The Remnant of Israel - "Zion" the Blessing of Manasseh and Ephraim

In order to understand the reason it will be ancient Joseph's latter day offspring,  (the remnant of Israel, the seed of Lehi, spoken of in the Book of Mormon,) that have the assignment and blessing to establish Zion, the New Jerusalem, it is helpful to understand the specific promised blessings of Joseph's sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph Smith added great clarity and understanding in his inspired translation of Genesis about the promised blessings and work of Manasseh and Ephraim.

Jacob, (Israel) blessed Joseph's two sons as follows: (Gen. 48: 5-11)

5 And now of thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt; behold they are mine, and the God of my fathers shall bless them; even as Reuben and Simeon they shall be blessed, for they are mine; wherefore they shall be called after my name. (Therefore they were called Israel.) (JST Gen. 48: 5) 

The two sons of Joseph, Jacob's grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, obtain a status from Jacob that makes them equal with the other twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob announced, "the God of my fathers shall bless them;...they shall be blessed, for they are mine; wherefore they shall be called after my name." The importance of this blessing by Jacob (Israel) upon Ephraim and Manasseh is profound and really cannot be overstated. In the Patriarchal Order of God, a man who holds the sealing power, (as Jacob did,) has the power to make grandsons and others "his," and to call them by his own name. The pronouncement by Jacob that his two grandsons from Joseph are to be counted among the tribes means essentially that instead of twelve tribes of Israel there are in fact fourteen "tribes." The actual mechanics of the existence of two additional tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, called after the name of Israel, are described in the next verse of the inspired translation.

6 And thy (Joseph's) issue which thou begettest after them, (Ephraim and Manasseh) shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance, in the tribes; therefore they were called the tribes of Manasseh and of Ephraim.

All of Joseph's offspring after Ephraim and Manasseh are to be Joseph's and will receive their inheritance as members of the "house of Israel"  through the official Israelite tribes of Ephraim or Manasseh. This pronouncement by Jacob has the effect of placing Joseph "over" the two newly formed tribes of Israel, Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are full participants in all the promises and blessings of God to Jacob (Israel). They are not just the offspring of one of the twelve brothers who have derivative rights thereby. The latter day offspring of Lehi, (Manasseh), and Ishmael, (Ephraim), also known as "the remnant of Israel" in the Book of Mormon, are of themselves full fledged members of the house of Israel in the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. Though they are "remnant," there is nothing at all derivative about their rights and responsibilities within the house of Israel. No wonder the offspring of Lehi and Ishmael, "the remnant of Israel" would be given the right and responsibility to establish Zion, the New Jerusalem as the introductory note to the latter day coming of the King of Kings. 

7 And Jacob said unto Joseph, When the God of my fathers appeared unto me in Luz, in the land of Canaan; he sware unto me, that he would give unto me, and unto my seed, the land for an everlasting possession.

8 Therefore, O my son, he hath blessed me in raising thee up to be a servant unto me, in saving my house from death;

9 In delivering my people, thy brethren, from famine which was sore in the land; wherefore the God of thy fathers shall bless thee, and the fruit of thy loins, that they shall be blessed above thy brethren, and above thy father's house;

It is because of the saving work of Joseph that Jacob and his other eleven sons were preserved in Egypt and Jacob's house was saved from "death." Because of Joseph "saving" his father and brothers in Egypt, their inheritances of land for an "everlasting possession" in Palestine were also preserved. 

The prophet Ether in the Book of Mormon, spoke of Joseph's saving work among the ancient house of Jacob, (Israel) as a "type" of the events and work his (Joseph's) latter day offspring (the remnant of Israel) would later accomplish. Ether prophesied:

6 a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type.

7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.

8 Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away. (Ether 13: 6-8)

Because of these things, "the God of thy fathers shall bless thee, (Joseph, through Ephraim and Manasseh) and the fruit of thy loins, that they shall be blessed above thy brethren, and above thy father's (Jacob, Israel's)  house" (JST Gen. 48: 9)

Continuing JST Genesis:

10 For thou hast prevailed, and thy father's house hath bowed down unto thee, even as it was shown unto thee, before thou wast sold into Egypt by the hands of thy brethren; wherefore thy brethren shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins forever;

This is why the New Jerusalem, Zion, will be established on this land by "the remnant of Israel" comprised of the two tribes of Israel, Manasseh, and Ephraim. All of the tribes of Israel will be gathered here to enjoy the blessings established by Joseph's latter day remnant seed. (3Nephi 21: 26-29) According to the "type" spoken of by Ether, the latter day offspring of Joseph will once again "save" their brethren of the house of Israel from "death." In this way, "thy brethren shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins forever." (Gen. 48: 10)

11 For thou (Manasseh and Ephraim) shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin.

How will the remnant of Israel fulfill this prophecy? How will they be "a light" to the house of Israel? How will the remnant of Joseph's seed "deliver" the house of Israel in the days of their captivity, from bondage? How will the offspring of Lehi and Ishmael, "the remnant of Israel," "bring salvation unto" the remainder of the house of Israel, when they are altogether bowed down under sin?" How will the latter day establishment of Zion, the holy city, The New Jerusalem, by the remnant seed of Joseph through Lehi provide fulfillment of the prophecies and blessings of Jacob (Israel) to his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh? 

The answers to all of these and many more related questions are found in the words and prophesies of the precious Book of Mormon. 


How many of these questions are answered by these few verses of Isaiah quoted in the Book of Mormon?

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them, but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 The remnant shall return, yea, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return; the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

23 For the Lord God of Hosts shall make a consumption, even determined in all the land. (2Nephi 20: 20-23)