18. From the Doctrine and Covenants.—And the Lord, even the Savior, shall stand in the midst of his people, and shall reign over all flesh. 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. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them, and in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools or living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim, my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence. 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; and they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy. 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. And they also of the tribe of Judah, after their pain, shall be sanctified in holiness before the Lord to dwell in his presence day and night, for ever and for ever.[[172]] [See note 4, end of section.]
19. The Preparatory Work to the Return of the Ten Tribes.—This is enough in a general way upon the return of the Ten Tribes from the north and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. Yet there is another part of this work of gathering Israel that calls for our attention. We have described the manner in which the blood of Israel has been sprinkled among the Gentile nations. The people in whose veins that blood runs must be gathered as well as the Jews and the Ten Tribes; for the promise of gathering extends to all the children of Israel, in all the countries whither they have been scattered. Moreover, it would seem that the Ten Tribes are to come to Zion and sing in the heights thereof, and there be crowned with glory by the hands of the servants of the Lord, the children of Ephraim.[[173]] The gathering of Israel scattered among the Gentile nations will have made considerable progress, and Zion will be built up before the Ten Tribes will be brought from the north. This work of gathering Israel from among the Gentile nations is the work that the Church of Christ is now engaged in. The Lord has revealed the location of Zion;[[174]] it has been dedicated for the gathering together of his people Israel. Even the temple site is known and dedicated, and the sure word of God given that the temple shall be built in this generation.[[175]] The enemies of the church drove the Saints away form the consecrated land, it is true;[[176]] but their absence will only be temporary; the time will come when they will return and fulfill all that the Lord hath decreed in relation to Zion and its redemption.
20. Meantime they are building up stakes of Zion in the Rocky Mountain valleys, and in this way are fulfilling predictions of the ancient prophets. Isaiah hath it written, that "In the last days the house of the Lord shall be established in the tops of the mountains; * * * and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."[[177]]
21. It is remarkable how minutely the Latter-day Saints are fulfilling the terms of this prophecy:
I. They are building the temples of God in the tops of the mountains, so that the house of the Lord is truly where Isaiah saw it would be.
II. The Saints engaged in this work are people gathered from nearly all the nations under heaven, so that all nations are flowing unto the house of the Lord in the top of the mountains. [See note 5, end of section.]
III. The people who receive the gospel in foreign lands joyfully say to their relatives and friends, "Come ye, and let us go up to the house of the Lord, and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths."
22. The manner in which the Saints are gathered, one here and one there, one from this city and one from another, fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah, who, in speaking of this great gathering of Israel, represents the Lord as saying: "I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion; and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."[[178]]
23. The student should be informed how it is we know the Saints are of the house of Israel. First, they fulfill the terms of the prophecies written about the gathering of Israel by the ancient prophets, as seen above; second, the patriarchs of the church, ordained and set apart to that calling by the apostles, in giving blessings to the Saints declare them to be of the house of Israel, and mainly of the tribe of Ephraim. [See note 6, end of section.]
24. Object of Gathering.—Another object of this gathering of the people of God from among the Gentile nations—which with their wickedness, spiritual blindness, and confusion constitute Babylon—is that they may not partake of the sins of Babylon, and that they might escape the judgments and plagues decreed by God against the wickedness thereof. The Apostle John prophesies of this. In those visions given to him on the Isle of Patmos, showing him things that would take place in the future, he heard a voice from heaven saying: "Come out of her [that is out of Babylon], my people; that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. * * * Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning, and famine; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her."[[179]] The Saints are gathering out of Babylon that they may escape these threatened judgments.