Jacob taught that God led various members of the house of Israel to other areas of the world from time to time and referred to them as “brethren” (see 2 Nephi 10:20–21). They were brethren both by lineage and belief. The Lord has a purpose for all of these branches and knows where each group is. The Book of Mormon speaks of at least three such colonies: Lehi’s group, the Jaredites (as recorded in the book of Ether), and the Mulekites (see Mosiah 25:2; Helaman 6:10; 8:21). Undoubtedly, there are others we are not aware of, such as the lost tribes from the ancient kingdom of northern Israel and possibly other groups led elsewhere (see Jacob 5:20–25).