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Working Toward Zion

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Cover of Working Toward Zion, by James W. Lucas and Warner P. Woodworth.

Cover of Working Toward Zion, by James W. Lucas and Warner P. Woodworth.

We’re not there yet.

As much as we on the Wasatch Front believe that Zion is here at last, and even though we have one of the lowest poverty rates in the country, still one in ten people who live in our community is living in poverty.  Where Zion is a people who are of one heart and mind, and there is “no poor among them,” even we have a way to go yet (Moses 7:18).

But can we have Zion?  Can we get there in our world today?  There are some who think that we can’t, at least not without force and coercion.  Just yesterday I heard,

If your point is, “wow what a shame it is that some people earn millions and others struggle to get by,” yes I would agree with you, and I look forward to the day in the Millennium when this doesn’t happen anymore. Your point appears to be that we need to change things now in our Fallen world, and if you believe this you need to think about how it would come about. It cannot come about without force, so you indeed want to compel other people to act the way you think they should. This is not good… Should people, especially latter-day Saints, consecrate themselves and help others? Definitely. But unfortunately it will not happen before the Millennium.

If we have this mindset, that we won’t make it to Zion until Zion comes to us (in the Millennium), then we have missed the boat.  The only way that we will have Zion is if we build it.  Zion will not magically appear one day when we least expect it.  There must be a people who begin to live by its laws and statutes, who become of one heart and mind, who eliminate poverty and inequality in their surroundings, and who are then ready to welcome Zion into their midst because they have built it.  They will find Zion when they find themselves in it.  That is how Enoch and his people did it, and it is how we will do it today. [Read more…]

Honesty Precedes Zion

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Brigham Young - June 1, 1871 - 70th birthday

Brigham Young – June 1, 1871 – 70th birthday

I received this scripture and quote in my inbox today.

And let every man deal honestly, and be alike among this people, and receive alike, that ye may be one, even as I have commanded you. (D&C 51:9)

Brigham Young taught that honesty preceded Zion, and that when this was achieved by the Saints, there would be “no poor among [us]” (Moses 7:18).

“We need to learn, practice, study, know and understand how angels live with each other. When this community comes to the point to be perfectly honest and upright, you will never find a poor person; none will lack, all with have sufficient.  Every man, woman, and child will have all they need just as soon as they all become honest.  When the majority of the community are dishonest, it maketh the honest portion poor, for the dishonest serve and enrich themselves at their expense.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 232)

This reminds me of D&C 105:5, “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.”

The Lord asks us to be honest in our dealings with our fellowmen, that we might build up Zion.

Hugh Nibley Quotes from Approaching Zion

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The following quotes are from Hugh Nibley’s Approaching Zion volume, and were compiled by Chad Merrill.  I am grateful that he shared them with me, and gave me permission to share them with you. They are great quotes from that singular book, one of my favorites of all time, and one which I am currently re-reading for the nth time.

In these quotes, Nibley is highly critical of his fellow Latter-day Saints, in our love of wealth and covetousness, lack of living the law of consecration (and our apparent confusion of it), our quibbling over free lunch, lack of faith in the Almighty, and our misunderstanding the purposes of life. “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). Do we truly believe the Lord? What’s our progress report? Please share your thoughts in the comments.   [Read more…]

Prayer Circles and the Power of Group Thinking in Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol’

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Book Cover

Book Cover

(This is a continuation of my thoughts about The Lost Symbol from my previous post.)

One of the themes taken up again and again in Dan Brown’s latest novel The Lost Symbol is the idea of power in group thinking and concentration.  Katherine’s character in particular is engaged in the scientific study of producing physical changes through the power of group thought and concentrated collective intention.  In connection with this, the practice of prayer circles is brought up:

The shocking discovery, it seemed, paralleled the ancient spiritual belief in a “cosmic consciousness”—a vast coalescing of human intention that was actually capable of interacting with physical matter. Recently, studies in mass meditation and prayer had produced similar results in Random Event Generators, fueling the claim that human consciousness, as Noetic author Lynne McTaggart described it, was a substance outside the confines of the body . . . a highly ordered energy capable of changing the physical world. ((Page 56))

In another place, Brown continues:

Galloway knew, of course, that one needn’t go to a lab to witness proof of this bold new idea, this proposal of man’s untapped potential. This very cathedral held healing prayer circles for the sick, and repeatedly had witnessed truly miraculous results, medically documented physical transformations. The question was not whether God had imbued man with great powers . . . but rather how we liberate those powers. ((Page 313-314))

And again:

Katherine smiled down at him. “We have scientifically proven that the power of human thought grows exponentially with the number of minds that share that thought.”

Langdon remained silent, wondering where she was going with this idea.

“What I’m saying is this . . . two heads are better than one . . . and yet two heads are not twice better, they are many, many times better. Multiple minds working in unison magnify a thought’s effect . . . exponentially. This is the inherent power of prayer groups, healing circles, singing in unison, and worshipping en masse.” ((Page 504))

Prayer circles have been defined as where participants join hands in a circle of prayer, often as part of a vigil ((Wikipedia – Prayer Circle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_circle)).   Such circles have existed for a very long time (see my paper “The Genesis of the Round Dance“).  They are witnessed today in even the simplest act of joining hands around the dinner table while saying grace.  Hugh Nibley wrote extensively about their use in early Christianity in his paper “The Early Christian Prayer Circle.”  In that paper he said:  [Read more…]

What Do You Want To See on TempleStudy.com?

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Some of you may remember the survey I posted here on TempleStudy.com back in May.  It was a huge success.  Many of you responded to my request for feedback, even those of you who don’t normally comment.  Some of you gave me great compliments, for which I am very thankful, and many also gave suggestions of improvements to the blog and topics that you’d would like to see addressed here, including many “other” requests.  I have taken those suggestions to heart and have already written on several of the topics that you submitted.  Thank you for your participation!

The feedback went so well that I would like to make it a more permanent feature of the site.  I have integrated a service called skribit that will allow just that.  This new service will facilitate interaction with all of you in multiple ways, including the following:

  • Submit Suggestions – You may submit any topic that you’d like to see addressed on TempleStudy.com – i.e., themes you’d like me to write about, ideas that you have, questions you may have, suggestions for improvement to the site, etc.  I have already added 15 suggestions that were given in the prior feedback (some of which I’ve already blogged about somewhat).
  • Vote – Once suggestions are added, you can all vote on them.  If you see a suggestion that you’d also like to see written about or changed on the site, then just click the little green arrow next to that item to add your vote.  Those items that receive the most votes will be higher on my list to write about or do on TempleStudy.com.

All of the above can be done anonymously.  You don’t need an account or a login to submit suggestions or vote on them – anyone can add suggestions or vote.  If you sign up for an account with skribit, you can also do the following:

  • Discuss – Each suggestion allows a discussion for that item.  If you’d like to add your comments to a suggestion, click on the suggestion or on the “discuss” link next to it, and then add your comments in the box provided.
  • Notification – If you submit a suggestion or question while you are logged in, then you will be notified by email when I write a post about it, or do whatever thing the suggestion is about.  This will help you easily stay on top of whatever you submit, and be made aware if I ever address it.

To access the suggestions feature, go to this link, or just click on “Suggestions” on the top navigation bar.  I only ask that you skim the already listed suggestions first before adding a suggestion, in case yours has already been added by someone else.

Let me know if you like this new feature or not in the comments below.