After the loss of the Nephite Saints; after their final destruction, when they have all been lost, the time will come when there will again be a faithful people upon the Americas holding the fullness of the Gospel. Although lost, they shall return. When they do, their numbers will be so great they will complain the land is too confining. The time will come when there will be too many of them for the space provided. They will need greater boundaries in which to dwell.
This future event foreshadows the great success of the Gospel’s destiny. It will move forward in majesty. Joseph proclaimed: …the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done. (DHC 4:540.)
Nephi’s words and Joseph’s prophecies about the Gospel’s destiny dovetail with each other. This latter-day work will succeed beyond even the Saint’s capacity to foresee. It will be such a work; it will make even those involved confess: Surely this is the work of God! Our modest efforts at spreading the Gospel have resulted at the time of this writing, in only 12 million living Saints. That will change many- fold.