THE ARTICLES OF FAITH OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. LECTURE XVIII. THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. =Article 10.=--We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes, etc. =1. The Gathering Predicted.=--Terrible as was the chastisement decreed on Israel for their waywardness and sin, amounting, as it did, to their dissolution as a nation, and to a virtual expulsion from the sight of the Lord's favor; fearful as has been their denunciation by Him who delighted to call them His people; through all their sufferings and deprivations, while wandering as outcasts among alien nations who have never ceased to treat them with contumely and insult, when their very name has been made a hiss and a byword in the earth;--they have ever been sustained by the sure word of Divine promise, that a day of glorious deliverance and blessed restoration awaits them. Associated with the curses under which they writhed and groaned, were assurances of blessings. From the heart of the people, as from the soul of their mighty king in the day of his deserved affliction, has poured forth a song of tearful rejoicing:--"Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell."[977] The sufferings of Israel have been but necessary chastening by a grieved yet loving Father, who planned by these effective means to purify His sin-stained children. To them He has freely told His purpose in thus afflicting them, and in His punishments they have seen His love, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,"[978] and "Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, O Lord."[979] [977] Psa. xvi, 10; Acts ii, 27. [978] Heb. xii, 6. [979] Psa. xciv, 12; see also Prov. iii, 12; James i, 12; Rev. iii, 19. =2.= Though smitten of men, a large part of them gone from a knowledge of the world, Israel are not lost unto their Father; He knows whither they have been led or driven; toward them His heart still yearns with paternal love; and surely will He bring them forth, in due time and by appointed means, into a condition of favor and power, befitting His chosen and covenant people. In spite of their sin, and the tribulations which they would assuredly bring upon themselves, the Lord said:--"And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God."[980] As complete as was the scattering, so will be the gathering of Israel. [980] Levit. xxvi, 44; see also Deut. iv, 27-31. =3. Bible Prophecies concerning the Gathering.=--We have examined a few of the biblical predictions concerning the dispersion of Israel; in all cases the blessing of eventual restoration was associated with the curse. Among the early prophecies, we hear the Lord declaring that it shall come to pass that when thou, Israel, "shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: and the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers."[981] [981] Deut. xxx, 2-5. =4.= Nehemiah pleads in fasting and prayer that the Lord would remember His promise of restoration if the people would turn unto righteousness.[982] Isaiah speaks with no uncertain words of the assured return and re-union of scattered Israel, saying:--"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.... 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."[983] [982] Neh. i, 9. [983] Isaiah xi, 11-12. =5.= The restoration is to be complete; there shall be a united people, no longer two kingdoms, each at enmity with the other; for, "The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim."[984] With the words of a fond Father, the Lord thus speaks of His treatment of Israel and brightens their desolation with promises:--"For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."[985] [984] Verse 13; see also Ezek. xxxvii, 21. [985] Isa. liv, 7-8. =6.= After giving a terrible recital of the people's sins and the penalties to follow, Jeremiah thus voices the will and purpose of God, concerning the subsequent deliverance:--"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks."[986] And again:--"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth.... Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord."[987] [986] Jer. xvi, 12-16. [987] Jer. xxxi, 7-8, 10-12. =7.= "Backsliding Israel," "treacherous Judah," are the terms of reproof with which the Lord addressed His recreant children; then He commanded the prophet, saying: "Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers."[988] [988] Jer. iii, 12-18; see also xxiii, 8; xxv, 34; xxx, 3; xxxii, 37. =8.= To Ezekiel the Lord also declared the plan of Israel's restoration:--"Thus saith the Lord God; behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel: and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all."[989] [989] Ezek. xxxvii, 21-22; see also xi, 17; xx, 34-42; xxviii, 25; xxxiv, 11, 31. =9.= That the re-establishment is to be a permanent one is evident from the revelation given through Amos, wherein we read that the Lord said:--"And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God."[990] [990] Amos ix, 14-15. =10.= As a fitting close to our selection of biblical prophecies, let the words of Jesus of Nazareth be read, spoken while He lived among men: "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."[991] [991] Matt. xxiv, 31. =11. Book of Mormon Prophecies.=--The gathering of Israel claimed the attention of many prophets whose teachings are recorded in the Book of Mormon, and not a little direct revelation concerning the subject is preserved within the pages of that volume. We have noted Lehi's discourse in the valley of Lemuel, in which that patriarch-prophet compared the house of Israel to an olive tree, the branches of which were to be broken off and scattered; now may we add his prediction regarding the subsequent grafting-in of the branches. He taught that, "after the house of Israel shall be scattered, they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to a knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer."[992] [992] I Nephi x, 14; see also Jacob v. =12.= Nephi, quoting the words of the prophet Zenos,[993] emphasizes the declaration that, when purified by suffering, Israel shall come again into the favor of the Lord, and then shall they be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, and the isles of the sea shall be remembered.[994] Jacob, the brother of Nephi, testified to the truth of the prophecies of Zenos, and indicated the time of the gathering as a characteristic sign of the last days. Consider his words:--"And in the day that he shall set his hand again the second time, to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh."[995] [993] See Note 3, p. 340. [994] I Nephi xix, 16; see also I Nephi xxii, 11, 12, 25; II Nephi vi, 8-11. [995] Jacob vi, 2. =13.= Among the most comprehensive predictions regarding the restoration of the Jews is the following utterance of Nephi:--"Wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea, and also Babylon shall be destroyed; wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered by other nations; and after they have been scattered, 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 believe 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 clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs to be expedient that they should believe these things, and the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men."[996] [996] II Nephi xxv, 15-17. =14.= Nephi, commenting on the words of Isaiah regarding the sufferings and subsequent triumph of the people of Israel, states the condition upon which their gathering is predicated, and says of God:--"That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation, until the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and fold of God; when they shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise."[997] [997] II Nephi ix, 2; see also I Nephi xv, 19; xix, 13-16; II Nephi xxv, 16, 17, 20; III Nephi v, 21-26; xxi, 26-29; xxix, 1-8; Mormon v, 14. =15.= It is evident from these and many other passages that the time of the Jews' return is to be determined by their acceptance of Christ as their Lord. When that time comes, they are to be gathered to the land of their fathers; and in the work of gathering, the Gentiles are destined to take a great and honorable part, as witness the further words of Nephi:--"But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance. And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the land of their inheritance. Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?"[998] [998] II Nephi x, 7-9; xxx, 7; see also Isaiah xlix, 23; III Nephi v, 26; xx, 29. =16.= The assistance which the Gentiles are to give in the preparation of the Jews, and of the remnant of the house of Israel established on the western continent, is affirmed by several Book of Mormon prophets; and, moreover, the blessings which the Gentiles may thus bring upon themselves are described in detail.[999] A single quotation must suffice for our present purpose; and this the declaration of the risen Lord, during His brief ministration among the Nephites:--"But if they [the Gentiles] will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance, and they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also, as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem; and then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst; and then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem. Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father, to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name; yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father, among all nations, in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance."[1000] [999] III Nephi xxi, 21-27; Ether xiii, 8-10. [1000] III Nephi xxi, 22-28. =17. Modern Revelation Concerning the Gathering.=--We have found abundant proof of the severely literal fulfilment of prophecies relating to Israel's dispersion. The predictions relative to the gathering have been but partly fulfilled; for, while the work of concentration has been well begun, and is now in active progress, the consummation of the labor is yet future. It is reasonable, then, to look for revelation and prophecy concerning the subject, in modern scripture as well as in the inspired writings of former times. Speaking to the elders of the Church in this dispensation, the Lord declares His purpose to gather His people "even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,"[1001] and adds: "And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect, for mine elect hear my voice, and harden not their hearts; wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father, that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked."[1002] [1001] Revelation given 1830, Doc. and Cov. xxix, 2; see also x, 65; xliii, 24. [1002] Doc. and Cov. xxix, 7-8; see also xxxi, 8; xxxiii, 6; xxxviii, 31; cxxxiii, 7; xlv, 25; lxxvii, 14; lxxxiv, 2. =18.= Hear further the word of the Lord unto the people of His Church in the present day, not only predicting the gathering of the Saints to Zion, but announcing that the hour for the gathering has come:--"Wherefore, prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my Church.... Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you, go ye out of Babylon, gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."[1003] [1003] Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 4, 7. =19. Extent and Purpose of the Gathering.=--Some of the prophecies already cited have special reference to the restoration of the Ten Tribes; others relate to the return of the people of Judah to the land of their inheritance; yet others refer to the re-establishment of Israel in general, without mention of tribal or other divisions; while many passages in the revelations of the present dispensation deal with the gathering of the Saints who have numbered themselves with the Church of Christ as re-established. It is evident that the plan of gathering comprises:-- 1. Return of the Jews to Jerusalem. 2. Restoration of the Ten Tribes. 3. Assembling in the land of Zion of the people of Israel from the nations of the earth. =20.= The sequence of these subdivisions as here presented, is that of convenience only, and has no significance as to the order in which the work is to be done. The division last named constitutes the present great work of the Church, though the labor of assisting in the restoration of the Lost Tribes is included. We are informed by revelation, given in the Kirtland Temple, that the appointment to and the authority for this work were solemnly committed to the Church. And through whom should such authority be expected to come? Surely through him who had received it by Divine commission in a former dispensation of united Israel. Moses, who was the chief representative of Israel's God when the Lord set His hand the first time to lead His people to the land of their appointed inheritance, has come in person and has committed to the latter-day Church the authority to minister in the work now that the Lord has "set his hand the second time" to recover His people. =21.= Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, each of whom had been duly ordained to the apostleship, testify of the manifestations made to them, in these words:--"The heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."[1004] The importance of the work thus required of the Church was emphasized by a later revelation, in which the Lord gave this command:--"Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations; firstly upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews. And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion.... Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion. And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountain of the Lord's house. Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon."[1005] [1004] Doc. and Cov. cx, 11. [1005] Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 8-9, 12-14. =22.= The last sentence of the foregoing quotation expresses the purpose for which this work of gathering the Saints from the nations of the earth has been ordained. The Lord would have His people separate themselves from the sins of the world, and depart from spiritual Babylon, that they may learn the ways of God and serve Him the more fully. John the Revelator, while in exile on Patmos, saw in vision the fate of the sinful world. An angel came down from heaven, "and he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."[1006] [1006] Rev. xviii, 2, 4-5. =23.= The faith of the Saints teaches that in the day of the Lord's righteous fury, safety will be found in Zion. The importance which the Latter-day Saints associate with the work of gathering, and the fidelity with which they seek to discharge the duty enjoined upon them by Divine authority in the matter of warning the world of the impending dangers, as described in the Revelator's vision, are sufficiently demonstrated by the great extent of the missionary labor as at present prosecuted by this people.[1007] [1007] See Note 1. =24. Israel a Chosen People.=--It is evident that the Lord has conferred the choicest of blessings upon His people Israel.[1008] With Abraham, the patriarch of the nation, God entered into a covenant and said:--"I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."[1009] This was to be an everlasting covenant.[1010] It was confirmed upon Isaac,[1011] and in turn upon Jacob who was called Israel.[1012] The promises regarding the multitudinous posterity, among whom were to be counted many of royal rank, have been literally fulfilled. No less certain is the realization of the second part of the prediction, that in and through Abraham's descendants should all nations of the earth be blessed. For, by a world-wide dispersion, the children of Israel have been mingled with the nations; and the blood of the chosen seed has been sprinkled among the peoples.[1013] And now, in this the day of gathering, when the Lord is again bringing His people together to honor and bless them above all that the world can give, every nation with the blood of Israel in the veins of its members will partake of the blessings. [1008] See Note 2. [1009] Gen. xii, 1-2; see also Gal. iii, 14, 16. [1010] Gen. xvii, 6-8. [1011] Gen. xxvi, 3-4. [1012] Gen. xxxv, 11-12. [1013] See Note 3. =25.= But there is another and a more striking proof of blessings flowing to all nations through the house of Israel. Was not the Redeemer born in the flesh through the lineage of Abraham? Surely the blessings of that Divine birth are extended, not only to the nations and families of the earth collectively, but to every individual in mortality. =26. Restoration of the Ten Tribes.=--From the scriptural passages already considered, it is plain that, while many of those belonging to the Ten Tribes were dispersed among the nations, a sufficient number to justify the retention of the original name were led away as a body, and are now in existence in some place where the Lord has hidden them. To them Christ went to minister after His visit to the Nephites, as before stated.[1014] Their return constitutes a very important part of the gathering, characteristic of the dispensation of the fullness of times. [1014] Pp. 338-339. =27.= To the scriptures already quoted as relating to their return, the following should be added: As a feature of the work of God in the day of restoration we are told:--"And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord, and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves, and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them. And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence. And there shall they fall down, and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim; and they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy. Behold this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim and his fellows."[1015] [1015] Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 26-34. =28.= From the express and repeated declaration, that in their exodus from the north the Ten Tribes are to be led to Zion, there to receive honor at the hands of some of the children of Ephraim, who necessarily are to have previously gathered there, it is plain that Zion is to be first established. The establishment of Zion will receive attention in the next lecture. NOTES. =1. Gathering Now in Progress.=--The Latter-day Saints "are building up stakes of Zion in the Rocky Mountain valleys, and in this way are fulfilling predictions of the ancient prophets. Isaiah hath it written, 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem' (Isaiah ii, 2-3). It is remarkable how minutely the Latter-day Saints are fulfilling the terms of this prophecy: 1. They are building the temples of God in the tops of the mountains, so that the house of the Lord is truly where Isaiah saw it would be. 2. The Saints engaged in this work are people gathered from nearly all the nations under heaven, so that all nations are flowing unto the house of the Lord in the top of the mountains. 3. The people who receive the gospel in foreign lands joyfully say to their relatives and friends: Come ye, and let us go up to the house of the Lord, and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths."--Roberts' _Outlines of Ecclesiastical History_, p. 409. =2. Israel a Chosen People.=--"The promise to Abram that he should become a great nation, has been fulfilled in his chosen seed occupying the land of Palestine, as such, for fifteen hundred years. It will again be fulfilled when they become a nation on that land forever. The history of the eastern hemisphere for the two thousand years which intervened between the calling of Abraham and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, witnesses that every nation that fought against Israel, or in any way oppressed them, passed away. Time will show the same general result from the destruction of Jerusalem to the millennium. The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the time when the Lord should favor Israel, said, 'All they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish' (xli, 11). 'I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood' (xlix, 27). 'I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink of it again: but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over.'"--_A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel_, by Elders Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, pp. 246-247. =3. Israel Among the Nations.=--"When we reflect that it is thirty-two centuries since the enemies of Israel began to oppress them in the land of Canaan, that about one-third of the time they were a people in that land they were more or less in bondage to their enemies; that seven hundred years before the coming of Christ the ten tribes were scattered throughout western Asia; that we have no record that any have as yet returned to the land of their inheritance; that nearly six hundred years before Christ, the Babylonish captivity took place, and that, according to the Book of Esther, only a small part of the Jews ever returned, but were scattered through the 127 provinces of the Persian empire; that Asia was the hive from which swarmed the nomadic tribes who over-ran Europe; that at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans the Jews were scattered over the known world; we may well ask the question, Does not Israel to-day constitute a large proportion of the human family?"--_Compendium_, by Elders F. D. Richards and James A. Little, p. 90.