Hannah gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting!

In our ward, the youth have been asked to give talks based on articles of faith. Here is the great talk that Hannah gave this past Sunday on the 10th Article of Faith:

The tenth article of faith says, “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the ten tribes, that Zion (the new Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaical glory.”

So, if we break that up into pieces, the first bit of that is ‘the literal gathering of Israel’. But why does Israel need to be gathered? Why was it scattered in the first place? The Israelites struggled with their own pride cycle, just like the Nephites, and during one of their low points, they were captured by the Assyrians and were dragged from their lands in order to be slaves, and haven’t returned since. In 2nd Nephi chapter 10, it says, “But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance.  And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion,… and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance.”  So they will return when they believe in Christ. There are two pieces to the gathering: the spiritual gathering, which can be achieved through missionary work; and the literal, physical gathering of them returning to Jerusalem.

The next piece is, ‘the restoration of the ten tribes.’ Now, hang on a second, weren’t there twelve tribes? See, before they were scattered, the Israelites were led by Solomon. When he died, the people were torn between following his son, Reheboam, and a servant to Solomon, named Jeroboam, who had been chosen by the prophet. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin broke off to follow Reheboam and formed a ‘southern kingdom’, or the ‘kingdom of Judah’, while the other ten followed Jeroboam and formed the northern kingdom, or the kingdom of Israel. It was the kingdom of Israel that was captured by the Assyrians, while the kingdom of Judah was attacked by Babylon and later, the Romans, but they remained mostly consolidated.

The next bit is, ‘that Zion (the new Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent’. Zion will be built in Missouri, centered around the temple that will be built in Independence. That’s one of the last prerequisites, or signs, of the second coming, along with having missionaries in every country of the world, as well as the scarier things, like earthquakes and the sun going dark and the moon bathed in blood. But the righteous need not fear the ‘great and dreadful day’, because after all of that, ‘Christ will reign personally upon the earth and …the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaical glory’. Isaiah 2:4 says, “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Christ will come and be our king, there will be no war, and the earth will be perfect, with all of its resources restored.

During the millennium, “Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men”. 1st Nephi 22:26 says, “And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth.” There won’t be any more wicked people, and there will be no sin on earth, although not everyone will be a member. There will still be missionary work to do, and we will still build temples and perform ordinances for the dead.

In the millennium, everything will be great, but in the meantime, we can do missionary work and family history, pay tithing to help build temples and assist missionaries, keeping the commandments and waiting.

I know that the scriptures are true; I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know the church is true. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.