The Lands of Our Inheritance

One of the themes of the Book of Mormon is that in the last days the house of Israel will be restored to the lands of their inheritance.  The importance of this process in our day is underscored by this statement from Mormon when he spoke of the words of the Book of Mormon: “And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant” (Mormon 5:14).  This is pretty strong language: the “great and eternal purpose” of the Father is to restore the house of Israel to the lands of their inheritance and fulfill His covenant.  This phrase in the plural form is used in two other places in the Book of Mormon by Alma.  He taught Helaman that “the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls” (Alma 37:7).  And Alma also taught Corianton, saying, “Thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men” (Alma 42:26).  In both cases the great and eternal purposes of the Lord are connected with the salvation of the children of men, and surely the restoring of the house of Israel to the lands of their inheritance, if that is part of His great and eternal purposes, must likewise be directly connected to the salvation of God’s children.    

               So what is the restoration of the house of Israel to the lands of their inheritance?  The most obvious interpretation is the physical return of the house of Israel to their original lands in modern-day Israel, and we have indeed seen that for the tribe of Judah in the last century.  Jacob referred to this in particular several times; for example he wrote that “the Lord will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance” (2 Nephi 6:11).  But this great and eternal purpose of the Lord is broader than just a prophecy about the Jews alone; Mormon wrote, “Therefore I write unto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of Israel, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare to return to the land of your inheritance; Yea, behold, I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve tribes of Israel” (Mormon 3:17-18).  Here the house of Israel and the Gentiles—even all the ends of the earth—are invited to prepare to return to the land of their inheritance.  So how will that happen?  Perhaps a second interpretation for this is that our heavenly home is our ultimate land of inheritance and we should prepare diligently in this life to have a place there, one of the “mansions of [the] Father” available to all who will come unto the Savior (Ether 12:32).  Surely our obtaining of that land of inheritance is part of the Father’s work and glory and applies to all of His children.   

And yet, the Book of Mormon appears to be speaking about our life on earth in its references to lands of inheritance, and I think there is a third interpretation: the great and eternal purpose of the Lord is to build up Zion, the New Jerusalem, in these latter days,  centered in Jackson County, Missouri.  This will be specifically for the house of Israel, and Joseph in particular, but available to all who will come unto the Lord.  This is supported by Moroni’s statement about the land the Jaredites possessed: “Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away” (Ether 13:8).  After the Saints failed to fully build up Zion and the New Jerusalem in Missouri in our dispensation in the 1830s, the Lord said, “I have decreed that your brethren which have been scattered shall return to the lands of their inheritances, and shall build up the waste places of Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 103:11).  Someday yet future the Saints will be called back to the lands of our inheritance, to build up the waste places of Zion and establish a holy city to the Lord in preparation for the second coming of the Savior.  This is, I believe, the great and eternal purpose of the Father as it will be for the salvation of all His children who will heed the prophets call to gather together and build up Zion, “a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God. And the glory of the Lord shall be there….  And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:66-69).