Zion

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Zion

• Khinckley1_at_yahoo.com

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Richard E. BennettLDS Historian

• By the time the emigration party reached the
  Weber River at the foot of Echo Canyon- despite
  the comforts of Woodruffs carriage and all the
  prayers, blessings, and medicines in camp-
  Brigham had suffered a serious relapse and
  appeared worse than before, totally incapable of
  further travel.
• Fearing the worst, all the Apostles in camp, with
  a few selected others, ascended a nearby high
  mountain, where in a special circle of faith they
  prayed to Almighty God for their leader and all
  the other sick in camp.
• Brigham eventually rallied, but not before
  unwillingly testing the faith and allegiance of a
  once more tried and humbled band. (Well Find
  the Place, p. 213)

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Brigham Young

• If we are united, we are independent of the
  powers of hell and of the world
• A perfect oneness will save a people,
  because intelligent beings cannot become
  perfectly one, only by acting upon
  principles that pertain to eternal life

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Prophet Joseph Smith

• 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 they have looked forward with
  joyful anticipation to the day in which we live
  and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations
  they have sung and written and prophesied of this
  our day but they died without the sight
• we are the favored people that God has made
  choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory it
  is left for us to see, participate in and help to
  roll forward the Latter-day glory

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DC 97

• 15 And inasmuch as my people build a
  house unto me in the name of
  the Lord
• 16 my presence shall be there, for I will come
  into it, and all the pure in heart that shall
  come into it shall see God.
• 18 And, now, behold, if Zion do these things she
  shall 1) prosper, and spread herself and become
  very glorious...
• 19 And the nations of the earth 2) shall honor
  her
• 20 And he hath sworn by the power of his might 3)
  to be her salvation and her high tower.
• 21 Thereforelet 4) Zion rejoice, for this is
  Zion
• 22 For behold, and lo, vengeance cometh speedily
  upon the ungodly as the whirlwind and who shall
  escape it?
• 25 Nevertheless, 5) Zion shall escape if she
  observe to do all things whatsoever I have
  commanded her.

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President Kimball

• As important as it is to have this vision
  in mind, defining and describing Zion will
  not bring it about. That can only be done
  through consistent and concerted daily effort by
  every single member of the Church. No matter what
  the cost in toil or sacrifice, we must do it.
  That is one of my favorite phrases Do It.
• May I suggest three fundamental things we must do
  if we are to bring again Zion, three things for
  which we who labor for Zion must commit ourselves.

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First

• First, we must eliminate the individual tendency
  to selfishness that snares the soul, shrinks the
  heart, and darkens the mind.
• President Marion G. Romney has referred to the
  tragic cycle of civilization, a cycle
  propelled by anyone who seeks for power
  and gain.
• Did not Nephi single this out as the
  spirit which led his generation to
  destruction?

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Secondly

• Second, we must cooperate completely and work in
  harmony one with the other. There must be
  unanimity in our decisions and unity in our
  actions.
• If the Spirit of the Lord is to magnify our
  labors, then this spirit of oneness and
  cooperation must be the prevailing spirit in all
  that we do.
• Moreover, when we do so, we are told by the
  Prophet Joseph Smith that the greatest temporal
  and spiritual blessings which always come from
  faithfulness and concentrated effort, never
  attended individual exertion or enterprise.
  (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 183.)

The Spirit
Our Calling
Each Member
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Third

• Third, we must sacrifice whatever is required
  by the Lord. We
  begin by offering a broken
  heart and a contrite spirit. We follow this
  by giving our best
  effort in our assigned
  fields of labor and in our callings. We learn
  our duty and execute
  it fully. Finally we
  consecrate our time, talents, and means as
  called upon by our file leaders
  and as prompted by the whisperings of the Spirit.
  
• In the Church, we can give expression to every
  ability, every righteous desire, every thoughtful
  impulse. Whether a volunteer, father, home
  teacher, bishop, or neighbor, whether a visiting
  teacher, mother, homemaker, or friendthere is
  ample opportunity to give our all
• My brothers and sisters, if we can do this, then
  we will find ourselves clothed in the mantle of
  charity which is the greatest of all, for all
  things must fail

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NOT-ZION
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To the School of the Prophets

• DC 978
• Verily I say unto you, all among them who know
  their hearts are honest, and are broken, and
  their spirits contrite, and are willing to
  observe their covenants by sacrificeyea, every
  sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall commandthey
  are accepted of me.

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Elder Oaks

• the Final Judgement is not just an
  evaluation of a sum total of good and evil
  acts what we have done.
• It is an acknowledgement of the final effect of
  our acts and thoughts- what we have become.
• It is not enough for anyone just to go through
  the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and
  covenants of the gospel are not a list of
  deposits required to be made in some heavenly
  account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan
  that shows us how to become what our Heavenly
  Father desires us to become.