Last Sunday our Sunday School lesson was entitled "Zion - The Pure In Heart". I thought as I studied the lesson how much becoming a Zion person is at the other end of the spectrum of someone who is an inactive member of the Church. Somewhere between being a Zion member and an inactive member we encounter all sorts of members. Ones who sit on the fence and come to Church because they know they should and do little else about their membership, ones who consider the Church to be a social club and somewhere to belong, ones who choose what commandments they will live and live the gospel as it suits them. Some members have barely wet feet and others are knee deep in the Church and strive with all their might to live the Gospel. These members are Zion people.
In D&C 6:6, we are admonished to 'seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion'. This should make every member feel the need and urgency to put their life into order and strive to become a Zion person. One only needs to consider the condition of this world to be convinced that the time of the Saviour's coming is near, even at hand. "For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory" (D&C 34:7) When the Saviour comes we will not stand to experience the Millenium if we are not a Zion people. I've reflected a lot on my own worthiness during the past week and have sadly concluded that after nearly 40 years of Church membership I should be much further ahead than what I am. Thank goodness for repentance and hopefully enough time for improvement before the Saviour makes an appearance because right now I am not sure I am yet a Zion person.
The Saviour's call for the Church to rise in strength of Zion is found in D&C 82:14: "For Zion must increase in beauty and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments". President Franklin D. Richards explained: "What are these beautiful garments? These beautiful garments are the clothing upon with the authority and power of the Holy Priesthood. It is that which makes people beautiful; it is that which makes people useful...." (Journal of Discourses, 21:195). President Eyring made clear the purpose and destiny of those who have the holy priesthood upon them in this dispensation: "The destiny of the rising generation of priesthood holders is far more than to be ready to bring God's power down to heal the sick. The preparation is to be ready to go and do whatever the Lord wants done as the world is preparing for His coming". (Eyring, "Be Ready", Ensign, Nov. 2009, 59) I don't know all things the Lord will ask of us before He comes but I know we need to be so knee deep in the Gospel and so committed that we will do anything.
To be Zion people, we cannot sit at the door of the chapel hoping the holiness will rub off on us, but need to be so far into the Church that its' principles and teachings dictate our every action. We need to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost to have him purify our hearts and sanctify us and form us into the image of God. Our hearts need to become pure and free of any malice and selfishness and full of love for our fellowman. If we do not become like this we will not be able to abide the Zion community and the Zion way of life in the Millenium. Here's what President Spencer W. Kimball had to say about this:
"Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people. Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart. Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism. No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart". (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p 363)
I've concluded that there are three qualifications needed to belong to a Zion society:
1. Personal righteousness;
2. Love of fellowman;
3. Detachment from worldliness.
If we strive to obey the two greatest commandments on daily basis we can accomplish this . The Saviour made clear what these commandments are:
"37...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38. This is the first and great commandment.
39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)
Why does everything depend on obedience of these two? Because if we obey these two, we will be obeying all the rest too.
I've pondered on why some of us fail to make this preparation for Zion a priority in our lives and why we get so immersed and lost in the business of living in this telestial world rather than 'seeking for the things of a better' as Emma Smith was counselled to do (D&C 25:10). The only answer that comes to my mind is that we give little thought to what life in Zion during the Millenium will really be like. Imagine a society free of crime, war, pestilence and natural disasters; a government with a member of the Godhead at the helm; where food is plentiful without hard labour, where there are no poor among us and people live in happiness. Wouldn't you want that? If anything, rather than being attached to this telestial world where there is so much suffering and evil and life is just plain hard, we should be wanting to let go of it and look forward to a better way of life a hundred times over. We should heed Alma's admonition: "....come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things..."(Alma 5:57)
Zion starts in one's heart. You can be a Zion person here and now. And you can exert so much righteous influence on those around you that you could have Zion anywhere: in your home, in your community, in your country, and eventually the world. It all starts with a handful who are willing. The Church was organised with just 6 members. Now we number 15,000,000. Without the work of those 6 members we would not be numbering into millions now. According to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, half of us will not be invited to the wedding feast when the Saviour comes, remembering the 10 Virgins represent the Church members only. This means a lot of us will miss out. With tongue in cheek, I guess it all depends on whether you like weddings.
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