Zion (Latter Day Saints) - History

History

Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote of Zion even before the organization of the Latter Day Saint church. In April 1829, he dictated a revelation which urged him and his scribe, Oliver Cowdery, to "seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion." The attempt to reach that goal became a driving force in early Latter Day Saint history, and remains a powerful influence among Latter Day Saints today.

In its broadest sense, Zion is regarded by Latter Day Saints as an association of the "pure in heart." Central to Zion's philosophical underpinnings was a sense of community cohesiveness and unity, a concept which seemed to be unraveling in the world of Jacksonian Democracy. Smith taught that the people of Zion would have all things in common (see United Order), and would not allow others in their community to suffer because of the principles of love, unselfishness, and work for the common good which would be imbued in the individuals capable of maintaining such a society. Zion therefore stands in contrast to proverbial Babylon, where wickedness, disunity, and poverty prevail.

Soon after the founding of the Latter Day Saint church in April 1830, Smith designated a physical location for the Saints to start to build Zion, which he taught would be the future New Jerusalem. On July 20, 1831, Smith stated that he had received a revelation that designated Missouri as the "land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints." The revelation further stated, "Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and the spot for the temple is lying westward…" Smith later envisioned the temple as being the starting point for the creation of a New Jerusalem: "Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation."

A comprehensive plat was written up by Smith in 1833, describing the planned city as an organized grid system of blocks and streets, a type of city plan that saw widespread use in Western United States communities. Designed around Latter Day Saint principles of agrarianism order and community, the plan called for 24 temples at the city's center, reflecting the central role played by the church in the community. The temples were to be used for education, administration, cultural events and worship. The plan called for a city of 15,000-20,000 people living in a one mile square city with agricultural land to be reserved on all sides of the city, enough to supply the city "without going too great of a distance". The plan did not allow a city to become too large; once a city had reached the 20,000 limit it was envisaged that other cities would be built... "When this square is thus laid off and supplied, lay off another in the same way, and so fill up the world." While never utilized, the plat ultimately served as a blueprint for subsequent Mormon settlements.

However, mob violence forced the Latter Day Saints from the environs of Missouri by the end of 1833. The local Missourians objected to the Saints' political views (including Mormon support of abolition), their religious beliefs, and their growing population which would soon wrest political power in Jackson County from the "old settlers'" hands.

However, a later revelation through Smith states the belief that the Latter Day Saints were unable to establish Zion in "consequence of their transgressions." The revelation says that among the Saints there were "jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances." Zion could only be established by those who had spiritually prepared themselves to do so.

The Latter Day Saints were finally driven from Missouri in 1838 as a consequence of the Mormon War and Governor Lilburn Boggs' Extermination Order. After this time, Zion maintained its general definition of a society of the righteous, but the importance of Zion as a specific piece of geography (Jackson County, Missouri) began to lose its importance. Zion also became a euphemism for wherever the Saints were gathered, be it Nauvoo, Illinois, Utah, or in many congregations throughout the world.

Today, Latter Day Saints are still counseled by their leaders to build up the cause of Zion, and prepare themselves to be worthy of such a society.