The gathering of Israel seems like a straightforward concept. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were scattered by conquering empires. The task is to find their descendants wherever they are and bring them home.
But the task is actually bigger than that, much bigger. The key is to understand the importance of the Gentiles in the gathering.
About 750 BCE, before the scattering had begun, the prophet Amos prophesied of a future time of restoration:
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.
Amos 9:11-12
The most obvious interpretation of “the tabernacle of David” is the temple in Jerusalem, which would be destroyed by the Babylonians 150 years later and subsequently rebuilt. But I also see it is a metaphor for the collapse of the kingdom of Israel and its subsequent restoration.
In the second verse of this passage, “heathen” is a translation of the Hebrew word goyim (גּוֹיִם֙), which appears in other passages as “nations,” “people,” or “Gentiles.” A Gentile is a non-Israelite, and for God’s people to “possess” the heathen could simply indicate Israel’s supremacy. But in a council of church leaders in Jerusalem after the first mission of Paul, James interpreted these verses very differently:
After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Acts 15:16-17
In James’s version of the passage, some of the Gentiles will seek after the Lord and will find Him. In this context, “possess” might mean “assimilate.” The Gentiles who seek God will become part of Israel.
Nephi said, “As many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord” (2 Nephi 30:2). When Jesus visited the American continent, He affirmed the same principle: “If the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel” (3 Nephi 16:13). And after sharing the account of Jesus’ ministry on the American continent, Mormon addressed the last chapter of 3 Nephi to the Gentiles, urging them to repent so that they “may be numbered with…the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 30:2).
So the gathering is more than the recovery of a group of people who were lost. It is the recovery of all of God’s children who want to be found.
Today, I will remember that God is working to gather all of His children. I will strive to be welcoming and accepting of people from different backgrounds and to find common cause with people who are striving to grow closer to God.