Joseph Smith taught: “The time has at last arrived when the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has set His hand again the second time to recover the remnants of his people, which have been 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, and with them to bring in the fulness of the Gentiles, and establish that covenant with them, which was promised when their sins should be taken away.” 66
The Lord set his hand the first time to reprove his people; this second time he will recover his people and gather a remnant of them. Though in Isaiah’s day there had not yet been any wide dispersion of his people, the prophet used the language of prophetic preview. Nations from antiquity were used as symbols for the future. The gathering is from all directions, from the four corners of the earth (see “To the Ends of the Earth,” accompanying commentary at 3 Nephi 11:31–41 in vol. 2 of this work).