Having served in a Vietnamese branch I found that 99.9% of all the Vietnamese members were from the tribe of Issachar. The three that were not Issachar were from Ephraim – including my wife.

It was remarkable to me because I’ve never heard of such a discovery before, nor do I understand why the seventy would say the patriarchs were astounded if it’s already such common knowledge.

On the other hand, it’s true that not all members of the tribes listed above were taken captive. Some members of these tribes were left behind on the land, while others fled to the kingdom of Judah for refuge. I guess that means descendants of the lost tribes remained among the Jews and have spread throughout the world. That means the odds are good some of each of the tribes have already been gathered together as members of the Church.

Actually, Richard Bushman entitled his book “Rough Stone Rolling” because that’s how Brother Joseph described himself:

“I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force against religious bigotry, priestcraft, lawyer-craft, doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women–all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty, who will give me dominion over all and every one of them, when their refuge of lies shall fail, and their hiding place shall be destroyed, while these smooth-polished stones with which I come in contact become marred” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 304).

I feel like a rough stone rolling in a bit of a different way. I am a willing saint, rough around the edges, needing the daily polish that comes from learning,testimony and service. When Joseph Smith said this of himself, I feel close to him, even if he meant it in a slightly different context.

I tend to stay away from the Iraq War as a subject. I feel I am too under-educated about it and I don’t trust the talking heads that tell me how I should feel. That said, I am anxious for the conflict to reach a speedy end and I pray your grandson doesn’t have to experience the terror of such a situation.

I hope you come by again.

Why do you call your blog Rough Stone Rolling, isn’t that a blatant steal from Richard Bushman?

I’m kind of excited by your premise. I hate the war in Iraq, I don’t hate President Bush, I just hate that so many of our young people are dying for people who would kill each other anyway. My grandson will be 18 next month and I frankly think I would lose my mind if anything happened to him.

But what you describe is progress toward the second coming without contemplating the deaths of young men I know.