In a sense, the Book of Mormon is of, by, and for the house of Israel. The book was written by the descendants of Israel (Jacob), “to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel,” and for the purpose of showing “unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” (Title page of the Book of Mormon.)
Thus it is only natural that the writers in the Book of Mormon should be vitally concerned with the origin, scattering, and gathering of the house of Israel. Although the story of the origin of the house of Israel is told primarily in the Bible (the stick of Judah), a great deal of information on the scattering and gathering of Israel is contained in the Book of Mormon (the stick of Joseph). The following references are concerned almost entirely with these topics: 1 Nephi 10:12-14; 12:15; 19:14-17; 22:3-4, 7-14; 2 Nephi 10:7-8; 25:30; 30:7; Jacob 5 and 6; 3 Nephi 16:1-5; 20:20-46.
A brief history of the house of Israel is found in the chapter “Historical Background Leading to the period of the Book of Mormon.” It is presented to help in the interpretation of statements in the Book of Mormon concerning the various scatterings and gatherings of Israel. For example, Isaiah lived about 700 B.C. while Nephi lived in 600 B.C.; thus, when Nephi says in interpreting the writings of Isaiah, “And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state” (2 Nephi 25:17), it is quite clear that he is talking about the gathering of Israel in the dispensation of the fulness of times, because this is the second major gathering of Israel since the times of Nephi and Isaiah.
The scattering of the house of Israel: About 721 B.C. the kingdom of Israel was conquered by Shalmaneser of Assyria, and the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel were led away into captivity (2 Kings 17). According to tradition, about a year after this these tribes mysteriously escaped and fled toward the north. Since then, they have been referred to as the “Ten Lost Tribes” of Israel. The kingdom of Judah was preserved until about 587 B. C. when it was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. (The Lord warned Lehi about 600 B.C. to flee from Jerusalem so that he would escape before the war took place— 1 Nephi 1:4, 13; 2 Nephi 1:4.) The people were taken away captive into the land of Babylonia (2 Kings 25), but some fifty years later (about 538 B.C.), after Babylonia had been conquered by Persia, they were allowed to return to their land by Cyrus, king of Persia. They rebuilt the temple and lived in the Holy Land for over five hundred years under the rule of four separate groups: Persians, Greeks, Asmonaeans, and Romans. Finally about A.D. 70 the Roman legions destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple. The people of the kingdom of Judah were later scattered among the nations of the world.
The gathering of the house of Israel: On September 21, 1823, the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah to him and emphasized that it was soon to be fulfilled. (See Isaiah 11:10-12.) On April 6, 1830, the church of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth, and soon missionaries were sent to proclaim the glad tidings. On April 3, 1836, Moses appeared in the Kirtland Temple and restored the “keys of the gathering of Israel.” (See Doctrine and Covenants 110:11.) On October 24, 1841, Elder Orson Hyde dedicated the Holy Land for the return of the Jews. In May 1948 the state of Israel was created and was officially recognized by the leading countries of the world.
The scriptures indicate there are to be three main aspects of the gathering: (1) the gathering of the dispersed of Israel from the nations of the earth to Zion; (2) the return of the Jews (tribe of Judah) to Jerusalem and the ancient promised land; and (3) the restoration of the lost tribes of Israel to the true fold of the Shepherd.
The following references in the Book of Mormon discuss the various aspects of the gathering of Israel and of the building of the New Jerusalem on the American continent: 1 Nephi 19:14-17; 2 Nephi 10:7-8; 2 Nephi 25; 3 Nephi 20:20-33, 46 (these verses are now in the process of fulfillment); 3 Nephi 21:20-25; 3 Nephi 29:8-9; Ether 3:1-12.