Zechariah 9 - 14

One of the Articles of Faith state -

"10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes..." (Pearl of Great Price Articles of Faith 1:10)

As scriptural history records, much of the Kingdom of Israel was carried away by the assyrians. Because there is little history of these people after this time, many refer to them as the lost tribes of Israel.

Speaking of his teachings amongst the Jews, the Savior tells the people of Nephi in his visit to the Americas -

"This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto them:
17 That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 15:16 - 17)

And then he explains -

"...they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.
23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost." (Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 15:22 - 23)

It is interesting that he tells this people -

"...not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.
15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land." (Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 15:14 - 15)

And then he tells them -

"...I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.
2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them." (Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 16:1 - 2)

These then would not be gentiles, but those that he had led away to whom he was about to visit. He then tells them of the many testimonies that will be written of him saying -

"For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 29:12)

And that someday -

"...it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 29:13 - 14)

The Lord revealed to Zechariah, of the house of Israel -

"I will sow them among the people...in far countries..." (Old Testament Zechariah 10:9)

In 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, shortly after its dedication, Joseph Smith reports -

"...Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north." (Doctrine and Covenants Section 110:11)

Joseph Smith himself who ancestry is from Great Britain, is one of the children of Israel as Joseph of Old prophecied of him -

"...Behold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be fulfilled. Behold, I am sure of the fulfilling of this promise;
15 And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation." (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 3:14 - 15)

Shortly after the keys to the gathering of Israel were restored, great missionaries as Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff and many others traveled to the British Isles where great numbers of saints were baptized and began the great gathering. My thoughts are that most of these early saints are descendants of Israel fulfilling the prophecies of Zachariah saying -

"...they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
9 And ...they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again." (Old Testament Zechariah 10:7 - 9)

"And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD." (Old Testament Zechariah 10:12)