The Gathering

How has the gathering of the Saints affected me in my life? I have ancestors on my mother's side of the family that were Mormon pioneers. Obviously, without their sacrifice I wouldn't necessarily be a member of the church today. It is also because of the gathering that we have the church. If the saints had not gathered, they would probably have suffered the same fate as the early church. The Apostles were unable to keep tabs on a church membership spread all over Europe and Asia, and eventually the branches all fell into apostasy. If we hadn't gathered in our day, I'm sure we would have suffered that same fate. Today, of course, we no longer gather to the Great Basin, but we are still gathered into Stakes of Zion wherever we may be to lift and strengthen one another.