I’ve always been stumped by those who assume that we will be using money in Zion. Where does it say in the scriptures that a market economy is Celestial in nature? I’ve never seen any such scripture. If I had to guess, I’d guess market relationships are Terrestrial at best. In fact, evidence from the […]
Posts by John Taylor Wilford Woodruff:
Thoughts on Zion 18 – The 1850s View of Zion
Reading discourses given by LDS leaders during the 1850s, one sees how consistent and central the theme of building Zion was to the Church during that decade. Here’s a few representative quotes from then: 1852: “Don’t mention Joseph Smith — never mention the Book of Mormon or Zion, and all the people will follow you.” […]
Thoughts on Zion 17 – Utah’s Zion History
The Mormon leaders in the 1800s were focused on building a Zion society here in the Mountain West, not in some ephemeral way, but in a very real here-and-now, brick and mortar kind of way. The doctrine of building a Zion society was central to the Gospel message being preached. We see in an 1852 […]
Thoughts on Zion 16 – Pride-Based Economics
In this column, we have been exploring pride-based social institutions that make up a Babylon society, and, their humility-based counterparts in a Zion society. Let’s now consider pride-based economic systems. In President Benson’s landmark talk, “Beware of Pride” he says it is pride that motivates us to do our own will and not the will […]
Taking the Red Pill and Seeing Babylon Clearly
As you have gone about your daily life, you may have heard mention of a metaphorical choice between a red pill and a blue pill. Of these Wikipedia reports, “The red pill and its opposite, the blue pill, are pop culture symbols representing the choice between embracing the sometimes painful truth of reality (red pill) […]
Thoughts on Zion 15 – Humility-Based Education
In contrast to last time’s discussion of the pride-based school system mentioned in the Book of Mormon, this time we’ll take a first look at a [mostly] humility-based model. Amulon’s Lamanite school system was “pride-based” because it included tax-funded schools and rejected teaching anything to do with God or his prophets. Until our economy becomes […]
The Pride Flu in the Book of Mormon
Since writing the Thoughts on Zion article entitled, “Pride to Destruction in 6 Easy Steps“, I came to see that the Book of Mormon is replete with examples and sermons regarding what I’m calling “The Pride Flu”. Societies catch the Pride Flu and it leads to their eventual destruction. My sense is that this is […]
Thoughts on Zion 14 – Pride-Based Education
Previously we explored how pride or humility gets incorporated into governments, which then reinforce one or the other in the people. In this way, governments are one of several “cultural pumps” moving a society towards either Babylon or Zion. Another is education. The Book of Mormon offers examples of both humility and pride-based education. One […]
Thoughts on Zion 13 – Pride-Based Government
Last time we explored how the principles of pride or humility get incorporated into our social institutions which then reinforce pride or humility in the people. Over time, these “cultural pumps” move the society towards Babylon and self-destruction, or towards Zion and peace and prosperity. Let’s explore briefly how the Nephites incorporated pride into their […]
Thoughts on Zion 12: Cultural Pumps
Elder David R. Stone, in his Conference talk, “Zion in the Midst of Babylon”, taught that Babylon has a culture. And, since Zion is an alternate society to Babylon, it has a culture too. Common definitions of “culture” include the social institutions that pass on that society’s values. I propose that it is the nature […]
Thoughts on Zion 11: Kings in Babylon or Zion
The premise in this series has been that in order to “flee Babylon” and “build Zion” we must understand with clarity the difference between the two, and the line separating them. Once we do, how to move from one to the other should become crystal clear. In quick review, here are the two foundational values […]
King Benjamin Says Humility1 Leads to Humility2
Reading Mosiah, chapter 4, I noticed that King Benjamin seemed to be showing how the steppingstones to Zion, Humility1 and Humility2, relate to each other. Humility1 is a belief that not only does God live, but His wisdom dwarfs that of man, and, that we benefit from following His will. Benjamin speaks to this in […]
Who’s Game?
Q: “Given how hard it is to ‘get’ a position of authority to do anything about this in a quorum or ward or stake, couldn’t we just as well form cooperative or corporate systems ourselves with like-minded people? Rather than trying to woo and work the church system?” – TidwellTB A: I’ve been pondering this […]
Thoughts on Zion 10: Pride to Destruction in Six Easy Steps
While pondering the Book of Mormon verses mentioning “gain”, a step-by-step process opened up that shows how pride leads to Babylon, Zion’s opposite, and then to society’s demise. 1. Pride includes the belief that some are worth more or worth less than others (Alma 32:2-3), in contrast to God’s valuing everyone as equally precious (Jacob […]
Rescuing The Saints TODAY
Philip Allred’s Meridan Magazine blog post titled, “Lesson 35: A Mission of Saving” really got me thinking this morning! I believe Philip was saying, in short, just as our pioneer ancestors rescued each other temporally, we Saints today can rescue each other spiritually. “We Saints have been conditioned to sit back and watch our neighbors […]
If God Wants Us to Leave Babylon & Build Zion, Why Wait?
These statements from The Lord and his modern apostles and prophets indicate the Lord’s will that we: 1. Flee Babylon, and 2. Establish Zion. “The establishment of Zion should be the aim of every member of this Church…. “Zion comes not as a gift but because virtuous covenant people are drawn together and build it…. […]