Good afternoon brothers and sisters,
I’m very glad to have the opportunity to speak here today. The message I’m here to talk about is a promise made by the Father to His children the Israelites; that promise is the gathering of Israel.
Thousands of years ago, the Lord caused that the greater part of the Israelites were taken captive into Assyria and from there all records of them were lost. Later on, due to rebellion, the other two tribes were then scattered. The Lord scattered and afflicted the twelve tribes of Israel because of their unrighteousness and rebellion. However, the Lord also used this scattering of his chosen people among the nations of the world to bless those nations. The Lord knows about each of these tribes and cares for each one. I am sure most, if not all of you have studied Christ’s visit to the Americas several times.
In 3 Nephi 16:1-3 Christ says, “And verily, verily I say unto you that I have other sheep which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister. For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and they shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.”
I have often thought about those tribes and where their records may be. About 10 years ago, I had the privilege of going to China with my mom and my grandma. While we were there we saw many amazing historical wonders; from the Great Wall, to the Terracotta Warriors. Their culture and civilization is one of the oldest in the entire world. In one of the places we visited there were large stone tablets with ancient Chinese writing on them. The content of these tablets is still unknown because the writing is so old that no one can read it. I have often wondered if perhaps on those tablets, or others like them, if there could be teachings from a time when Christ may have visited them. There are many traditions in China that could have come from Christ teaching them. For instance, the emphasis on family over there is extraordinary. Family is probably one of the most important things in China; although the value of families have been twisted, they still respect the family very much. They have several other traditions that would seem to indicate a perverted truth that they had once been taught. No one knows where Christ may have gone after he left the Americas, and a part of me would like to believe that maybe one of the places he went was China.
Whether these other civilizations around the world have received the truth at one point or not is not the most important thing. What is important is that they have lost or twisted the truths that they were taught. Now it is our responsibility to bring the Gospel to those scattered around the globe and fulfill the Lord’s promise to His children all those years ago that he would gather them. God’s gatherings, however, are not only spatial- from the four corners of the earth- temporal-from the various periods of time- but also spiritual. I’m sure most of you are probably from the tribe of Ephraim. In the Bible Dictionary under Ephraim it states, “in the last days it has been the tribe of Ephraim’s privilege first to bear the message of the restoration of the gospel to the world and to gather Israel.” In an Institute class I attended on Friday, President Young talked about the importance of when a talent or gift is given, there is then a responsibility to share that gift or talent. As we have been given the gift of the Gospel, we are responsible to share that gift with those around us.
As prophesied by Peter and Paul, all things were to be restored in this dispensation. Therefore, there must come, as part of that restoration, the long-awaited gathering of scattered Israel. It is a necessary prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord. This doctrine of the gathering is one of the important teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord has declared, “I give unto you a sign … that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion.” The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a sign to the entire world that the Lord has commenced to gather Israel and fulfill covenants He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We not only teach this doctrine, but we participate in it. We do so as we help to gather the elect of the Lord on both sides of the veil. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur. 2 Ne 29:13 states, “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.” It’s amazing how important the scriptures really are in this gathering.
John Taylor once said, “Why is it that you are here to-day? and what brought you here? Because the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth have been committed to Joseph Smith, and he has conferred those keys upon others that the gathering of Israel may be accomplished, and in due time the same thing will be performed to the tribes in the land of the north. It is on this account, and through the unlocking of this principle, and through those means, that you are brought together as you are today.”
Of course, when people think of this most often they think of full-time missionary work. This is truly a fantastic work, one that I am honored to take a part in. Another important way of gathering Israel is member missionary work. In my Missionary Preparation class, I was taught that it takes approximately 7 forms of contact with the Church and the gospel before most person are ready to accept it. These forms of contact may be as small as just knowing that their good friend was a member and that they seemed so happy. Maybe they have a coworker tell them of his or her testimony one day. All of these things plant that seed and they nourish it.
I am sure most of you have heard or at least know of the song Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy on page 335 but I would like to read it for you.
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save.
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save.
Dark the night of sin has settled, loud the angry billows roar;
Eager eyes are watching, longing, for the lights, along the shore.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save.
Trim your feeble lamp, my brother, some poor sailor tempest tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor, in the darkness may be lost.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save.
Eager eyes are watching, longing, for the lights, along the shore.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save.
Trim your feeble lamp, my brother, some poor sailor tempest tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor, in the darkness may be lost.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save.
At our family reunion this last summer, my dad shared the story of why this song was written, and I would like to share that story with you.
Many years ago there was a captain was attempting to bring his boat to the Cleveland harbor on a very dark and stormy night.
The waves rolled like mountains, and not a star was to be seen in the clouded sky. Picture the boat rocking on the violent waves as the captain peered through the darkness for the sight of a signal light by means of which to guide his vessel to safety. When he finally spotted a single light from the lighthouse, he turned to the pilot and asked:
“Are you sure this is Cleveland harbor?”
“Quite sure, sir,” the pilot replied.
“Then where are the lower lights?” the captain continued.
“Gone out, sir,” the other man answered.
“Can you make the harbor?” the captain asked anxiously.
“We must, or perish, sir,” the pilot replied.
But despite his strong heart and brave hand, in the darkness he missed the channel. With a resounding crash, the boat piled up on the rocks and then settled slowly to a watery grave.
Lighthouses are very important, but just as important are the lower lights. Christ represents the lighthouse, which casts its light far into the night so all of those around can see where they need to go. He gathers those ships lost at sea to come closer to Him. Each of us are lower lights, showing the way to Christ to those who have come a bit closer and need others to bring them even closer. It is our responsibility to keep our lights burning. The Lord works through us in order to bring His children back to Him, and if we let our lights go out, then those who were slowly following that light will be suddenly cast into the darkness and may crash. Not only should we keep our lights burning for those people who aren’t members, but also those who are recent converts. We also must keep those lights burning for the members around us. We never know when someone might be struggling and our light is what is helping them move forward.
We often talk about how wards are like a family, and I believe this very strongly. Wards help people from feeling as though they’re all alone. Last year I had the opportunity to live in China for about 5 months. While I was there, we were able to participate in an online branch. Every Sunday we would call in using a computer or a phone in order to listen to sacrament meeting and Sunday school. While listening we would hear familiar voices come through from all over China, and the comfort that just the voices provided was immense. Knowing that there were others of your religion who are there to support you is so uplifting; especially when you’re in a country where almost no one can understand what you say. Those times on Sunday made it possible to make it through the rest of the week and through the hard times.
Many have heard the scripture in John 21:18 where Christ is talking to Simon Peter and says “Lovest thou me? And Peter said unto him, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my Sheep.” Feeding His sheep is something we have been commanded to do, and by simply doing this we are participating in the gathering of Israel.
I know that this is the true church of Christ on earth today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true living prophet and that the Lord leads and guides this church through him. I know that missionary work is extremely important and I look forward to the opportunity to be a tool in the Lord’s hands to bring the gospel to those people who have been prepared. I know that the Gospel is truly a unifying factor around the world, and that God loves and is aware of all of His children around the world.
In the name of Jesus Christ, 阿門。
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