What Do Mormons Really Believe?: Part X

What Do Mormons Really Believe?: Part X

Article of Faith #10

This is Part Ten of my series on what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, sometimes called "Mormons", believe. Please remember that though I am an active member of the church, my disclaimer is that I do not claim to provide the official view from the church; I'll leave it to the church to do that (see www.mormon.org).

The intent of these articles is not to attack or demean other faiths or to cause any kind of contention or argument. They are written to simply outline the beliefs of church members in as straightforward a way as possible. I have no intention to convince, trick or deceive anyone. Indeed, this is far from the mind of any faithful member of the church. We realize full well that spiritual matters are deeply personal and can only be accessed through study, reflection, and with the aid of the Divine.

The Articles of Faith were written by Joseph Smith Jr., whom church members take to be a prophet and the first leader of the church in our time. They were written to clarify the church's position about many fundamental issues.

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Article of Faith #10
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

This is a juicy article of faith, but I'm not sure it needs a whole lot of in-depth discourse since it's pretty literal and straightforward. Since this is, in some ways, merely trivial and does not deal with worship, religious practice, or the direct actions we must do for salvation, I probably won't spend long on this one.

First, we'll go into some Biblical history.

Even the most casual of Bible readers may remember that soon after King Solomon died, the kingdom that he and David had established was split into two nations: Israel and Judah. Over the centuries, both countries had their ups an downs as far as righteous kings go, but Isreal was definitely the more unfortunate in this regard. God promised to protect His people if they would only keep His commandments. Eventually, the people forgot God, and so He left them to their own devices.

In the 8th century BCE, Assyria was rampaging through that part of the world and conquered Israel, taking with them ten of the twelve tribes of Israel that made up that nation. Judah and Benjamin were the tribes left in the land of Judah. The ten tribes that were taken captive by Assyria seem to have vanished. There are many theories as to their whereabouts and how they should be gathered.

Church members have been told that one way that these tribes are to be gathered is through missionary work. Missionary work is certainly something the church is famous for, and many people recognize the duo of young men wearing white shirts and ties with short haircuts. This is one reason we do missionary work--to gather in all of God's chosen people, including remnants of the ten tribes. It is also a commandment from God, and this is also a significant reason we send missionaries to all parts of the world where we can.

Some church members end their search for the lost ten tribes here. Others posit from both ancient scripture and modern day revelation given to Joseph Smith Jr, the prophet, that most of the ten tribes still exist as a group and that they will return one day.

More important, perhaps is that after Jesus Christ returns to the Earth at His second coming, he will rule as king over all the Earth in Zion, the New Jerusalem. I think this will be a great thing. As much as I love democracy, having a king who is perfect in love, justice, mercy, grace, and intelligence will be decidedly better than the bumbling politics that now exist. I can see a lot of things being fixed. Mormons believe that He will reign as king on this continent. In the words of Isaiah, "out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa. 2: 2-3). So there will be a dual headquarters for Christ's world: Jerusalem, whence comes the "word", and the New Jerusalem, or Zion, whence comes the "law."

When the article of faith states, "that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory," I personally feel that we'll have a hand in that. He won't wave his hand and clean up the world. If I've learned anything from being in the church, it's that we all have to pitch in to make the things of the Lord happen. It's how we grow and learn and better ourselves. So if Jesus-as-King is going to return the Earth to it's paradisiacle glory and get rid of pollution and such, I suspect I'll be wading in the water getting trash or doing what it takes to get an electric car.

I should once again point out that though this in an article of faith, it does not directly concern our salvation, and so this one is not as discussed or explored as the other articles of faith. The safe thing to do would be to take my comments above with a grain of salt, as they say. Still, the fact that Zion (defined at least partially as "the pure in heart") will exist and that Christ will reign does give members of the church great hope.

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Next stop: Article of Faith #11

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Contents to articles:

What Do Mormons Really Believe?: Introduction

Part I (Article of Faith #1)

Part II (Article of Faith #2)

Part III (Article of Faith #3)

Part IV (Article of Faith #4)

Part V (Article of Faith #5)

Part VI (Article of Faith #6)

Part VII (Article of Faith #7)

Part VIII (Article of Faith #8)

Part IX (Articles of Faith #9)