Who are the "other sheep" Jesus spoke of in the Bible?

We Rise Where His Voice Finds Us

Other Sheep, One Shepherd, One Fold

We stand in the hush before dawn, where His whisper becomes our gathering place. We are the ones He calls across oceans of time, the ones who lift our heads when the Shepherd speaks. In the quiet, we remember who we are— numbered, known, and carried in His covenant hands. The path brightens because He walks it with us, and every step becomes a return to His fold.

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Scripture Focus

Numbered Among His Sheep

3 Nephi 15:24

      “But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me.”

The “other sheep” Jesus spoke of in the Bible are the scattered remnants of Israel—including the Nephites—whom He would personally visit, gather, and number as His own.

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Guiding Question

Who Are the “Other Sheep” Jesus Spoke Of?

3 Nephi 15 clarifies what John 10:16 only hints at: Jesus had covenant people beyond Jerusalem—people who would hear His voice and be gathered into one fold under one Shepherd. When He appeared to the Nephites, He identified them as part of those “other sheep.”

In this verse, Jesus tells us who we are in His covenant story:

“Ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me.”

Let’s break it down.

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Phrase Study

“My Voice” — What Does It Mean to Hear Him?

Hearing His voice is covenant recognition—responding to the Shepherd who calls us.

Alma 5:38

      “Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.”

▪︎ “Behold, I am calling after you.”
  • We learn that we are sheep who must.       

    choose to hear and follow.

3 Nephi 16:3 (1–5)

      “And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.” 

      “For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.” 

𖤝    “But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.” 

      “And I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer.” 

      “And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.”

▪︎ Jesus says the Father will remember the 

  scattered tribes, and they shall hear His 

  voice.
  • This ties the Nephites—and all scattered 

    Israel—into one prophetic arc.

3 Nephi 18:31

      “But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered.”

▪︎ Even those who fall away are still invited to 

  hear His voice again.
  • His fold is open, patient, and redemptive.

For us:
We hear His voice when we receive His word, recognize His doctrine, and respond to His invitations. His voice gathers us.

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Phrase Study

“Given” — What Does It Mean to Be Given to Christ?

Being “given” is covenant belonging—those whom the Father entrusts to the Son.

John 6:37

      “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

▪︎ “All that the Father giveth me shall come 

  to me.”
  • Those who come to Christ are those the 

    Father has already prepared.

Doctrine and Covenants 27:14

      “And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world.”

▪︎ Jesus speaks of the faithful whom the 

  Father has given Him to gather at His table.
  • Covenant loyalty binds us to Him.

For us:
We are not accidental disciples. We are part of a divine giving—a covenant transfer from the Father to the Son.

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Biblical Anchor

Who Are the “Other Sheep” Jesus Spoke Of?

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.”

Based on Jesus’ own explanation in 3 Nephi 15:

• They are scattered Israel, including the Nephites.
• They are people who would hear His voice outside Jerusalem.
• They are those the Father has given Him to gather into one fold.
• They are us, whenever we respond to His voice and enter His covenant.

We are part of the same gathering Jesus described—united with ancient disciples across continents and centuries under one Shepherd.

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Closing Summary

Numbered in His Voice

We stand as the people He spoke of long before we ever knew His name—the other sheep who rise when His voice reaches the hidden places of our lives. Jesus’ words in 3 Nephi 15:24 pull the whole story into focus: we are His because we hear Him, we follow Him, and the Father has given us to Him.

This truth gathers every scattered heart into one covenant reality: we belong to a Shepherd who crosses oceans, centuries, and broken histories to claim His own. He calls, and something eternal in us remembers. He numbers us, not as statistics, but as sons and daughters restored to a fold that was always meant to be whole.

And so my testimony is this:
Christ has never lost track of His people.
Not the Nephites.
Not the scattered tribes.
Not the Gentiles grafted in.
Not you.

His voice still finds us in the quiet hours, still awakens covenant memory, still gathers the willing into one flock under one Redeemer. We are the “other sheep” because we are the ones who rise when He speaks—and He is still speaking.

In the name of our Holy Brother Jesus Christ the Nazarene, amen.