"Here the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock."—(Ibid, 31:8-10.)
One of a City.—Jeremiah's prediction concerning "one of a city and two of a family" has been literally fulfiled in the experience of many Latter-day Saints, turned out of doors by their own parents or guardians, despised and persecuted by former friends and associates, because they dared to be "one of a city," or "two of a family," in espousing so unpopular a cause.
A Stanza on Freedom.—A few lines from an American poet—James Russell Lowell—seem appropriate here. The poem from which they are taken is entitled "Stanzas on Freedom:"
"They are slaves who fear to speak
For the fallen and the weak;
They are slaves who will not choose
Hatred, scoffing, and abuse,
Rather than in silence shrink
From the truth they needs must think;
They are slaves who dare not be
In the right, with two or three."
A Marvel and a Wonder.—Wonderful as has been the work of the gathering, thus far, judging from the words of Jeremiah, it is destined to be more marvelous still.
Ezekiel.—"As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
"And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
"I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be."—(Ezekiel 34:12-14.)
The Christ.—"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."—(Matthew 24:14.)
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."—(Ibid, 24:31.)