Zion vs. Babylon

It is ironic to place the words Zion and Babylon in the same sentence. They are exact opposites of each other, both ideologically and in physical application. However, in our modern society today, in light of the restored gospel, most do not understand what the goals and attributes of each society are. Even worse, most Latter-day Saints have a mistaken idea of which of the two kingdoms they are helping to build. There is no lack of attention on the part of early dispensation leaders to the issues of Zion and their repugnance toward Babylon, but it seems that over time, the lines have been purposely blurred in the discernment of one from the other. The purpose of this pamphlet therefore, is to accomplish the following:

1. Identify Zion and its attributes.

2. Identify Babylon and its characteristics.

3. Review the history of the Saints in the cause of Zion.

4. View the performance of the Saints today in relation to Zion, contrasted by the scriptures and words of the Prophets.

5. Bear witness of the redemption of Zion and the conditions required of God’s covenant people.

This is a day of warning, and not a day of many words, and the Lord is not to be mocked in the last days. (see D&C 63:58) A repentant and prayerful heart is needed to accept and comprehend God’s covenants in these last days. We invite all men to serve the only true God and despise and abhor the presence of sin and evil.

THE ZION OF GOD

The tenth Article of Faith as originally penned by Joseph Smith states, “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restoration of the ten tribes; that Zion will be established upon the western continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth a thousand years; and that the earth will be renewed, and receive its paradisiacal glory.” (note: this reads different from the current day article 10) Joseph Smith brought forth vital knowledge of the literal establishment of Zion, which connects our day with the ancient world and their hope of Zion. No other Christian religion espoused such a firm footing on the need for this type of society before the Lord could come to earth and dwell with them.

As early as 1829, before the Church was even organized, the Lord was admonishing Joseph and his brethren to seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion. (see D&C 6:6) All of the restored doctrines and principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were meant to be implemented by the people so that Zion could be established. It was the refining and purifying process of living celestial laws that enabled a person to cleanse and prove himself for an inheritance in Zion.

What is Zion? Hugh Nibley wrote:

Zion is a code word denoting a very real thing. Zion is any community in which the celestial order prevails. Zion is the “pure in heart” (D&C 97:21), but Zion is also a real city or any number of real cities. It is a constant; it is unchanging. There are Zions among all the worlds, and there are Zions that come and go. Zion is a constant in time and place- it belongs to the order of the eternities……In every dispensation, we are told, there has been a Zion on the earth; first of all in the time of Adam, when “the Holy One of Zion…established the foundations of Adam-ondi-Ahman” (D&C 78:15). After Adam, Enoch had his Zion when “the Lord called his people Zion” and Enoch “built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even ZION.” (Moses 7:18-19) (Approaching Zion, Hugh Nibley, 1989, p. 4-5)

Enoch’s city was physically translated from this earth to a terrestrial state, to a place in the universe closer to the throne of God. The goal of the adherents of the restored gospel should be to find out how the translation of the City of Enoch can be duplicated in our day. We know that, as fulfillment of God’s word, that the Zion from below will be caught up to meet the Zion from above and be clothed with the glory of God. (see D&C 84:100-102) We know that the City of Enoch will return and those who are found worthy to be in Zion, the New Jerusalem, will embrace and reunite with those inhabitants of the City of Enoch.

And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest. And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years; (Moses 7:63-65)

There are certain principles that must be embraced and applied to qualify a person to dwell in Zion. The following is a brief review:

1. Law of the Gathering:

And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts; Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked. (D&C 29:7-8)

And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God; And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion. And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another. And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand. And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy. (D&C 45:66-71)

That my covenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I shall come to my temple. And this I do for the salvation of my people. (D&C 42:36)

And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath. And they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of smoke.And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven. And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place; And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off. (D&C 45:40-44)

The gathering of the Elect in the last days is just as much a physical gathering to a geographical place as it is a spiritual gathering of like minded saints. This is a constant in time and eternity; the righteous remnant in the last days is to be gathered in unto one place, not scattered all over the planet.

2. Law of Consecration

The one condition most suited to bring a people into unity of heart and mind is an equal footing in temporal matters. Therefore, the Law of Consecration serves as the benchmark for the creation of a Zion people. This is why Satan and his counterfeit economies have pushed the Saints and the entire world away from this exalting principle.

That you may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and earthly things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things.

For if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly things; For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you. (D&C 78:5-7)

But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin. (D&C 49:20)

Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather unto the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you. And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you. (D&C 119:5-6)

Brigham Young stated:

There is another revelation still prior to this time, stating that it is the duty of all people who go to Zion to consecrate all their property to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This revelation was referred to at the April Conference in 1854. It was one of the first commandments or revelations given to this people after they had the privilege of organizing themselves as a Church, as a body, as the kingdom of God on the earth. I observed then, and I now think, that it will be one of the last revelations which the people will receive into their hearts and understandings, of their own free will and choice, and esteem it as a pleasure, a privilege, and a blessing unto them to observe and keep most holy……….Said the Lord to Joseph, “See if they will give their farms to me.” What was the result? They would not do it, though it was one of the plainest things in the world. No revelation that was ever given is more easy of comprehension than that on the law of consecration, which the Christians had acknowledged all their days, and we are all Christians by birth, and all believed that we owned nothing, but that all belonged to the Giver of all good. We believe in God the Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and we believe that he was actually going to possess the earth, and reign with his people on the earth; that all is his, and forever will be. Yet, when the Lord spoke to Joseph, instructing him to counsel the people to consecrate their possessions, and deed them over to the Church in a covenant that cannot be broken, would the people listen to it? No, but they began to find out that they were mistaken, and had only acknowledged with their mouths that the things which they possessed were the Lord’s. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2:299,305-306)

In 1873, Orson Pratt said this regarding the living of the Law of Consecration:

Now I believe that before the redemption of Zion, there will be a voluntary feeling to carry out the celestial law. I found my belief on the prophecies that are given in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord has said that before Zion is redeemed she shall be as fair as the sun, clear as the moon, and her banners shall be a terror to all nations. And that it is needful that Zion should be built up according to the law of the celestial kingdom, or I cannot receive her unto myself. He cannot receive her only as she is built up according to the full law of consecration. All the Zions that have ever been redeemed, from all the creations that God has made, have been redeemed upon that principle. And God has told us in the revelation given to ancient Enoch, “I have taken Zion to mine own bosom out of all the creations that I have made.” Now if he has done this-if he has selected Zions, he has done it from the different worlds, by the celestial law; and they are sanctified by the same law, and they dwell in his bosom-that is under his council and watch care, in the presence of his glory, exalted before him, all redeemed by the same law, hence partakes of the glory, the same exaltation, the same fullness in the eternal worlds. Therefore if the latter-day Zion would be counted worthy to mingle with the ancient Zion of Enoch, caught up before the flood, if they would be counted `worthy, when the Zion of Enoch comes, to be caught up to meet them, and to fall upon their necks and they to fall upon the necks of the Latter-day Saints, and if they would enjoy the same glory, the same exaltation with ancient Zion, they must comply with the same law. “I can not receive Zion to myself,” saith the Lord, “unless built up by this law.” There will be a great preparation before the redemption of Zion. Supposing we should all be returned, say this fall, or next year, to Jackson County. Say a large majority should be returned to the land of our inheritances, in Missouri, and in the regions round about, and it should be said to us, “Go ye my sons and build up Zion according to the celestial law, through consecration of the property of my Church, as I have commanded,” would you be prepared to do this work? Have you an experience in it? Have you learned the lessons by experience? No, no. (Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16:158)

The Law of Consecration must be implemented by God’s covenant people prior to qualifying to inhabit or become Zion. The law of tithing is not the full Law of Consecration, and will not, in and of itself, qualify anyone for a Zion status. In fact, if a person does not seek out and actually live the full Law of Consecration, he will be rejected by the Lord because, in His words: “And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself.” (D&C 105:5)

Those who have made covenants in the Temple Endowment should understand the reality of the Law of Consecration. The implementation of today’s financial structure is pure Babylon and does not remotely resemble or qualify for the title of Zion. The Saints should not fool themselves into thinking that their current course in Babylon’s financial world is sufficient to fulfill the covenants they have made to build up Zion. It is in the valiance to correct principles and truth that affords the Lord’s deliverance in these last days.

3. Repentance, temporally and politically

The word ‘Repent’ in ancient definition means ‘to return’ to the Lord. This necessarily requires us to recognize our sins on a temporal basis and seek to repent of our adherence to Satan’s system of finance and bondage. This mode of economy now in operation today is not God’s way. We must recognize and repent of supporting a system of which Satan is the master. Do the Saints in the last days assume that some miraculous event is going to change their character and disposition from a Babylonian mind set to that of a Zion people without being tried in the laws that pertain to Zion? Absolutely not. Not anymore than a sinner can be exalted in sin, never having proven himself obedient.

We cannot be empowered to become a Zion people while operating and thriving in a system which is dedicated to the overthrow of Zion. The world’s economic system today trains people in the Master Mahan principle of power and gain and seeks not the welfare of Zion. Many Latter-day Saint leaders and followers have stated that the laws of Zion, such as consecration and plural marriage will be lived in the Millennium, and they, therefore, are not under the necessity of living them now. Most will be surprised to find that they will not enter into the Millennium unless they have been tried in these laws in a Telestial setting first.

No one should expect to move into a kingdom whose rules they have not qualified for. This is true in time and in eternity. Of all people, the Latter-day Saints should understand that if we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. [see D&C 130:20-21] It also follows that an automatic change of heart toward Zion and her laws will not occur when a person’s life focus has been their success in Babylon. Deathbed repentance has never worked in the plan of the eternities. Joseph Smith said:

We should take warning and not wait for the death-bed to repent, as we see the infant taken away by death, so may the youth and middle-aged, as well as the infant be suddenly called into eternity. Let this, then, prove as a warning to all not to procrastinate repentance, or wait till a death-bed, for it is the will of God that man should repent and serve him in health, and in the strength and power of his mind, in order to secure his blessing, and not wait until he is called to die. (TPJS , p. 197)

Political repentance requires a recognition of support to a contrary plan which opposes Zion. Satan implements his own counterfeit to Zion by introducing man-made global ‘peace’ and a one world government. This plan is attempting to annihilate the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom in the Millennium, and impose tyranny and slavery on mankind. This secret combination is clearly identified in the Book of Mormon and we are advised to not let this awful situation overcome us to our destruction. (Ether 8:22-25).

We testify that this very conspiracy is at work today, that misery and death are the fruits of this Satanic plot. It encompasses all nations, even the United States. Do not be fooled by anyone who will state that the New World Order, global peace, or the United Nations are tools for the spreading of the Gospel or the peaceful path to the Millennium. Such men are wolves in sheep’s clothing and are enemies to God. The Lord has advised His people not to make covenants with foreign gods:

Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee. (Exodus 23:32-33)

Fearing men and governments more than God has always been a weakness of the covenant people in every dispensation. Acts 5:29 states, “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”

The Lord will call out and separate the Elect by His own voice and instruct His covenant people in the ways of deliverance. But, this will only occur as these Elect wake up to their current plight and become willing to serve God at all costs. These Saints must repent of their attachments to wicked governments and economic systems that oppose Zion. (see D&C 84:54-59, 105:5)

Joseph Smith taught the saints that the building up of Zion should be their greatest object:

We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object. When wars come, we shall have to flee to Zion. The cry is to make haste. The revelation says, Ye shall not have time to have gone over the earth, until these things come. It will come as did the cholera, war, fires, and earthquakes; one pestilence after another, until the Ancient of Days comes, then judgment will be given to the Saints. (TPJS, p. 160-161)

The day is soon coming when the cries of peace, safety, and ‘All is well in Zion’ will evaporate as the prophesies of the very last days begin to unfold. Joseph Smith had this to say about these times:

The time is soon coming, when no man will have any peace but in Zion and her stakes. I saw men hunting the lives of their own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and daughters seeking the lives of their mothers. I saw armies arrayed against armies. I saw blood, desolation, fires. The Son of Man has said that the mother shall be against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother. These things are at our doors. They will follow the Saints of God from city to city. Satan will rage, and the spirit of the devil is now enraged. I know not how soon these things will take place; but with a view of them, shall I cry peace? No: I will lift up my voice and testify of them. How long you will have good crops, and the famine be kept off, I do not know; when the fig tree leaves, know then that the summer is nigh at hand. (TPJS, p. 161)

4. Repentance of personal sins and acceptance of Christ’s Atonement.

We know that no unclean thing can enter the Kingdom of Heaven and that God cannot look upon sin with any degree of allowance. Through the process of true repentance, baptism, and having an eye single to the glory of God, the Atonement of Christ is made available to God’s children. This is a necessary prerequisite that prepares a person for the path to Zion.

Christ is the keeper of the gate and employs no servant there. We must do the works of Christ to merit His Atoning sacrifice; today that consists of the Lord’s servants preparing the earth to receive its rightful heir, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Zion is the bride which is to make herself ready for the marriage to the bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

This earth will eventually be given to Christ as His inheritance and Kingdom. All who serve Satan and any part of his counterfeit kingdom will be swept off when the Lord’s judgments come out in full force and fury. Satan himself will be bound and Jesus Christ will reclaim this earth as His own. Whether in ignorance or full knowledge, those who support Satan’s corrupt systems, receive worldly comfort from their participation in wickedness, and who enjoy friendship with the world and its fashions and appetites, will be made to feel the wrath and judgment of a just God upon their heads.

5. Willingness to sacrifice all earthly things to build up Zion.

In relation to today’s possessive materialism and ownership mentality created by the competitive marketplace, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught some possibly disturbing doctrines regarding the sacrifice of family, friends, and material things for a knowledge of the truth. These teachings used to be a part of the Doctrine and Covenants until the early 1900’s. Joseph teaches:

For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also-counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ-requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, and most assuredly knows that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when those sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God….Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life. It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtain faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they, in like manner, offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him. (Lectures on Faith, Lecture 6: 5, 7-9)

The only way Zion can be built up and redeemed is by the willingness of the Saints to live all the laws, receive the ordinances, keep all the covenants, and be willing to sacrifice all earthly things. These things must be done to merit a rightful place in the Zion of our God.

The desire of true Saints has always been the establishment of a Zion society where God Himself could come and dwell. This is the same spirit that exists today in those who follow the Spirit of the Lord.

Hugh Nibley states:

The Bible contains a fairly complete description of Zion, but there is one aspect of it that only the Latter-day Saints have taken to heart (or did formerly), and it is that doctrine that sets them off most sharply from all other religions, namely, the belief that Zion is possible on the earth, that men possess the capacity to receive it right here and are therefore under obligation to waste no time moving in the direction of Zion. The instant one realizes that Zion is a possibility, one has no choice but to identify himself with the program that will bring about the quickest possible realization of its perfection. The call is to awake and arise, to “push many people to Zion with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads” (D&C 66:11)….When Zion descends to earth, it must be met by a Zion that is already here. (Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, p. 28-29)

Brigham Young expressed his views as to the focus of the Saints in this last dispensation;

We have no business here other than to build up and establish the Zion of God. It must be done according to the will and law of God, after that pattern and order by which Enoch built up and perfected the former-day Zion, which was taken away to heaven, hence the saying went abroad that Zion had fled. By and by it will come back again, and as Enoch prepared his people to be worthy of translation, so we through our faithfulness must prepare ourselves to meet Zion from above when it shall return to earth, and to abide the brightness and glory of its coming. (JD 18:356)

BABYLON

“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.”(2nd Nephi 2:11) This is true pertaining to Zion as well. There is a scriptural name for Zion’s opposing kingdom and it is called Babylon. Babylon is the epitome of Satan’s kingdom. It is the exact opposite from Zion in every way. Satan exclaimed when he was cast out of the Garden of Eden that he would usurp the treasures and riches of the earth and reign with blood and horror on the earth. Babylon is the implementation of that threat. It did not take long to implement this sinister ideology among the children of Adam. Cain was influenced by Satan to yield to his base desires with promises of power, gain, and control through plunder and murder, therefore, an entire economic system was set in place which has enslaved men and set up class distinctions, created great wealth to some and great poverty to most others. This has spawned greed, lust, hatred, vice, oppression, inequality, and much violence and bloodshed. In fact, most all wars on this planet have occurred through selfishness, lust for power and coveting the resources of a neighbor. The practice of charging interest on money does not come from God. Satan uses this corrupt system as a means of control and oppressing the poor and subjugating the masses under the yoke of those who are wealthy.

This class distinction is not based on righteousness in the least, and is the exact opposite of the principles and stewardships in Zion. Yet, in this day and age, many have subscribed to Satan’s system of usurpation and control. In this system the rich get richer and poor get poorer, which is not based on merit or righteousness. The mentality of competitiveness and one-upmanship was introduced and is part of our free enterprise system. This ‘dog eat dog’ mentality has been around in society for so long that it is thought of as a virtue.

Hugh Nibley shares a clear view of Babylon when he wrote the following:

We can’t discuss Zion very long without running into Babylon, because Babylon is, in all things, the counterpart of Zion. It is described just as fully, clearly, and vividly in the scriptures as Zion is and usually in direct relationship to it. “By the rivers of Babylon … we wept, when we remembered Zion” when word comes to ” remove out of the midst of Babylon” (Jeremiah 50:5, 8). “There will be the voice of them that flee out of the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord,” and, “Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon”. (Zecheriah 2:7) So it goes on: Just as surely as Zion is to be established, Babylon is to be destroyed. “The burden of Babylon … Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty” (Isaiah 13:1, 6). Babylon is not to be converted, she’s to be destroyed. “We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her” (Jeremiah 51:9).Today’s world is the “substance … of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall” (D&C 1:16). “For after today cometh the burning … and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon” (D&C 64:24). I could quote a hundred scriptures to show that Babylon is nothing but the inverse image of Zion. Babylon is a state of mind, as Zion is, with its appropriate environment. Just like Zion, Babylon is a city. “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen” (Revelation 18:2). The great world center of commerce and business, “the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (Revelation 18:3). Indeed, ” thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived” (Revelation 18:23). Babylon’s economy is built on deceptions. Babylon is described full in Revelation 18: She is rich, luxurious, immoral, full of fornications, merchants, riches, delicacies, sins, merchandise, gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linens, purples, silks, scarlets, thyine wood, all manner of vessels, ivory, precious wood, brass, iron, marble, and so on. She is a giant delicatessen, full of wine, oil, fine flour, wheat; a perfume counter with cinnamon, oders, ointments, and frankincense; a market with beasts and sheep. It reads like a savings stamp catalog or a guide to a modern supermarket or department store. Horses and chariots and all manner of services are available; slaves in the souls of men. These are “the fruits thy soul lusted after … and all things which were dainty and goodly” (Revelation 18:14). And it is all for sale. “O virgin daughter of Babylon, … thou hast labored … [with] thy merchants from thy youth” (Isaiah 47:1,15). In her power and affluence she is unchallenged. “For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, Noneseeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said on thine heart, I am, and none else beside me” (Isaiah 47:10). Babylon is number one. She dominates the world. Her king is equated to Lucifer, who says, “I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). And all the nations are weakened at her expense. He was the man that “made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness (Isaiah 14:16-17). The “lady of kingdoms” who rules over polluted lands and says, ” I shall be a lady forever” (Isaiah 47:5,7).– she leads the world. “The nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad” (Jeremiah 51:7). “Babylon the great, all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (Revelation 18:3). And when Babylon falls, all the world is involved: “At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations” (Jeremiah 50:46). And “at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth” (Jeremiah 51:49). Her clever, experienced, and unscrupulous men will be helpless. She thinks she can get away with anything, and says, “None seeth me.” But ” thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee” (Isaiah 47:10). And I will make drunk her men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep” (Jeremiah 51:57). Her military might is helpless: “A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken!” (Jeremiah 50:22-23). Babylon then, like Zion, is a type. If Zion is wherever the celestial order prevails, Babylon is the culmination of the worldly power wherever it happens. Through the ages, that power is actually culminated in just such world centers as ancient Babylon. Rome itself was entirely eligible for the name. The church of Rome called itself “the church that is at Babylon” ( 1 Peter 5:13). Rome was Babylon the great in every respect. And in the last days we must have a Babylon, too. For the call has gone forth, “Go ye out of Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Go ye out Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations” (D&C 133:7). “Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon” (D&C 133:14). The world today is about as different from Zion as any world possibly can be.(emphasis added) In fact, it has reached the point, the Lord has told us in emphatic terms, where he is about to remove the whole thing — sweep the slate clean, that Zion may be established. Just as the order of Zion began with Adam in the garden, the rival system is just as old. It, too, was proposed to Adam, and he rejected it, while his son Cain accepted it. The plan Satan proposed to Adam was to put everything in this glorious and beautiful world up for sale. You could have anything in this world for money, but you had to have money. This launched a scramble that has gone on ever since Cain slew Able, his brother, for gain; and he, says the Pearl of Great Price, “gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands” (Moses 5:33). And this vigorous competition has imparted an air of dynamism and excitement to the scene that some find most attractive. … There is an unbridgeable gap between Zion and Babylon. We cannot compromise on the two ways, because the two ways lead in opposite directions. … When we try to mix Zion and Babylon, Babylon has already won the game. (Approaching Zion, p.14-19)

It becomes evident that the world around us and the foundation upon which it operates is pure Babylon; whether it be the financial, economic structure, or fashions, sports, and entertainment. The important question to ask is, are God’s covenant people today remaining apart from Babylon, or are they playing Babylon’s game better than the Babylonians do? As alluded to already, the only thing to do in relation to this way of life is to come out of her. Babylon and all who embrace her ways and revel in her indulgences will meet a final and destructive end, as declared by many prophetic witnesses.

Go ye out from Babylon. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Call your solemn assemblies, and speak often one to another. And let every man call upon the name of the Lord. Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (D&C 133:5-7)

For after today cometh the burning-this is speaking after the manner of the Lord-for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon. (D&C 64:24)

HISTORY OF THE SAINTS IN THE CAUSE OF ZION

It is very helpful to review the efforts of the Latter-day Saints in the early years of the restoration in regard to the charge to exit Babylon and build up and establish Zion. This effort began in Missouri in 1831 and, in a short period of time, it became evident that the Saints did not understand the concepts of a Zion society. They began to buy up land for themselves in the hope that, as more Saints came to Zion, great profits would be made by selling out their parcels of land to the newcomers. Buy low, sell high, make money. (That should be a familiar chant to most people today because that is the mentality of Babylon to which we have grown accustomed.)

This perverted and corrupt ideology did not fare long, and Joseph Smith repeatedly warned them to cease and desist. In Far West, Missouri he said,

Brethren, we are gathered to this buitiful [sic] land, to build up Zion….But since I have been here I perceive the spirit of selfishness, Covetousness, exists in the hearts of the Saints…Here are those who begin to spread out buying up all the land they are able to do, to the exclusion of the poorer ones who are not so much blessed with this worlds goods, thinking to lay foundation for themselves only, looking to their own individual families and those who are to follow them…Now I want to tell you that Zion cannot be built up in any such way….I see signs put out, Beer signs, speculative schemes are being introduced this is the ways of the world–Babylon indeed, and I tell you in the name of the God of Israel, if there is no repentance…..and a turning from such ungodliness, covetousness and self will, you will be broken up and scattered from this choice land to the four winds of Heaven. (The life and history of Elder Edward Stevenson, 40-41; Approaching Zion, Nibley, p. 347-348)

And so it was. Because of transgression and not heeding the words of the Lord through Joseph, they were driven from one Missouri community to the next, and finally across the Mississippi river to Nauvoo. Many of the tragedies could have been averted if the Saints would have embraced Zion instead of the selfish Babylonian notions that they brought with them.

Zion would, of necessity, need to be redeemed at a later time when God could get a people prepared for such. Speaking futuristically, God will gather a people back to Zion in Missouri who are voluntarily clean from the teachings, manners, and ways of Babylon. The Prophet Joseph sent a letter to W.W. Phelps, who was with the Saints in Missouri. Joseph shows his anxiety and fear of the Lord’s coming judgments upon them if they did not repent. He wrote:

…for if Zion will not purify herself, so as to be approved of in all things, in His sight, He will seek another people; for His work will go on until Israel is gathered, and they who will not hear His voice, must expect to feel His wrath. Let me say unto you, seek to purify yourselves, and also the inhabitants of Zion, lest the Lord’s anger be kindled to fierceness…hear the warning voice of God, lest Zion fall, and the Lord swear in His wrath the inhabitants of Zion shall not enter into his rest. (TPJS, 18-19)

History verifies that the Saints did not overcome their weaknesses and were driven from the land of Zion. Perhaps, in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, God’s covenant people would purify themselves and make ready to go back and redeem Zion. Great leaders such as Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, and their brethren exhorted and taught the Saints to build up Zion.

Perhaps, in isolation from the Gentile world, they could get a people purified and worthy of such great blessings. The higher laws of the kingdom were introduced to the body of the saints to prepare them; Celestial plural marriage, the Law of Consecration, the Law of Gathering, etc. These higher principles, by their very constitution were designed to refine and purify the covenant people. Selfishness and jealousy, greed and desire for accumulation of wealth were vices that were done away if the people applied the living of these higher laws. The community as well as families were better off with these exalting principles because it raised them to a higher level of thinking and conduct. It endowed them with more of the divine nature of Godliness.

This was the nucleus of Zion trying to be born! By sheer numbers there were very few, however, that caught the vision among the Saints and applied the full effort. Brigham and his brethren lamented at the fact that they were fighting an incessant battle. A battle of keeping the minds of the Saints fixed on Zion and not their own self interest and the encroaching ways of the world. Even as late as 1874 Brigham lamented,

….he [the Lord] is still feeling after us, and that he is sending forth his voice-the voice of his Spirit, into the hearts of his people, crying unto them-“Stop! Stop your course! Cease to bring in and build up Babylon in your midst.” It is the duty of each and every one of us to reflect upon the office and calling we possess, and see whether we are doing the will of the Lord, and, if we are not, we should stop and begin anew to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth….. Ask ourselves the question. Have we not brought Babylon with us? Are we not promoting Babylon here in our midst? Are we not fostering the spirit of Babylon that is now abroad on the face of the whole earth? I ask myself this question, and I answer, Yes, yes, to some extent, and there is not a Latter-day Saint but what feels that we have too much of Babylon in our midst. The spirit of Babylon is too prevalent here. What is it? Confusion, discord, strife, animosity, vexation, pride, arrogance, self will and the spirit of the world. Are these things in the midst of those called Latter-day Saints? Yes, and we feel this. (Journal of Discourses 17:37-38)

Brigham also cried out against the desire for the accumulation of worldly goods. The following quotes illustrate this awareness.

It grieves me to see men who have believed the Gospel, forsaken the land of their nativity for the sake of life and salvation, endured all they have in coming here, and then, for a paltry sum of money, sacrifice their salvation. Such men cannot be saved in the celestial kingdom of God; they may receive their endowments, but they will do them no good; they may read over their Patriarchal blessings every day, but they will do them no good. No man or woman can receive life everlasting, only upon the principle of strict obedience to the requirements of the celestial law of heaven, no man can inherit such a blessing upon unholy principles. (Journal of Discourses 3:118)

Can you go to work and make a people of one heart and mind while they are possessed of the spirit of the world? You cannot. Can they feel the same interest in the Kingdom of God while possessing the spirit of the world that they would if they were filled with the Spirit of Christ? They cannot. How can they devote their lives to the building up of the Kingdom of God when they do not delight in it, but delight in building themselves up, in making gain, and in gathering around them the riches of the world? The Latter-day Saints, in their conduct and acts with regard to financial matters, are like the rest of the world. The course pursued by men of business in the world has a tendency to make a few rich, and to sink the masses of the people in poverty and degradation. Too many of the Elders of Israel take this course. No matter what comes they are for gain. (Journal of Discourses 11:348)

While conversing with some brethren the other day upon the conduct of this people as viewed by the intelligence of Heaven, I said, that it was a wonder to me that God had not long ago destroyed us all….. Elders are agreed on the way and manner necessary to obtain celestial glory, but they quarrel about a dollar. When principles of eternal life are brought before them-God and the things pertaining to God and godliness-they apparently care not half so much about them as they do about five cents. “We want the dollars.” What are they good for? Dollars will do good, if you can keep them until they will do good, using them in the right way. Men will scramble over each other to get gold and silver, and when they have it they waste it. (Journal of Discourses 9:246,249)

Based on the history of the Saints as they moved toward the 20th century, the building up of Zion got weaker, not stronger. The Celestial Laws and Zion building principles such as consecration and plural marriage were on the decline. The actions of the leaders and the people in moving away from Zion is, at best, a compromise toward lesser laws; at worst, it is an indication of the slide toward apostasy of the covenant people. Remember that D&C 105:5 states that Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the Celestial Kingdom; otherwise the Lord cannot receive her unto Himself.

PERFORMANCE OF SAINTS TODAY IN RELATION TO ZION

If there was a difficulty to get the Saints to build up and establish Zion in the days of Brigham Young when they were so isolated from the world, then what about the Saints today? Are the modern Saints more Zion-like or more enmeshed in the ways of the world than their predecessors? Are the Saints actions proving them to be committed to Zion? The reality is clear that the modern Saints have succumbed to Babylon and have justified their participation by masquerading it as Zion.

Heber C. Kimball prophesied that the day would come when you wouldn’t be able to tell the face of a saint from a blackleg; that Salt Lake City would be classed among the wicked cities of the world. The Saints have been trying to mix Zion and Babylon together and thereby merit Celestial glory. When two things are mixed, they are no longer pure. Any mixing and Babylon has already won the game. The Lord defines such false worship as idolatry. If God is going to destroy Babylon along with those who are a part of her kingdom, does not that, by definition include the Saints? Yes, it does. Only upon conditions of recognition, repentance, and the building up of the true Zion, can an individual merit protection and deliverance in these last days.

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-

And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (D&C 130:20-21)

Many Saints have made covenants in sacred Temples to build up the kingdom of God and establish Zion. God abhors covenant breakers. Such are those that will receive His fierce wrath when it is poured out on His house and rebellious children first. (See D&C 112:23-26)

George Q. Cannon saw that the Saints should be distinct in their ways and in contrast with the ways of the world. He stated,

We have come out of, and traveled from Babylon, according to the command of God, that we may become a people directly opposite to everything existing in Babylon. This was the proclamation made to us; and the object of the proclamation was that we might be emancipated completely from the things of the world, that we might be prepared to dwell with God eternally in the heavens. Now, think of the distance there is between us and the people of Babylon to-day. The distance we have traveled is scarcely perceptible to some; and on some points we are so near that we can reach and shake hands with them, we have made so little progress. Yet there is nothing truer than this, that before we are prepared to dwell in the presence of God we must be directly opposite to them in almost every respect. Morality is taught and moral truths are enforced among them; but aside from the theory, everything is rotten and corrupt from the base to the topmost stone. God has said so, and we have had some little experience in it ourselves; and so far as we have gone we can say that such is the case. Society has to be differently organized under the rule of the Church of God. We have already made a great stride in this respect. The one great institution which God has revealed has done more to emancipate us, and create a difference between us and the world than anything I can conceive of; that is the order of marriage. It creates a complete distinctness between us and the people of the world. We can see how much we are progressing in this direction, and they who are living their religion are making rapid progress. There was a necessity for the revelation of this principle in order that the people of God might be entirely distinct from the people of Babylon. As long as we lived under those old institutions which are so full of rottenness and corruption, we were liable all the time to become assimilated to the world. (Journal of Discourses 11:335-336)

Here again, it is demonstrated that the living of certain higher laws and principles, of necessity, create distinction from the corrupt world. Once the principle of plural marriage was abandoned, the Saints had removed a divine barrier of protection between themselves and the corrupt world. In essence, a reassimilation back to the world began to take place, and once that compromise was permitted, a flood of other changes took place to better accommodate the Saints to the world around them. Some may call these changes progress, but the Lord defines it as apostasy.

The modern agenda has been to compromise with and fellowship the world in their wickedness. No longer are any of the laws in place that keep the Saints apart from Babylon. The trend has measurably been one toward the world and Babylon, and away from the God of Israel. It is the devil that makes people think they are pursuing a course pleasing to God when they are actually in an apostate condition and direction.

And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell. (2nd Nephi 28:21)

Certainly there will be dumbfounded looks on the faces of the Saints when Christ will have this to say,

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them,You never knew me: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (JST Matt. 7:21-23)

Brigham Young, Jr. recognized that more of Babylon was creeping into the midst of the Saints. It is notable in these comments that a losing battle was being waged to get Zion established. He said,

There is too much faultfinding and confusion, and too much of the world in the midst of this people, and especially in the midst of the Latter-day Saints who dwell in Salt Lake City. It is true that temptations are broadcast in our midst, and we meet them on every hand. But is that any reason that we should give way to them? Is it any reason that we should adopt the follies and fashions of the world because they have been introduced into our midst? ….. This people are not gathered here to practice the sins which are prevalent in Babylon, at least I do not so understand it. The Scriptures teach me, and the Spirit of the Lord bears testimony, to cry unto the people to come out of Babylon, and not to drag Babylon or its sins into our midst. They are not necessary for our happiness….. Endeavor, brethren, to build up Zion, and not Babylon. I think very often, when I am speaking to the people, of a remark to President Young. He has been in the Church a great many years. On one occasion, only a very few years after the Church was organized, the Prophet Joseph counseled him and others never to do another day’s work to build up Babylon, and he has obeyed that counsel. I know he has for twenty-five years past, and I am satisfied he has from the time the counsel was given. Do we need to go away from home to build up Babylon? Do we need to leave this city to build up Babylon? No, continue to indulge our fancies for fashion and for the practice of those habits and customs which a corrupt civilization has introduced into our midst, and we are building up Babylon in the most approved style. (Journal of Discourses 15: 192, 195-6)

The tenor of these comments by early leaders certainly indicate their awareness of the Saints’ desire to assimilate with the ways and notions of the corrupt world. That being true, what about the Latter-day Saints today? Are they not more absorbed and assimilated into the world than their ancestors? We must answer, yes. Babylon has so engulfed the Saints that they can’t even see the difference anymore.

For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity. (2nd Nephi 27:5)

Christ has told us that we cannot serve two masters: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

The meaning of the Hebrew word ‘mammon’ is any financial dealing or transaction. Babylon is business. Daily business is the engagement in the transactions of Babylon. The corporate dealings and investments of the LDS Church openly show her interest in Babylon. The LDS Church commerces billions of dollars yearly in the stocks and merchandising in Babylon. We are commanded to get out of Babylon! Where is the corporate LDS Church going? It certainly is not in the direction of Zion! The Lord said that He would not spare any that remain in Babylon (D&C 64:24). Those who have eyes to see and ears that hear had better obey the Lord!

The Church in the scriptures is always referred to as a woman. Christ is referred to as the bridegroom. The Church is the bride who is to prepare herself and make herself ready for the wedding feast with the bridegroom; to be married to Him. She is to be pure and undefiled, without spot. What happens when the woman has intercourse with the world and partakes of the filth of the lusts of Satan’s kingdom? She then becomes a whore, the whore of the earth! Can she possibly enter into the wedding chamber and become one with Christ, her husband? The answer is, Nay!

And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign. (D&C 29:21)

We, as Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, bear solemn witness that the LDS Church has gone whoring after Babylon and the vain things of the world, has built up the kingdom of the devil and apostatized from her earlier mission and charge. The charge was to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth and to establish Zion. Because of these rebellions and iniquities, she will be destroyed when the fierce and just judgments of God are poured out on the wicked of the earth. The only thing for true Saints to do is to forsake her and get out of her. The desolations soon to come will be a great vexation on those who have embraced falsehoods and lies.

Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. (Isaiah 9:14-17)

The Lord is much displeased by the deception of the people caused by false prophets and apostles:

Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD….. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. (Jeremiah 23: 1-2,11-22, emphasis added)

By command of the Lord, we must testify against the evils of the LDS leaders who are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and who deceive the Lord’s covenant people. Their course will never build up Zion. They have chosen to follow Satan and have fulfilled the measure of those who practice priestcraft:

He (the Lord) commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion. (2nd Nephi 26:29)

This message surely will offend some who have their hopes fixed on the infallibility of the ‘Brethren’. The truth of the word of God must go forth to this generation and more especially to the covenant people who have lapsed into a blind state of apostasy from the principles they are charged with to bring about the Zion of God. All men were offended because of the words of Enoch and his brethren which were spoken in plainness. (Moses 6:37-38) Enoch had the calling to declare repentance to his apostate generation. We, as Apostles of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days have the same charge today. We openly declare the fallen condition of the LDS Church and its departure from the principles of righteousness and the establishment of Zion.

The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. (Isaiah 24:5-6)

To the casual observer and those that are spiritually in a deep sleep, all seems to be well in Zion. Nothing could be further from the truth. The LDS Church leaders feign piousness and righteousness, but have not sought the welfare of Zion based on the results of their actions. The following passages apply to the leaders in Israel just as much today as they did when spoken to the scribes and Pharisees in the days of Christ;

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: (Matthew 23:25, 27-34)

We feel much like Alma did when he lamented over his people who were darkening in apostasy.

And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted…. (vs.19) And this he [Alma] did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them. (Alma 4:11-12,19)

We bear testimony that Zion will be built up in this generation. We invite the Elect of God to awake and arise in these last days and put on the full armor of God, even the Fullness of the Gospel. First, you must awaken to the apostasy that exists in the LDS Church and recognize the failure of that institution to bear off the Kingdom of God. Second, you must seek the witness of the Holy Ghost to guide you in all things. You must ask in humble prayer if the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days contains the Lord’s will and authority to redeem Zion. Thirdly, you must find out the will of the Lord through personal revelation what He will have you do in relation to your duty to come and help redeem Zion.

And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be. (1st Nephi 13:37)

The gathering of the Elect is taking place at this very time among that remnant of people who are willing to hear and follow the Spirit of the Lord, even at all hazards. The principles of Zion are in the process of implementation. These laws must be lived before the coming of the Lord. We invite all humble followers of Christ to examine and pray about this message. The harvest is great and the laborers are few. May the Holy Ghost lead you, the reader, in the path of life and salvation is our humble and fervent prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

What is Preventing Us From Establishing Zion?

What follows is only a partial list of the things that the early part of the dispensation was guilty of that prevented them from establishing Zion.  Perhaps we can learn from their mistakes.  There are, of course, more than what is listed here. 

1. Pride
2. Rebellion
3. Unbelief And Blindness Of Heart
4. Cares Of The World Crowding Out The Things Of God
5. Costly Apparel
6. Failure To Seek The Lord To Establish His Righteousness
7. Failure To Hear The Voice Of The Lord
8. Being Slow To Hearken Unto The Voice Of The Lord
9. Treating The Things We Receive Lightly
10. Vanity
11. Failure To Come Unto The Lord
12. Failure To Remember The New Covenant, The Book Of Mormon And The Former Commandments
13. Failure To Bring Forth Fruit Meet For Their Father’s Kingdom.
14. Failure To Study And Use The Book Of Mormon
15. Failure To Do According To What Is Written
16. Failure To Bring Forth Fruit Meet For The Father’s Kingdom
17. Not Being One
18. Pray Always
19. Lack Of Forgiveness
20. Yielding To The Persuasions Of Men
21. Exalting Self
22. Denying Spirit Of Revelation And Prophecy
23. Covetousness
24. Jarrings, Contentions, Envying, Strife
25. Entangled In Vanities Of The World

All scripture references are found in the Doctrine of Covenants. The section and verses are listed.

PRIDE

• 23:1 Behold, I speak unto you, Oliver, .. thou art blessed, and art under no condemnation. But beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation.
• 25:14 Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride. Let thy soul delight in thy husband, and the glory which shall come upon him.
• 38:39 And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.
• 39:9 Nevertheless, thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected me many times because of pride and the cares of the world.
• 42:40  And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart
• 56:8 And again, verily I say unto you, that my servant Ezra Thayne must repent of his pride, and of his selfishness, and obey the former commandment which I have given him concerning the place upon which he lives.
• 88:121 Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings
• 90:17 Be not ashamed, neither confounded; but be admonished in all your high-mindedness and pride, for it bringeth a snare upon your souls.
• 98:20 For they do not forsake their sins, and their wicked ways, the pride of their hearts, and their covetousness, and all their detestable things, and observe the words of wisdom and eternal life which I have given unto them.
• 121:37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

REBELLION

• 1:8  And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the … rebellious;
• 56: 1 Hearken, O ye people who profess my name, saith the Lord your God; for behold, mine anger is kindled against the rebellious, and they shall know mine arm and mine indignation, in the day of visitation and of wrath upon the nations.
• 56:4 Wherefore I, the Lord, command and revoke, as it seemeth me good; and all this to be answered upon the heads of the rebellious, saith the Lord.
• 63:2 Yea, verily, I say, hear the word of him whose anger is kindled against the wicked and rebellious;
• 63: 6 Wherefore, verily I say, let the wicked take heed, and let the rebellious fear and tremble; and let the unbelieving hold their lips, for the day of wrath shall come upon them as a whirlwind, and all flesh shall know that I am God.
• 64:34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days. 35 And the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion, and shall be sent away, and shall not inherit the land.
• 64:36 For, verily I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked out.
• 84:76 But, verily I say unto all those to whom the kingdom has been given—from you it must be preached unto them, that they shall repent of their former evil works; for they are to be upbraided for their evil hearts of unbelief, and your brethren in Zion for their rebellion against you at the time I sent you

UNBELIEF AND BLINDNESS OF HEART

• 1:8  And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving ……..;
• 58:15 But if he (Edward Partridge) repent not of his sins, which are unbelief and blindness of heart, let him take heed lest he fall.
• 63: 6 Wherefore, verily I say, let the wicked take heed, …and let the unbelieving hold their lips, for the day of wrath shall come upon them as a whirlwind, and all flesh shall know that I am God.
• 20:  14-15 And those who receive it in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life;  But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation—
• 38:14 But now I tell it unto you, and ye are blessed, not because of your iniquity, neither your hearts of unbelief; for verily some of you are guilty before me, but I will be merciful unto your weakness.
• 84:76 But, verily I say unto all those to whom the kingdom has been given—from you it must be preached unto them, that they shall repent of their former evil works; for they are to be upbraided for their evil hearts of unbelief, and your brethren in Zion for their rebellion against you at the time I sent you.

CARES OF THE WORLD CROWDING OUT THE THINGS OF GOD

• 39:9 Nevertheless, thou hast seen great sorrow, for thou hast rejected me many times because of pride and the cares of the world.
• 40:2 And he received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word.

COSTLY APPAREL

• 42:40  And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands;

FAILURE TO SEEK THE LORD TO ESTABLISH HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS

• 1:16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.

FAILURE TO HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD

• 1:  14 And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;
• 133:7 Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

BEING SLOW TO HEARKEN UNTO THE VOICE OF THE LORD

• 101:7 They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
• 133:63 And upon them that hearken not to the voice of the Lord shall be fulfilled that which was written by the prophet Moses, that they should be cut off from among the people.

• 45:49 And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth shall hear it; and the nations of the earth shall mourn, and they that have laughed shall see their folly.
• 33:1 Behold, I say unto you, my servants Ezra and Northrop, open ye your ears and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, whose word is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, soul and spirit; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• 93:1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;

TREATING THE THINGS WE RECEIVE LIGHTLY

• 84:54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.   56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all

VANITY

• 84:55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.   56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.

FAILURE TO COME UNTO THE LORD

• 84:47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father. 48 And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world.
• 84:50 And by this you may know they are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me.
• 51 For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin.
• 52 And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.
• 53 And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.

FAILURE TO REMEMBER THE NEW COVENANT, THE BOOK OF MORMON AND THE FORMER COMMANDMENTS TO DO

• 57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

FAILURE TO BRING FORTH FRUIT MEET FOR THEIR FATHER’S KINGDOM.

• 57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written— That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.
• 59 For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.

FAILURE TO STUDY AND USE THE BOOK OF MORMON

• 57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

FAILURE TO DO ACCORDING TO WHAT IS WRITTEN

• 84:43 And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
• 84:44 For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
• 57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, …., not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

FAILURE TO BRING FORTH FRUIT MEET FOR THE FATHER’S KINGDOM

• 57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written— That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.

NOT BEING ONE

• 38:27 Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.
• 136:23 Cease to contend one with another; cease to speak evil one of another.
• 88:123 See that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to impart one to another as the gospel requires.
• 35:2 I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one.

PRAY ALWAYS

• 49 What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked one have power in you, and remove you out of your place.

LACK OF FORGIVENESS

• 64:8 My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened.

YIELDING TO THE PERSUASIONS OF MEN

• 3:6 And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men.
• 5:21 And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more uprightly before me, and to yield to the persuasions of men no more;  And that you be firm in keeping the commandments wherewith I have commanded you; and if you do this, behold I grant unto you eternal life, even if you should be slain.

EXALTING SELF

• D&C 101:42 He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that abaseth himself shall be exalted.
• 63:  55-56 And now behold, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon; he exalted himself in his heart, and received not counsel, but grieved the Spirit; Wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord, and he shall make another; and if the Lord receive it not, behold he standeth no longer in the office to which I have appointed him.
• 112: 15 Rebel not against my servant Joseph; for verily I say unto you, I am with him, and my hand shall be over him; and the keys which I have given unto him, and also to youward, shall not be taken from him till I come.
• 5: 24 Behold, I say unto him (Martin Harris), he exalts himself and does not humble himself sufficiently before me; but if he will bow down before me, and humble himself in mighty prayer and faith, in the sincerity of his heart, then will I grant unto him a view of the things which he desires to see.

DENYING SPIRIT OF REVELATION AND PROPHECY

• 11:25 Deny not the spirit of revelation, nor the spirit of prophecy, for wo unto him that denieth these things;
• 42;61 If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.
• 59:4 And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me.
• 82: 4 Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed unto my law.
• 90:14 And from time to time, as shall be manifested by the Comforter, receive revelations to unfold the mysteries of the kingdom;
• 101:22 Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places; And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together.

COVETOUSNESS

• 136:20 Seek ye; and keep all your pledges one with another; and covet not that which is thy brother’s.
• 19:25 And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife; nor seek thy neighbor’s life.
• 19:26 And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God—
• 117:8 Is there not room enough on the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and on the plains of Olaha Shinehah, or the land where Adam dwelt, that you should covet that which is but the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters?
• 117:4 Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me? saith the Lord.
• 88:123 See that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to impart one to another as the gospel requires.

JARRINGS, CONTENTIONS, ENVYING, STRIFE

• 101:66 Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.

ENTANGLED IN VANITIES OF THE WORLD

• 20:5 After it was truly manifested unto this first elder that he had received a remission of his sins, he was entangled again in the vanities of the world;
• 30:2 But your mind has been on the things of the earth more than on the things of me, your Maker, and the ministry whereunto you have been called; and you have not given heed unto my Spirit, and to those who were set over you, but have been persuaded by those whom I have not commanded.