Scattering as a necessary prerequisite for the gathering — Part 2 of 2

In part 1, we looked at the prophesied scattering of Israel, a major theme of the Book of Mormon.  This scattering is necessary for the gathering to take place.

In this post, we\’ll look at a few of the many references to the gathering of Israel in the Book of  Mormon. As with the scattering of Israel, many references to the gathering of Israel in the last days can be found in the Book of Mormon.  This is a major theme.

Lehi prophesied about the gathering of Israel:

14 And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer. (1 Nephi 10)

Nephi also prophesied about the gathering:

12 Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. (1 Nephi 22)

14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever. (2 Nephi 29) 

Nephi quoted Isaiah about the gathering of Israel:

12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (2 Nephi 21)

Mormon wrote about it as well:

26 And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be. Amen. (3 Nephi 5)

Jesus Christ teaches about the gathering several times, perhaps most notably in 3 Nephi 20:

13 And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.

18 And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.

29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.

33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.

When President Nelson speaks of the utmost importance of the gathering of Israel, he is speaking of the fulfillment of a prophecy that is thousands of years old!

I also see temple themes embedded within this pattern of scattering and gathering. In order to progress back to the presence of the Father with a physical body, we chose to leave His presence and \”come down\” to an uncertain and dreary place, undergoing a type of scattering, but not without a promise that messengers would visit us and show us the way back — a plan from the beginning to gather us in. This mortal phase is about hearkening to those messengers and following the path back to the tree of life. If the fall represents a scattering, the everlasting covenant represents the gathering.