still other peoples who likewise received a personal visit from the resurrected Jesus (see 3 Nephi 15:20-24; 16:1-4). (Neal A. Maxwell, Book of Mormon Symposium Series, First Nephi, p. 15)

18. Israel to be gathered by direction of the Prophet This means that Israel is gathered at the direction and pursuant to the power and authority vested in the legal administrators who preside over The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And it also means that the Ten Tribes—scattered, lost, unknown, and now in all the nations of the earth—these Ten Tribes, with their prophets, with their scriptures, in faith and desiring righteousness, shall return to blessed Canaan at the direction of these same legal administrators. (Bruce R. McConkie, Millennial Messiah, p. 322)

19. Statements from the Brethren and those connected with Joseph Smith about the location of the Ten Lost Tribes

20. Brigham Young President Young is quoted as saying that the ten tribes of Israel are on a portion of the earth,—a portion separated from the main land. (as quoted in Wilford Woodruff, His Life and Labors, Matthias F. Cowley, p. 448)

21. Eliza R. Snow Eliza R. Snow said that her husband, Joseph Smith, had taught her the doctrine of the severing of the earth which she wrote in the following poem. The poem was later published in an early hymn book of the Church. Only those verses pertinent to the severing of portions of the earth will be given here: Thou, earth, was once a glorious sphere of Noble magnitude, And didst with majesty appear among the worlds of God. But they dimensions have been torn asunder, piece by piece, And each dismembered fragment borne abroad to distant space.

22. Quote continued… When Enoch could no longer stay amid corruption here, Part of thyself was borne away to form another sphere. And when the Lord saw fit to hide the “Ten Lost Tribes” away, Thou earth, wast severed to provide the orb on which they stay. And thus, from time to time, thy size has been diminished till Thou seemest the law of sacrifice created to fulfill. A “restitution” yet must come, that will to thee restore, By that grand law of worlds, thy sum of matter heretofore. (Eliza R. Snow, Sacred Hymns And Spiritual Songs, SLC Deseret News 1912 25th Ed. p. 386-387)

23. Bathsheba W. Smith Bathsheba W. Smith, wife of George A. Smith, said she heard Joseph Smith say: I heard Joseph Smith preach… "Peradventure, the Ten Tribes were not on this globe, but a portion of this earth had cleaved off with them and went flying into space, and when the time comes when the `earth reels to and fro like a drunken man and the stars from heaven fall,' it would join on again." (Bathsheba W. Smith, Juvenile Instructor, 27, 1892, p. 344)

24. Parley P. Pratt 1 of 2 The stars which will fall to the earth [see D&C 29:14; 34:19; 45:42; 88:87; 133:49] are fragments, which have been broken off from the earth from time to time, in the mighty convulsions of nature. Some in the days of Enoch, some perhaps in the days of Peleg, some with the ten tribes, and some at the crucifixion of the Messiah. These all must be restored again at the "times of restitution of ALL THINGS." This will restore the ten tribes of Israel; and also bring again Zion, even Enoch's city. It will bring back the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God; that you and I may partake of it [see Rev. 2:7].

25. Quote continued… When these fragments, (some of which are vastly larger than the present earth) are brought back and joined to this earth, it will cause a convulsion of all nature; the graves of the Saints will be opened, and they rise from the dead; while the mountains will flow down, the vallies rise, the sea retire to its own place, the islands and continents will be removed, and earth be rolled together as a scroll. The earth will be many times larger than it is now.—"If I have told you of earthly things and ye believe not; what would you think if you were to be told of heavenly things?" (Parley P. Pratt, Millennial Star, vol. 1, May 1840-April 1841)

26. Quote by Wandle Mace 1 of 4 I have many times been pondering upon a subject, and seemed to come to a stand-still, not knowing how to gain farther information, relating to it, when upon going to meeting on the sabbath, the key would be touched by Joseph and the subject would be so plain I wondered why I had not seen it before. I was in this situation in relation to the Ten lost tribes of Israel. I had read everything I could find relating to them. I had carefully studied the statistics of the Jews, and not withstanding they had been persecuted for hundreds of years, being murdered and driven, until they were now scattered all over the known world, yet they numbered several millions. I reasoned thus, had the `Ten Tribes', suffered equal disaster, and they had increased in number, in the same ratio as the Jews, the would number nearly ten times as many --or nine times and a half as it is nine a half tribes instead of ten.

27. …continued If they have increased in this proportion, where is there habitable earth for this vast amount of people who are hidden from the rest of mankind? I could not see. I was in this train of thought, unable to obtain further information from any source, when as usual on a Sunday morning, I took my skiff and crossed the river to Nauvoo, to attend meeting. Joseph addressed the congregation, and as if for special benefit, touched upon this subject which opened a new field for reflection to me. His subject was: The "restitution of all things spoken of by all the Holy Prophets since the world began," quoting the twenty first verse of the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

28. …continued In the course of his remarks he spoke of the earth being divided at various times. He said, "When Enoch and his city was taken away, a portion of earth was taken and would again be restored. Also in the days of Peleg, the earth was divided, see Genesis 10th Chapter 25 verse." He then referred to the `Ten Tribes', saying, "You know a long time ago in the days of Shalmanezer King of Assyria when the Ten Tribes was taken away, and never been heard of since." He said, "The earth will be restored as at the beginning, and the last taken away will be the first to return, for the last shall be first, and the first shall be last in all things." He illustrated the return by saying. “Some of you brethren have been coming up the river on a steamboat, and while seated at the table, the steamboat run against a snag which upset the table and scatter the

29. …continued the dishes; so it will be when these portions of earth return. It will make the earth reel to and for `like a drunken man,'" quoting 24th chapter Isaiah 20th verse. When speaking of the return of the Ten Tribes, he said, "The mountains of ice shall flow down at their presence," and a highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep." These remarks satisfied me, it was no longer necessary to hunt the place on this earth where the Ten Tribes were so long hidden, for the earth was divided and taken away, and will be the first to return, as it was the last taken away. "He shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land." "And the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided. See [D&C 133:21-24] • (Journal of Wandle Mace, typescript, BYU-S. Autobiography of Wandle Mace, 47-49)