Gathering of Israel

The gathering of Israel is one of the most prominent topics both in the scriptures and among the living prophets. President Russell M. Nelson stated, “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.”128

Mesa Arizona Temple panel, gathering of Israel.

And why the gathering? Its purpose, as the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, is to build temples so that God can reveal “the ordinances of his house and the glories of his kingdom, and teach the people the way of Salvation.”129 He also stated, “One of the most important points in the faith of the church of the Latter Day Saints, is . . . the gathering of Israel . . . The happy time when Jacob shall go up to the house of the Lord, to worship him in spirit and in truth, to live in holiness.”130

Some temples set forth the gathering theme with architectural designs. For example, the Mesa Arizona Temple features eight panels on the temple’s exterior that refer to Israel’s gathering, as per Isaiah’s words, “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” (Isa. 11:12).