“For the Eternal Purposes of the Lord Shall Roll On until All His Promises Shall Be Fulfilled”

George Reynolds, Janne M. Sjodahl

In the annals of the Germanic peoples, especially the Scandinavians of Northern Europe, and the Anglo-Saxon tribes that invaded England in the 5th and 6th Centuries, together with native and Danish elements, all of which intermingled and formed one great race, we can see the Finger of God in the incidents of their lives that thereafter developed.

In no place in history is it more clearly to be seen than here, that the work of the Lord is progressing in all parts of the earth. And in it we may behold that what we sometimes call accidents, are really not so. But, we conclude, that in all righteous nations the incidents of their history are the inspirations of God, and the so-called accidents therein are the leadings and guidings of Him Who caused their foundations to be laid.

It is certain that many of the people above mentioned are of Israel, the Covenant People of the Lord.

There is another race of God's children which some delight to imprecate, and to say of them all manner of evil. These are the descendants of Judah, the son of Jacob and the great grandson of Abraham.

The Jews, although they have gone astray, and no longer remember the Covenant their fathers made with God at Sinai, are still His chosen people, and as such have been given a mighty work to perform to the honor and glory of God. They have already paid heavily for their errors, and are still paying, but notwithstanding the trials and the humiliation that have been for over two thousand years, heaped upon them by their neighbors, they will fulfil every word spoken by their holy prophets. Instead of their homeland being a dry and unyielding place where only jackals roam; a land of poverty and suffering, the Land of their Inheritance shall again "be as a watered garden, and they will sorrow no more." Prophesying of this time when Judah, which is now scattered abroad throughout the whole earth, shall return to its native home, the Land of Jerusalem, Jeremiah, one of its great prophets, says: "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 does 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 in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the flock and the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all...for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow...!" (Jeremiah 31:10-13)

The abridger of the Larger Plates of Nephi, Mormon, also prophesied of these times. He says: "And as surely as the Lord liveth, will He gather in from the four quarters of the earth all the Remnant of the seed of Jacob, who are scattered abroad upon all the face of the earth. And as He hath covenanted with all the House of Jacob, even so shall the covenant wherewith He hath covenanted with the House of Jacob be fulfilled in His Own due time, unto the restoring all the House of Jacob unto the knowledge of the Covenant that He hath covenanted with them. And then shall they know their Redeemer, Who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they had been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be." (III Nephi 5:24-26)

The angel who accompanied Nephi in his vision of events that would thereafter transpire, and explained to him the meaning thereof, spake to Nephi concerning certain records which Nephi saw, and of them, the angel said: 'These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles,' meaning the Book of Mormon, 'shall establish the truth of the first,' which is the Bible...'and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto Him, or they cannot be saved.'" (1 Nephi 13:40)

To cry this truth to Jew and Gentile is our work which is also the Lord's work, and let us beware that in any thought or action, we do not attempt to sabotage His work by decrying and denying the Jews. No power on earth, or in hell, can destroy His work, or cause Him to forget the Covenant which He made with the House of Israel. "For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all His promises shall be fulfilled."

Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 7

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