What Can You Do to Help Gather Israel?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to the book of Jeremiah in a lesson titled “Before I Formed Thee in the Belly I Knew Thee” (Jeremiah 1-3; 7; 16-18; 20). The following information introduced the lesson. 

At first, Jeremiah didn’t think he would make a good prophet. “Behold, I cannot speak,” he protested (Jeremiah 1:6). But the Lord reassured him, “I have put my words in thy mouth” (verse 9). Jeremiah felt that he was an inexperienced “child” (verse 6), but the Lord explained that he was actually more prepared than he realized – he had been ordained to this calling even before he was born (see verse 5). So Jeremiah set aside his fears and accepted the call. He warned Jerusalem’s kings and priests that their pretended holiness would not save them. The “child” who thought he could not speak came to feel God’s word “in [his] heart as a burning fire” and could not be silent (Jeremiah 20:9).

Jeremiah’s story is also your story. God knew you, too, before you were born and prepared you for your mission in life. Among other things, that mission includes something Jeremiah foresaw; gathering God’s people, one by one, to “bring [them] to Zion” (Jeremiah 3:14). And even if you don’t know exactly what to do or say, you can “be not afraid …; for I am with thee, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:8, 19).

There are four principles in this lesson. They are (1) Prophets are called to speak God’s word (Jeremiah 1:4-19; 7;1-7; 20:8-9), (2) God knew me before I was born (Jeremiah 1:5), (3) “They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2; 7), and (4) The Lord will gather His people (Jeremiah 3:14-18; 16:14-21). This essay will discuss principle #4 about God gathering His people.

Jeremiah compared the gathering of Israel in the latter days with the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. (See Jeremiah 16:14-15.) Jeremiah 3:14-18 says, “I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.” Verses 15-18 tells us that pastors will “feed [them] with knowledge and understanding.” Jerusalem would be the “throne of the Lord” and “all the nations shall be gathered unto it.” In that day, “the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel” and come out of the north.

Jeremiah 16:14-21, tells us that God will gather “the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them.” He will “send for many fishers” and “many hunters” to hunt the people from every mountain and hill and out of caves. No one can hide their faces or their iniquity from God.

President Russell M. Nelson, like Jeremiah, taught that the gathering of Israel “is the most important thing taking place on earth today” (“Hope of Israel,” worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018, Gospel Library). In his address, he told the youth: 

My dear young brothers and sisters, these surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!

When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more. Those whose lineage is from the various tribes of Israel are those whose hearts will most likely be turned to the Lord. He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Those who are of the house of Israel will most easily recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and will desire to be gathered into His fold. They will want to become members of His Church, make covenants with Him and Heavenly Father, and receive their essential ordinances.

The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that now, meaning our day, is the eleventh hour and the last time that He will call laborers into His vineyard for the express purpose of gathering the elect from the four quarters of the earth.

My question tonight to every one of you between the ages of 12 and 18 is this: Would you like to be a big part of the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on earth today? Would you like to help gather Israel during these precious latter days? Would you, who are the elect, be willing to help find the elect who have not heard the message of the restored gospel? Would you like to be among those “swift messengers” of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke?

Now, participating in the gathering of Israel will require some sacrifices on your part. It may even require some changes in your life. It will definitely take some of your time and energy and your God-given talents. Are you interested?

Just think of the excitement and urgency of it all: every prophet commencing with Adam has seen our day. And every prophet has talked about our day, when Israel would be gathered and the world would be prepared for the Second Coming of the Savior. Think of it! Of all the people who have ever lived on planet earth, we are the ones who get to participate in this final, great gathering event. How exciting is that!

Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits – perhaps, I might say, His finest team – for this final phase. Those noble spirits – those finest players, those heroes – are you!

I testify that the gathering is now, and it is real….

My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth….

So, now I am inviting every young woman and every young man between the ages of 12 and 18 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel.

What will help you? As you continue to read daily from the Book of Mormon, you will learn the doctrine of the gathering, truths about Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and the fulness of His gospel not found in the Bible. The Book of Mormon is central to the gathering of Israel. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur.

And now I invite you to prepare yourself by doing five more things – five things that will change you and help you change the world….

Now, let me summarize by reviewing my five invitations for you to enlist in the Lord’s youth battalion to help gather Israel:

1. Hold a seven-day fast from social media.

2. Make a weekly sacrifice of time to the Lord for three weeks.

3. Keep on the covenant path. If you are off, repent and get back on the path.

4. Pray daily that all of God’s children might receive the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

5. Stand out. Be different. Be a light. Give to a friend one copy of the booklet For the Strength of Youth.

My beloved younger brothers and sisters, you are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation!