Deleted

[Ezra]

I thought It was pretty in the area where Zion is supposed to be. What do you think kinda blows about it?

I would rather live where I do. It’s really beautiful here.

I believe people will go because of the safety Zion will provide more then anything else though.

[davedan]

Maybe. Adam-ondi-ahman will be there. The gathering may be after a cleansing. But, as this article points out, there is more myth about Missouri.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1979/04/miss ... s?lang=eng

Alexander Doniphan, his lawyer in Missouri. According to Doniphan’s brother-in-law, writing the incident over seventy years after it occurred, Joseph Smith warned Doniphan that “‘God’s wrath hangs over Jackson County … and you will live to see the day when it will be visited by fire and sword. The fields and farms and houses will be destroyed, and only the chimneys will be left to mark the desolation.’

Heber C. Kimball and Amanda H. Wilcox in Salt Lake City in May 1868. She reports him as saying, “The western boundries of the State of Missouri will be swept so clean of its inhabitants that, as President Young tells us, when we return to that place, ‘There will not be left so much as a yellow dog to wag his tail.’”

[Yahtzee]

I remember being told, in institute maybe, that most of the saints will not go to Missouri to build the New Jerusalem. We'll still be spread across the earth continuing to do temple and missionary work.
Fwiw, my friend has family with a ranch in or next to Jackson County and showed me some gorgeous pictures. I'd live there.

[inho]

As someone not living in the USA, I have a hard time believing that in the midst of all the calamities of the last days I would be able to move to Missouri. I have a stake of Zion and a temple where I live now. Why should I need to move?

[David13]

As someone not living in the USA, I have a hard time believing that in the midst of all the calamities of the last days I would be able to move to Missouri. I have a stake of Zion and a temple where I live now. Why should I need to move?

Well, without knowing which particular galaxy you are located on, we can't make any such recommendation, can we?

We all have our secrets, don't we?
dc

[Tbone]

Missouri kind of sucks.

Them's fightin' words.

[Tree]

As someone not living in the USA, I have a hard time believing that in the midst of all the calamities of the last days I would be able to move to Missouri. I have a stake of Zion and a temple where I live now. Why should I need to move?

Utah Pioneer stock has a little pride issue going on.

[JK4Woods]

Went thru boot camp at Ft Leonard Wood, MO in winter.... theres a reason they call it "little Korea"

[LdsMarco]

NO

[gardener4life]

The question really is, what does the Lord say about it?

See D&C Section 105 below cut and pasted (but bear in mind about gathering Zion the Lord also warns to not boast about it, which is what got the early Saints in trouble in conjunction with pride);
14 For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will fight your battles.
15 Behold, the destroyer I have sent forth to destroy and lay waste mine enemies; and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine heritage, and to blaspheme my name upon the lands which I have consecrated for the gathering together of my saints.
16 Behold, I have commanded my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., to say unto the strength of my house, even my warriors, my young men, and middle-aged, to gather together for the redemption of my people, and throw down the towers of mine enemies, and scatter their watchmen;
17 But the strength of mine house have not hearkened unto my words.
18 But inasmuch as there are those who have hearkened unto my words, I have prepared a blessing and an endowment for them, if they continue faithful.
19 I have heard their prayers, and will accept their offering; and it is expedient in me that they should be brought thus far for a trial of their faith.

So its deferred for a little season. (Little to the Lord is hard for us to comprehend still in terms of years).

What else do we know?

The part about the Lord fighting our battles is key.

Also the prophet with the keys to the restoration has the priesthood key to activate when the Lord tells him its the right time. He won't do it before hand, and he only uses the keys the way the Lord wants him to which is why he's able to be trusted with the key. (Remember when the Kirtland Temple was built, heavenly messengers restored to Joseph Smith the priesthood keys, including key for the gathering of Israel, Elijah's key which has to do with temple work, and others.)

2 Nephi 8:3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. (The point is Zion is to be a comfort, not a worry. We'll be given what we can handle. We need to retain a hope for Zion, not dread.)

What's interesting about this part is compare this to what the Jews are going through right now. They are really psyched up and excited that they are getting Jerusalem back. And they've been praying about it for eons! That's interesting. We should pray for things to work out with Israel in the Middle East to work out because if we're pouring our hope and faith out for them to get their Jerusalem back then wouldn't we be more worthy of getting the Mt. Zion Jerusalem back?)

(Side note; D&C 133 some people were commanded to stay behind or do other things instead of go up to Zion. And in so doing they weren't blamed for doing so, nor lost blessings.)

Official Declaration #1: The Lord had decreed the establishment of Zion. He had decreed the finishing of this temple. He had decreed that the salvation of the living and the dead should be given in these valleys of the mountains. And Almighty God decreed that the Devil should not thwart it. If you can understand that, that is a key to it. (Why I'm showing this isn't to get people to go to Zion! We should remain where we are until the Lord tells us otherwise, but the point is to show the Lord's plan isn't going to fail.)

Other references; 'the Lamb of God'. --> The Ram of God. If Jesus is the Savior and he's the ultimate lamb he's protecting the sheep. Which lambs protect the sheep? The bighorn rams. This is an interesting symbolism because a lot of predators don't make much of a threat usually to the rams protecting the other sheep. They also will fight for hours against 'fake rams' to keep a look alike from stealing their flocks.

Also many Old Testament timelines are similar to what's going on in the winding up scenes of the last days. I found this to be interesting. (Compare this with the chapter headlines of Jeremiah). The people of God begin worshipping idols (and materialism), then the land is polluted and defiled. (Our land is polluted and defiled too! And we worship materialism!). They then began offering up their children in sacrifice...modern twist is mass abortion. (Planned Parenthood's calamities are being revealed recently.) People are asked to repent, and reject it. Next calamities befall the lands. (Worst fire storms in all known history of N.America in 2017, 3 major hurricanes all in same year, also many city governments are bankrupt.) The Lord is then slow to hear their cries and prayers (both Old Testament in people of Limhi cite this.) (Also warnings are in the Old Testament's Isaiah, Jeremiah, and throughout the Book of Mormon warning them to not cast out the poor from among them. But our society still is doing that...hmm.)

***OK, here's another side note that's interesting. I hadn't considered it until recently, but it's something to think on. When you read the scriptures, there are places in the Old Testament where it tells us that many of the calamities aren't just about repenting but actually to stop Pharaoh and people like him from hurting the people of God (Israel). That's very interesting. So even though we feel bad that many earth shaking events are happening, some of them are happening to prevent the preserve the lives of the righteous and to save them from persecution. (So some of the calamities in our day may be to further the Lord's work such as softening people's hearts, prevent persecution of Saints, but also open doors of certain countries because there are good people there.)***

Recently in considering the last days I read the story of Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian in the Old Testament. Because he supported the Lord's work, the calamities of upheaval surround the people being brought into captivity did not cause him harm. He had exercised faith to sustain the prophet in his day, and while people were suffering disasters in his time, he gained the blessing of being allowed to live through it mostly unscathed. (This doesn't have to do with the topic of Zion. BUT DOES have to do with the worries of if we're going to have to suffer and go through trouble while changes in our time are taking place before Zion is restored.)

The common theme of 'Flee from Babylon' still applies even if we're not asked to go Zion. (Separate from the world.)

In your study about Zion, MT Zion generally refers to New Jerusalem. You can find all kinds of scriptures on New Jerusalem. Some of them quote;
-Built by the descendants of the Lamanites with the house of Israel
-It will not be built by Ephraim alone (some scriptures quote it being built up for seed of Joseph but others quote all Israel's faithful may help in building it and assist there.)
-Some of it will come down from Heaven with Enoch and his people
-We know where it will be
-When we're more obedient and living all of the gospel and have faith like the Brother of Jared we'll be able to ask for it and also gain the other scriptures we've been waiting for. Also per Moses 7:63 we also won't be ready for it while there is ENMITY among our brothers and sisters. (Enmity being present beforehand is a big issue delaying it too.)
-Powers of Heaven will be openly manifest there during the Millenium
-A great temple will be there.

(Side Note; the Tower of Babel was trying to counterfeit the ideas of Zion from agents of Saint supplaunting/overthrowing the Priesthood and leading people astray. It may have tried to originally mirror some concepts and that helps to understand why the Tower of Babel was so serious.)

I think that there will be too many people for everyone to be in the 'center' of Zion. Also if you listen to Joseph Smith's words, he expounds that Zion will be expanded to eventually all of North America (& South...). I think there would be too many people to be in Missouri if you took all the Saints there. And people also need farmland. If you study how much land it takes to raise a family on, you can see that everyone being in a city wouldn't work too.

Much of your worry can be addressed in thinking about the concept of 'The Lord will fight our battles (if we are faithful)', and the idea that many people were told by the prophet to stay behind instead of going to Zion (for a season). (But in other areas we're told we should keep our hearts centered on Zion and in Zion.) Having our hearts in Zion is more important than our physical location.

And why does Missouri or anywhere else kind of suck? Because the Lord isn't in charge there. Telestial men are. It won't always stay like that.

If that's where we're meant to go or wherever we are meant to go there's no reason the Lord can't build it up to look as beautiful as Temple Square, or like some of the beautiful areas of the world. When he's in charge it will be a place people will want to be near.

[MMbelieve]

Elder Holland gave a talk about not gathering in the last days but staying where we and not running. He said this time we will fight. I think it was the talk Israel, Israel God is calling.

[David13]

I'm not much interested in Missouri (Misery) myself.
I think Zion is Utah. Well, we do know Zion is in Utah, but that's a park.
Anyway, I think my Zion is in Utah.

I know long ago the Saints gathered first in New York then on to Missouri and Illinois and finally Utah.

I know some of the missionaries used to talk about "give them a Book of Mormn and a one way ticket to Utah.

I know many of the Saints readily packed up and left Europe, and Britain and traveled to the US of A and Utah.

But I think LDSMarco's video sets it forth here. Zion will be where we establish it, if there is freedom to do so. If all freedom is gone, if the New World Order has taken over the earth, Zion will be destroyed, not allowed to go forth.

That's why America's freedom if any of it is left today, is such an essential part of the establisment of Zion.
dc

[tribrac]

I thought it was by invitation. That the lost 10-tribes would go there and some of the LDS saints would be called to help.

As for Utah, I'm pretty sure it will be given over to Manasseh.

[oneClimbs]

I thought it was by invitation. That the lost 10-tribes would go there and some of the LDS saints would be called to help.

As for Utah, I'm pretty sure it will be given over to Manasseh.

"The Lamanites must rise in majesty and power. ...And in the day when their prophet shall come, one shall rise . . . mighty among them . . . being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders" (2 Ne. 3:24). (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1947, pp. 15-22)

"But if [the Gentiles] will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance; And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem. And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem." (3 Nephi 21:22-24)

The remnant of Jacob will build the New Jerusalem led by a prophet that shall arise among them. Any Gentiles (including LDS) that will repent and hearken shall assist them and do the work of going out and gathering the scattered. Remember that the Latter-day Saints "are identified with the Gentiles" (D&C 109:60) are setting the stage rather than being the primary actors. We are laying the foundation upon which the remnant will build when they rise and are ready to take the reigns. Jesus talks all about this to the survivors in 3 Nephi, he mentions the role that the Gentiles will play and the destiny of their posterity.

A lot of good comments have been shared thus far so I'd like to concur with many of them by saying that it appears that some people may go to Missouri while others go out to help gather.

[Stourme]

You need to look at the book of Mormon as a blue print for what's about to happen.
That is the deep purpose of the Book of Mormon, is to prepare us for this point in time.

Read Alma 57 about the 2000 warriors. Those stories of war are not there because they are just good stories.

If you cross reference the meaning with Section 45 of the D&C, verses 66 +, you will find your answer.

1. Zion is considered to be terrible by the world. You don't get a reputation of being terrible because you're baking cookies for everybody.
Zion will have to earn that reputation. Read the wars in the Book of Mormon. The righteous are gathered in, then they fight.
2. Zion will be the only people on the earth not at war with everyone else.
3. All the faithful are gathered in from all the earth to Zion.
4. The gathering is a sifting that will divide the righteous from the evil. Or those that have the mark of God from the those that have the mark of the devil.

The part of the story of the 2000 warriors that everyone over looks, is that that fact that none of the warriors were killed is considered a total miracle wrought by the power of God. Because of their commitment to their covenants. It's that fact that the people Zion will escape the total destruction that is going to grind the rest of the world to dust.

Go to the Temple and pay attention to Lucifer's last words to the people of God. Those events can be correlated to our time and his eventually being cast out.
Pay attention to his promise of "who" will be in his power.

That is the key. You have to have prepared yourself to be worthy of a miracle in order to save your life during the time the wicked are destroyed from off the earth. You have to be able to stand in Holy places and have kept all your covenants.

You have to reject all these social trends and wickedness. Only follow the prophets and Apostles. Obey the commandments. Go to the Temple.

-Stourme

[LdsMarco]

Elder Holland gave a talk about not gathering in the last days but staying where we and not running. He said this time we will fight. I think it was the talk Israel, Israel God is calling.

Pretty much. Here is an account I had with him regarding what you have said

[marc]

I've been to Missouri. I've visited Farr West, Liberty, Adam Ondi Ahman. I loved it. Peaceful, beautiful. Besides Zion's borders will be HUGE, covering a vast area, covering 12,000 furlongs and will likely spread throughout the continent. 12k furlongs covers more than half the US.

[Michelle]

I don't know if the Saints will be called to Missouri or not, but I do know that if you don't want to go, no one will make you.

[drtanner]

I thought it was by invitation. That the lost 10-tribes would go there and some of the LDS saints would be called to help.

As for Utah, I'm pretty sure it will be given over to Manasseh.

"The Lamanites must rise in majesty and power. ...And in the day when their prophet shall come, one shall rise . . . mighty among them . . . being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders" (2 Ne. 3:24). (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1947, pp. 15-22)

"But if [the Gentiles] will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance; And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem. And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem." (3 Nephi 21:22-24)

The remnant of Jacob will build the New Jerusalem led by a prophet that shall arise among them. Any Gentiles (including LDS) that will repent and hearken shall assist them and do the work of going out and gathering the scattered. Remember that the Latter-day Saints "are identified with the Gentiles" (D&C 109:60) are setting the stage rather than being the primary actors. We are laying the foundation upon which the remnant will build when they rise and are ready to take the reigns. Jesus talks all about this to the survivors in 3 Nephi, he mentions the role that the Gentiles will play and the destiny of their posterity.

A lot of good comments have been shared thus far so I'd like to concur with many of them by saying that it appears that some people may go to Missouri while others go out to help gather.

Who do you think this group of Lamanites will be? (I won’t hold you to this just curious what your thoughts are on possible groups) I grew up around a lot of Native Americans, in fact my first job was at a trading post and I made lifelong friends with lots of these wonderful people. My ancestors (the tanners) have deep relations with the Indians and several generations of trading and trust with them. I feel for the current American Indians however, amazing people but they genuinely struggle. Will be interesting to see if it will be this group vs group in Mexico / South America / or somewhere else that rises up. Certainly President Kimball had a love for the Indians and I wonder if he had impressions for their destiny.

[JK4Woods]

Zion is not the Lazyboy in your living room...
(Call yourself lucky if you're over 75...).

Every citizen of this country will suffer deprivation, homelessness of a sort, and be cold and hungry for weeks on end.
Fear will be far and wide among every person still in their right mind.

Those individuals (whether church members or not) who have cultivated a close relationship with Christ and the Spirit will hold back fear, and will be ready to move forward in faith. These people will be inspired and ready to help.
Don't be lost... if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear... this pertains to spiritual, physical and social preparedness...

[oneClimbs]

Who do you think this group of Lamanites will be? (I won’t hold you to this just curious what your thoughts are on possible groups) I grew up around a lot of Native Americans, in fact my first job was at a trading post and I made lifelong friends with lots of these wonderful people. My ancestors (the tanners) have deep relations with the Indians and several generations of trading and trust with them. I feel for the current American Indians however, amazing people but they genuinely struggle. Will be interesting to see if it will be this group vs group in Mexico / South America / or somewhere else that rises up. Certainly President Kimball had a love for the Indians and I wonder if he had impressions for their destiny.

Honestly, I don't know. I suppose it may be whoever answers the call first. It may depend on where their prophet or prophets arise and if they are the catalyst to an awakening. I'm not very good at predicting things.

[FamilyFunnyFarm]

Went thru boot camp at Ft Leonard Wood, MO in winter.... theres a reason they call it "little Korea"

Ft. Leonard Wood is not even close to what the rest of the state is like.

[brianj]

Went thru boot camp at Ft Leonard Wood, MO in winter.... theres a reason they call it "little Korea"

I thought you Army dogs called it basic, not boot.

[natasha]

Elder Holland gave a talk about not gathering in the last days but staying where we and not running. He said this time we will fight. I think it was the talk Israel, Israel God is calling.

That talk was given, if I remember correctly, when he was in Cedar City and it was a broadcast one. What I remember his saying is that the Saints would NOT be asked to move again. That ZION is now an adjective and not a noun. It can come to describe our homes, our Wards, our Stakes and communities.

[Michelle]

Elder Holland gave a talk about not gathering in the last days but staying where we and not running. He said this time we will fight. I think it was the talk Israel, Israel God is calling.

That talk was given, if I remember correctly, when he was in Cedar City and it was a broadcast one. What I remember his saying is that the Saints would NOT be asked to move again. That ZION is now an adjective and not a noun. It can come to describe our homes, our Wards, our Stakes and communities.

https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/ ... g?lang=eng

Israel, Israel, God Is Calling

Welcome to this devotional broadcast, wherever you are in this big, wide, wonderful Church. Thank you all for caring enough to be in attendance, including those of you who are here on the Dixie State College campus in my hometown.

There Have Been Many Calls to Leave Babylon
To invite the Spirit of the Lord to be with us, I requested the hymn we began this meeting with: “Israel, Israel, God Is Calling.” It is one of the great classics of the Restoration and provides the framework for much of what I want to say to you tonight. We could have added “Ye Elders of Israel” for the same purpose. I love hearing the missionaries around the world cry out, “O Babylon, O Babylon, we bid thee farewell; we’re going to the mountains of Ephraim to dwell.”1 The message of those two hymns is essentially the same—that God is always calling to the children of Israel to a place where, ultimately, all will be well.

Israel, Israel, God is calling,

Calling thee from lands of woe.

Babylon the great is falling;

God shall all her tow’rs o’erthrow. …

Come to Zion, come to Zion,

And within her walls rejoice. …

Come to Zion, come to Zion!

Zion’s walls shall ring with praise.2

In effect, this has been Israel’s history down through the ages. When things got too sinful, or there was too much secularization in society, or life with the Gentiles was destroying the moral code and commandments God had given, the children of the covenant would be sent fleeing into the wilderness to reestablish Zion and start all over again.

In Old Testament times Abraham, the father of this kind of covenant, had to flee for his life from Chaldea—literally Babylonia—in his quest for a consecrated life in Canaan (what we would now call the Holy Land).3 It wasn’t many generations before the descendants of Abraham (and then Isaac and Jacob)—by then full-fledged Israelites—lost their Zion and were in bondage in far-off, pagan Egypt.4 So Moses had to be raised up to lead the children of promise into the wilderness again—this time in the middle of the night, without even time for their bread dough to rise! “Israel, Israel, God is speaking,” they undoubtedly sang in their own way. “Hear your great Deliv’rer’s voice!”5

Not many centuries later, a story of special interest to us unfolded when one of those Israelite families, headed by a prophet named Lehi, was commanded to flee even beloved Jerusalem because, alas, Babylon was again at the door.6 Here we go again! Little did they know that they were going to an entirely new continent to establish a whole new concept of Zion,7 but so it would be. And little did they know that it had already happened just like this once before with a group of their forefathers called the Jaredites.8

As noted, this is a worldwide broadcast to an increasingly international Church, but it is of interest to all who celebrate the Restoration of the gospel that the colonization of America was born of a group fleeing from their former homelands in order to worship as they wished. A distinguished scholar of the Puritan settlement in America described this experience as Christianity’s “errand into the wilderness,” the effort of modern Israelites to free themselves of Old World godlessness and once again seek the ways of heaven in a new land.9

For tonight’s purpose I remind you of one last flight, the flight for which our hymn tonight was actually written. It was our own Church, led by our own prophets, leading our own religious ancestors. With Joseph Smith being hounded through the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri, and finally being murdered in Illinois, we were to see the latter-day reenactment of Israel’s children again seeking for a place of seclusion. Brigham Young, the American Moses, as he has been admiringly called, led the Saints to the valleys of the mountains as those foot-weary Saints sang:

We’ll find the place which God for us prepared,

Far away in the West,

Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;

There the Saints will be blessed.10

Zion. The promised land. The New Jerusalem. Where is it? Well, we are not sure, but we will find it. For more than 4,000 years of covenantal history, this has been the pattern: Flee and seek. Run and settle. Escape Babylon. Build Zion’s protective walls.

Until now. Until tonight. Until this our day.

Our Call Is to Build Zion Where We Are
One of the many unique characteristics of our dispensation, this the dispensation of the fulness of times—the last and greatest of all dispensations—is the changing nature of how we establish the kingdom of God on earth. You see, one of the truly exciting things about this dispensation is that it is a time of mighty, accelerated change. And one thing that has changed is that the Church of God will never again flee. It will never again leave Ur in order to leave Haran, in order to leave Canaan, in order to leave Jerusalem, in order to leave England, in order to leave Kirtland, in order to leave Nauvoo, in order to go who knows where. No, as Brigham Young said for us all, “We have been kicked out of the frying-pan into the fire, out of the fire into the middle of the floor, and here we are and here we will stay.”11

Of course, that statement wasn’t a comment about the Salt Lake Valley only or even the Wasatch Front generally; it became a statement for the members of the Church all over the world. In these last days, in this our dispensation, we would become mature enough to stop running. We would become mature enough to plant our feet and our families and our foundations in every nation, kindred, tongue, and people permanently. Zion would be everywhere—wherever the Church is. And with that change—one of the mighty changes of the last days—we no longer think of Zion as where we are going to live; we think of it as how we are going to live.

Three Incidents That Lead to Three Lessons
To frame this new task just a little, I wish to draw tonight upon three incidents Sister Holland and I have experienced within the fairly recent past. If time permitted I could cite dozens more, and so could you.

Number one: A few years ago a young friend of mine—a returned missionary—was on one of the college basketball teams in Utah. He was a great young man and a very good ballplayer, but he wasn’t playing as much as he hoped he would. His particular talents and skills weren’t exactly what that team needed at that stage of its development or his. That happens in athletics. So, with the full support and best wishes of his coaches and his teammates, my young friend transferred to another school where he hoped he might contribute a little more.

As fate would have it, things clicked at the new school, and my friend soon became a starter. And wouldn’t you know it—the schedule (determined years before these events transpired) had this young man returning to play against his former team in Salt Lake City's then-named Delta Center.

What happened in that game has bothered me to this day, and I am seizing this unusual moment to get it off my chest. The vitriolic abuse that poured out of the stands on this young man’s head that night—a Latter-day Saint, returned missionary, newlywed who paid his tithing, served in the elder’s quorum, gave charitable service to the youth in his community, and waited excitedly for a new baby coming to him and his wife—what was said and done and showered upon him that night, and on his wife and their families, should not have been experienced by any human being anywhere anytime, whatever his sport, whatever his university, or whatever his personal decisions had been about either of them.

But here is the worst part. The coach of this visiting team, something of a legend in the profession, turned to him after a spectacular game and said: “What is going on here? You are the hometown boy who has made good. These are your people. These are your friends.” But worst of all, he then said in total bewilderment, “Aren’t most of these people members of your church?”

Incident number two: I was invited to speak in a stake single-adult devotional—one of those open-ended “18-and-over” sort of things. As I entered the rear door of the stake center, a 30-something young woman entered the building at about the same time. Even in the crush of people moving toward the chapel, it was hard not to notice her. As I recall, she had a couple of tattoos, a variety of ear and nose rings, spiky hair reflecting all the colors now available in snow cones, a skirt that was too high, and a blouse that was too low.

Three questions leapt to my mind: Was this woman a struggling soul, not of our faith, who had been led—or even better, had been brought by someone—to this devotional under the guidance of the Lord in an effort to help her find the peace and the direction of the gospel that she needed in her life? Another possibility: Was she a member who had strayed a bit maybe from some of the hopes and standards that the Church encourages for its members but who, thank heaven, was still affiliating and had chosen to attend this Church activity that night? Or a third option: Is this the stake Relief Society president? (Somehow I was sure she was not.)

Here is my third example: While participating in the dedication of the Kansas City Missouri Temple just a few months ago, Sister Holland and I were hosted by Brother Isaac Freestone, a police officer by profession and a wonderful high priest in the Liberty Missouri Stake. In our conversations he told us that late one evening he was called to investigate a complaint in a particularly rough part of the city. Over the roar of loud music and with the smell of marijuana in the air, he found one woman and several men drinking and profaning, all of them apparently totally oblivious of the five little children—aged about two through eight years of age—huddled together in one room, trying to sleep on a filthy floor with no bed, no mattress, no pillows, no anything. Brother Freestone looked in the kitchen cupboards and in the refrigerator to see if he could find a single can or carton or box of food of any kind—but he literally could find nothing. He said the dog barking in the backyard had more food than those children did.

In the mother’s bedroom he found a bare mattress, the only one in the house. He hunted until he found some sheets (if you could call them that), put them on the mattress, and tucked all five children into the makeshift bed. With tears in his eyes he then knelt down, offered a prayer to Heavenly Father for their protection, and said good night.

As he arose and walked toward the door, one of the children, about age six, jumped out of bed, ran to him, grabbed him by the hand, and pled, “Will you please adopt me?” With more tears in his eyes, he put the child back in bed, then found the stoned mother (the men had long since fled) and said to her: “I will be back tomorrow, and heaven help you if some changes are not evident by the time I walk in this door. And there will be more changes after that. You have my word on it.”12

What do these three incidents have in common? Not much really, except that they happened to Sister Holland and me in the recent past. And they give three tiny, very different real-life examples of Babylon—one personal and as silly as deplorable behavior at a basketball game, one more cultural and indicative of one-on-one challenges with those who live differently than we do, and one very large and very serious matter, with legal implications and history so complex that it would seem to be beyond any individual one of us to address it.

In posing these three challenges, I intentionally did not use sensational cases of sexual transgression or physical violence or pornographic addiction, even though those might strike closer to home for some of you than the examples I have used. But you are smart enough to make unspoken applications.

Lesson 1: Never “Check Your Religion at the Door”
First, let’s finish the basketball incident. The day after that game, when there was some public reckoning and a call to repentance over the incident, one young man said, in effect: “Listen. We are talking about basketball here, not Sunday School. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. We pay good money to see these games. We can act the way we want. We check our religion at the door.”

“We check our religion at the door”? Lesson number one for the establishment of Zion in the 21st century: You never “check your religion at the door.” Not ever.

My young friends, that kind of discipleship cannot be—it is not discipleship at all. As the prophet Alma has taught the young women of the Church to declare every week in their Young Women theme, we are “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in,”13not just some of the time, in a few places, or when our team has a big lead.

“Check your religion at the door”! I was furious.

Lesson 2: Show Compassion, but Be Loyal to the Commandments
But let’s stay with this for a minute because there is a second lesson on its way. Lesson number two in tonight’s quest for Zion is that in my righteous indignation (at least we always say it is righteous) I have to make sure that I don’t end up doing exactly what I was accusing this young fan of doing—getting mad, acting stupid, losing my cool, ranting about it, wanting to get my hands on him—preferably around his throat—until, before I know it, I have checked my religion at the door! No, someone in life, someone in the 21st century, someone in all of these situations has to live his or her religion because otherwise all we get is a whole bunch of idiots acting like moral pygmies.

It is easy to be righteous when things are calm and life is good and everything is going smoothly. The test is when there is real trial or temptation, when there is pressure and fatigue, anger and fear, or the possibility of real transgression. Can we be faithful then? That is the question because “Israel, Israel, God is calling.” Such integrity is, of course, the majesty of “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”14—right when forgiving and understanding and being generous about your crucifiers is the last thing that anyone less perfect than the Savior of the world would want to do. But we have to try; we have to wish to be strong. Whatever the situation or the provocation or the problem, no true disciple of Christ can “check his religion at the door.”

That leads me to the woman with the rainbow hair and the many splendored rings. However one would respond to that young woman, the rule forever is that it has to reflect our religious beliefs and our gospel commitments. Therefore, how we respond in any situation has to make things better, not worse. We can’t act or react in such a way that we are guilty of a greater offense than, in this case, she is. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have opinions, that we don’t have standards, that we somehow completely disregard divinely mandated “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots” in life. But it does mean we have to live those standards and defend those “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots” in a righteous way to the best of our ability, the way the Savior lived and defended them. And He always did what should have been done to make the situation better—from teaching the truth, to forgiving sinners, to cleansing the temple. It is no small gift to know how to do such things in the right way!

So, with our new acquaintance of the unusual dress and grooming code, we start, above all, by remembering she is a daughter of God and of eternal worth. We start by remembering that she is someone’s daughter here on earth as well and could, under other circumstances, be my daughter. We start by being grateful that she is at a Church activity, not avoiding one. In short, we try to be at our best in this situation in a desire to help her be at her best. We keep praying silently: What is the right thing to do here? And what is the right thing to say? What ultimately will make this situation and her better? Asking these questions and really trying to do what the Savior would do is what I think He meant when He said, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”15

Having said that, I remind us all that while reaching out to and helping back a lamb who has strayed, we also have a profound responsibility to the 99 who didn’t—and to the wishes and will of the Shepherd. There is a sheepfold, and we are all supposed to be in it, to say nothing of the safety and blessings that come to us for being there. My young brothers and sisters, this Church can never “dumb down” its doctrine in response to social goodwill or political expediency or any other reason. It is only the high ground of revealed truth that gives us any footing on which to lift another who may feel troubled or forsaken. Our compassion and our love—fundamental characteristics and requirements of our Christianity—must never be interpreted as compromising the commandments. As the marvelous George MacDonald once said, in such situations “we are not bound to say all that we [believe], but we are bound not even to look [like] what we do not [believe].”16

Judge Righteous Judgments
In this regard—this call for compassion and loyalty to the commandments—there is sometimes a chance for a misunderstanding, especially among young people who may think we are not supposed to judge anything, that we are never to make a value assessment of any kind. We have to help each other with that because the Savior makes it clear that in some situations we have to judge, we are under obligation to judge—as when He said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.”17 That sounds like a judgment to me. The alternative is to surrender to the moral relativism of a deconstructionist, postmodern world which, pushed far enough, posits that ultimately nothing is eternally true or especially sacred and, therefore, no one position on any given issue matters more than any other. And that simply is not true.

In this process of evaluation, we are not called on to condemn others, but we are called upon to make decisions every day that reflect judgment—we hope good judgment. Elder Dallin H. Oaks once referred to these kinds of decisions as “intermediate judgments,” which we often have to make for our own safety or for the safety of others, as opposed to what he called “final judgments,” which can only be made by God, who knows all the facts.18 (Remember, in the scripture quoted earlier, that the Savior said these are to be “righteous judgments,” not self-righteous judgments, which is a very different thing.)

For example, parents have to exercise good judgment regarding the safety and welfare of their children every day. No one would fault a parent who says children must eat their vegetables or who restricts a child from running into a street roaring with traffic. So why should a parent be faulted who cares, at a little later age, what time those children come home at night, or what the moral and behavioral standards of their friends are, or at what age they date, or whether or not they experiment with drugs or pornography or engage in sexual transgression? No, we are making decisions and taking stands and reaffirming our values—in short, making “intermediate judgments”—all the time, or at least we should be.

Some Issues and Laws Have Eternal Consequences
When we face such situations in complex social issues in a democratic society, it can be very challenging and, to some, confusing. Young people may ask about this position taken or that policy made by the Church, saying: “Well, we don’t believe we should live or behave in such and such a way, but why do we have to make other people do the same? Don’t they have their free agency? Aren’t we being self-righteous and judgmental, forcing our beliefs on others, demanding that they act in a certain way?” In those situations you are going to have to explain sensitively why some principles are defended and some sins opposed wherever they are found because the issues and the laws involved are not just social or political but eternal in their consequence. And while not wishing to offend those who believe differently from us, we are even more anxious not to offend God, or as the scripture says, “not offend him who is your lawgiver”19—and I am speaking here of serious moral laws.

But to make the point, let me use the example of a lesser law. It is a little like a teenager saying, “Now that I can drive, I know I am supposed to stop at a red light, but do we really have to be judgmental and try to get everyone else to stop at red lights? Does everyone have to do what we do? Don’t others have their agency? Must they behave as we do?” You then have to explain why, yes, we do hope all will stop at a red light. And you have to do this without demeaning those who transgress or who believe differently than we believe because, yes, they do have their moral agency.

My young friends, there is a wide variety of beliefs in this world, and there is moral agency for all, but no one is entitled to act as if God is mute on these subjects or as if commandments only matter if there is public agreement over them. In the 21st century we cannot flee any longer. We are going to have to fight for laws and circumstances and environments that allow the free exercise of religion and our franchise in it. That is one way we can tolerate being in Babylon but not of it.

I know of no more important ability and no greater integrity for us to demonstrate in a world from which we cannot flee than to walk that careful path—taking a moral stand according to what God has declared and the laws He has given, but doing it compassionately and with understanding and great charity. Talk about a hard thing to do—to distinguish perfectly between the sin and the sinner. I know of few distinctions that are harder to make, or at least harder to articulate, but we must lovingly try to do exactly that. Believe me, brothers and sisters, in the world into which we are moving, we are going to have a lot of opportunity to develop such strength, display such courage, and demonstrate such compassion—all at the same time. And I am not speaking now of punk hairdos or rings in your nose.

Lesson 3: Use Gospel Values to Benefit Communities and Countries
Now lastly, the difficult story from Kansas City. Not many of us are going to be police officers or social service agents or judges sitting on a legal bench, but all of us should care for the welfare of others and the moral safety of our extended community. Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve devoted an entire general conference talk to this subject two years ago. In speaking of the need for us to influence society beyond the walls of our own home he said:

“In addition to protecting our own families, we should be a source of light in protecting our communities. The Savior said, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ …

“In our increasingly unrighteous world, it is essential that values based on religious belief be [evident in] the public square. …

“Religious faith is a store of light, knowledge, and wisdom and benefits society in a dramatic way.”20

If we don’t take gospel blessings to our communities and our countries, the simple fact of the matter is we will never have enough policemen—there will never be enough Isaac Freestones—to enforce moral behavior even if it were enforceable. And it isn’t. Those children in that home without food or clothing are sons and daughters of God. That mother, more culpable because she is older and should be more responsible, is also a daughter of God. Such situations may require tough love in formal, even legal ways, but we must try to help when and where we can because we are not checking our religion at the door, even as pathetic and irresponsible as some doors are.

We aren’t going to solve every personal or social problem in the world here tonight. When we leave this evening, there will still be poverty, ignorance and transgression, unemployment and abuse, violence and heartache in our neighborhoods and cities and nations. No, we can’t do everything, but as the old saying goes, we can do something. And in answer to God’s call, the children of Israel are the ones to do it—not to flee Babylon this time but to attack it. Without being naive or Pollyannaish about it, we can live our religion so broadly and unfailingly that we find all kinds of opportunities to help families, bless neighbors, and protect others, including the rising generation.

Live Your Life to Reflect Your Love of Jesus Christ
I have not uttered the word missionary in this context for fear you would immediately think of white shirts and name tags. Don’t limit me on this. Stay with the big picture—the huge need—to share the gospel always, whether you are a full-time missionary or not. Latter-day Saints are called upon to be the leaven in the loaf, the salt that never loses its savor, the light set upon a hill never to be hidden under a bushel. And your age group—18 to 30 for the most part—is the time in a person’s life when your acquaintances are most likely to accept the gospel if it is presented to them. We know that. A number of studies conducted by the Church have told us that.

So start presenting! If we do right and talk right and reach out generously with our words and our deeds, then when the Savior cuts short His work in righteousness, says time is no more in this last, great dispensation and then comes in His glory, He will find us—you and me and all of us—doing our best, trying to live the gospel, trying to improve our lives and our Church and our society the best way we can. When He comes, I so want to be caught living the gospel. I want to be surprised right in the act of spreading the faith and doing something good. I want the Savior to say to me: “Jeffrey”—because He knows all of our names—“I recognize you not by your title but by your life, the way you are trying to live and the standards you are trying to defend. I see the integrity of your heart. I know you have tried to make things better first and foremost by being better yourself, and then by declaring my word and defending my gospel to others in the most compassionate way you could.”

“I know you weren’t always successful,” He will certainly say, “with your own sins or the circumstances of others, but I believe you honestly tried. I believe in your heart you truly loved me.”

I want to have something like that encounter someday as I want nothing else in this mortal life. And I want it for you. I want it for us all. Israel, Israel, God is calling—calling us to live the gospel of Jesus Christ personally in small ways as well as large, and then to reach out to those who may not look or dress or behave quite like we do, and then (where you can) go beyond that to serve in the widest community you can address.

To help you do that, I leave along with my testimony, an apostolic blessing on each of you this night. I bless you, by the power of the priesthood and the commission that I have received, to know that God loves you, that He needs you in this last and greatest dispensation when everything is accelerated and more and more is expected. I bless you, with apostolic authority, that your prayers offered in righteousness will be answered, that your personal fears will be lifted, that your backs and your shoulders and your hearts will be strong for the burdens that are placed upon them. I bless you as you strive to be pure in heart, offering yourselves as instruments in the hands of God for establishing Zion in these latter days everywhere you stand. I bless you to be true friends to each other and to those not of your circle to whom we should reach out. Above that, I bless you to be friends of the Savior of the world, to know Him personally, and to have confidence in His company.

I love the Lord Jesus Christ, whose servant I am trying to be. And I love our Heavenly Father, who cared enough to give Him to us. I know that, regarding that gift, God is calling to Israel in these latter days and that He expects us to respond to that call and to be more Christlike, to be more holy than we now are in our determination to live the gospel and establish Zion. I also know that He will give us both the strength and the holiness to be true disciples if we plead for it. I testify of the divinity of this work, of the love and grandeur of Almighty God, and the infinite Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ even down unto the least of each one of us. I bless you with this hope for happiness and holiness, tonight and tomorrow and forever, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

“Ye Elders of Israel,” Hymns, no. 319.

“Israel, Israel, God is Calling,” Hymns, no. 7.

See Abraham 2:3.

See Exodus 1:7–14.

“Israel, Israel, God is Calling,” Hymns, no. 7.

See 1 Nephi 2:2.

See 1 Nephi 18:22–24.

See Ether 6:5–13.

See Perry Miller, Errand into the Wilderness (1984), 2–3.

“Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Hymns, no. 30.