
This angelic visitation took place on the 21st - 22nd of September 1823, and Moroni returned four more years on September 22. Perhaps there is some significance in the fact that at the same time Moroni was instructing the Prophet, the Jews were celebrating the autumn pilgrimage Festival of Ingathering. This festival celebrated the beginning of the harvest season. In Hebrew this festival is called hag ha'asiph (the holy day of gathering). It is noteworthy that the word asiph and the name Joseph come from similar Hebrew words. Joseph means "he who adds / he who increases" in Hebrew. So just as the ancient Joseph increased the gathering of grain from the harvest and added to the Pharaoh's storehouse, so also the Prophet Joseph stood at the beginning of a new season of ingathering and through his instrumentality in bringing forth truth and light he increased the gathering of God's children.
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