“It seems that the people ought to see that the Lord dictates, guides, and directs; that if a people are blessed, they are blessed of the Lord; and that if we exalt him and his kingdom, love him, serve him, and build up Zion upon the earth, we are sure to be exalted and possess […]
Monthly Archives: February 2016
90. Early Utahns Were Building Zion, Erastus Snow, 1860
“But so long as they remain upon the earth in the flesh, they remain under the same obligation to serve the Lord today as much as yesterday, and then continue the next day and the next week as they were at first to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins, when the […]
89. Central to The Gospel, Brigham Young, 1860
“If the Twelve Apostles and the Presidents of Seventies and the High Priests will take the responsibility of bearing off this kingdom and sending the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, of gathering the poor, building up Zion, and doing all that is necessary preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man, […]
88. Economic Unity, Brigham Young, 1867
The title of Brigham Young’s discourse dated 2/3/1867 shows how he valued economic unity: “How Saints Should Order Their Vocation of Life. How Employ Their Wealth. To Build Up Zion, and not Babylon. Counsel of the Prophet Joseph. Prophet Brigham Young’s Experience Therein. Importance of Union in Things Temporal and Spiritual, Religious and Political.”
87. It’s Temporal Too!, Ezra T. Benson, 1862
“Now we want about a hundred good sturdy fellows that feel themselves able to go to work to raise wheat and cattle, and to do all that is necessary for the beautifying and building up of Zion. It is a good place to raise flax, hemp, and vegetables. To be sure the altitude is considerably […]
86. Building Zion Requires Real Labor, George A. Smith, 1861
“The word of the Presidency is, brethren, it is necessary to strengthen the southern border of our thriving Territory, and this is for the general good of all. Now you go down south and raise cotton and you will be blessed more than you ever have been heretofore, and know that in doing this you […]
85. It’s Temporal Too!, Ezra T. Benson, 1862
“I do not arise with any desire to interfere with the call of brother George A. Smith for brethren to go to the cotton district of our Territory, for I am very much in favor of brethren going to locate in the different settlements of Washington County to raise cotton and such other staple articles […]
84. What Building Zion Requires of Us, Brigham Young, 1860
We are all sinners, and it is our duty to cast sin from us when we learn what it is. If we are a little good, become a little better; if we have a little light, get a little more; if we have a little faith, add to it; and by-and-by we shall be prepared […]
Thoughts on Zion #37 – More Lessons From the United Orders’ Failure

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” – George Santayana. Since we LDS may some day be building Zion communities, we might do well to learn from our Utah ancestors’ mistakes. Last time we suggested one such misstep was that the Saints moved too quickly from cooperatives to the United Order, […]