“The Tribe of Joseph.” The Evening and the Morning Star (Ind

“The Tribe of Joseph.” The Evening and the Morning Star (Independence, Missouri) 1, no. 6 (November 1832): [41–43].
THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH.
HAVING given a sketch of the history of the ten tribes, in our last, the next subject which presents itself, is the tribe of Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph in his youth and not only his dreams, one of which says, that the sun and moon, and the eleven stars made obeisance to him, but much of his life was a type of future events in relation to his seed. His being sold unto the Egyptians, was a wise plan of the Lord to show his power to Israel, and to convince the world, that he is merciful to such as keep his commandments, and seek the path of endless virtue; yea, all the workmanship of his hands. The history of Joseph, in full, cannot at present be given; but in part, it will occupy a great place in the hearts of such as seek diligently the kingdom of God and the welfare of scattered Israel. It is so well known that Joseph was the beloved of his father, that we can quote the words of the good old man pronounced upon him, as what should befall him, or come to pass among his seed, in the last days, without the fear of contradiction, and with a great deal of pleasure, as well as satisfaction, knowing that the very days have arrived for the fulfilment of that prophecy: Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, & the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob: (from thence is the Shepherd the Stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breast and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. This is one of the greatest prophecies in the bible, and contains more of the economy of the Lord than will be seen till the Redeemer comes to dwell on the earth. What an admirable expression is that; the branches run over the wall; as plain as to have said, some of his seed shall cross the ocean. But the most profound is, From thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. It could not mean the birth of the Savior, for Paul says, it is evident our Lord sprang from the tribe of Judah: But when Paul said to the Romans, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob, he must have meant the Deliverer, which is to come and gather his sheep into his fold, and becomes the good Shepherd: and according to the blessing of Moses, Joseph is the firstling of his bullock. Let us read it: And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together from the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. The beauty, the wisdom, and the extent of this blessing upon the seed of Joseph, have never yet been found out by the world, nor fully understood by all the saints.—In the first place, Moses says, Blessed of the Lord be his land, &c. And why?—Because it is the land on which the saints of the living God shall gather in the last days, to receive the Savior at his second coming. It is blessed of the Lord, too, for the precious things of heaven: the fulness of the gospel in the Book of Mormon: for instance, I am a decendant of Joseph, which was carried captive into Egypt.—And great was the covenants of the Lord, which he made unto Joseph: wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day. And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins, the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off; nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord, that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light; yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom. For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, which shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins. Yea, Joseph truly said, thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins.—And unto him will I give commandment, that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers. And I will give him a commandment, that he shall do none other work, save the work which I shall command him. And I will make him great in mine eyes: for he shall do my work. And he shall be great like unto Moses, whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel. And Moses will I raise up, to deliver thy people out of the land of Egypt. But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins; and not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them. Wherefore, the fruit of my loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord. And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my work shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, O house of Israel, saith the Lord. And thus prophesied Joseph, saying:—Behold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him, shall be confounded: for this promise, of which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of thy loins, shall be fulfilled. Behold I am sure of the fulfilling of this promise.—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; yea, thus prophesied Joseph. I am sure of this thing, even as I am sure of the promise of Moses; for the Lord hath said unto me, I will preserve thy seed forever. And the Lord hath said, I will raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him in a rod; and I will give judgment unto him in writing. Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much: for I will not make him mighty in speaking. But I will write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own hand; and I will make a spokesman for him. And the Lord said unto me also, I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins; and I will make for him a spokesman. And I, behold, I will give unto him, that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins; and the spokesman of thy loins shall declare it. And the words which he shall write, shall be the words which is expedient in my wisdom, should go forth unto the fruit of thy loins. And it shall be as if the fruit of thy loins had cried unto them from the dust: for I know their faith. And they shall cry from the dust; yea, even repentance unto their brethren, even that after many generations have gone by them.—And it shall come to pass that their cry shall go, even according to the simpleness of their words. Because of their faith, their words shall proceed forth out of my mouth unto their brethren, which are the fruit of thy loins; and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith, unto the remembering of my covenant which I made unto thy fathers. Thus spake Lehi to his son Joseph, and who is there that can not rejoice when he reads such a glorious and sacred promise? When we look abroad in the earth and view the extent of the Lord’s dominions in this world; when we reflect upon the space of time that the Lord has allowed the sons of men to set these dominions in order, by giving them the privilege of the gospel; and when we consider how much the Lord has promised to such as build up his kingdom on the earth, we are astonished! When Jacob, or as he was named, Israel, blessed the children of Joseph, he crossed his hands and put Ephraim the youngest first, saying his seed shall become a multitude of nations; and Lehi says, repeating the words of Joseph of Egypt, the fruit of my loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write, &c. and the writings shall grow together. Let us now compare these great sayings with the prophecy of Ezekiel: Moreover thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thy hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be one in thy hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be King over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever more. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. So, then, it appears, that Ephraim, besides becoming a multitude of nations, writes and keeps one of the sticks or books of the Lord. The stick of Judah, the bible, is about as much acknowledged and received as the Savior was, when he came to fulfil the words of the prophets, to be offered a sacrifice for sin. But there [41] is another light, which presents itself to us, which ought not to be omitted.