PUZZLE #22 - The Two Sticks

"And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, \who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren." Alma (10:3 Page 232)

For years, LDS missionaries have called the Bible and Book of Mormon they carry their 'Sticks'. This endearing term comes from the Mormon view of Ezekiel 37:16-18. But in that passage Ezekiel says;

"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."

For Mormons, the first stick, the one for Judah is the Bible. The second stick, the one for Joseph is the Book of Mormon, and the writing on each of the sticks is the written word of God. Is this interpretation of the passage really valid? A simple look at the rest of the chapter shows us that the Mormon view cannot be what was
intended by the author. Ezekiel 37:24 states:

"And David my servant shall be king over them;".

The Mormon view would have David being king over two books. It's a PUZZLE.

It also says "For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim". Does the Book of Mormon fit this criteria? Nephi, Mormon and Lehi were descendants of Joseph, but through the
older son, Manasseh, not through Ephraim, the younger son. Look at Alma 10:3. For this reason the patriarchal blessing of the native Americans given in the Mormon Church always gives their lineage through Manasseh, not Ephraim.

Not only do the supposed authors of the Book of Mormon never claim lineage thru Ephraim, but they do claim it through his brother Manasseh. Jacob/Israel gave the birthright blessings to Ephraim who was the younger brother of Manasseh. If the Nephites and Lamanites had been of Ephraim's lineage, they would have laid claim to those birthright blessings and it would have been part of their record.

Other than in the passages of Isaiah which the writer copied into 2nd Nephi, the only occurrence of the name Ephraim is as a hill named by the Jaredites in Ether 7:9 (Page 499), many centuries before Jacob, Joseph and Ephraim were even born.

Ezekiel's prophecy tells how God will reunite Judah and Ephraim, the divided kingdoms of Israel, and make them into one kingdom again. Ezekiel's sticks were only a visual aid that he used to explain God's prophecy concerning that reunion as he was speaking to the people of his day. The Book of Mormon isn’t the stick of Ephraim.