Fishers and Hunters
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 43, “Before I Formed Thee in the Belly I Knew Thee,” on Gospel Library
Start
Jeremiah said a day would come when Israel would stop calling the Exodus the greatest rescue in their history (Jeremiah 16:14–15).
Read Together
For centuries, Israel remembered the Lord as the God who brought them out of Egypt. Jeremiah saw a greater gathering ahead, from the land of the north and from every land where they had been scattered.
14Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 16Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
What It Teaches
Verse 16 tells how the Lord would gather them. He would send many fishers, and after them many hunters to search every mountain and hill and the “holes of the rocks.” Jesus called fishermen to follow him and promised to make them “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18–19).
President Russell M. Nelson saw these verses fulfilled in missionary work. “In many nations our missionaries have searched for those of scattered Israel; they have hunted for them ‘out of the holes of the rocks’; and they have fished for them as in ancient days.”
President Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” General conference, October 2006
Jeremiah 3:14 shows the gathering happening one person at a time. “I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.” Many families in the Church today began with one person who listened. Verse 15 promises shepherds after the Lord’s own heart to feed the people who come.
The gathering is to Jesus Christ. People are gathered when they come to him and make covenants with him. Some come through a missionary or a friend, and some through temple work done for them after they die.
Talk About It
How did the gospel come to our family, one person at a time? Who might the Lord want us to invite this month?
Take to Church
Jeremiah saw a gathering bigger than the Exodus, one of a city and two of a family. Every missionary and every friend who invites helps the Lord gather.