Waste Places of Zion Part Two

The righteous portion of the Gentiles and House of Israel do not gather to the waste places of Zion as soon as the servants return.

Zion and her appointed stakes might not even be waste places when the servants first return.

The servants of the Lord will take the gospel to all the world and establish local churches all over the world.

When the wrath of God is finally poured out upon the Mother of Harlots, the power of God will descend upon the churches of the Lamb of God even though the Churches of the Devil are gathering around them to make war.

At this time wars and rumors of wars are breaking out all over the world.

It is when the wrath of God is finally poured out upon the Mother of Harlots that the work of the Father begins and the fulfilling of the covenant takes place which gathers the righteous geographically to the waste places of Zion and her stakes.

By this time, the Lord has scourged and laid waste the lands of Zion to cleanse them of the wicked inhabitants encumbering those lands.

Notice how 1^st Nephi 14 reveals this sequence of how the Church of the Lamb of God is first established in small congregations all over the world and then eventually the work of the Father begins and the saints are gathered to Zion and her stakes in America-

• · Saints are first established in local churches all over the world.

• · The mother of abominations gathers against them

• · The power of God descends upon the congregations of the Church of the Lamb

• · Wrath of God descends upon the church of the Devil

• · The saints of the Lamb of God are geographically gathered to fulfill the covenant of the Father

6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.

7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.

9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.

10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.

12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.

14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.

16 And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things—

17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.

Notice how 3^rd Nephi 20 reveals that the covenant that the Father made to his people incorporates a literal gathering of his scattered remnants-

“Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—

12 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel.

13 And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.

14 And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance.

15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—

16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

18 And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor.

In the dedicatory prayer it is revealed how the gospel will go forth from Kirtland in the 3^rd watch-

And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them;

23 And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days.

The servants will first go forth to seal up the law and prepare the saints from the judgments that God sends forth in the world.

A spirit of peace and salvation rests upon those communities of saints that accept the gospel just as taught in the Book of Mormon verses that we have covered. Eventually, the saints are gathered out of the temporary cities of refuge to Zion and her appointed Stakes.

Put upon thy servants the testimony of the covenant, that when they go out and proclaim thy word they may seal up the law, and prepare the hearts of thy saints for all those judgments thou art about to send, in thy wrath, upon the inhabitants of the earth, because of their transgressions, that thy people may not faint in the day of trouble.

39 And whatsoever city thy servants shall enter, and the people of that city receive their testimony, let thy peace and thy salvation be upon that city; that they may gather out of that city the righteous, that they may come forth to Zion, or to her stakes, the places of thine appointment, with songs of everlasting joy;

40 And until this be accomplished, let not thy judgments fall upon that city.

41 And whatsoever city thy servants shall enter, and the people of that city receive not the testimony of thy servants, and thy servants warn them to save themselves from this untoward generation, let it be upon that city according to that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of thy prophets.

This explains why section 133 begins with God commanding his SAINTS to gather out of Babylon to Zion in America, the people he is speaking to are called Saints, not because he is speaking to members of the corporate church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints, he is speaking to the Saints who have received the true messengers and repented and accepted the fullness of the gospel and become the church of the Lamb BEFORE they are geographically gathered out to the waste places of Zion.