There Shall Be Many

2 Nephi 12 [all references are to the Restoration Edition] says:

Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of hosts, for notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me. Nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me, for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long saith the Lord God of hosts.

But behold, there shall be many at that day, when I shall proceed to do a marvellous work among them that I may remember my covenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the second time to recover my people which are of the house of Israel, and also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed, and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed. And my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth for a standard unto my people which are of the house of Israel.

…

For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth and be written unto the Gentiles and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed. And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem and that they are descendants of the Jews. And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them, wherefore they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ which was had among their fathers.

Despite the “many” Gentiles who will not take the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously and will say, “Eat, drink, and be merry,” there will also be “many” Gentiles who will take the Gospel seriously. These “many” Gentiles will carry the words which are written to the descendants of Lehi and Nephi. Those descendants will come to the knowledge of their fathers and to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The term “many” is, of course, relative. “Many” in one sense is only a few in another. Here’s what I think. Guessing how many people there are that belong to the remnant of Jacob that need to have the words of scripture carried to them, the Lord probably needs labor from just about everyone who has a real desire to preserve the restoration. There aren’t exactly tons of people who truly believe in the restoration. But I’d say that, with all of us in the movement combined, we do qualify as “many,” even if it’s just barely. We are all called to the work or at least we all have the chance to be called to the work.

In Denver Snuffer’s transcript of his talk in the St. George Doctrine of Christ conference, he announced the following revisions made to some verses of scripture:

Original text is shown below in black print, and revised replacement text in red print and cross-out showing deletions revealed by the Lord:

Alma [14]:

…that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time ye go out of

this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal

world.

…the same spirit you hearken to obey while living in the flesh shall, upon

your death, have the same power to influence you to hearken unto that spirit

in the next life.

3 Nephi [7]:

…the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice,

…the Gentiles should not at that time hear my voice,

3 Nephi [9]:

So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews, …

So great faith as yours have I never seen among all the Jews, …

Ether 1:

And never has man come before me with such exceeding faith…

And none of those now living have come before me with such exceeding

faith…

Ether 1:

And never have I shewed myself unto man whom I have created for never

has man...

And to none of those now living whom I created have I appeared, for none

have …

D&C 31:

And again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your

bodies.

And again, hard liquor is not for the belly, but for the washing of your

bodies.

Testimony of John 5:

And the Jewish Passover feast was approaching.

And the feast was approaching

While I believe each of those revisions helps us to understand the context in which it is found, I also believe that all seven of those revisions, when grouped together, are telling us Gentiles something very important.

The Alma 14 and 3 Nephi 7 revisions go together. If we Gentiles can hear the Lord’s voice, are we indeed hearkening to His voice? Which Spirit will have power to influence us to hearken to Him in the next life (see The Testimony of John for a lot on that topic)? For the 3 Nephi 9 revision, the Savior can say something similar to us if we can just hearken to Him in this life, believe what He says, and then do what He says as the Nephite disciples did. Remember it was the Nephite disciples to whom Jesus spoke those words after the glorious endowment they received because they obeyed His commandments at the earliest opportunity. The example of those disciples is not something to be jealous of. It is something to emulate. The revisions to Ether show us the huge opportunity in front of us. I have no reason to doubt the Lord’s appearing to many in this movement. and those appearances are meaningful, I’m sure. But I don’t believe what the brother of Jared typifies has been fulfilled in our day yet. The brother of Jared wanted to give light to those in darkness - those who needed to cross the everlasting gulf of misery and woe that separated them from the promised land. He was endowed with great power and knowledge to be able to do that, both literally and figuratively. There is no reason we cannot do that today. Related to that, the sons of Mosiah, whose work typifies the great and marvelous work of the last days, were collectively “comforted” by the Spirit of the Lord in preparation for their mission. We have that same unique opportunity today to receive that Comforter as a group of Gentiles, to prepare us for the work to which we can all be called. The D&C 31 revision reminds me of the washings that happened in the Kirtland temple. Perhaps it is hinting at what the Lord expects to have happen so that we are properly prepared. Finally, the Testimony of John 5 revision reminds us that the wedding feast is indeed approaching. All are invited, and those who will hearken to the King are specifically commissioned to bring everyone who will come to it. If we refuse to come, there will certainly be consequences.

“Many are called, but few are chosen.” That is how it has gone throughout pretty much all of scriptural history. But it sounds like the Lord hopes to change that to, “Many are called, and many are chosen.” It comes down to this: If you don’t believe you are called, then you will certainly not be chosen. But if you believe in the restoration and follow the Doctrine of Christ, you have assuredly been called, assuming you desire to do the work (and if the Doctrine of Christ includes having charity, you ought to have that desire). Be believing. All things are possible to him that believeth.

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There are two efforts that relate to preaching the Gospel to Native Americans that are seeking out those with similar desires (that I am aware of): A committee to help support missionary work among Native Americans and an invitation to preach to the Hopi tribe. If you are aware of any other efforts that are casting a wide net to find like-minded individuals, please share them in the comments.