One of my core beliefs is that prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, scattered Israel (the people not the country) will literally be gathered as foretold by many Old Testament prophets and by Jesus himself. What many may not know is that this gathering has already started and is moving forward with haste.
The Old Testament contains the history of the scattering of Israel and the promises God made to Israel, including their eventual gathering. The New Testament, by comparison, contains very little on this topic; however, one scripture that did stand out to me was Paul's teaching to the Ephesians that "in the dispensation of the fulness of times [God] might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him."
We live in the dispensation of the fulness of times, and this gathering is happening now, both in heaven and on earth.
When Jesus appeared to the Nephite people in the Americas following his resurrection, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, he taught the people extensively about the future gathering of Israel. He made it clear that the Nephites were a remnant of the House of Israel (through the lineage of Joseph) and that their posterity would not be forgotten.
This topic continues to be an important teaching of modern day prophets, including Russell M Nelson, God's prophet on the earth today.
Let me discuss a couple of the ways the gathering of Israel is taking place today.
Many are familiar with the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that are found in all parts of the globe wearing black name tags, traveling two by two, and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't have the most recent numbers, but as of 2013, there were missionaries in 189 of the 224 nations of the world. This missionary work is a huge component of the effort to gather Israel.
A lesser known, but equally important, aspect of the gathering is on the other side of the veil in the Spirit World, where we believe the spirits of those who have died continue to live in anticipation of their resurrection. To assist, we do family history work to learn of and seek out our ancestors, and then to perform vicarious ordinances for them in our holy temples.
The rising popularity of genealogical research in recent years, aided by products from organizations like Ancestry, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch, is an important part of this work. The FamilySearch shared family tree alone has more than 1.2 billion people in it, made possible by millions of contributors. Technologies like the Internet and machine learning are greatly aiding this work.
And as foreseen by ancient prophets, temples now cover the earth to assist with the service of helping redeem our deceased ancestors through sacred ordinances. Globally, there are 168 operating temples, and 49 additional temples have been announced or are in various stages of construction.
Time does not permit a more detailed explanation of the gathering of Israel in this post, but I'd like to emphasize that this is such an exciting time to be alive! What a marvelous opportunity we have today to take part in this great work of the Lord!
I am very passionate about this topic. Send me a note if you'd like to discuss it more - the gathering of Israel is one of my favorite subjects to talk about.
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