3.194 Help Gather Israel

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth and the light of the world, reminding us that our lives are meant to preserve, illuminate, and point others to Him. This season on Savory Salt, we'll walk through the Old Testament, one verse and one thought each day. Perhaps these moments will add greater savor and brighter light to our lives as we seek to truly live as Savory Salt.

Hello, my friends. It's a new day with new opportunities. Choose this day whom you will serve.

Can you remember the talk that President and Sister Nelson gave years ago to the youth of the Church, "Hope of Israel," talking about the gathering of Israel? If not, no worries. The link is directly in this podcast episode.

But if you do remember it, perhaps you remember it similar to the way I do, or today you may hear it a little differently as I did as I went back and studied this talk. We are beginning our reading this week with 2 Kings chapter 16 through 25. And inside of this, we're going to get again, this repeated habitual pattern of the children of Israel as they choose to leave the covenants with the Lord.

Even have it in the temple anymore. They don't even know what they're doing. They're just smattering a little bit of beliefs here and a little bit of beliefs there.

It's quite chaotic. But inside of all of that, we also have the scattering of Israel. As they're making these choices, they're also being driven away and carried away by these different peoples, the Assyrians being one of the main ones that are going to drive them out of their homeland.

Not yet. I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit there. How I wanted to start this week's readings was actually specifically from this talk, "Hope of Israel," that President and Sister Nelson gave to the youth of the Church at the time.

It's from 2018. So as of this recording, we're coming up on not quite 10 years since it's been given. And there's a lot of conversation inside of it, but there was a quote inside of here that's going to be our verse for today that I think I heard.

I'm going to be talking about it, we'll clarify it here and also give you an opportunity to study this incredible talk by President and by Sister Nelson. Inside of it, President Nelson says this for our verse for today. He says, "When we speak of the gathering, we're simply saying this fundamental truth: Every one of our Heavenly Father's children on both sides of the veil deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ." And further on he says, "anytime you do anything that helps anyone." And this is where, in fact, you know what, let me give it to you the way that I heard it first.

And then let's go back and read it. I heard it like this: "Anytime you do anything that helps anyone, you are helping to gather Israel." It's as simple as that. That's how I've heard it.

And in my mind, for some reason, that's how I've connected that. And that's it. Just be a helper.

Just help other people and you're helping to gather Israel. But my friends, that's not what President Nelson says. Let me go back and read it word for word the way he says it. "Anytime you do anything that helps anyone, on either side of the veil, take a step toward—" This is our testimony of what our own covenants mean for us.

Whether those are our baptismal covenants, whether those are temple ordinances, share those with others. When he says, "Anytime you do anything that helps anyone," he continues the sentence by saying, "Anytime you do anything that helps anyone, take a step toward making covenants with God. That is when you're helping to build and gather Israel." My friends, that was an eye-opener for me.

I hope it's one for you as we go back and remember what President Nelson's counsel was to us. Let's jump in, gathering Israel and helping others take steps toward making covenants with God and receiving their own essential baptismal and temple ordinances. That is all for today, my friends.

You and I have come here for such a time as this. Step forward in faith and let's be Savory Salt. We will be here tomorrow and we hope you are too.