2 Nephi 21:10-12

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 21:10-12

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

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.

Quotes for Discussion

Two Gatherings

From this scripture we learn that the events described were to be in the future: “The Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people.” There could not be a “second time” unless there had been a first. The first time was when the Lord led Israel out of Egyptian bondage and captivity.

LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, rev. ed. [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 202

The time has at last arrived when the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has set His hand again the second time to recover the remnants of his people, which have been left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea, and with them to bring in the fullness of the Gentiles, and establish that covenant with them, which was promised when their sins should be taken away….This covenant has never been established with the house of Israel, nor with the house of Judah….Christ, in the days of His flesh, proposed to make a covenant with them, but they rejected Him and His proposals, and in consequence thereof, they were broken off, and no covenant was made with them at that time….Thus after this chosen family had rejected Christ and His proposals, the heralds of salvation said to them, “Lo, we turn unto the Gentiles;” and the Gentiles received the covenant, and were grafted in from whence the chosen family were broken off.

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. 1, [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 313

Some members of the Church have an erroneous idea that when the millennium comes all of the people are going to be swept off the earth except righteous members of the Church. That is not so. There will be millions of people, Catholics, Protestants, agnostics, Mohammedans, people of all classes, and of all beliefs, still permitted to remain upon the face of the earth, but they will be those who have lived clean lives, those who have been free from wickedness and corruption. All who belong, by virtue of their good lives, to the terrestrial order, as well as those who have kept the celestial law, will remain upon the face of the earth during the millennium.

Eventually, however, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters do the sea. But there will be need for the preaching of the gospel, after the millennium is brought in, until all men are either converted or pass away. In the course of the thousand years all men will either come into the Church, or kingdom of God, or they will die and pass away. In that day there will be no death until men are old. Children will not die but will live to the age of a tree. Isaiah says this is 100 years. When the time comes for men to die, they will be changed in the twinkling of an eye and there will be no graves.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith, ed. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1954-1956], 1:86-87

The second gathering will see remnants return from all directions (as symbolized by different countries: Assyria = Modern Iraq; Egypt, Pathros = Egypt; Cush = Ethiopia; Elam = Iran; Shinar = Iraq; Hamath = Syria) and from various continents (islands of the sea). The Lord will also set up a church (or ensign) for the nations and the scattered outcasts of Israel.

Victor L. Ludlow, Unlocking the Old Testament [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 158-59

Isaiah prophesied “that the Lord shall set his hand again…to recover the remnant of his people” (Isa. 11:11). Jeremiah declared that “remnants” would come from “the land of the north” (Jer. 3:18; 16:14-15; cf. 23:7-8; 31:8) and that the Lord would “make a new covenant” with them (Jer. 31:31).

Book of Mormon prophets affirmed that the Lord had not forgotten the ten tribes, and that they are keeping records that will yet be revealed (2 Ne. 29:12-14). When the resurrected Jesus Christ appeared in the Americas, he spoke of being commanded of the Father to minister unto the lost tribes, “for they are not lost unto the Father” (3 Ne. 17:4). Jesus also promised that the Lord’s redemptive work in the last days would include “the tribes which have been lost” (3 Ne. 21:26)….

On April 3, 1836, Moses appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple and committed to them the “keys of the gathering of Israel…and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north” (D&C 110:11). These keys still rest with the President off the Church. In time, the ten tribes are to be “crowned with glory…by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim” (D&C 133:26-34)….Plainly, according to scripture and teachings of LDS leaders, descendants of the lost tribes—wherever they may be—have continued to receive divine attention and will receive future blessings.

David L. Bolliger, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. [New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992], 2:709

In the LDS perspective, gathering Israel in the latter days consists of the following: (1) the spiritual gathering, which includes coming to know that Jesus is the Christ and joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; (2) the assembling of Church members to organized Stakes; and (3) the gathering of the descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons—including the lost ten tribes (D&C 1101)—to the lands of their inheritance. These gatherings are necessary because of ancient apostasies that resulted in the dispersion of Israel into all nations (Deut. 4:27; 28:64; Jer. 16:13; Hosea 9:17)…..

Anciently, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and Isaiah prophesied a future recovery of Israel from many lands (Isa. 11:11-13; cf. 2 Ne. 6:14).

Terry L. Niederhauser, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. [New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992], 710