Day 8
This was our final lesson on the story of the house of Israel. We left off in our last lesson talking about how the Northern Kingdom or the kingdom of Israel was attacked by Assyria and taken captive. Ultimately the people were scattered all over the world. But we had not yet addressed the Kingdom of Judah.
The kingdom of Judah retained the scriptures we know today as the Old Testament or in Book of Mormon language the Plates of Brass. Isaiah wrote upon them many prophesies about the scattering and gathering of Israel and the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Without that record the next part of the story would never have happened.
This story should be a little more familiar. In about 600 BC a man named Lehi from the tribe of Manasseh was living in Jerusalem. We don't know why his family wasn’t taken by the Assyrians with the rest of the Tribe of Manasseh. Perhaps one of his ancestors was warned by God to flee to Jerusalem before the Northern Kingdom was taken captive. Whatever the case was Lehi was now faced with the commandment to leave before Jerusalem was destroyed and it’s inhabitants carried away captive into Babylon. Lehi obeyed and departed into the wilderness. His sons returned to get 2 key things. First, they returned for the record (Brass Plates) and later returned to bring the family of Ishmael (Tribe of Ephraim) with them. Eventually they sailed to the Promised land. See ships below. 😄
Another part of a branch that left Jerusalem was Mulek. His father, the King of Judah, was captured by the Babylonians in 586 AD as Lehi warned but Mulek escaped and sailed to the American continent. (Helaman 8:21)
We then talked a little more about how the House of Israel has been scattered all
over the world. (See scattered flags below). Most people in history had no idea who they were as a part of the House of Israel. They had no idea they had access to the blessings of the House of Israel-the Abrahamic Covenant. 1. Posterity
2. Land of Promise
3. Priesthood
4. Salvation and Exaltation
We, as the tribe of Ephraim, have been called to gather scattered Israel on both sides of the veil-the living and the dead.
We, along with the full time missionaries, help the LIVING by using the Book of Mormon to teach about the House of Israel. We teach them who they are and help them become covenant people by inviting them to make covenants with God in the temple giving them access to all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and sealing them to the family of God.
We help our DEAD ancestors as we do family history and take their names to the temple and make covenants on their behalf. This frees them to accept or reject the covenant on the other side of the veil. If they accept they can also be sealed to the family of God and receive the blessings of the covenant including most importantly for them salvation and exaltation.