The Gathering of Israel

Since the organization of the Church, Latter-day Saints have taken seriously the call to preach the gospel throughout the world (see Matthew 28:19–20; Luke 24:46–48; Acts 1:8). Within weeks of the organization of the Church, converts were traveling as missionaries, with satchels full of copies of the Book of Mormon, to share the message of the restored gospel. In early October 1830, just six months after the Church was organized, the Lord commanded missionaries travel to “the wilderness by the Lamanites” (Doctrine and Covenants 32:2). “Hearken ye people from afar,” the Lord said in a November 1831 revelation, “and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:1). Beginning in 1837, missionaries and recently baptized members began sharing the restored gospel in Europe, Oceania, Asia, and South Africa. Many of these early converts from around the world immigrated to the United States to gather with the main body of the Saints.

The rapid influx of immigrant converts became the lifeblood of the Church. By 1900, more than 91,000 European Latter-day Saints—primarily from the United Kingdom and Scandinavia—had settled in and around Salt Lake City. These faithful Saints spread throughout western North American founding cities, building meetinghouses and temples, preaching the gospel to their neighbors, and making an indelible impression on the culture, history, and progress of the Church.

In the 20th century, this immigration continued, as members from Oceania, Latin America, Asia, and eventually Africa moved to the United States to be closer to temples, to study at Church-sponsored universities, or to seek refuge and comfort among their fellow Saints. Today, branches, wards, and stakes in more than 40 US states conduct weekly worship services in Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, Portuguese, Chinese, Hmong, Haitian-Creole, French, Tagalog, Karen, Nepali, Pohnpeian, Chuukic-Pohnpeic, Marshallese, Fijian, Laotian-Thai, Russian, and Swahili.