25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.
This continues the thought started in verse 24 about the
protections given by the Lord to those in his fold. Then it adds the idea of
gathering his children from “the four quarters of the earth,” which points to
our day. The idea that “he numbereth his sheep, and they know him” is
reinforced or exemplified in Mosiah 6: 1–2. This is where King Benjamin took
the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with the Lord. The
statement that “there shall be one fold and one shepherd” seems to indicate
that at the last there really will be only two churches. Right now there are so
many churches claiming to be Christian that confusion rules. I think there will
come a time that it will be very clear which church is the Lord’s, and sincere
seekers of truth and righteousness will be very limited in their choices of
where to find it. Our society and world is becoming increasingly polarized, and
I suppose there will come a time that denominations of Christian churches will
no longer be able to confuse matters. In fact, it is happening now, as some
churches embrace positions that cannot be supported by the Bible to which they
claim to adhere and in which they claim to believe. For example, a branch of
Lutherans recently voted to accept gay marriage, which caused a break with
those who could not accept that position, based on tradition and their
understanding of the Bible. I think the time is coming that people will have to
choose between the traditions of their fathers, which have become corrupted,
and the fold of the Savior, where they can find pasture.
As I think about it, this is really no different than it ever
has been. Mankind has always needed to make a choice of who to serve, and that
is perhaps the biggest choice of mortality. I’m reminded of Joshua in the Old
Testament. In the last couple of chapters of Joshua is recorded a kind of pep
talk he gave to his people before he died, encouraging them to continue to
worship the Lord (Jehovah). Some of my favorite verses in scripture come from
Joshua 24: 14–15. It’s a challenge that could, and maybe should be accepted by
Christians today. He says they should “put away the gods which your fathers
served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve…the Lord.” I
have often thought the flood, as mentioned here, could refer to baptism for
those who have taken that covenant, or to being born again in general. There
are many people who claim to have been born again Christians, yet have a hard
time giving up old habits, or “the gods” they served before the conversion. Then
Joshua challenges them to make up their minds. He says if you don’t want to
worship our God (Jehovah), then make a decision who you will serve, whether it’s the gods you served before your conversion
(the other side of the flood), or the gods of the Amorites (people Joshua had
defeated a couple of times in battle through the Lord’s strength (see Joshua
chapter 10)). Then he tells the people in no uncertain terms that regardless of
who they choose to serve, he and his house would serve the Lord. This is a
decision that each of us must make. I hope that we always have the strength to
serve the Lord, regardless of what others choose around us.
- Joshua 24: 14–15
- Mosiah 6: 1–2
