Hunters and Fishers

The gathering of Israel is underway, and each of us can be part of it.

Jeremiah said, “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” (Jeremiah 16:14-15). Then, he explained how this would be done:

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.

Jeremiah 16:16

Isaiah also made it clear that people would participate in the gathering:

I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

Isaiah 49:22, 1 Nephi 21:22, 2 Nephi 6:6

Here’s how the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob described our role in this process:

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 lands of their inheritance.

2 Nephi 10:8

President Russell M. Nelson said:

Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that.

“Hope of Israel,” Worldwide Youth Devotional, 3 June 2018

Today, I will be grateful that God allows us to participate in His work. I will find ways to be a “hunter” and a “fisher,” looking for opportunities to help with the gathering of Israel by bring people closer to Him.