Ephraim's Second Opportunity for Service

SCRIPTURE: “Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”

–Exodus 19:5-6

THOUGHT: Jeremiah, the prophet of the Old Testament, understood Ephraim and his role in the latter days. In Chapter 30 the Lord tells how he will gather Israel and heal their wounds and says: in the latter days ye shall consider it ( a plainer translation in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible says, “in the latter days you shall understand this.)” This translation reminds us of Nephi’s statement about understanding Isaiah, when his prophecies are fulfilled (2 Nephi 25:7.)

            “…nevertheless, in the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be filled men shall know of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass.”

            Jeremiah goes on in Chapter 31 verses 6-9,20,31-34 to clarify what Ephraim will be doing in the last days.

            “For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon Mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.” Does this sound like what we hear during each general conference about becoming a Zion people? Isn’t the Ensign a cry unto the nations…well, at least by definition it is a rallying signal.

            “And I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the coasts of the earth…” Zion is where the righteous gather, and they are gathered from all the land within the coasts or borders of each country where they live to their own wards and stakes.

            “And thus saith the Lord: shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.”  I thin this means we are to speak of Christ, write or publish of Christ, and praise the Lord or in other words bear testimony of Christ to save his people, a remnant of Israel.

            “I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn.” Elder LeGrand Richards in his book Marvelous Work and a Wonder (pp 224-228) suggests that these verses were a prophecy of the Saints traveling across the plains  and settling in the Rocky Mountains. But in every nation and every land where the saints gather in to Zion, they do so by rivers of refreshing revelation, enter into the straight gate of baptism and do not stumble because of newly revealed scriptures (including the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, Proclamation of the Family, General Conference addresses, and your very own Patriarchal Blessing) as well as the published authorized version of correlated scriptures with study guides, bible dictionary, topical guide, and marvelous footnotes. 

The Lord Delights in His Pleasant Child - But He is Troubled 

            But the declaration here that “Ephraim is my firstborn,” brings us joy and lets us know our relationship with the Lord. In verse 20 of Jeremiah , “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child (a child in whom I delight)? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.” 

And in verses 31-34 we are told that:

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

“For they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

With An Eye Towards the Temple

MY QUESTION FOR YOU: Do these verses hint at what we as Ephraim must do? I think that it does. After we have made our own new covenant, the new and everlasting covenant in the house of the Lord, we have the obligation to see that everyone has this opportunity.

This is called Perfecting the Saints. We must point each newly baptized member, each child in Primary, every one of our youth, towards their own endowments in the temple. It is our responsibility to teach these new members, our children and our youth the basic principles, laws if you will, of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must help them to not only understand who is their God, but help them to memorize the scriptures (write them in their hearts.)

In the New Testament the Greek word translated as “perfect” into English, is the word ‘telios’ and it means ripe, mature, ready, complete or whole. In a spiritual sense for a Latter-day Saint to be perfect in this life is to receive ALL of the covenants and blessings of the gospel and receive perfection-in-Christ.