Gathering is a way of life for us Mormons

THIS WEEK, LATTER-day Saints will gather their families, gather their thoughts and then gather in person or by television at the heart of Salt Lake City for general conference.Mormons are a "gathering people."They send missionaries into the world to gather the lost, spend hours before computers gathering their ancestors. Like God at the beginning, they look out at matter unorganized and strive to bring it together — to assemble it.The word "gather" — or one of its variations — shows up 183 times in the Book of Mormon alone.The urge to gather is imprinted on all LDS genes.Even our hobbies — scrapbooking, for example — are forms of gathering. We're like collage artists who take "found objects" and turn them into striking new creations. We re-invent the world.Isn't "gathering" a tool Joseph Smith used to "organize" the church? Emma Smith was sent to gather hymns from a dozen sources, not unlike those young girls who gathered up the pages of the Book of Commandments in their skirts.Leaders were often sent out to gather funds and materials for building.Joseph himself constantly pulled together the strands of truth wherever he found them. He wrote, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."We believe in the literal gathering of Israel.Like berry pickers, we seek out and collect.In the eye of my imagination, I sometimes picture us as kindly mad scientists, pulling together quotes, scriptures and thoughts for our talks, journal entries, our family home evenings — even our newspaper columns. Like Dr. Frankensteins, we bring together an array of appendages, hoping they'll somehow bond and live.The miracle is, our creations often do — not physically, of course, but spiritually.We gather and assemble and wait while someone larger than us all adds the breath — the spirit.It happened at the birth of the universe.It happened in 1830 when a new church was formed.It's happening this weekend at the LDS Conference Center.We have built the building, summoned the saints and — if everything jells — like a child fresh from the womb the assembly this weekend will catch its breath and come to life.Such is the miracle of birth — mortal and spiritual.Members of The Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are like a fine Mormon quilt, its blocks matched and sewn together.God is the quilter.The spirit is the thread.We are the scraps of cloth, joined into a layer of warmth, tradition, beauty and strength.We form a "whole" much greater than the sum of our parts.Conference is just two days away.It's time again to "gather together to ask the Lord's blessing."