Establishing Zion

Establishing Zion: Preparing the Earth for the Return of Jesus Christ is a review of all the Zion societies that have been attempted and/or achieved since the Zion of Enoch. This includes the Zion of Enoch, the Zion of Melchizedek, the attempted Zion of Moses, the Zion of the early Christian Church, and the Zion achieved by the Nephites in the New World. The book then discusses the attempt in our own last days to establish a Zion society in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. The essential characteristics of a Zion society, such as the Law of Consecration, are described, along with a review of the efforts of the Latter-day Saints to establish such a community. Finally, the book describes the eventual triumph of Zion at Jerusalem and New Jerusalem, along with the return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign in these celestial cities. The cover features a beautiful image of the New Jerusalem descending through the clouds of glory.

For Mormons, the second coming of Christ and the subsequent millennium will arrive only when the earth has been perfected through the building of a model world called Zion. Throughout the nineteenth century the Latter-day Saints followed this vision, creating a material world—first in Missouri and Illinois but most importantly and permanently in Utah and surrounding western states—that serves as a foundation for understanding their concept of an ideal universe. Building Zion is, in essence, the biography of the cultural landscape of western LDS settlements. Through the physical forms Zion assumed, it tells the life story of a set of Mormon communities—how they were conceived and constructed and inhabited—and what this material manifestation of Zion reveals about what it meant to be a Mormon in the nineteenth century. Focusing on a network of small towns in Utah, Thomas Carter explores the key elements of the Mormon cultural landscape: town planning, residences (including polygamous houses), stores and other nonreligious buildings, meetinghouses, and temples. Zion, we see, is an evolving entity, reflecting the church’s shift from group-oriented millenarian goals to more individualized endeavors centered on personal salvation and exaltation. Building Zion demonstrates how this cultural landscape draws its singularity from a unique blending of sacred and secular spaces, a division that characterized the Mormon material world in the late nineteenth century and continues to do so today.

Establishing Zion: Preparing the Earth for the Return of Jesus Christ is a review of all the Zion societies that have been attempted and/or achieved since the Zion of Enoch. This includes the Zion of Enoch, the Zion of Melchizedek, the attempted Zion of Moses, the Zion of the early Christian Church, and the Zion achieved by the Nephites in the New World. The book then discusses the attempt in our own last days to establish a Zion society in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. The essential characteristics of a Zion society, such as the Law of Consecration, are described, along with a review of the efforts of the Latter-day Saints to establish such a community. Finally, the book describes the eventual triumph of Zion at Jerusalem and New Jerusalem, along with the return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign in these celestial cities. The cover features a beautiful image of the New Jerusalem descending through the clouds of glory.

The prophet Brigham Young taught the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in a basic, practical way that gave inspiration and hope to the Saints struggling to build a home in the wilderness. Though more than a century has now passed, his words are still fresh and appropriate for us today as we continue the work of building the kingdom of God. President Young declared that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we possess the “doctrine of life and salvation for all the honest-in-heart” (DBY, 7). He promised that those who receive the gospel in their hearts will have awakened “within them a desire to know and understand the things of God more than they ever did before in their lives” and will begin to “inquire, read and search and when they go to their Father in the name of Jesus he will not leave them without a witness” (DBY, 450). This book reflects the desire of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to deepen the doctrinal understanding of Church members and to awaken within them a greater desire to know the things of God. It will inspire and motivate individuals, priesthood quorums, and Relief Society classes to inquire, read, search, and then go to their Father in Heaven for a witness of the truth of these teachings. Each chapter contains two sections—“Teachings of Brigham Young” and “Suggestions for Study.” The first section consists of extracts from Brigham Young’s sermons to the early Saints. Each statement has been referenced, and the original spelling and punctuation have been preserved; however, the sources cited will not be readily available to most members. These original sources are not necessary to have in order to effectively study or teach from this book. Members need not purchase additional references and commentaries to study or teach these chapters. The text provided in this book, accompanied by the scriptures, is sufficient for instruction. Members should prayerfully read and study President Young’s teachings in order to gain new insights into gospel principles and discover how those principles apply to their everyday lives. By faithfully and prayerfully studying these selections, Latter-day Saints will have a greater understanding of gospel principles and will more fully appreciate the profound and inspired teachings of this great prophet. The second section of each chapter offers a series of questions that will encourage thoughtful contemplation, personal application, and discussion of President Young’s teachings. Members should refer to and carefully reread his words on the principle being discussed. Deep and prayerful study of these teachings will inspire members to greater personal commitment and will help them resolve to follow the teachings of the Savior, Jesus Christ. If individuals and families prayerfully follow the principles in this book, they will be blessed and inspired to greater dedication and spirituality, as were the early Saints who heard these words directly from the lips of the “Lion of the Lord” (HC, 7:434)—the prophet, seer, and revelator, President Brigham Young.

"Unlike previous writers, for whom early Utah was an enlightened, genteel New England society displaced by religious persecution, Eugene Campbell describes a rugged people at the frontier of the 19th century American West. Like other immigrants, Mormon pioneers fought Indians- sometimes taking scalps- battled mountain men, and supported vigilante justice."-from inside jacket.

By locating Christian Zionism firmly within the Evangelical tradition, Paul Wilkinson takes issue with those who have portrayed it as a "totally unbiblical menace" and as the "roadmap to Armageddon." Charting in detail its origins and historical development, he argues that Christian Zionism lays the biblical foundation for Israel's restoration and the return of Christ. No one has contributed more to this cause than its leading architect and patron, John Nelson Darby, an "uncompromising champion for Christ's glory and God's truth." This groundbreaking book challenges decades of misrepresentation and scholarship, exploding the myth that Darby stole the doctrine of the pre-tribulation Rapture from his contemporaries. By revealing the man and his message, Paul Wilkinson vindicates Darby and spotlights the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of his theology.

What did Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, George Q. Cannon, and seventeen other early LDS leaders know about building Zion that we today have forgotten? Quite a bit, it turns out! Multiple quotes by multiple Church leaders on multiple occasions show that: a) Our early missionaries were teaching prospects that the Church was building the long-prophesied latter-day Zion in Utah and inviting them to participate, b) Building Zion was a core LDS doctrine, c) Zion-building was central to the Church's mission during the 1800s, d) Establishing Zion was central to God's plan to prepare the world for Christ's return, and that e) Building Zion was a primary focus of LDS leaders who also encouraged the members to focus there as well. And that's just from Chapter One! The author gathered well over 700 quotes by LDS apostles and prophets during Utah's territorial years. He then categorized and subcategories all the quotes according to what they teach us. The chapter and section headings in the first twelve chapters represent those categorizations. Concepts that were "one-offs" were generally excluded so that mainstream doctrines about establishing Zion could be identified. Here are the first twelve chapter titles, revealing remarkable teachings about establishing Zion in the Last Days: 1) Building Zion Was Central to the Gospel and LDS Church, 2) What IS Zion, exactly? 3) It's God's Will That the Saints Build Zion. 4) Prophecies About Zion, 5) Our Obligations Regarding Zion, 6) The Saints were actively building a Zion in Utah. 7) What is required of us to establish Zion?8) Building Zion is not just a spiritual activity, it's temporal too! 9) Babylon, Zion's Opposite, 10) Building Zion includes achieving economic independence from Babylon. 11) Zion Requires Economic Unity, and 12) Cooperation is a Stepping Stone to Zion. After gathering and classifying all 700+ quotes, the author is convinced that: a) God intended a Zion society to be established in the Rocky Mountains before the New Jerusalem is built. b) Though it is not a central focus today in the LDS Church, it will likely have to become so before Christ can return. c) God has not revoked his desire for his children to enjoy that kind of society, and that d) There is plenty we can do today to prepare ourselves and our families to qualify to live in Zion.

"The son of a Jewish father and Baptist mother, Paul Wilbur grew up attending synagogue. In college he was transformed by a Baptist minister's teaching about a rabbi, Jesus, who fulfilled the promise of the Torah. As he grew in his relationship with Jesus, Wilbur was reintroduced to the God of the Old Testament and began exploring his Jewish heritage. Along the way, he discovered the power of Jewish worship traditions-the weekly Shabbat, with the power of Holy Communion and dedication to family, along with other high holy traditions and feast days. Observing those ancient rituals, now infused with the power of the Holy Spirit, Wilbur heard a sound that he describes as a "roar from Zion." As evangelicals came to understand and incorporate ancient Jewish worship practices in their home and church lives, miracles broke out, fathers assumed their roles as the head of their families, prodigal children returned home, and marriages were restored. What began with one man is now becoming a movement, with tens of thousands taking part"--