The Two Sticks — Ezekiel 37 and the Book of Mormon

A specific OT prophecy about two records joining together — written 600 years before the Book of Mormon

Ezekiel 37 is best known for the valley of dry bones — the vivid vision of scattered Israel being reconstituted from death into living nationhood. That vision is justifiably famous. But the chapter continues beyond the bones. In verses 15–22, Ezekiel is given a second sign — and that sign is where the Book of Mormon's prophetic fingerprint appears.

Ezekiel prophesied around 590 BC. Lehi left Jerusalem around 600 BC. The Book of Mormon was not published until 1830. The chronology is important: the prophecy precedes the events it describes. And the specificity of the prophecy is what makes dismissal difficult.

If you have been told that Ezekiel 37 has nothing to do with the Book of Mormon — that it is merely about the political reunification of Israel and Judah — read the text yourself and decide.

What Ezekiel Wrote

Ezekiel 37:15–19

“The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. … Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.”

The word translated "stick" is the Hebrew etz — which means tree, wood, or stick. In the ancient world, writing was done on wooden tablets. Ezekiel is commanded to write on two sticks and join them. The act is prophetic: it symbolizes something that God will do with two written records.

The "stick of Judah" is the record associated with the tribe of Judah. The "stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim" is the record associated with the tribe of Joseph, held specifically by Ephraim. God will take these two written records and make them one in His hand.

The Stick of Judah — The Bible

The Bible is the record of Judah. This is not contested. The Old Testament was written by and primarily concerns the southern kingdom of Judah after the division of Israel. The New Testament was written by Jewish apostles and their companions. The Bible's primary lineage runs through Judah — including the royal lineage of David, through which Christ came.

The Bible is one stick. That interpretation is not invented by Latter-day Saints — it is the obvious reading of what Ezekiel wrote.

The Stick of Ephraim — The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is the record of Joseph, specifically in the lineage of Ephraim. This is not a retroactive claim. The Book of Mormon makes the identification explicitly — before Ezekiel 37 was cited as prophecy. Lehi was of the tribe of Manasseh (Alma 10:3). His descendants include the people whose record constitutes the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith was himself identified as being of the tribe of Ephraim. The brass plates — the written record Lehi took from Jerusalem — were obtained from Laban, who was of the tribe of Manasseh.

2 Nephi 3:12

“Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and the raising up of a holy nation unto the Lord.”

This is Joseph of Egypt speaking, through Lehi's reading of the brass plates, to his descendant Joseph who would restore all things. The two records — Judah's writing and Joseph's writing — are explicitly identified as coming together. Nephi's text is describing the same event Ezekiel described, from a different vantage point, centuries earlier.

They Are Joined in God's Hand

Ezekiel says the two sticks become one "in mine hand" — in God's hand. They are not joined by human scholarship or theological negotiation. They are joined by divine action. God reaches down, takes both records, and holds them together as one witness.

This is precisely how the Book of Mormon presents itself — not as a replacement for the Bible, but as a companion witness. Joseph Smith did not publish it as a counter-Bible. He published it as an additional testament of Jesus Christ. The two records together constitute one unified divine testimony.

2 Nephi 29:6–8

“Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. … Know ye not that there are more nations than one? … Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.”

The Book of Mormon anticipated the objection that the Bible is sufficient. It anticipated it because the prophets who wrote it knew this objection was coming — because Ezekiel had already described the joining of the two records as something that would need to be explained and defended.

Why This Prophecy Is Specific Enough to Be Remarkable

The standard alternative reading of Ezekiel 37:15–22 is that it refers to the political reunification of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel after the Babylonian exile. This reading is defensible on historical grounds — and it may be true as a layer of meaning. Prophecy often has multiple fulfillments.

But the political reunification reading has a problem: it never happened. Israel and Judah were not reunited as political kingdoms after the exile. The northern tribes did not return as a national entity. The reunification Ezekiel prophesied — if it refers only to political history — is an unfulfilled prophecy.

The LDS reading does not require the political history to have happened. It reads the stick-joining as written records — which is what sticks were for — and identifies the fulfillment in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. This fulfillment actually occurred. Two records, from two tribal lineages, held together in God's hand, constituting one unified testimony of Christ.

Supporting Scriptures

The "Other Sheep" of John 10

The Two Sticks prophecy is reinforced by one of the most famous statements Christ made — a statement that has puzzled commentators for centuries:

John 10:16

“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

The standard Protestant interpretation is that the "other sheep" are the Gentiles — non-Jewish believers who would be incorporated into the Christian church. This is plausible. But it creates a problem: Christ says "them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice." This implies a personal visitation, not merely the extension of the gospel through preaching.

The Book of Mormon identifies its people as the other sheep. Christ visits the Nephite nation in 3 Nephi after His resurrection. He tells them directly: "Ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold" (3 Nephi 15:21). They heard His voice. The prophecy was fulfilled specifically — not metaphorically.

Two separate ancient prophecies — Ezekiel's two sticks and Christ's other sheep — converge on the same event: a second record kept by the descendants of Joseph, in a land separate from Jerusalem, testifying of the same Christ. The convergence is not a talking point. It is a structural feature of the scriptural record that demands engagement.