Zion ... Offered Today

There have only been two successes of Zion in all of history. One was through Enoch and the other Melchizedek. Both were meek and used persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness and love rather than force, compulsion, and control. Enoch and Melchizedek preached repentance. The people heard the word of God and chose to repent and Zion was established.

Like Enoch and Melchizedek, Joseph Smith preached repentance baptism and the Holy Ghost. Likewise in the future, Zion will be established only through someone preaching repentance followed by people repenting. Today, repentance is currently being preached and baptism and the Holy Ghost is being offered to all. Who will choose to receive?

Zion is for those living in the flesh.

Zion requires people with understanding of Heaven.

Zion requires priesthood from heaven.

To prepare for and enter Zion, one must correctly identify a true Messenger of God and repent. Mankind almost always mistakes a false prophet for a true one or, on the other hand, doesn't even recognize the true one, speaking the word of God. 

“The world always mistook false prophets for true ones, and those that were sent of God, they considered to be false prophets and hence they killed, stoned, punished and imprisoned the true prophets, and these had to hide themselves "in deserts and dens, and caves of the earth," and though the most honorable men of the earth, they banished them from their society as vagabonds, whilst they cherished, honored and supported knaves, vagabonds, hypocrites, impostors, and the basest of men.” (TPJS 206)

Zion is prevented quite easily: jarrings, contentions, envyings, strifes, lustful and covetous desires, etc. This will pollute our inheritances. (D&C 101:6)

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. (Moses 7:18)

Zion does not require a strong man. In fact a strong man model, which our society craves, will hinder and prevent Zion. Zion was never the product of strongman leadership.

We must have the glory of God or intelligence to be comfortable in Zion. God's glory must be in you. People are not just going to walk in and take up residency in Zion without repentance.

Zion requires each individual to know God himself. "Know ye the Lord" for they all would know him. This is the prophecy about Zion in the last days. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

Zion will require a covenant . It will require authority from God for that covenant because only he can establish it.

The people will need to keep the covenant and live in a Terrestrial society. Any who refuse the greater light will be in peril. Real covenants make each individual directly accountable to God, not to man.

Those, who reside in Zion, will obey Terrestrial law. Failure to obey the law will bring immediate judgment from God. The ground itself will be included within God's covenant. When Zion is built, if the unworthy enter they will encounter conditions they cannot endure. Anyone living a telestial law will be destroyed if they attempt to enter Zion without repentance. Pretenders, using the strongman model, have no idea what it takes to bring Zion.

The only way to bring again Zion is to rise up and live lives filled with greater light. All must come to know the Lord. The only way is to comprehend the gospel of Christ, accept the invitation, prepare your heart, mind, soul, and clean up, leaving behind sins, and come to face the Lord.

Jacob, in the book of Mormon, denounced priestcraft, which is an ill-fit and not acceptable in Zion. Anyone setting themselves up for a light unto the world that they may get gain does not qualify for Zion. Anyone attempting or succeeding to make a profit from being a pseudo-prophet has not, does not, and will not work in Zion.

The problem is we need to rise up individually and having risen up individually then we have the potential for a gathering. Zion cannot come by are doing a "minimum" effort. Zion is to be at the forefront to invite the Lord's return. Until Christ is invited by members of His family, it is not reasonable to expect the Lord to return.

Zion will be where the qualified meet. It will not be where people come to get qualified.

Zion shall not go out with haste nor by flight for the Lord will go before you. Assemble yourselves together unto the land of Zion, not in haste, lest there should be confusion, which bringeth pestilence. (3 Nephi 20:42; D&C 63:24)

Repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost! 

“And in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen” [ 3 Nephi 11:23-25]. When I was baptized into the LDS church, the baptismal prayer was, “Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in name of the Father…” When I was rebaptized, I was rebaptized by one who had authority from Christ. Therefore, in that baptism, the words were, “Having authority of Jesus Christ…”

If all you are going to do is baptize someone again according to the LDS pattern with a commission in a church, don’t bother doing it. But if you follow these principles, and if the Spirit empowers you to baptize, then baptize having authority from Christ. And follow His words. We’ve deviated long enough. It’s time to return. “And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize” [3 Nephi 11:26-28]. I’m telling you in the name of the Lord, that that commandment is renewed again, by Him, today to you. (Baptism Podcast)

Do not expect an institution to bring Zion. Expecting some pseudo-prophet to bring Zion again will surely result in disappointment.

Zion must be in the mountains. It must be among the original natives of the Americas. It must be established under the guidance of someone who hails from both the tribe of Ephraim, and is a descendant of Jesse. It will be set up before the world's kingdoms are destroyed.

Zion will be established at a location in the Rocky Mountains. Whether it comes in our lifetime is entirely dependent on us. (The source of the above material is the Zion Chapter of Preserving the Restoration)