Redeem Jerusalem

To re-establish the promised heirs upon their own land and bring again Zion. And when the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled, which say: Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice, with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God (3 Nephi 7:6). In this profound insight and declaration by Christ, readers learn Isaiah was not speaking of the return to the Middle East for these coming events to unfold. Instead, the “waste places of Jerusalem” are nowhere near Jerusalem — they are in another place, far away, where the residue of Jerusalem’s scattered people are wasted and then restored again. “Waste places” is plural; according to Christ’s interpretation, they are scattered throughout the world. One is in the Americas, on an isle of the sea (2 Nephi 7:5). There is also something odd about this passage — after the removal of the gentiles, there is joy, rejoicing, singing together, seeing eye to eye, and a return to Zion. This emotional setting seems at odds with what mankind anticipates. It would seem that destroying the gentiles and experiencing the trauma of those days would produce mourning and lamentation. It does not. Instead it produces singing in joy. Whatever bottle-neck of destruction is needed to bring that triumph to pass will be worth it. So great will be the peace that follows that it will wipe away all tears; truth, saving doctrine, and being fed by Christ’s own message will end all laments, as described in Revelation 2:16, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
(“3 Nephi 16:17–20,” June 27, 2010, blog post). See NEW JERUSALEM; ZION.