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Why IMCA by Richard Hensley

It has been stated numerous times that the goal and objective of the IMCA Council and all of it's associate members is to share the fullness of the gospel with the Native American people. We know that within the record, written by their holy men, are recorded the promises and covenants God has made with them. It is so vital that they come to a knowledge of their ancestors and to the knowledge of God's plan of salvation. It is imperative that this ministry be performed; for without it, Zion languishes. It is so plain in the following scripture which is taken from the Book of Mormon, the 6th Chapter of Ether.

1 And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing.
2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether, for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land, it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord;
3 Wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him, who dwell upon the face thereof; and that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land; and he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come; after it should be destroyed, it should be built up again a holy city unto the Lord; 5 Wherefore it could not be a New Jerusalem, for it had been in a time of old, but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built up unto the house of Israel;
6 And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type; for as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there;
7 Wherefore the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph, that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph, that he should perish not;
8 Wherefore the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built up upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come, when the earth shall pass away.
9 And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the old, save the old have passed away, and all things have become new.
10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.
11 And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the lamb;
12 And they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father Abraham.

We know that the seed of Joseph consists of Manassah and Ephraim. Ephraim being set apart first instead of the first born, Manassah, was a type and shadow of the restoration, Genesis 48: 13-28. Joseph Smith Jr. was of the tribe of Ephraim and the gospel went first to the Gentiles to gather out from among them the seed of Ephraim. We know that the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel were scattered throughout the Assyrian empire in 721 BC and later many migrated north into Europe. The majority of Ephraim was among the northern kingdom and did become a multitude of nations. Among the European nations were scattered the ten thousands of Ephraim, Deuteronomy 33: 17. Many of the tribes which were in the northern kingdom were gathered to Joseph's promised land from Europe. Among the multitudes which migrated to this country was the seed of Ephraim.

Now we know that the seed of Manassah was brought to the promised land by Lehi, who was of the tribe of Manassah. The first thing the Lord did, even before restoring his church, was to bring forth that record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The first missionary assignment to the newly restored church was to the Native Americans to begin the gathering of Manassah with Ephraim. The purpose of this gathering was to establish Zion, even the New Jerusalem, upon this chosen land of Joseph. According to the prophecies in the Book of Mormon, it is the seed of Joseph that will be instrumental in establishing the New Jerusalem. The house of Joseph must be united before the New Jerusalem can be established. This is the most important reason, the only reason for the existence of IMCA.