pgs. 452 and 453...I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires...and great shall be the peace of thy children.

21 And I will execute ^avengeance and ^bfury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and ^aharden not their hearts, I will ^bestablish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be ^cnumbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their ^dinheritance;

23 And they shall assist my ^apeople, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the ^bNew Jerusalem.

24 And then shall ^athey assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.

25 And then shall the ^apower of heaven come down among them; and ^bI also will be in the midst.

26 And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even ^awhen this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of ^bthis people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been ^clost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.

27 Yea, the work shall commence among all the ^adispersed of my people, with the Father to prepare the way whereby they may ^bcome unto me, that they may call on the Father in my name.

28 Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may be ^agathered home to the land of their inheritance.

29 And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall ^anot go out in ^bhaste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father, and I will be their rearward.

THIRD NEPHI
THE BOOK OF NEPHI
THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

CHAPTER 22

In the last days, Zion and her stakes shall be established, and Israel shall be gathered in mercy and tenderness—They shall triumph—Compare Isaiah 54. [A.D. 34]

1 And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O ^abarren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into ^bsinging, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the ^cdesolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy ^astakes;

3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall ^ainherit the ^bGentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

4 Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to ^ashame; for thou shalt forget the ^bshame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the ^creproach of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

5 For thy maker, thy ^ahusband, the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel—the God of the whole earth shall he be called.

6 For the Lord hath called thee ^aas a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

7 For a small moment have I ^aforsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting ^akindness will I have ^bmercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

9 For this, the ^awaters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee.

10 For the ^amountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my ^bkindness shall not ^cdepart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy ^astones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

13 And ^aall thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the ^bpeace of thy children.

14 In ^arighteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear, and from terror for it shall not come near thee.

15 Behold, they shall surely gather together ^aagainst thee, not by me; whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall revile against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the ^aservants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Isn't the expression "lay thy foundations with sapphires" so beautiful? This is one of the sentences in the scriptures that helps us imagine how wonderful our eternal homes in heaven will be. And the promise of peace for the children is enough to make any parent's heart sing. Heavenly Father truly wants to bless those who will follow His teachings and perform His work.