The Two Jerusalems

Like the unfolding of the plot of a really good movie, The Book of Mormon begins and ends with hints of its own purpose: a remnant of the seed of Joseph of Egypt needing to be preserved before impending disaster hits. Like bookends on a shelf, this fact is detected by Lehi at the beginning of The Book of Mormon, and we are reminded of that purpose towards the end of it. Joseph and his family would have perished in the famine if they hadn’t escaped to Egypt, and Lehi and his family would have perished in the destruction of Jerusalem if they hadn’t fled it. Beautiful parallelism. Further, the Lord promises that Joseph’s seed will survive a third wave of disaster with the building up of a New Jerusalem in this land as well as the one in the old world. Two Jerusalems, two lands, two gatherings, one purpose.

 1 Nephi 1:14 And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine.
 

 Ether 13:7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.
 8 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.

LESSON LEARNED: The Lord will keep His promises made to His servants, the prophets of old. The America’s and the children of Lehi that inhabited this land are a fulfillment of those promises made to the Joseph of Egypt.

FEEDBACK: HOW DOES THIS IMPACT YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON?