Also, we had an excellent lesson on the Gathering of Israel from Laurie Marcum in Relief Society. Here's a brief summary:
Who/What is the House of Israel?
The House of Israel are the Lord's covenant people. These are they that are literal (through blood) or spiritual (through baptismal covenants) descendants of Abraham and the 12 tribes of Israel. It is the responsibility of the House of Israel to keep the commandments of the Lord, as well as carry both the gospel and the priesthood to the world. They are promised all of the blessings promised to Abraham of old (see Abraham 2:9-11).
The house of Israel was originally scattered long before the coming of Christ on the earth. Wickedness and idolatry raged throughout the 12 tribes. 10 of the tribes broke off and headed north and were lost and scattered. The remainder of the house of Israel remained in the area of Jerusalem and were scattered when Jerusalem was conquered.
It was brought up that at this time, a majority of the House of Israel were living so wickedly that the Lord could very easily have destroyed them - yet instead he chose to scatter the people (kind of like in the time of the tower of Babel).
Today, the House of Israel is found throughout the earth, and the Lord has called for his covenant people to be gathered. The Lord desires to gather his people NOW for 4 reasons:
1. He gathers his people so that they can learn the Gospel and prepare for the Savior's second coming
2. He gathers his people so that temple may be built and ordinances can be performed that turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers to their children.
3. He gathers his people to strengthen them
4. He gathers his people to share the Gospel with the world.
The authority to Gather the House of Israel in our days began with Jospeh Smith. It involves both a spiritual gathering, and a physical gathering:
Spiritual Gathering: This is a gathering of the house of Israel through teaching individuals the Gospel and inviting them to make and keep covenants, being baptized into the Lord's church. This gathering is to be done by full-time missionaries, and of course EACH OF US and is occuring right now!
Physical Gathering: This is a literal, physical gathering of each tribe to their nation. All tribes will be gathered, and this will begin with the Second Coming of Christ and will continue throughout the millennium.
Now...one question you might ask yourself is How have YOU been spiritually gathered in the House of Israel?
This, sisters, is incredible doctrine...hard to understand it all, but oh, so important. We cannot let ourselves think of the Gathering of Israel as some, vague future event - for it is happening now. Let us strive to help in this gathering, not only to bless others with this incredible Gospel, but also to serve our Lord and our God.
Just a reminder that we're having our last volleyball game of the season at the Stake Center at 11 am on Saturday.
We're playing MU4, which apparently has had a good turn out in the past!
