Joseph's Coat and the Remnant
Book of Mormon Notes - Saturday, October 21, 2023, Alma 46 (Continued)
Who are the seed of Joseph, the people of Joseph?
Israel, Joseph, People of
she called his name Joseph, Gen. 30:24.
Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, Gen. 37:3.
Joseph called … the firstborn Manasseh, Gen. 41:51.
name of the second called he Ephraim, Gen. 41:52.
thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, Gen. 48:5.
Israel stretched out his right hand … upon Ephraim’s head, Gen. 48:14.
bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, Gen. 48:16.
his seed shall become a multitude of nations, Gen. 48:19.
blessings … on the head of Joseph, Gen. 49:26.
Joseph dwelt in Egypt, Gen. 50:22.
children of Joseph, namely … of Ephraim, Num. 1:32.
tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand, Num. 1:35.
let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, Deut. 33:16.
lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan, Josh. 16:1.
carried Israel away into Assyria, 2 Kgs. 17:6.
Reuben … birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, 1 Chr. 5:1.
In these dwelt the children of Joseph, 1 Chr. 7:29.
shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people, Isa. 7:8.
from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah, Isa. 7:17.
another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, Ezek. 37:16.
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, John 10:16.
Joseph … called his father Jacob to him, Acts 7:14.
Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand, Rev. 7:8.
Lehi … was a descendant of Joseph, 1 Ne. 5:14 (Alma 10:3).
this remnant … is the seed of thy father, 1 Ne. 13:34 (3 Ne. 15:12).
are we not a branch of the house of Israel, 1 Ne. 15:12.
branch which was to be broken off, 2 Ne. 3:5.
Ephraim, Manasseh; they together shall be against Judah, 2 Ne. 19:21.
righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph, Jacob 2:25.
we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, Alma 46:23 (3 Ne. 10:17).
this people will I establish in this land, 3 Ne. 20:22.
New Jerusalem should be built … unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, Ether 13:6.
promises … be fulfilled, which he made to his people, D&C 3:19.
other sheep … were a branch of the house of Jacob, D&C 10:60.
keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim, D&C 27:5.
descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, D&C 113:4.
servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim, D&C 133:32.
See also Num. 32:39; Isa. 17:3; Hosea 11:9–10; John 4:5; Heb. 11:22; 1 Ne. 6:2.
Why did Moroni rend his coat and write upon it? Why did the Nephites who rallied around Moroni also cast their garments at his feet? All of these symbolic actions remind us of the original lot of Joseph. Remember that Israel loved Joseph the most:
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. (Genesis 37:3)
The note in the LDS King James Bible is helpful:
The Septuagint word indicates many colors, but the Hebrew term may indicate simply a long coat with sleeves.
Joseph’s brothers were envious of him and conspired against him, even to slay him. They mocked Joseph and called him a dreamer or the master of dreams. Then the events that set the stage for Moroni’s Title of Liberty unfolded as Joseph’s brothers schemed against him and sold him into slavery:
Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
And aReuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his acoat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren awere content.
Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the aIshmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is anot; and I, whither shall I go?
And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s acoat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt brent in pieces.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
And all his asons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be bcomforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son cmourning. Thus his father wept for him.
And the Midianites asold him into Egypt unto bPotiphar, an cofficer of Pharaoh’s, and dcaptain of the guard. (Genesis 37:20-36)
Moroni knew this story well, but unlike the Nephite dissenters, he remembered it. But Moroni knew more about this story than we do, because there was more written upon the Plates of Brass than what we now read in the Bible. How did Moroni understand the story of Joseph and how did he use it to teach his people and rally them to the cause of Christ and of liberty?
Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a aremnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of bJoseph, whose ccoat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.
Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a aremnant of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a bpart of the cremnant of the coat of Joseph was dpreserved and had not decayed. And he said—Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a eremnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment.
Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be taken unto God.
Now behold, this was the language of Jacob.
And now who knoweth but what the remnant of the seed of Joseph, which shall perish as his garment, are those who have dissented from us? Yea, and even it shall be ourselves if we do not stand fast in the faith of Christ. (Alma 46:23-27)
I don’t know about you, but I don’t recall reading about any of this in the Bible. But the story of Joseph is central to the Book of Mormon because the Book of Mormon is all about the seed of Joseph. And there is much more about Joseph that was written on the Plates of Brass:
Behold, our father Jacob also testified concerning a remnant of the seed of Joseph. And behold, are not we a remnant of the seed of Joseph? And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon the plates of brass which our father Lehi brought out of Jerusalem? (3 Nephi 10:17)
(See also, e.g., 2 Nephi 3:5–24, 2 Nephi 10:1, 2 Nephi 25:21, Jacob 5:43–45, Ether 13:6, Ether 13:7, 3 Nephi 5:23–24, and 3 Nephi 10:17)
Who is the remnant of the seed of Joseph that was preserved by the hand of God, and taken unto Himself? Was Moroni right? Was the remnant those Nephites who received the Lord when He appeared in Bountiful not too many years after Moroni raised the Title of Liberty? Who was the remainder of the seed of Joseph that perished? Was it the Nephites after the disintegration of their Zion society?
To be continued…