Zion

David is taking a Doctrine & Covenants class right now. He was given an assignment to respond to a hypothetical situation in which a home-teachee asks what Zion has to do with Jesus Christ or the gospel. What is all the talk about Zion and what does it mean for us? This is what I came up with to help him think about this topic:

D&C 97:21
“Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion—THE PURE IN HEART; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn.”

The most generally used definition of Zion is “the pure in heart,” among whom we all should desire to be counted. The idea of being numbered among the pure in heart is not exclusive to the notion of Zion itself. We see this motif repeated numerous times in the scriptures as Christ invites us to develop ourselves, to become perfected as He is (3 Nephi 27:27, Matthew 5:48) and to be numbered among His people (Matthew 25:33). Brigham Young taught that the purpose of building Zion is to sanctify the children of God through the ordinances of salvation:

“We have been gathered … for the express purpose of purifying ourselves, that we may become polished stones in the temple of God. We are here for the purpose of establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth. To be prepared for this work it has been necessary to gather us out from the nations and countries of the world [to receive] the ordinances of the holy Priesthood of the Son of God, which are necessary for the perfection of the Saints preparatory to his coming…” (DBY, 121).

“The ordinance of sealing must be performed here [son] to [father], and woman to man, and children to parents, etc, until the chain of generation is made perfect in the sealing ordinances back to Father Adam; hence, we have been commanded to gather ourselves together, to come out of Babylon [see D&C 133:5, 7, 14], and sanctify ourselves, and build up the Zion of our God, by building cities and temples, redeeming countries from the solitude of nature, until the earth is sanctified and prepared for the residence of God and angels…” (DBY, 407).

Everything Jesus Christ taught eventually leads to the idea of perfecting ourselves through obedience to laws and ordinances of the gospel so that we may one day return to the presence of our Heavenly Father and live in eternal glory, with eternal progression, with others who have chosen to aspire to the same standard of existence. If we cannot achieve minimal Zionist characteristics now, there would be no joy in spending eternity among such associations.

Since the beginning of time, every major civilization has produced thinkers who have contemplated a Utopian society with perfect laws and safe streets and no poor. This idea has even lead to some of the most evil villains this world has seen. Hitler's idea was to rid society of all ills. He just didn't quite get the whole picture and missed the lesson on the worth of a soul. Communism and fascism and many other forms of corrupt civilization have been Satan's counterfeit models of Zion societies. They often look good at face value, thus leading to the destruction of many. But each of these societies have failed, because while they advertise some aspects of Zionist ideals such as zero poverty or consecration style living (communism), or one mind (Hitler's youth, mass genocide, brainwashing an entire generation of Cambodian children, raising children without familial units, secret societies), they fail to encompass the holistic notion of a universal community composed of the pure in heart.

Everything we are commanded to do or say or be ends with us being more suitable for eternal relationships. If we can't learn to love God and to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:35-40), we would be miserable in the Kingdom of Heaven. With such a loving God as ours, he would not submit us to such eternal torture if we chose to alienate ourselves from Zion. Zion means becoming the kind of person that others would enjoy spending eternity with. As I establish Zion in my community and my home and most critically in my own heart, I have to constantly ask myself if my husband or family or friends would want to be stuck with me forever. If that is not motivation to change and make myself, and the world a better place, I don't know what is.