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Ezekiel 37:19

". . . 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 mine hand."

 

Problem:

 

This passage is understood by Mormons to predict the coming of the Book of Mormon. The passage is interpreted so that the "stick of Judah" refers to the Bible, and the "stick of Joseph" refers to the Book of Mormon. A Mormon expositor, LeGrand Richards (ordained as one of the "twelve apostles" of the Mormon Church) puts it this way:

"In ancient times it was the custom to write on parchment and roll it on a stick. Therefore, when this command was given, it was the equivalent of directing that two books or records should be kept . . . Now, granting that the Bible is the stick of Judah . . . could this promise be fulfilled in a more simple and perfect manner than it was through the coming forth of the Book of Mormon? . . . Now, the two records have been joined together, constituting a complete fulfillment of another great prophecy." ¹

Solution:

1. The stick of Joseph and the stick of Judah are sticks, and not scrolls. The Hebrew word "ets" is translated "tree", "wood", "gallows" etc. but never scroll. ² The Hebrew word for scroll is "sepher" (see Isa. 34:4).
   
2. The sticks do not represent the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They represent the divided state of Israel and their joining together portrays the future restoration of Israel under one king. Ezekiel is instructed to give this interpretation. "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." (vs.21,22).
   
3. This passage offers no proof that the coming of the Book of Mormon is prophesied in the Bible.

Footnotes:

1. LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co., 1958), pp. 67-68. Return
   
2. Robert Young, Analytical Concordance to the Holy Bible, (London: Lutterworth Press, 1965). See use of "ets" in Nu. 15:32; 1 Kings 17:10; 2 Kings 6:6). Return