1 Nephi 22:6-7

"6 Nevertheless, after they shall be ^anursed by the ^bGentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and set them up for a standard, and their ^cchildren have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the house of Israel.

"7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of Israel have been scattered and confounded, that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the ^aGentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be ^bscattered."

We begin today's talk about the descendants of the house of Israel. The Book of Mormon Institute Manual has some comments on the this verse and the past few, too:

(v. 3-4)

"In 1 Nephi 22:3–4 Nephi speaks of the scattering of Israel among the nations of the earth. Sometimes the scattering of the people led to their being lost to history, such as with the ten tribes after the fall of the northern kingdom. Sometimes groups of Israelites were led away but maintained their identity as a group. Lehi’s family is a good example of that aspect of the
scattering.

"Another way the scattering took place was for the people literally to be scattered among the nations of the world. The dispersion of the Jews after the fall of Jerusalem is an example of this kind of widespread scattering. This fact is supported by the following scriptural references: Deuteronomy 28:64, 30:1–3, Isaiah 11:11–12, Jeremiah 3:18, 31:8, Ezekiel 11:17–20, 36:19–24, Daniel 9:7, Hosea 8:8, Amos 9:9, 2 Nephi 10:20–22, 3 Nephi 16:4–5, 20:13, Ether 13:11, D&C 33:6, Moses 7:62."

(v. 4)

"According to a quotation by Reynolds and Sjodahl, 'Sir Isaac Newton observes that to the
Hebrews the continents of Asia and Africa were "the earth," because they had access to them by land, while the parts of the earth to which they sailed over the sea were "the isles of the sea."' (Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 1:214.)

"Thus, Nephi not only refers to the isles of the sea as the location of other remnants of the house of Israel, but he also indicates that he and his people were then living upon an 'isle of the sea' when he quite clearly is referring to the great land mass known as the American continent. (2 Nephi 10:20–21.)" (Ludlow, Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 121).

(v. 5-6)

"According to Nephi, the scattering and gathering of Israel are temporal matters (see 1 Nephi 22:6). In 1 Nephi 22:5–6, who was being scattered and gathered? Only the Jews? Read 1 Nephi 22:6 for Nephi’s answer."

And, thus, we are back to verse 6. From verse 5, we might think that the Jews were the only ones that were being scattered, but in verse 6, Nephi states that after the Gentiles shall help them, then they shall be scattered. He says, "it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the house of Israel." Indeed Lehi's posterity were the native inhabitants of the Americas in which the Spanish and Portuguese (and others) came over from Europe and conquered, scattered, and fought with in wars.

Verse 7 states that after this scattering has happened the Lord shall raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles that will be upon this land of the Americas, and it shall scatter Lehi's seed, too. We have seen a mighty nation rise up (the United States) and scatter the Native Americans (descendants of Lehi) and perhaps others, too. This has been prophesied.

1 Nephi 22:5

"5 And since they have been led away, these things have been prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will they ^aharden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be ^bhated of all men."

This is a somber verse. When I read it, it struck a familiar chord with me. Hadn't we discussed this before? Well, we have. It was back three chapters in 1 Nephi 19. But more on that later.

In the beginning of verse 5, we see that Nephi testifies of the scattering of Israel, that there were prophesies made concerning them. He testifies that they shall be scattered even more and even confounded. These consequences will be dealt to them because they harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel, or Jesus Christ. As a result they shall be scattered among all nations and hated of all men. This seems like a harsh thing, but remember that those who are righteous shall prosper and those who are not shall not. They chose to not follow Christ. Later, Nephi shares more about their fate (2 Nephi 25:16):

"16 And after they have been ^ascattered, 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 ^bbelieve 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 ^cclean hands, and look not forward any more for ^danother

Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things."

Here is more on their promise (2 Nephi 10:7):

"7 But behold, thus saith the ^aLord God: ^bWhen the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be ^crestored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the ^dlands of their inheritance."

Also, remember that the promises are still individual. Those who accept Christ in that group of people shall prosper and be saved. I believe that they might not have to wait until the above promises are fulfilled. Nephi details this in the following selection of scripture about a great and marvelous work to take place in the latter-days (2 Nephi 30:1-8):

"1 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for I, Nephi, would not suffer that ye should suppose that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise ^aperish; and because of the words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed.

"2 For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the ^acovenant people of the Lord; and as many of the ^bJews as will not repent shall be ^ccast off; for the Lord ^dcovenanteth with none save it be with them that ^erepent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel.

"3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall ^abelieve the words which are written; and ^bthey shall carry them forth unto the ^cremnant of our seed.

"4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.

"5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among ^athem; wherefore, ^bthey shall be restored unto the ^cknowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.

"6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall ^aknow that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their ^bscales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a ^cdelightsome people.

"7 And it shall come to pass that the ^aJews which are scattered also shall ^bbegin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.

"8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the ^arestoration of his people upon the earth."

In verse 2 of this selection lies the individual promise to the Jews (and Gentiles). What a marvelous, merciful plan. I am eternally grateful for the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for all that they have done and will do.

1 Nephi 22:3-4

"3 Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both ^atemporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be ^bscattered upon all the face of the earth, and also ^camong all nations.

"4 And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the ^atribes have been ^bled away; and they are ^cscattered to and fro upon the ^disles of the sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away."

We see that Nephi answers Laman and Lemuel's question (see v. 1) saying that the things from the selection of Isaiah's words pertained to things temporal and spiritual. He goes on to say that in order for the prophesies to come to pass about a gathering and such, the house of Israel must be scattered among all nations. In the next verse, he says that there are already many that have been led away and scattered upon the isles of the sea and because of this they have lost their knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. I'm thinking that this is a good thing in light of something Nephi said near the end of his life (2 Nephi 25:6):

"6 But behold, I, Nephi, have not taught my children after the manner of the Jews; but behold, I, of myself, have dwelt at Jerusalem, wherefore I know concerning the regions round about; and I have made mention unto my children concerning the judgments of God, which ^ahath come to pass among the Jews, unto my children, according to all that which Isaiah hath spoken, and I do not write them."

This verse reiterates Isaiah's prophesy concerning the house of Israel and the Jews being a part of that, being scattered among all nations because of their wickedness.

1 Nephi 22:1-2

We have just finished a bit on Nephi teaching his brothers the words of Isaiah. He loves Isaiah and applies them to his life and the life of his family. I was impressed that his brothers listened to him, reading something that was not totally comprehensible and trying to understand it.

So, in verse 1, after Nephi has finished reading the selections of Isaiah to them, they asked what those things meant. Should they be interpreted as just spiritual events and not temporal?

Nephi answers this question in an interesting way. He begins his answer in verse 2, by testifying to his brothers of the process of revelation from the Lord to His prophets. He says:

"Behold they were ^amanifest unto the prophet by the voice of the ^bSpirit; for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the ^cprophets, which shall come upon the children of men according to the flesh."

There may have been several reasons he did this, but I think that he wanted to instruct and testify to them that this is the Lord's method. This is what happened, how, and why we left Jerusalem, came across the desert, built a ship, sailed to the Americas, and settled here. They were commandments from the Lord. Now, in addition to instruction, the Lord shows his prophets all things that will happen to mankind. Nephi did have such a vision.

I know that the prophets and apostles today are inspired by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We must heed their counsel and also receive a confirmation of their revelation.

1 Nephi 21:24-EoC

Today we consider verses 24, 25, and 26 of chapter 21:

"24 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the ^alawful captives delivered?

"25 But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

"26 And I will ^afeed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall ^bknow that I, the Lord, am thy ^cSavior and thy Redeemer, the ^dMighty One of Jacob."

For verse 24, I believe that the Old Testament Institute manual has a great explanation:

"The 'prey' mentioned in Isaiah 49:24 is the house of Israel in her scattered condition. She is 'prey' or 'captive' because she has been unable throughout the centuries to return to her promised home or to claim her gospel blessings. Until recently many gentile countries would not permit Jewish residents to emigrate, and many still do not permit the gospel to be preached freely in their borders..."

So, verse 24 poses the question: Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? Shall the lawful captives be delivered? Shall Israel be allowed to gather?

Verse 25 answers that question. It seems to reflect a promise made to someone or some people. Thus, verses 25 and 26 state that it will happen. More from the Institute manual:

"...All of that will change, for 'even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered' (v. 25). When Jacob quoted this verse in the Book of Mormon, he added these significant words: 'For the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people' (2 Nephi 6:17), and thus, 'all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob' (v. 18). First the Lord predicts it, then He brings it to pass; only a 'mighty one' could perform such a task. Nephi made it very clear that all who seek to thwart the Lord in bringing this great thing to pass shall be destroyed, for 'they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord' (1 Nephi 22:14)."

The Institute manual says that Nephi makes it clear in verse 14 of chapter 22 (which is probably for the sake of his brothers' understanding), but I think that Isaiah makes is clear, too. He says that the Lord will contend with those that contend with the gathering of the house of Israel. He continues in the last verse to say that He will feed them that oppress the gathering with their own flesh and they shall be drunken with their own blood and they shall know that He is the Lord and that you can't fight Him and win. This is also the lesson that we can learn from all this.

1 Nephi 21:22-23

We consider these two verses today:

"22 Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the ^aGentiles, and set up my ^bstandard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their ^carms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

"23 And ^akings shall be thy ^bnursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that ^cwait for me."

In the last days, the Lord will set up His standard among the Gentiles. This has happened. He prepared this land of the Americas for the Gentiles, or mostly non-Jews from Europe, as a place for them to practice freedom of religion. This is how He has lifted His hand to the Gentiles. Then the Lord established His church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the standard that is spoken of in verse 22. When He speaks of the Gentiles bringing sons in arms, daughters upon shoulders, kings being nursing fathers, and queens nursing mothers it means that we will help raise the house of Israel and nurture them in the gospel. I'm not sure what the licking of the dust of the feet means, but it seems that the house of Israel will know that He is the Lord and it will be well with those who wait for Him.

The Old Testament Institute manual has a lot on this subject and it is very interesting. They mention specific instances from history that are direct fulfillments of this prophesy. That is the neat part. It states:

"(17-9) Isaiah 49:22–26. How Will the Gentiles Be Nursing Fathers and Mothers to Israel?

"Isaiah 49:22–26 speaks of the day when God’s promises will be fulfilled and of how it will be done. The 'how' is made clear in verses 22 and 23. God will set up His 'standard,' the gospel, or the new and everlasting covenant (see D&C 66:2), 'and they [the Gentiles] shall bring thy [the house of Israel’s] sons in their arms and thy daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers and their queens thy nursing mothers.' (Isaiah 49:22–23.)
This prophecy has, as Nephi said, both a temporal and spiritual fulfillment (see 1 Nephi 22:3).

"The 'when' of the prophecy is now. Converts from throughout the world have joined the Church and then have gone throughout the world seeking to reclaim the house of Israel and bring them back to the Lord. President Spencer W. Kimball saw a partial fulfillment of these verses in the Church’s modern missionary efforts, specifically with the descendants of Lehi:

"'This day of the Lamanite brings opportunity. Millions farm the steep hillsides of Andean ranges and market their produce with llamas and horses and burros. They must have the emancipating gospel. Millions serve in menial labor, eke out bare subsistence from soil and toil. They must hear the compelling truths of the gospel. Millions are tied to reservations, deprived, untrained, and less than they could be. They must have the enlightening gospel. It will break their fetters, stir their ambition, increase their vision, and open new worlds of opportunity to them. Their captivity will be at an end—captivity from misconceptions, illiteracy, superstition, fear. . . .

"'The brighter day has dawned. The scattering has been accomplished; the gathering is in process. May the Lord bless us all as we become nursing fathers and mothers (see Isa. 49:23 and 1 Nephi 21:23) unto our Lamanite brethren and hasten the fulfillment of the great promises made to them.' (In Conference Report, Oct. 1965, p. 72.)

"But there is another side as well. Following the end of World War I, Great Britain was given the mandate over Palestine and began to facilitate the ingathering of the Jews scattered throughout the earth. Other gentile nations, such as the United States, also rallied to assist.

"President Joseph Fielding Smith spoke of the role Great Britain played in the establishment of the nation of Israel:

"'From the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus until the year 1917, Jerusalem was trodden down of the Gentiles. After General Allenby, at the head of the British forces, captured Palestine, that country became free from the tyranny and oppression of the Turkish empire, and after peace was declared, England sent to Palestine Dr. Herbert Samuel, a Jew, to be governor of
the land, and that is the first time in all those years that a Jew has ruled in Palestine. . . .

"'We see today a miracle being performed before our eyes. Following the war, which we are pleased to call the first world war, the British Premier issued a proclamation to the Jews telling them they could gather and they could have in Palestine a Jewish Home, or state. They began to gather in great numbers. At the beginning of [the 20th] century things in Palestine were in a deplorable condition. They were using wooden plows, water wheel irrigation; they had infested wells and streams. They carried water in skins as of old. Sanitation was deplorable.

"'The British government changed all of this, when they obtained the mandate. You see, the mandate of Palestine was given to Great Britain. That nation and other nations spent millions of pounds in rehabilitating that land. The Sea of Galilee is now a great reservoir, and the flood waters from the various streams are being diverted into it.

"'Canals have been built for irrigation, and the Jordan has been changed from its natural channel into channels or into canals on each side of the original stream. These irrigate some seven million acres, which could not be under cultivation otherwise. Hydro-electric stations have been built on these streams.' (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:259–60.)

"In 1947 the United Nations voted to partition Palestine and create a Jewish state in the land for the first time in nearly two thousand years. Thus, the Gentiles participated in the fulfillment of this prophecy, although there may yet be future fulfillment."

1 Nephi 21:21

We consider this passage for today:

"21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart: Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am ^adesolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where have they been?"

I believe that the house of Israel is talking about those that have been gathered in during the last days (our day). Apparently some will not be able to have children or know about their posterity. To know a little more about this point, we look at the two scriptures found in the footnote, 21a:

1. From Isaiah 54:1, we have:

"1 ^aSing, O ^bbarren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord."

Here the important point is that those who do not know or have posterity will in the end have more than those who are married and do have posterity. It is an interesting promise because one might think the other way around. But this shows that the Lord knows His people and blesses them.

2. From Galatians 4:27, we have:

"27 For it is written, ^aRejoice, thou ^bbarren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband."

This verse reiterates that through the covenant with the house of Israel made with God, this will come to pass and that those that could not or do not know their posterity will have more and those who do in the end.

We now turn to a small part from the Institute manual on this verse:

"Thus the reaction voiced in verse 21 is quite real [because of the overpopulation at the gathering]: 'Who hath begotten me these . . . ; where had they been?' In other words, where in the world did all these people (Israelites) come from?"

There will be so many gathered that those who have been in this thing forever will wonder at where the lost have been.

I think that we should work our hardest at gathering in the house of Israel in order to make this prophesy come true, and that comes with hard missionary work. It is hard, and good missionary work is not convenient and easy. We need to take leaps of faith, because there are many who don't become converted because we haven't asked them to commit to follow Jesus Christ. We may get turned down, and it seems almost necessary that we get turned down a number of times before someone says yes. And that person that does is the key. They are the ones that make it all worthwhile. Statistics show, I believe, that such a question usually does not negatively affect a friendship. It can only make it better! I am including myself in the call as much as anyone else. : )