Come Follow Me: Thoughts to Keep in Mind: “Jesus Will Say to All Israel, ‘Come Home’”
Thoughts to Keep in Mind
“Jesus Will Say to All Israel, ‘Come
Home’”
Like the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai, the Lord has blessed the people of the Americas, setting them up as a light to the world and giving them favor, blessings, and protection conditionally if they serve Him.
The Constitution was guided by the hand of the Lord and the
Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored here, and His church set up, so that we
could be a beacon to the world. It is through practicing the principles of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ that we can do this and find favor with God.
As members of the Church who are now the covenant people of the Lord, we are to
become a nation of priests and priestesses and a holy nation. Exodus 19:6
We can work on developing these traits by publishing peace (sharing the gospel)
at home, at school, at church, at work; by standing as witnesses of Jesus
Christ wherever we are.
When we are obedient and worthy to have the Spirit of the Holy Ghost with us, the promises of the Lord are great to us and all covenant Israel, who make and keep sacred covenants. Deuteronomy 28:1–14
God’s power can indeed make us mighty. We can only realize the blessings of the covenant through obedience and righteousness. We will not prevail because of our own learning or worldly acquisitions; we will prevail when we let God prevail in our lives. Exodus 19:5 We need to learn to hear the voice of the Lord, through His prophets and His Spirit, so that we can be obedient to Him.
Like Israel in that day, the people of the United States, the people of many churches and faiths, including the people of the restored Church of Jesus Christ (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), have slackened over time in hearing His voice, keeping His commandments, and honoring their covenants. Many have put worldly treasures and power ahead of God. In rejecting a covenant relationship with God, ancient Israel and those who have entered into covenants with the Lord in our day, lost the blessings of the covenant. In rejecting the Lord, we will also reject the promised blessings and protections that set a people apart as His.
Can you see how turning away from God results in captivity? (see 2 Kings 17:6–7; 2 Chronicles 36:12–20) How can we have God’s shield and protection in our lives?
Israel has been scattered many times. 2 Kings 17:1–7
In what ways have the Lost Ten Tribes (of the Northern
Kingdom) been lost? “These Israelites became known as ‘the lost
tribes,’ in part because they were removed from their homeland and scattered
among other nations. But they were also lost in a deeper sense: over time they
lost their sense of identity as God’s covenant people.”
Remember they are not lost to the Lord. We are not lost to the Lord. He expects
us to help gather scattered Israel and bring them back to the covenant, to
bring them home. Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and temple blessings are
all important in establishing the Lord’s covenants with us.
“Because the Southern Kingdom of Judah was, at
times, more righteous than the Northern Kingdom, it lasted longer. But
eventually the people there also turned away from the Lord.”
We have seen this throughout the world in our
day. Those who believe in the scriptures and the words of the prophets have
fared well. Their faith and hope has lasted longer. But with the constant
onslaught of evil, many are faltering and failing right now. How can we
ourselves, and how can we help others, stay true to the Lord, be obedient, keep
our covenants, and hold on to our faith with a perfect brightness of hope?
Most of the Southern Kingdom was overcome by the Assyrians, and Jerusalem only was preserved. The Assyrian king was boastful. (See 2 Kings 19; Isaiah 10:12–13) (These Isaiah verses remind us that God is still aware of the covenant and Israel will still be blessed.)
“Later, between 597 and 580 BC, the Babylonians
destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple, and carried away captive many of the
city’s inhabitants (see 2 Kings
24–25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 39; 52).
About 70 years later, a remnant of Judah was allowed to return to
Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Many, however, stayed in Babylon.”
How can we help those who have been carried away
into Babylon their whole lives choose to come unto Christ and join His covenant
people, so that they can receive the blessings of the covenant in their lives
and for their families?
As
generations passed, the scattering of Israel continued:
Zechariah 7:14 Scattered among the nations as by a whirlwind.
Amos 9:8–9 Sifted through they nations like corn is sifted through a sieve.
2 Nephi 1:1–5 Omni 1:15–16 Some led by the hand of the Lord to new lands of promise.
2 Kings 25:22–26 Some fled to escape captivity.
Jeremiah 42:13–19 Some expressly warned not to go to Egypt.
43:1–7 Some disobeyed and went to Egypt because of political reasons.
“Many Old Testament prophets were witnesses to
the spiritual downward spiral that led to the scattering of Israel. They
foresaw that scattering and warned about it, and some of them even lived
through it.”
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus
Christ is a record of a branch of scattered Israel (see 1 Nephi 15:12). “This record begins with Lehi’s family fleeing
Jerusalem in about 600 BC, just before the Babylonians attacked. Lehi was
one of those prophets who prophesied about the scattering of Israel. And his family helped fulfill that prophecy, taking
their branch of the house of Israel and planting it on the other side of the
world, in the Americas.”
The
Gathering was also Prophesied:
The Lord has never forgotten His people, nor has
He forsaken them.
The foretold promised day of the gathering is
now. We are living and witnessing the time and the events of the gathering.
“In 1836, thousands of years after Moses gathered
the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, Moses appeared in the
Kirtland Temple to commit to Joseph Smith ‘the keys of the gathering of Israel
from the four parts of the earth’ (Doctrine and Covenants 110:11). Now, under the direction of those who hold these
keys, the tribes of Israel are being gathered from every nation where the
Lord’s servants are able to go.”
Who holds the keys of the gathering in our day?
That would be our prophet!
“President Russell M. Nelson has called this
gathering ‘the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else
compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else
compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big
part of it.’…
“’ ‘When we speak of the gathering, we
are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s
children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the
restored gospel of Jesus Christ. …
‘Anytime you
do anything that
helps anyone—on
either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and
receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to
gather Israel. It is as simple as that.’”
How
can we make the gathering of Israel more simplified in our understanding and in
our actions? What can you do each day and what goals can you set to help gather
Israel?
The work of the gathering takes place one by one Isaiah 27:12, and it takes place with one
of a city and two of a family Jeremiah 3:14. It takes place as we invite
others to come unto Christ, and as they accept the invitation. It takes place
as we teach our children the gospel and help them prepare for baptism and other
sacred ordinances. It takes place as we prepare and help others prepare for
temple blessings and marry within the covenant.
“Gathering Israel means bringing God’s children back to Him.
It means restoring them to their covenant relationship with Him. It means
reestablishing the ‘holy nation’ He proposed to establish so long ago” (Exodus 19:6).
Heavenly Father and Jesus are Inviting all of Us
to Come Home:
“As a covenant keeper, you are part of the house
of Israel. You have been gathered, and you are a gatherer.”
“The
centuries-long epic story that began with a covenant between God and Abraham is
building to its climax, and you are a key player. Now is the time when ‘Jesus
will say to all Israel, Come home.’
“This is the
message of the gatherers: Come home to the covenant. Come home to Zion. Come
home to Jesus Christ, the Holy One of Israel, and He will bring you home to
God, your Father.”
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