The Righteous Will Be Led Out
"And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent they shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will lead away the righteous out from among you."
-Jacob 3:4
This may be the single most comprehensive scripture regarding a gathering.
In the above verse "they" is referring to the Lamanites, but "they" could be any group. Repentance is the key. As the unrepentant increase in number, and wickedness increases, the people become ripened in iniquity.
When the wicked are the majority, and most of those who might be labeled as "righteous" tolerate, and/or support iniquity, then the people are fully ripe in iniquity. From what I have been able to discern in the scriptures, this fully ripe state comes after years of warnings from the Lord. Natural disasters, famine, wars, etc. In the beginning of these warnings many of the people may return briefly to God, and repent of their wickedness. But, as the bad times become memory, the people return to lusts, pride, and wicked ways.
The people begin to see the warning signs less as warnings and more as "natural events."
The above quoted scripture is also the parable of the wheat and tares in a nutshell. The wheat is gathered from among the tares. Many people believe the tares are gathered, bundled, and destroyed while the wheat is left. But, in the Doctrine and Covenants, as well as the Joseph Smith Translation it is the wheat that is gathered. The wheat is symbolic of the righteous, the truly righteous and faithful who follow the guidance of the Spirit and do their best to yield themselves to the Lord's will.
While I do not have evidence to support this, I believe their are areas in the country where the righteous are being led out, maybe guided to move or leave due to employment change.
Much of the initial gathering has been taking place.
However, this initial gathering is not to a final gathering place.
Think of it as a very long chess game. God sees every move, every possible move than can be made, and he moves his pieces so all will be in place when needed.
Eventually there will be an actual gathering. A gathering call to the Saints, and to all who would be called Saints. The righteous will be ready. They will have been prepared, with many of their pieces in place. These will heed the call and gather, initially to the places of refuge, later to gather with others and to rebuild cities, and finally many will be called to gather to the land of the New Jerusalem.
Those who profess to be righteous, or at least make the appearance of righteousness, will be doubtful, some even incredulous, of a gathering call. Many will justify why they cannot go, or refuse to believe that what they perceive as a comfortable, prosperous, normal life could be changed. There will be confusion, unbelief, mocking, and other emotional responses
Ultimately, only a very small percentage of Church members will heed this initial call. And it will very likely be several weeks, maybe even months, before conditions are such to justify the gathering. Many will be tried in their faith because they gathered primarily because they thought something would be happening immediately. When nothing apparent seems to happen within the initial time frame, there will be many who will leave and return to the lives. However, when things do get bad, it will be too late for others to gather, and those who do will only be able to do so after extreme difficulty and hardship, which will probably be better than what they might experience if they remain.
Another gathering will happen later as special missionaries are called to seek out the elect who remain.
Very much like the various harvests of the fig tree.
-Jacob 3:4
This may be the single most comprehensive scripture regarding a gathering.
In the above verse "they" is referring to the Lamanites, but "they" could be any group. Repentance is the key. As the unrepentant increase in number, and wickedness increases, the people become ripened in iniquity.
When the wicked are the majority, and most of those who might be labeled as "righteous" tolerate, and/or support iniquity, then the people are fully ripe in iniquity. From what I have been able to discern in the scriptures, this fully ripe state comes after years of warnings from the Lord. Natural disasters, famine, wars, etc. In the beginning of these warnings many of the people may return briefly to God, and repent of their wickedness. But, as the bad times become memory, the people return to lusts, pride, and wicked ways.
The people begin to see the warning signs less as warnings and more as "natural events."
The above quoted scripture is also the parable of the wheat and tares in a nutshell. The wheat is gathered from among the tares. Many people believe the tares are gathered, bundled, and destroyed while the wheat is left. But, in the Doctrine and Covenants, as well as the Joseph Smith Translation it is the wheat that is gathered. The wheat is symbolic of the righteous, the truly righteous and faithful who follow the guidance of the Spirit and do their best to yield themselves to the Lord's will.
While I do not have evidence to support this, I believe their are areas in the country where the righteous are being led out, maybe guided to move or leave due to employment change.
Much of the initial gathering has been taking place.
However, this initial gathering is not to a final gathering place.
Think of it as a very long chess game. God sees every move, every possible move than can be made, and he moves his pieces so all will be in place when needed.
Eventually there will be an actual gathering. A gathering call to the Saints, and to all who would be called Saints. The righteous will be ready. They will have been prepared, with many of their pieces in place. These will heed the call and gather, initially to the places of refuge, later to gather with others and to rebuild cities, and finally many will be called to gather to the land of the New Jerusalem.
Those who profess to be righteous, or at least make the appearance of righteousness, will be doubtful, some even incredulous, of a gathering call. Many will justify why they cannot go, or refuse to believe that what they perceive as a comfortable, prosperous, normal life could be changed. There will be confusion, unbelief, mocking, and other emotional responses
Ultimately, only a very small percentage of Church members will heed this initial call. And it will very likely be several weeks, maybe even months, before conditions are such to justify the gathering. Many will be tried in their faith because they gathered primarily because they thought something would be happening immediately. When nothing apparent seems to happen within the initial time frame, there will be many who will leave and return to the lives. However, when things do get bad, it will be too late for others to gather, and those who do will only be able to do so after extreme difficulty and hardship, which will probably be better than what they might experience if they remain.
Another gathering will happen later as special missionaries are called to seek out the elect who remain.
Very much like the various harvests of the fig tree.
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