But regurgitating these responses does not help us understand the specific actions and attitudes required to build up God’s kingdom, or build ourselves to the point of having pure hearts. Yes, Zion is “the pure in heart.” Yes, Zion is the kingdom of God.
To actually work towards Zion requires a knowledge deeper than a superficial Sunday School response. This requires, of course, that we understand what Zion is. We have been commanded to establish Zion today. As Joseph observed, “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight … it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory … a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family.” This latter-day preoccupation with establishing God’s kingdom on the earth is not new to our dispensation. In all cases, it basically is a reference to God’s Saints-the pure in heart who actively build up God’s kingdom rather than their own.Ī year prior to the church’s establishment in 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation in which he was instructed to “seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” Before the church, came the cause-the reason why the church exists at all. In the inspired records kept by prophets we see the term “Zion” being applied both to specific geographical groups of individuals, as well as disparate people figuratively connected by their common faith, wherever they might be. Throughout earth’s history, God has encouraged his children to rise to a heavenly standard-to create a “Zion” in which each member of society understood and adhered to God’s commandments. I was asked to speak at a women’s retreat about Zion, and specifically, how a Zion society looks and operates in contrast to a Babylonian/Gadianton society. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed.