Gather Israel!
President Russell M. Nelson declared, “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” (Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,” worldwide devotional for youth, June 3, 2018, churchofjesuschrist.org/broadcasts). “I think it’s important to realize that the title page of the Book of Mormon says, “written to the Lamanites.” That’s one of the very first things it says. I think Latter-day Saints today think well, the Book of Mormon is written for us. Well it was, written for the entire world, but of course Mormon, Moroni in their understanding of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, they fully realized that this book, this record, would eventually come forth to their descendants to the descendants of Lehi, and his family. And, this is clear to Joseph Smith. There’s no question in my mind that Joseph Smith knows from the very beginning this record needs to be received and given to and accepted by Lamanite descendants. And in 1830, to Joseph Smith and the Church members, a Lamanite meant to them, a North American Indian. There’s just no question.” Alexander L. Baugh BYU Church History Department; transcribed from the documentary “History of the Saints” Mission to the Lamanites Part 1. “I will always maintain a true principle, even if I stand alone in it.” Joseph Smith“I would say to the Lamanites, if I could speak to them understandingly, that you are also a branch of the house of Israel, and chiefly of the house of Joseph, and your forefathers have fallen through the same examples of unbelief and sins, as have the Jews, and you, as their posterity, have wandered in sin and darkness for many generations; and you, like the Jews, have been driven and trampled under the foot of the Gentiles, [See chart below] and put to death through your wars with each other, and with the white man, until you are almost destroyed. But there is still a redemption and salvation for a remnant of you in the latter days. It is time for you to cease shedding each other’s blood or making war upon your fellow-man. Cease to destroy one another, learn to cultivate the earth, and raise your food therefrom; call upon the Great Spirit to protect you and deliver you from bondage and darkness, and the Great Spirit will hear you and deliver you, and a remnant of you will again become a delightsome people as your forefathers were when they kept the commandments of God.” Wilford Woodruff History of His Life and Labors AS RECORDED IN HIS DAILY JOURNALS PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION BY MATTHIAS F. COWLEY Salt Lake City, Utah 1909 Share the BofM to the WorldI know it is important that we remember our brothers and sisters of Judah even the Lamanites of the Book of Mormon. There is such a similarity to these Lamanites, the Hebrew people, the Cherokee, and the Phoenician. Are doing our duty and sharing the gospel with all, and especially the house of Judah? Below are many scriptures that remind us of this duty and some amazing information about the Book of Mormon English translation from the Hebrew. Another Testament of Yeshua the Messiah, Son of David, Son of GodThe Book of Mormon, Hebrew & English by Tom Levine For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake Wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea, and also Babylon shall be destroyed; wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered by other nations. And after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind– and when that day shall come that they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things. 2 Nephi 25:15-16 Mulek?“The name rendered Malchiah in the Hebrew of this passage is Malkiyahu, exactly as the name on the stamp seal, meaning “Yahweh is king.” (This name is composed of the Hebrew elements mlk, “king,” and yhw, an abbreviation of the divine name Yahweh.) Accordingly, it is highly likely that the Malkiyahu on the stamp seal is none other than Malchiah in Jeremiah 38.” Meridian Magazine _________________________________ O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? 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. 2 Nephi 29:13 … all things which are hid must be revealed upon the house-tops. Mormon 5:8 _______________________________ And behold, they (The Book of Mormon teachings) shall go unto the Jews; and for this intent shall they go — that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant; Mormon 5:14 For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given of him of God; ____________________________________________________ … the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands … Daniel 2:45 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled. …and none can stay it… Mormon 8:22,26 ______________________________ And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew… Mormon 9:33 ___________________________ Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world… Ether 4:14 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. Moroni 10:31-32 Wherefore, I must bring forth the fullness of my gospel from the Gentiles unto And again, (seek diligently to turn) the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets, and the prophets unto the Jews; lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me. Doctrine & Covenants 98:17 And the yoke of bondage may begin to be broken off from the house of David; And the children of Judah may begin to return to the lands which thou didst give to Abraham, their father. And may all the scattered remnants of Israel, who have been driven to the ends of the earth, come to a knowledge of the truth, believe in the Messiah, and be redeemed from oppression, and rejoice before thee. Doctrine & Covenants 109: 62-64, 67 The phrase “House of Israel” is given 122 times in the Book of Mormon, and 160 times in the Bible KJV.The Book of Mormon also references the following phrases “House of Jacob” is given 15 times
|
__________________________________
Prophet Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith wrote, “Those engaged in seeking the outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah, cannot fail to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord and have the choicest blessings of Heaven rest upon them in copious effusions . . . He [the Lord] will endow you with power, wisdom, might, and intelligence, and every qualification necessary; while your minds will expand wider and wider, until you can circumscribe the earth and the heavens, reach forth into eternity, and contemplate the mighty acts of Jehovah in all their variety and glory” (History of the Church, 4:128-129).
This quote is from a letter to Orson Hyde and John E. Page, dated 14 May 1840.
Prophet Joseph Smith said, “A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”
_________________________________
Remember Nehemiah, who was charged with building a wall to protect Jerusalem. Some wanted him to come down and compromise his position, but Nehemiah refused. He was not intolerant of others; he simply explained, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease … ? Elder Robert D. Hales, Stand Strong in Holy Places, General Conference, April 2013
We live in times of great challenges and great opportunities. The Lord is seeking men like Nehemiah—faithful brethren who fulfill the oath and covenant of the priesthood. He seeks to enlist unfaltering souls who diligently go about the work of building the kingdom of God—those who, when faced with opposition and temptation, say in their hearts, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down
General Conference, April 2009
____________________________________
In this Church there is an enormous amount of room—and scriptural commandment—for studying and learning, for comparing and considering, for discussion and awaiting further revelation. We all learn ‘line upon line, precept upon precept,’ with the goal being authentic religious faith informing genuine Christlike living. In this there is no place for coercion or manipulation, no place for intimidation or hypocrisy. – Jeffrey R. Holland, “A Prayer for the Children,” Ensign, May 2003
________________________________________________
“I admire men and women who have developed the questing spirit, who are unafraid of new ideas as stepping stones to progress. We should, of course, respect the opinions of others, but we should also be unafraid to dissent – if we are informed. Thoughts and expressions compete in the marketplace of thought, and in that competition truth emerges triumphant. Only error fears freedom of expression.” Apostle Hugh B. Brown, “A Final Testimony,” from An Abundant Life, 1999
_________________________________________________
Elder Orson Hyde’s Dedicatory Prayer in Jerusalem, 1841
_____________________________________
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. – Martin Luther King Jr.
___________________________________
Article by Tom Levine
Hidden Poetry of the Book of Mormon
http://www.vibrationdata.com/Book_of_Mormon_Hebrew.htm