Beginning a new year gives us the perfect opportunity to evaluate what we have learned and accomplished over the previous twelve months, and even during our life time. What are our physical accomplishments? What are our spiritual accomplishments? What have we learned? Have we spent enough quality time with our family? Have we shared the message of Jesus Christ with our family? —with our neighbor? Have we contributed our time and resources to the Lord and His church? Are we closer to living in Zion?
Last January, in one of our Second Invitation online church meetings, we studied a lesson prepared by Sister Joan McClelland, titled: “Living in Zion”. Sister Joan is the Regional Leader for Australia and New Zealand in the International Fountain of Living Waters. I have known Joan (and her husband and his family) since my early teenage years. As members in the Reorganized Latter Day Saints church, we met together for church on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Prayer and Testimony services on Wednesday nights, young people’s programs on Friday nights, and other church and social activities. We were a small and close-knit congregation, but we also invited and welcomed people from the neighbourhood. We studied the scriptures, we talked about Zion, and we hoped for the coming forth of Zion.
Now, many years later, we continue to seek for the reality of Zion. But there is a difference! We now have the Sealed Book and God’s direction through Prophet Mauricio Berger. We have the instructions—the blueprint—for the organizational and spiritual structure that brings us closer to the fulfillment of Zion. Beginning with organizing the United Order and preparing the places of refuge, we will learn in very practical ways how to live in peace and harmony within our families and with our neighbours.
To assist with this calling, and as we turn the page of life to a new year of hope and promise, let’s review excerpts from Sister Joan’s timely presentation about “Living in Zion”.
We are all different in what we do or say. When we are living together, we are like a wheel—the “Center Hub” is our Lord Jesus Christ; we are the spokes working together in our different thoughts and ways, forming a perfect circle, with love for each other to make a wonderful life together in Zion. If we want to live in Zion, we will need to make great changes from how we are living today. We will need to learn how to have all of the good feelings that are derived from God’s name (see SBoM 4:17-25).
This project, coming from God, requires first that the people possess the citizenship of Zion in their hearts and this will be the means by which the people of God will show themselves apt and worthy to live in Zion, having a broken heart and a contrite spirit before the Lord (A3N 7:6).
Slowly, over the years, the evil one has caused us to drift off the straight and narrow path (see A3N 6:18). Perhaps we are not even holding on to the “Rod of Iron” (see SBoM 3:10).
Daily we must pray to God for guidance and help, and in thanksgiving for all He gives us, and for the blessings He gives to each of us all the time. For “with the Holy Spirit of God, through His gifts, Zion will overflow with peace and meekness among the citizens, for the good feelings, as if it were a voice in our ears, will have to indicate us the way forward, amen!” (A3N 6:19). We must also be careful about whatever we do or say, as it will affect others (see Ephesians 4:29 KJV). We need to ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith and assist with the good feelings (see SBoM 3:42; Hebrews 11:6).
Our Church of Jesus Christ explains to us that “…a building of a spiritual temple should take place before the physical temple is erected among the people of Zion, in which the words of this book will help the people, to carve their hearts hardened by the traditions and precepts of men; to polish their holiness, and to mold them to the true knowledge of my gospel in order to fit like a living stone in the spiritual structure of the temple of God…” (SBoM 4:66). Our Lord requires of us that we should love one another, and to help and share with each other. And in so doing, there will be no poor among us, and we will live in joyful homes.
If the guidelines of our home are the teachings of Jesus Christ, then we will live in homes where joy reigns, whose branches of our posterity will be firmly rooted in the fruits of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance; these being the feelings that must fill our earthly abode, as being a heavenly refuge. And, behold, joy is one of its fruits and will overflow through the walls in the homes of Zion (A3N 10:7; see A3N 10:9; Mosiah 9:54 LDS/18:21 RLDS).
We have our current-day Prophet, Mauricio A. Berger, who translated The Sealed Book and is also given revelations from our Lord Jesus Christ. This helps strengthen our faith in God, through hearing His word. “And what is faith? — Behold, faith is the sum of all the feelings of trust that are in your hearts which nullify the feelings of fear and doubt as to my performance among those who are my elect” (SBoM 3:70; see SBoM 4:24).
Of course, we must remember to keep the Sabbath day Holy and have our Sacred Sacrament without any change to the Lord’s instruction (see A3N 12:28). Our Lord God desires to help us if we follow His commandments and statutes, especially when He knows we are trying, with our hearts and minds. “But this condition depends on strictly obeying the commandments of Christ and indeed keeping his covenants” (A3N 6:6; see Genesis 9:21 IV/JST; SB, The Twelve Apostles of Moses and The Promised Land, verse 23).
With good reasons, the high standards of Zion must be met with raising our own personal and spiritual targets including that we must dress ourselves, clean and appropriately, for our sacred and Holy Sacrament, and any other holy time with the Lord, to give respect and reverence to our Savior.
Yea, unless the people united in your feelings begin to build the principles governing Zion in your own hearts, they can never erect a physically structured Zion on earth. This will be impossible unless engraved the laws governing this heavenly home in yourself, and after building yourselves with the spirit, that is, with the pure sentiments that rule Zion, then each of the men and women of God, should extend this same principle, into his own home and so forth through the society of the Church of Christ in general, until all the citizens of Zion are living harmoniously and according to the high standards of the Kingdom of God on earth, just as it is done in the heavens, so that He may come (A3N 7:7).
We must also address other requirements of Zion, such as the United Order, to affect the redemption of Zion. “And unlike the days of Moses… Jesus Christ, will find at last, a people who observe his commandments, strictly clean from the filthiness of the world of Satan and pure of heart; having all things in common, just as in the days of Enoch, when they lived in a ‘united order’ — Amen” (SBoM 17:27; see also A3N 12:2; SBoM 17:4).
As we begin this new year, what changes do you think we need to make in order to qualify ourselves to become citizens of Zion?
