"An Appointed Place"
“Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore, as before time, …”
—2 Samuel 7:10
On November 18, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln borrowed a copy of the Book of Mormon from the Library of Congress. He kept it for eight months before it was returned. There are some hints within the historical record that Lincoln not only read the Book of Mormon but that he began to insert its principles and even direct Book of Mormon language into his speeches and policies. On April 30, 1863, Lincoln issued a proclamation for a nationwide day of fasting and prayer. In it he said:
"It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God ... and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord ... We have been the recipients of the choicest blessings of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation ever has grown; ... We find ourselves in the peaceful possession of the fairest portion of the earth, as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate. We find ourselves … the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings. We toiled not in the acquirement or the establishment of them."
Was Lincoln influenced by the Book of Mormon in his proclamation? We do not know for sure. But he certainly recognized what Ether said about this land, that it “is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.” (Ether 1:35) It seems that Lincoln also understood that this was a land of inheritance as said by God to Jacob, “Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and they who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance: For it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands.” (2 Nephi 7:30-31)
Just a relatively few short years before Lincoln’s proclamation, through a young prophet, a fledgling church was given the words of Jesus Christ beautifully expressing His desire to give His people a land of promise. "And I have made the earth rich, and, behold, it is my footstool: wherefore, again I will stand upon it; and I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise; a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh; and I will give it unto you for the land of you inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts: ..." (Section 38:4d-e)
Lands of promise or inheritances are part of God’s covenants with His people. They are places of refuge, safety and gathering. We do not determine their location. They are always appointed by God. Latter-day revelation is clear where our land of promise is located. “… this land which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the Saints: wherefore this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion.” (Section 57:1a-b) And even more specifically, “the place which is now called Independence, is the Center Place.” (Section 57:1d)
This is Samuel’s prophesied appointed place, but the covenant of gathering His people to this place is not complete. Jesus made this clear during His visit with the Nephites. “For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people, is not all fulfilled.” (3 Nephi 7:9) He then explained to the Nephites that the covenant to gather His people to an appointed place would happen through repentant Gentiles who themselves had come in under the same covenant.
“That these sayings which ye shall write, [Book of Mormon] shall be kept, and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fullness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth, because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfill the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.” (3 Nephi 7:28-29)
The Gentiles were blessed in that they received the Book of Mormon, but they had much to repent from because when they came to this choice land, they were culpable for the scattering of the remnant of Jacob who we recognize as the Native Americans. Mormon appended a few words to his abridgement making it clear who was responsible for the scattering of the remnant of Jacob, how it would mark the beginning of God remembering His covenant to gather them and the great need for the Gentiles to repent from their actions towards this remnant.
“But behold, it shall come to pass that they shall be driven and scattered by the Gentiles; and after they have been driven and scattered by the Gentiles, behold, then will the Lord remember the covenant which he made unto Abraham, and unto all the house of Israel. … And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways!” (Mormon 2:49, 51)
A light did break forth among the Gentiles and it was the fullness of the gospel. The power of God was manifest. Repentance came, and a church was established among them with a calling and commission to gather themselves and to be instrumental in the gathering of Latter-day Israel including the remnant of Jacob whom they scattered. “But if they will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance, and they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob.” (3 Nephi 10:1)
What assistance does the remnant of Jacob need? Then and today, they are still scattered and need to be gathered in to the appointed place. “And then shall they [the church] assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.” (3 Nephi 10:3) Many among the remnant of Jacob do not even know about God’s covenants to them. We rejoice though that recently God has begun to actively work among them to make the Book of Mormon available and known that “they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” And that they might know that “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” (Title Page – Book of Mormon)
What a glorious day it will be when all the people of God begin gathering into the appointed place because the outgrowth of that great gathering will be the New Jerusalem, Zion the beautiful. “Verily, this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the Saints, beginning at this place.” (Section 83:2a)
Stirred, perhaps, by the promises and covenants in the Book of Mormon, Lincoln envisioned a day of fasting and prayer for our nation. Let us pray and fast with earnestness that God will set His hand in a great outpouring to gather His people to the appointed place.