“Ye Shall Gather to the Ohio”

2 Nephi 5

5 And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me.

6 Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also Zoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me.

And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the warnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words.

October 1830 “Mission to the Lamanites”

1 And now concerning my servant Parley P. Pratt, behold, I say unto him that as I live I will that he shall declare my gospel and learn of me, and be meek and lowly of heart.

2 And that which I have appointed unto him is that he shall go with my servants, Oliver Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, Jun., into the wilderness among the Lamanites.

3 And Ziba Peterson also shall go with them;

and I myself will go with them and be in their midst; and I am their advocate with the Father, and nothing shall prevail against them

Kirtland

Fayette

Independence

Commandments to the ChurchConference, January 1831

D&C 37:3 And again, a commandment I give unto the church, that it is expedient in me that they should assemble together at the Ohio,

D&C 38:32 Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high;

The Law?

1 Hearken, O ye elders of my church…2 Again I say unto you, hearken and hear and obey

the law which I shall give unto you.3 For verily I say, as ye have assembled yourselves

together according to the commandment wherewith I commanded you, and are agreed as touching this one thing, ....

6 And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God.

Kirtland

FayettePalmyra

Mother SmithAfter locating places for the people to stay near the harbor, the next

morning Lucy Smith resumed to the boat on the shore of Lake Erie.

"On arriving there, Captain Blake requested the passengers to remain on board, as he wished, from that time, to be ready to start at a moment's warning; at the same time he sent out a man to measure the depth of the ice, who, when he resumed, reported that it was piled up to the height of twenty feet, and that it was his opinion that we would remain in the harbor at least two weeks longer. . . .

"I went to that part of the boat where the principal portion of our company was. There I found several of the brethren and sisters engaged in a warm debate, others murmuring and grumbling, and a number of young ladies were flirting, giggling, and laughing with gentlemen passengers, who were entire strangers to them…

I stepped into their midst. 'Brethren and sisters,' said I, 'we call ourselves Saints, … and will you, at the very onset, subject the cause of Christ to ridicule by your own unwise and improper conduct?

Miraculous Escape" . . . 'Now, brethren and sisters, if you will all of you raise your desires to heaven, that

the ice may be broken up, and we be set at liberty, as sure as the Lord lives, it will be done.' At that instant a noise was heard, like bursting thunder. The captain cried, 'Every man to his post.'

The ice parted, leaving barely a passage for the boat, and so narrow that as the boat passed through the buckets of the waterwheel were torn off with a crash, which, joined to the word of command from the captain, the hoarse answering of the sailors, the noise of the ice, and the cries and confusion of the spectators, presented a scene truly terrible. We had barely passed through the avenue when the ice closed together again, and the Colesville brethren were left in Buffalo, unable to follow us.

"As we were leaving the harbor, one of the bystanders exclaimed, 'There goes the "Mormon" company! That boat is sunk in the water nine inches deeper than ever it was before, and, mark it, she will sink- there is nothing surer.'

In fact, they were so sure of it that they went straight to the office and had it published that we were sunk, so that when we arrived at Fairport we read in the papers the news of our own death.

"After our miraculous escape from the wharf at Buffalo, we called our company together and had a prayer meeting in which we offered up our thanks to God for his mercy, which he had manifested towards us in our deliverance"

Kirtland

FayettePalmyra

Colesville

Independence

LemanCopley Farm

D&C 54:4 And as the covenant which they made unto me has been broken, even so it has become void and of none effect.7 Wherefore, go to now and flee the land, lest your enemies come upon you; and take your journey…8 And thus you shall take your journey into the regions westward, unto the land of Missouri, unto the borders of the Lamanites.10 And again, be patient in tribulation until I come… and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls. Even so. Amen.

January 1831D&C 39

22 Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your lawgiver, and what can stay my hand?

31 And that ye might 1) escape the power of the enemy, and 2) be gathered unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless—

32 Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the commandment that ye should go to the Ohio; and 3) there I will give unto you my law; and

4)there you shall be endowed with power from on high;

Prophet Joseph SmithThe main object [of gathering] was to build unto the

Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose.

“It was the design of the councils of heaven before the world was, that the principles and laws of the priesthood should be predicated upon the gathering of the people in every age of the world. . . .

“It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments...” (History of the Church, 5:423–24.)

President Ezra Taft Benson

Presently, Israel [Ephraim] is being gathered to the various stakes (like Plano) of Zion… A stake has at least four purposes:

1) [Stake are] to unify and perfect members…by extending…programs, the ordinances, and gospel instruction.

2) Members are to be models of righteousness3) Stakes are to be a defense. They do this as stake

members unify under their local priesthood officers4) Stakes are a refuge from the storm to be poured

out over the earth