THIS IS A REPOST OF MD’s WORK POSTED august 03, 2018 FROM MEASURINGDOCTRINE.COM

One of Watcher’s recent posts touched on his interpretation of the scriptures that the Jerusalem of the last days is in North America and not the Middle East. Obviously this interpretation flies in the face of the opinions of experts and common sense. Everyone knows where Jerusalem is, just look on a map!

Watcher included this quotation from Joseph Smith:

“You know there has been a great discussion in relation to ZION- where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; But I will make a proclamation that will cover broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south and is described by the prophets, that it is the Zion where the Mountain of the Lord should be, and that it is the center of the land. When the Elders take up to examine the old prophecies in the bible they will see it.”

Let’s follow Joseph’s advice and examine the old prophecies while we also measure Watcher’s strange doctrine against the scriptures.

Ezekiel 28
25 Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.

The house of Israel will be gathered into and dwell in the land given to Jacob. Now remember, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel after his encounter with the angel. So other than the different names this is pretty straight forward. So straightforward that Nephi basically reiterated it:

2 Nephi 24
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them and bring them to their place; yea, from far unto the ends of the earth; and they shall return to their lands of promise. And the house of Israel shall possess them…

Elsewhere, this gathering is discussed. The remnant of the seed of Jacob is gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands.

3 Nephi 5
24 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.
25 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.
26 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 have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be. Amen.

Everything still seems straightforward. Straightforward, that is, until the resurrected Jesus starts talking:

3 Nephi 21
1 And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place—that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion;

22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;
23 And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.
24 And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.

Jesus is saying that the latter-day members of his church will be numbered among the remnant of Jacob. And that remnant of Jacob has received the land of the Nephites for their inheritance. Furthermore, he says they will build the new Jerusalem in this land, and bring all those Lord’s people who are scattered into the new Jerusalem. And the Lord will establish Zion among these people living in the new Jerusalem.

One historical note to consider: when the printer’s manuscript was delivered to Grandin Press, the Book of Mormon was basically one massive run-on sentence. Every comma, period, and capital was added by John Gilbert, the typesetter. So “the New Jerusalem” could have been intended to read “the new Jerusalem” (which we will soon see is how it is in Revelation). Because we don’t know what was intended, we need to consider both options.

3 Nephi 20
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.
22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New [new] Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.

The resurrected Jesus makes it clear that his people are the house of Israel and the new Jerusalem will be located on the land of the Nephites, not the Middle East. More significantly, he says that establishing them in North America fulfills the covenant which he made with Jacob. This is where it gets interesting. Jesus is saying that the promise made to Jacob will be fulfilled when the people gather to the new Jerusalem in North America. He says nothing about a restoration of the Jerusalem in the Middle East where Jacob lived.

In the 1830s, the Lord reiterated that North America is a consecrated land according to the covenant.

D&C 52
2 Saying: I, the Lord, will make known unto you what I will that ye shall do from this time until the next conference, which shall be held in Missouri, upon the land which I will consecrate unto my people, which are a remnant of Jacob, and those who are heirs according to the covenant.

To summarize, Jesus seems to think that:

North America is the land given to the remnant of Jacob.
North America is the land where as many of the house of Israel shall come will build the new Jerusalem.
North America is the land where the house of Israel will be established according to the covenant made with Jacob.
Missouri is part of the land consecrated to the remnant of Jacob.

Let’s see what else the scriptures say:

D&C 109
64 And the children of Judah may begin to return to the lands which thou didst give to Abraham, their father.
65 And cause that the remnants of Jacob, who have been cursed and smitten because of their transgression, be converted from their wild and savage condition to the fulness of the everlasting gospel;
66 That they may lay down their weapons of bloodshed, and cease their rebellions.
67 And may all the scattered remnants of Israel, who have been driven to the ends of the earth, come to a knowledge of the truth, believe in the Messiah, and be redeemed from oppression, and rejoice before thee.

Judah

The children of Judah are prophesied to return to the lands given to Abraham. Keep in mind, Judah was a son of Jacob, so the remnant of Jacob would seem to include the children of Judah.

Section 133 on the surface seems to contradict the one location theory, as the Lord talks about the Gentiles fleeing unto Zion and Judah fleeing unto Jerusalem.

D&C 133
7 Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
8 Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations, first upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews.
9 And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about.
10 Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.
11 Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.
12 Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion.
13 And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountains of the Lord’s house.
14 Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon.

If you believe that the Jerusalem in verse 13 is in the Middle East, then you must also believe that the mountains of the Lord’s house are in the Middle East too. Which means you also must believe this prophecy does not apply to North America:

2 Nephi 12 / Isaiah 2
1 The word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

If the Jerusalem in the Middle East is the mountain of the Lord’s house, then Jerusalem will be established in the top of the mountains and all nations shall flow unto the Middle East. Not North America (not even Utah). But if you believe that 2 Nephi 12 is talking about North America as the mountain of the Lord’s house that is established in the top of the mountains, then the Jerusalem in D&C 133:13 cannot be in the Middle East. But a new Jerusalem in North America works for both and keeps the prophecies intact.

Zechariah seemed to think that Jerusalem was a suburb of Zion, while also calling Jerusalem the mountain of the Lord.

Zechariah 8
3 Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.

Indeed, if Zion is in North America and Jerusalem in the Middle East, how could the Lord return unto Zion and dwell in Jerusalem? If Jerusalem in the Middle East is the mountain of the Lord, the 2 Nephi 12 prophecy is broken. Not only that, but several others are broken too.

Daniel 9:16,20
16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

Joel 2
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

Joel 3
16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Isaiah 66
20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

If Zion and Jerusalem are on two different continents, these prophets are contradicting each other. Some think that Zion in North America is the mountain of the Lord, while others think Jerusalem in the Middle East is the mountain of the Lord. Isaiah 30:19 simply defies geography and the laws of physics.

Isaiah 30
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

If Zion and Jerusalem are on two different continents, even the Father himself is confused:

D&C 29
7 And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;
8 Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.

One Gathering Location

The Father doesn’t decree that the elect will be gathered into two places: one in America and one in the Middle East. He wants all the elect gathered into one place, on this land. God repeatedly states he will gather his people into one place, and that North America is where he will gather his people. He repeats is so many times it’s almost overwhelming.

D&C 101
12 And in that day all who are found upon the watch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved.
13 And they that have been scattered shall be gathered.
14 And all they who have mourned shall be comforted.
15 And all they who have given their lives for my name shall be crowned.
16 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.
17 Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered.
18 They that remain, and are pure in heart, shall return, and come to their inheritances, they and their children, with songs of everlasting joy, to build up the waste places of Zion—
19 And all these things that the prophets might be fulfilled.
20 And, behold, there is none other place appointed than that which I have appointed; neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed, for the work of the gathering of my saints—
21 Until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them; and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion.
22 Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places;

D&C 103
22 Therefore let my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., say unto the strength of my house, my young men and the middle aged—Gather yourselves together unto the land of Zion, upon the land which I have bought with money that has been consecrated unto me.

D&C 105
13 Therefore it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait for a little season, for the redemption of Zion.
14 For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will fight your battles.
15 Behold, the destroyer I have sent forth to destroy and lay waste mine enemies; and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine heritage, and to blaspheme my name upon the lands which I have consecrated for the gathering together of my saints.

D&C 42
9 Until the time shall come when it shall be revealed unto you from on high, when the city of the New Jerusalem shall be prepared, that ye may be gathered in one, that ye may be my people and I will be your God.

D&C 45
43 And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place;
44 And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off.

D&C 57
1 Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments, in this land, which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints.

D&C 84
2 Yea, the word of the Lord concerning his church, established in the last days for the restoration of his people, as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets, and for the gathering of his saints to stand upon Mount Zion, which shall be the city of New Jerusalem.
3 Which city shall be built, beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the Lord, in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, and dedicated by the hand of Joseph Smith, Jun., and others with whom the Lord was well pleased.
4 Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation.

D&C 125
2 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I say unto you, if those who call themselves by my name and are essaying to be my saints, if they will do my will and keep my commandments concerning them, let them gather themselves together unto the places which I shall appoint unto them by my servant Joseph, and build up cities unto my name, that they may be prepared for that which is in store for a time to come.

D&C 133
4 Wherefore, prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify yourselves; gather ye together, O ye people of my church, upon the land of Zion, all you that have not been commanded to tarry.

7 Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
8 Send forth the elders of my church unto the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations, first upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews.
9 And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her stakes may be strengthened, and that Zion may go forth unto the regions round about.

This call to Zion is made to all nations, to the Gentiles AND the Jews. The Jews are not told to gather in a different land. They are told to go forth unto the land of Zion. I can find nowhere in the scriptures where God commands that there are two locations for the gathering of his saints. There is just one gathering.

When talking to Enoch in the pre-flood times, God talked about gathering his elect from all over the earth into one location, not two.

Outcasts

In another Isaiah prophecy, millennial peace, symbolized by the wolf and the lamb dwelling together, occurs in the Lord’s holy mountain.

2 Nephi 21 / Isaiah 11
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And 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.

Isaiah says the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah will be gathered together. Isaiah talks about this elsewhere.

Isaiah 56
6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
8 The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Here he talked about the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord, and they are brought to the Lord’s holy mountain. Nephi talks about these strangers too, and how they will join Israel in their own land (which we already determined is in North America).

Which means that when Isaiah 56 talks about gathering the strangers and outcasts of Israel to the holy mountain, that must be in North America to be consistent with the house of Israel inheriting North America.

Other tidbits

If there was only one Jerusalem location in all of history, Enoch was probably pretty confused when talking to the Lord.

Moses 7
62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.
65 And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years;

Here the Lord tells him he will gather out the elect unto a place called Zion, a new Jerusalem. Except Enoch lived before the flood. This conversation happened at least 1,000 years before Jerusalem was established. If the name Jerusalem has and will only be used to refer to the city in the Middle East then why would the Lord talk about it to Enoch? It would be like Jesus telling the Nephites about Helsinki – completely irrelevant to them. Because Enoch’s people were called Zion, I would not be surprised if they called their city Jerusalem. Then, when the Lord talks about a New Jerusalem, Enoch wouldn’t be confused. If the city of Enoch were called Jerusalem, it would also link quite nicely to the prophecies of its return.

Another interesting study is to look at how Jerusalem is used in the Book of Revelation. John uses the name Jerusalem three times, all three times he refers to new Jerusalem, a city of God coming down out of heaven.

Revelation 3
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Revelation 21
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Those references are all to a heavenly new Jerusalem (likely comprising the city of Enoch and others). We know John also talks about the Jerusalem in the Middle East. How does he refer to that location if he doesn’t use the name Jerusalem? When talking about the two prophets who are killed in the last days, John says:

Revelation 11
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

John is saying that the city in the Middle East where Christ was crucified is spiritually bad. But that location can’t possibly be the holy city he refers to in verse 2. The holy city is new Jerusalem. The great city is old Jerusalem. All the righteous things the Lord has planned for his Second Coming are not going to be happening in spiritual Sodom. There are obviously two different cities here: a righteous Jerusalem and a wicked Jerusalem. One is blessed and one is cursed.

I originally included a section talking about Zechariah 14 here. I received some feedback that made me question my analysis. I don’t want to post an analysis that I don’t have confidence in, so I have removed it while I do some more research.

Conclusion

When I started working on this post, I had no idea there would be so many scriptures that touched on this topic. It’s been exhausting to capture them all and put them in some sort of order. Once you see them all together, you realize how quickly they all start to fall apart if we try to force a two continent Jerusalem/Zion model onto them. The Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price all support each other on the location of latter-day Jerusalem being in North America.

Joseph Smith was right:

“The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south and is described by the prophets, that it is the Zion where the Mountain of the Lord should be, and that it is the center of the land. When the Elders take up to examine the old prophecies in the bible they will see it.”

Having examined the old prophecies in detail, I can see no other explanation. The latter-day Jerusalem must be in North America. It goes against all our traditions and common sense, but when we weigh in the balances our traditions and common sense against the word of God, our traditions are found wanting. In whom shall we trust?

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Jerusalem and Zion