A Zion People

A scriptural favorite of mine is the seventh chapter in the book of Moses wherein the prophet Enoch receives a powerful vision of the Earth and its inhabitants. Multiple times in this chapter, Enoch asks, even pleads with the Lord, "When will the Earth have rest?" referring to the great wickedness that was rampant in his day and up through the ages. In response to his cry, the Lord showed him the coming of Jesus Christ and then on to the end of the world. Enoch was told,
"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...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...and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem" Moses 7:62

Throughout the ages the idea of Zion has been cherished in the scriptures as the place where the saints dwell. The psalmist described it as "the perfection of beauty" (Ps. 50:2) and the prophet Isaiah called it, "The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 60:14)." While Zion can be considered an actual, geographical place, it also can refer to the state of heart in which the people of God live on this earth and because of its state of purity and unity of purpose before the Lord, it is the goal and dream of all the righteous to this day.

"And 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

As it was their desire of old, it is our desire today to attain such unity. The Lord requires His people to be undivided; how else can they accomplish the great tasks He has in mind for them? Their hearts must be knit together and they must love and care for one another. How is it that we can accomplish this in our own lives? It is when we serve our God and our neighbor and are charitable toward them. Remember, the first great commandments are to love God with all our heart, might, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves.

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is crucial for this creation of Zion out from Babylon (or the world). It is through the application of gospel truths that people will be changed individually and collectively to be able to live harmoniously as God desires for us. To this end, missionaries around the world are teaching this gospel and inviting people into Christ's fold.

This endeavor will not be fully accomplished before the second coming of Jesus Christ but the growth will continue and fill the whole world until we are prepared to be blessed with the presence of Jesus Christ.

One of the wonderful talks given this past general conference was by Elder D. Todd Christofferson entitled, "Come to Zion." and is very much worth reading.

"Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion - The pure in heart; therefore, let Zion rejoice." D&C 97:21

An Answered Prayer

I started writing an article on a different topic today, but I couldn't get my head around it. Every way I phrased my words seemed wrong or incomplete. As we say in the Church, I had a stupor of thought.

I had the feeling to discuss something else:

Before studying the scriptures this morning, I closed my eyes and offered a silent prayer. Often times (too often) I pray for the same, routine blessings, "bless me with thy spirit, help me understand, give me guidance, etc." Nothing wrong with any of those things, just that they are so vague and I tend not to think too hard about them.

This morning I was about to do the same thing, but I paused and recognized a problem in my life. There is a person I treat poorly. Some would call it a 'personality conflict,' but it's really all about pride. Mine and his. Mostly mine. Problem is (and it really makes me ill to admit), I've come to enjoy putting him down, and making him the butt-end of jokes. This morning in my prayer, I asked for the grace to want to love him with a Christ-like type of love.

I opened my Book of Mormon to Mosiah 4 and started reading, but the verses still floated in and out of focus. I'm sure you know the feeling of reaching the end of a page and thinking, "Do I remember anything I just read?" Anyway, I woke myself up enough once I reached Mosiah 4:12, which read,

And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

This stuck out to me. It was the exact answer to my prayer, but I had to go back and read the previous verses again to find out what the "this" was that I had to do.

And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

There is a lot there to ponder. What really made me think was that God is greater than us all, and he knows all of our weaknesses, yet he still loves this person I struggle with. Who am I, in my nothingness, an unworthy creature, to maltreat this person? Am I saying that my judgment of the man is better than God's?

I need to submerge myself in 'the depths of humility' before Heavenly Father. It's very easy to come to this conclusion, but a terrifying and difficult thing to do. It means surrendering what I think is good (or fun or funny) for what I know the Lord desires. It also means trying to see him in a better light and treating him as a child of God, an heir! This particular relationship will take time to mend, but at least it feels good to be heading in the right direction for a change.

If we put a little more thought and effort into our prayers, the answers that come will be more powerful and profound. I know that much is true.

The Pure Love of Christ

Following our baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, we Mormons are commanded to 'endure to the end,' a phrase that I must confess leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. When I think of 'enduring,' the image I get is that of being tied to a pickup truck and dragged along the gravel road. Just survive; that's the aim.

This is not, I believe, what the phrase intends.

"Stay faithful to the end" or "Overcome all obstacles till the end" or "Grow and develop to the end." These might be better translations. This last one is the one I want to elaborate on, for we are on earth to change and improve ourselves and this means seeking after spiritual gifts.

The Prophet Joseph was once asked about the objectives we have after joining the Church, to which he responded:

"Suppose I am traveling and am hungry, and meet with a man and tell him I am hungry, and he tells me to go yonder, there is a house of entertainment, go and knock, and you must conform to all the rules of the house, or you cannot satisfy your hunger; knock, call for food, sit down and eat; --and I go and knock, and ask for food, and sit down to the table, but do not eat, shall I satisfy my hunger? No. I must eat. The gifts are the food; and the graces of the Spirit are the gifts of the Spirit."

Each of us has natural propensities for certain gifts which may be augmented and expanded under the influence of the Holy Ghost. Some have a knack for learning foreign languages, others have the gift of leadership. There are many gifts, but the greatest of all is the gift of charity -- the capacity to love. This gift is for everyone.

Think of someone you admire -- you look up to. Someone who has been really influential in your life. Chances are, you picked a generous and kind person. These attributes are the ones we appreciate and prize most in others, and we can all apply ourselves to obtain them.

The Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni taught, "...pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ..." (Moroni 7:46-48)

I have learned from experience that this prayer does not cause the proverbial wand to wave. As with all things we learn on earth we take it step by step and this prayer is a first, but necessary step. Take it, and you will begin to see the Lord's hand in changing your heart.