I SO want to understand and create Zion. I want to be one who builds and lifts and inspires and improves and not any of the opposites. Here are a few of the things that I read/studied/pondered as we read about Zion in Moses 7 this week.
Quote from Jeffrey R. Holland: "I ask us to be peacemakers-to love peace, to seek peace, to create peace, to cherish peace."
Sisters in Zion : Eyring
“ We know that the Savior will come to a people who have been gathered and prepared to live as the people did in the city of Enoch. The people there were united in faith in Jesus Christ and had become so completely pure that they were taken up to heaven.”
“… my people will I preserve;
“And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
“And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
“And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.” (Moses 7:61-64)
“ You sisters, your daughters, your granddaughters, and the women you have nurtured will be at the heart of creating that society of people who will join in glorious association with the Savior. You will be an essential force in the gathering of Israel and in the creation of a Zion people who will dwell in peace in the New Jerusalem.”
“ In the early days of the Relief Society, the Prophet Joseph Smith said to the sisters, “If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”
That marvelous potential lies within you, and you are being prepared for it.”
“ If the past is prologue, at the time of the Savior’s coming, the daughters who are deeply committed to their covenants with God will be more than half of those who are prepared to welcome Him when He comes. But whatever the numbers, your contribution in creating unity among the people prepared for that Zion will be far greater than half…. My experience has taught me that Heavenly Father’s daughters have a gift to allay contention and to promote righteousness with their love of God and with the love of God they engender in those they serve.“
“ Sisters, you were given the blessing of being daughters of God with special gifts. You brought with you into mortal life a spiritual capacity to nurture others and to lift them higher toward the love and purity that will qualify them to live together in a Zion society. It is not by accident that the Relief Society, the first Church organization specifically for Heavenly Father’s daughters, has as its motto “Charity Never Faileth.”
Charity is the pure love of Christ. And it is faith in Him and the full effects of His infinite Atonement that will qualify you, and those you love and serve, for the supernal gift to live in that sociality of a long-looked-for and promised Zion. There you will be sisters in Zion, loved in person by the Lord and those you have blessed.”
Come To Zion by Elder Christofferson
Nephi foresaw that these “dominions” would be small but that the Lord’s power would descend “upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, … who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they [would be] armed with righteousness” (see 1 Nephi 14:12–14). The Lord calls upon us to be beacons of righteousness to guide those who seek the safety and blessings of Zion:
“Verily I say unto yo
Under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith, early members of the Church attempted to establish the center place of Zion in Missouri, but they did not qualify to build the holy city. The Lord explained one of the reasons for their failure:
“They have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them;
“And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom” (D&C 105:3–4).
u all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations;...Zion is Zion because of the character, attributes, and faithfulness of her citizens. Remember, “the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). If we would establish Zion in our homes, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to this standard. It will be necessary (1) to become unified in one heart and one mind; (2) to become, individually and collectively, a holy people; and (3) to care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us. We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen—Zion will come only as they happen.
"We will become of one heart and one mind as we individually place the Savior at the center of our lives and follow those He has commissioned to lead us."
"Much of the work to be done in establishing Zion consists in our individual efforts to become “the pure in heart” (D&C 97:21). “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom,” said the Lord; “otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself” (D&C 105:5). The law of the celestial kingdom is, of course, the gospel law and covenants, which include our constant remembrance of the Savior and our pledge of obedience, sacrifice, consecration, and fidelity."
"We are to become not only good but holy men and women. Recalling Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s phrase, let us once and for all establish our residence in Zion and give up the summer cottage in Babylon."
The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 186).
From the Follow Him podcast:
From Enoch's vision we learn many things. We learn that God loves to teach His children and answer our questions. We learn that when we cry, we never cry alone. The flood is symbolically caused by God weeping. He cries because the workmanship of His hands does not keep either of the first two great commands...they don't love Him and they don't love one another. The thing that God hates most is when His children hurt each other. The Lord asks us to mourn with those who mourn and HE DOES THIS!
There are many similarities between Enoch's vision and Nephi's, including that they ask questions and are told to look. Both see Christ's coming in vision.
Presume that others around you are trying to build Zion. That they are doing their part in the best way they know how. Building Zion requires unity, holiness and no poor. If we could figure those things out, we would have Zion. But these goals can't be reached without Christ. So how can I help? It starts with MY heart. Am I doing my part to help with the mission of the church: 1. Live the gospel. 2. Care for those in need. (That's most people around us whether it's temporal or spiritual or emotional.) 3. Invite all to receive the gospel. 4. Unite families for eternity. If we would ALL really do those things, we would build Zion.
God condescends into the trenches of our lives. He weeps right along with us as we worry, ache, mourn, and experience sorrow.
Don't Miss This podcast:
God first helped Enoch see his own potential and understand the plan God had in store for him. Then he helped him see the plan for Enoch's people. Then Enoch was able to go and teach the people and continue in prayer and continue in building them up so that they could all reach that potential together.
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She shares how female elephants surround a mother in labor. They protect her from predators and give support and aid. Jen Hatmaker, speaking about elephants but also women, writes, "This is what we do, girls. When our sisters are vulnerable, when they are giving birth to new life, new ideas, new ministeries, when they are under attack, when they need their people to surround them so they can create, deliver, heal, recover...we get into formation. We close ranks and literally have each other’s backs.
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