When the Prophet Joseph Smith set down the Articles of Faith in
1842, he included an interesting declaration concerning the
tribes of Israel which now reads in part: “We believe in the
literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten
Tribes; [and] that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon
the American Continent.” (A of F 1:10.) In that statement the
Prophet acknowledged, first, a historical fact—that a large
portion of the house of Israel had been taken by Assyria from
the land of their inheritance and thus were lost from the common
knowledge of the tribe of Judah, the ancient record-keepers; and
second, the Prophet acknowledged the Lord’s promise for the
future—that these tribes “lost” in terms of immediate
recognition, would be gathered in again in the latter days. It
was the Lord himself who referred to these of his scattered
sheep as the “other tribes of the house of Israel.” (3 Ne.
15:15.) The scriptures and related sources give us a limited
body of information about these “other trib