The remnant that left from Assyria is, of course, the ten tribes who were taken into the north. The apocryphal book of 2 Esdras tells of miracles which will attend their return like those that attended their departure: “Then they dwelt there until the last time: and now, when they are about to come again, the Most High will stop the channels of the river again, so that they may be able to pass over. Therefore you saw the multitude gathered together in peace” (2 Esdras 13:46–47). The Doctrine and Covenants gives an even more sure prophecy of the event spoken of in Isaiah:
26 And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence.
27 And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.
28 Their enemies shall become a prey unto them,
29 And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.
30 And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim, my servants.
31 And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.
32 And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.
33 And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy. [D&C 133:26–33]
The rich treasures brought to Ephraim are probably the records kept among them. The Lord promised that the Jews, the Nephites, and the lost tribes would all have each others records (2 Nephi 29:13).
Moses prophesied that the seed of Joseph would be gathered “for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills.” The gathering would “push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh” (Deuteronomy 33:15–17; compare Genesis 49:22–26). A revelation to Joseph Smith, in August 1831, endorses this prophecy as speaking of our day by stating that the elders of my church “shall push the people together from the ends of the earth” (D&C 58:44–45).
The revelation quoted above (D&C 133:26–33) also helps to identify the Americas as the place of gathering since Ephraim is now gathered in America. Many of these people returning from the north shall also return to the Holy Land where they have been given an inheritance.
Ether, the Jaredite prophet prophesied that those “from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham” would be gathered to Jerusalem (Ether 13:11; see also Ezekiel 47–48). The details and sequence of this gathering are yet to be revealed.
The crown of glory, given by the hands of Ephraim, the Lord’s servants, is undoubtedly the temple endowment. Enoch was guided to Mount Simeon where he “was clothed upon with glory” (Moses 7:2–3). Isaiah prophesied that a residue (remnant) of Ephraim would, in that day (upon returning) receive “a crown of glory” from the Lord (Isaiah 28:5). The first presidency of Peter, James, and John were endowed on the mount of transfiguration according to President Joseph Fielding Smith. With all of these occasions pointing to the temple ordinances, the rich treasures brought to the Lord’s servants Ephraim (D&C 133:30) could also include genealogical records. Modern Ephraim is building temples rapidly where these blessings can be administered.