Zion (Latter Day Saints)

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For other uses, see Zion (disambiguation).

Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a utopian association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were minimized, and group unity achieved.[citation needed] While Zion has often been linked with theocracy, the concept of Zion did not theoretically require such a governmental system.[citation needed] In this way, Zion must be distinguished from the ideal political system called theodemocracy which Mormons believed would be adopted upon Christ's Second Coming. However, "Zion" maintains several possible meanings within the Latter-day Saint lexicon.

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[edit] Latter-day Saint Usage of "Zion"

  1. Zion retains its Biblical meaning and refers to Jerusalem; (See Zion)
  2. Zion is the name of a physical city founded by the prophet Enoch, also known as the City of Enoch;
  3. Zion refers to the New Jerusalem, a physical, Millennial city expected to be located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri;
  4. Zion metaphorically refers to any group of people that are unified and "pure in heart"; the City of Enoch is one example of "a Zion people"; for Zion to be fully realized, the society must be willing to live the Law of Consecration based on mutual feelings of charity, which is the pure love of Christ;
  5. Zion is the central physical location to which Latter Day Saints have gathered; the term has been applied to Kirtland, Ohio; Jackson County, Missouri; Nauvoo, Illinois; and the Salt Lake Valley;
  6. Zion is also, according to Joseph Smith, the Americas. Joseph Smith stated that "Zion is all of North and South America".
  7. Zion is a metaphor for a unified society of Latter Day Saints, metaphorically gathered as members of the Church of Christ; in this sense any Stake of the church may be referred to as a "stake of Zion"

[edit] History

Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote of Zion even before the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In April of 1829, he dictated a revelation which urged he and his scribe, Oliver Cowdery, to "seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion."[1] The attempt to reach that goal became a driving force in early Mormon history, and remains a powerful influence among Mormons today.

In its broadest sense, Zion is regarded by Latter Day Saints as an association of the "pure in heart." [2] Central to Zion's philosophical underpinnings was a sense of community cohesiveness and unity, a concept which seemed to be unraveling in the world of Jacksonian Democracy. Smith taught that the people of Zion would have all things in common (see United Order), and would not allow others in their community to suffer because of the principles of love, unselfishness, and work for the common good which would be imbued in the individuals capable of maintaining such a society. Zion therefore stands in contrast to proverbial Babylon, where wickedness, disunity, and poverty prevail.

Soon after the founding of the LDS church in April, 1830, Smith designated a physical location for the Saints to build Zion, and which he taught would be the site of the future New Jerusalem. On July 20, 1831, Joseph Smith, Jr. stated that he had received a revelation that designated Missouri as the "land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints."[3]. The revelation further stated, "Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and the spot for the temple is lying westward…"[4] Smith later envisioned the Missouri temple as being the starting point for the creation of a New Jerusalem: "Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation."[5]. However, mob violence forced the Mormons from the environs of Independence by the end of 1833. The local Missourians objected to the Saints' political views (including Mormon support of abolition), their religious beliefs, and their growing population which would soon wrest political power in Jackson County from the "old settlers'" hands.

However, a revelation through Joseph Smith makes clear the belief that the Saints were unable to establish Zion in "consequence of their transgressions."[6] The revelation continues that among the Saints there were "jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances."[7] Zion could only be established by those who had spiritually prepared themselves to do so. Thus, while many conceive Zion as an autocratic theocracy which would force people to be good, just the opposite is true. Zion was not to be differentiated from its surroundings by a governmental system, but rather by the righteousness of the individuals that made up the community.

The Saints were finally driven from Missouri in 1838 as a consequence of the Mormon War and Governor Lilburn Boggs' Extermination Order. After this time, Zion maintained its general definition of a society of the righteous, but the importance of Zion as a specific piece of geography (Jackson County, Missouri) began to lose its importance. However, Mormons continue to believe that as the New Jerusalem, Zion will be built in Missouri in the tumultuous times preceding the Second Coming. Zion also became a euphemism for wherever the Saints were gathered, be it Nauvoo, Illinois; Utah, or in many congregations throughout the world. The term "Zion" has been applied by many Latter-day Saints to mean specifically the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding regions. The term is even used mockingly in the term "Zion Curtain" (similar to Iron Curtain), suggesting the cultural divide between areas with a high concentration of Mormons and the surrounding regions.

Today the Latter-day Saints are still counseled by the scriptures and their leaders to build up the cause of Zion,[8] and prepare themselves to be worthy of such a society.

[edit] Zion, the City of Enoch

Geographical uses of the name "Zion" are associated with references in the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, where Enoch the son of Jared founds a city for the righteous descendants of Adam.[9] This city became so righteous and pure that it was translated (taken)[10] from the presence of the earth[11] and brought into the presence of God, leaving behind on earth only Methuselah and his family (including Noah) to repopulate the earth with righteous people. Latter-day Saints believe that, at the Second Coming, Zion the City of Enoch will return to the earth from heaven.

[edit] See also

Latter-day Saints Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 6:6
  2. ^ Moses 7:18
  3. ^ Covenant 57:1
  4. ^ Covenant 57:3
  5. ^ Covenant 84:4
  6. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 101:2
  7. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 101:6
  8. ^ Covenant 6:6
  9. ^ Moses 7:19
  10. ^ Moses 7:21
  11. ^ Moses 7:69