A Gathering Spirit

Hi!  I'm not much of a blogger and don't know how regular a participant I will be in this whole thing, but I wanted to do something to try and keep connected with my friends and family while I'm away and working on a PhD in Texas.  So I thought a blog might be a good idea.  But I wanted to do something meaningful, similar to my sister's amazing blog found here.  Every time I read her blog, I am inspired by its beauty and insight (as well as it's excellent design and layout).  The problem is, I don't have Lynley's skills, so I decided that my blog would need to play off of the skills that I do have:  I know a lot about history :).  So every now and again I just want to share some tidbits that I have learned and hopefully some sort of message that makes those tidbits useful and meaningful.

For the last three years I had the absolute pleasure of working as a research assistant for Ronald W. Walker, who is in the process of writing a biography of Brigham Young to be published by Oxford University Press.  In the process, I fell in love with Brother Brigham in a way that I had never expected.  I came to love his unique (if, at times over-the-top) way of putting things.  A couple of years ago, one historian published a landmark set of books that made a pretty good attempt to make available The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young.  Because I had by that time fallen in love with Brigham's way of speaking and because I could justify the expenditure as a "business purchase," I bought the set.  Since that time, it has been a standard resource in my studies of Brother Brigham as both a student and a professional researcher.  I might have had buyer's remorse with some of the book's I've purchased over the years, but not this set.  Anyhow, I've recently decided to just read some of Brigham's sermons and in the process I've discovered some terrific insights, including one that struck me tonight.

On September 9, 1843, Brigham addressed a group of Saints gathered together in Boston.  On this occasion, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, he told the Saints "The Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is a gathering spirit.  Its tendency is to gather the virtuous and good, the honest and meek of the earth, and, in fine, the Saints of God."  (Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, 1:28).  As I read this entry, I was impressed by the thought that one of the main purposes of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to build relationships; both familial and non-familial.  We seek to develop such friendships and covenantal bonds here because we know that "that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy" (D&C 130:2).  The Prophet Joseph was right when he declared, "Where this people are, there is good society" (History of the Church 5:516-17).  I'm so grateful for the way that the Spirit has gathered into my life a whole host of family and friends who exemplify all that is virtuous, good, honest, and meek among the Saints of God.  All this just to thank those of you who have been and continue to be members of my own personal Zion.

Brett