Enoch’s people set the standard:

The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.

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.

And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even ZION.

And it came to pass that Enoch talked with the Lord; and he said unto the Lord: Surely Zion shall dwell in safety forever.[i]

Melchizedek’s people followed suit. Like Enoch’s people, who built “the City of Holiness, even ZION,” Melchizedek’s people built Salem, meaning “city of perfection”^[ii] or “righteousness and peace.”^[iii] This city became the forerunner of Jerusalem,^[iv] the eternal city of God.[v]

Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness;

But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father.^[vi]

Melchizedek, like Enoch, was enormously successful in establishing the principles of Zion in the hearts of his people: “And his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch.”^[vii]

In the Meridian of Times, the Nephites and Lamanites achieved a society devoid of all forms of poverty.

And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.

And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift….

And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.

And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.

And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land.[viii]

How To Eradicate Poverty and Achieve Prosperity

In the latter days, do we have the faith to achieve a poverty-free world? If so, how might it happen? The answer lies in a principle that is a gospel irony, a paradigm of thought that eludes the world. Here is the principle:

Give your way to prosperity, freedom, safety and security.

This principle was widely known and practiced by ancient Zion people, who managed to flourish while the world around them collapsed under the weight of selfishness, greed and wickedness. Those Zion people discovered that by living this principle, they simultaneously invoked the law of restoration,[ix] or the hundredfold law.[x] That is, whatever they gave immediately gained power to return to them many times more than their sacrifice. Thus, by the simple act of charitable giving they prospered, and in the process, they achieved greater liberties, safety and security.

Knowing that history is wont to repeat itself, we wonder if we, who will face the prophesied judgments of the last days, will choose to embrace this principle and prosper by it, or choose to suffer with the world as it spirals out of control and implodes around us. One thing is certain: The days of attempting to mix Zion and Babylon are over; the day of decision is upon us.

A Foundation That Will revolutionize the World

At the beginning of this dispensation, Joseph Smith prophesied of the impact of the glorious latter-day work while simultaneously raising the anti-poverty flag: “I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world.” The Prophet’s use of the word revolution was not meant to suggest conflict: “It will not be by sword or gun that this kingdom will roll on,” he said: “the power of truth is such that all nations will be under the necessity of obeying the Gospel.”[xi] What is the Lord’s mandated goal that could revolutionize the world and eradicate every form of poverty? Here are his words: “You are to be equal…every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just.”[xii]

Equality! Covenant people recognize these inspired words as central to the law of consecration, the same law that governs the celestial kingdom,[xiii] and the law that is intended to govern the kingdom of God on the earth.

How is this to be done? The Lord gives the answer: “I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.” That is, to achieve equality, we must first recognize that all things belong to the Lord and that by covenant we are stewards of his (not our) property. The Lord declares this arrangement is for our good: “It is wisdom in me.”

To make the leap from being owners to stewards, we must adopt a new mindset and rethink our priorities regarding our time, talents, money, property, and our treatment of the poor; then we must agree to include the Lord in the decisions we make regarding the use of the things that he has entrusted to us. Moreover, we must agree to be accountable to him for the discharge of our stewardship: “Therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall organize yourselves and appoint every man his stewardship; that every man may give an account unto me of the stewardship which is appointed unto him. For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.”[xiv]

We might try to excuse ourselves from living this law by appealing to a false presumption in Church history: Wasn’t the law of consecration put on hold or at least lessened because of the failings of our fathers? Absolutely not. Any attempt to locate scriptural or authoritative evidence that this law was rescinded or is waiting to one day be implemented will be vain. If we are truly a covenant people then we are a consecrated people, and as such, we have bound ourselves to be stewards dedicated to equalizing the condition of the Lord’s children by the proper use of the Lord’s resources that he has placed in our hands.

As stewards, we agree to do the work of the Lord with his resources. That work is the “immortality and eternal life of man.”[xv] While we cannot give anyone the gift of immortality, we can, through our charitable actions, help someone achieve a more exalted level of immortality. And the highest level, of course, is called eternal life. Broadly, this is the work we covenant to assume, and to do so, we agree to consecrate all that we are and have.

In Mine Own Way

A central part of the Lord’s work is to level up the condition of his impoverished children: “And it is my purpose to provide for my saints.” To accomplish this feat, he employs us, his stewards, who have entered into a covenant of consecration to do this very thing. The Lord dictates the specific way that he, through us, will care for his children: “But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.”[xvi]

On the surface, this statement could appear like the socialistic doctrine of forced redistribution of wealth; but, as we shall see, consecration is neither an experiment in socialism nor an adaptation of an economic order. The Lord’s way is founded on personal agency and the condition of the steward’s heart. Implemented properly, the Lord’s way prospers, enlightens and exalts, while man’s way impoverishes, discourages and damns.

In the latter days, the Lord has placed an extra burden on the well-to-do saints to care for their underprivileged brothers and sisters in impoverished nations: “…for I will consecrate of the riches of those who embrace my gospel among the Gentiles unto the poor of my people who are of the house of Israel.”[xvii] The word Gentiles in this context means the members of the Church who live in wealthy gentile nations; the “poor of my people who are of the house of Israel” live elsewhere in less favorable circumstances. We, who are privileged, are responsible to contribute generously to the programs of the Church that level up our brothers and sisters, allowing them to share equally with us in the Lord’s blessings.

Enough and to Spare

The Lord promises ample resources to accomplish his purposes: “For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare.” Therefore, we need only go about doing all that we can to care for the Lord’s children. Finally, taking care of the impoverished remains our choice, but how we choose will bring judgment: “I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.”[xviii]

Imagine, then, a world impacted by the Lord’s stewards. Such people would go about doing good works in the similitude of their Master, whose work it is. Joseph Smith said, “A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”[xix] With the resources that the Lord had entrusted to his stewards, they would search out and attack misery wherever they encountered it. They would always have their antennae up, seeking to become a conduit through which the Lord could channel blessings to his needy children. To such stewards the Lord would direct a continuous flow of opportunities and resources for the purpose of blessing his children.

When the stewards became aware of a need, they would receive the intelligence with the attitude that the Lord had brought the matter to their attention. The stewards would not and could not turn away; rather, they would assume that the Lord expected them to do whatever they could to supply the necessary need and continue until stability and equality were achieved.

A Lesson from the Good Samaritan

The parable of the Good Samaritan[xx] is a case in point. Although the Samaritan did not know the abused nameless man whom he encountered, he nevertheless assumed the responsibility for the man’s welfare. The Samaritan provided generously for the man’s needs; then he offered to supply anything else that might be required until the man was made whole. Clearly, the Samaritan was the Lord’s steward, and as such he was continually on the Lord’s errand.

When he saw the beaten and destitute man, he recognized that the Lord had caused two paths to converge for the purpose of saving an impoverished soul. The Samaritan received the honor of blessing the man as the Lord would have blessed him. No matter the inconvenience and notwithstanding the required time and resources that would be needed (these things belong to the Lord anyway), the Samaritan saw life through the eyes of a steward, who was under covenant to use his Master’s resources as directed.

Significantly, the Samaritan needed no blinding revelation to take action; the fact that he had encountered need was revelation enough. Assumedly, the Samaritan had previously made a decision that if the Lord would take occasion to make a need known to him, the Samaritan would receive it as a revelation and an invitation to act. Jesus ends his parable with a commandment to each covenant person, who would be a steward: “Go, and do thou likewise.”[xxi]

Could a group of such people change the world? The Samaritan clearly changed the world for at least one nameless impoverished soul. Doubtless, in his lifetime, the Samaritan changed the world for many poor individuals who needed the Lord’s time, talents and resources. Is there any way that the Samaritan’s generosity might have diminished him or reduced the resources in his trust? Of course not.

If we knew the rest of the story, we would expect that the Samaritan was restored in each instance “an hundredfold” so that he could give again. We simply cannot extend merciful blessings to God’s children and not experience a harvest of merciful blessings in return.^[xxii] As we give what we have, replacement comes with increase.^[xxiii]

This principle, then, is part of the revolutionary foundation that Joseph Smith intended to establish that would one day change the entire world. When employed, this principle prospered, secured, protected and exalted the most successful civilizations that have ever existed. It is central to “the law of the celestial kingdom,”[xxiv] and therefore we must become converted to living it if we ever expect to inherit that kingdom. It is the last law and obstacle that stand between us and celestial glory. For now, it has the power to transform the condition of mankind and achieve the unimaginable: No poor among them!

Author’s Note

This article was adapted from my new book, The Three Pillars of Zion. Click here to receive a free sample.

[ii] Galbraith, Ogden, and Skinner, Jerusalem: The Eternal City, 41.

[iii] Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 321.

[iv] McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 531.

[v] Ezra Taft Benson, Come unto Christ, 114; Hebrews 12:22.

[vi] Alma 13:17–18.

[vii] JST Genesis 14:34.

[viii] 4 Nephi 1:2-3, 15-18.

[ix] Alma 41:3–6, 15.

[x] Genesis 26:12; 2 Samuel 24:3; Matthew 13:8–23; 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 8:8; D&C 98:25; 132:55.

[xi] Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 366.

[xii] D&C 82:17.

[xiii] D&C 105:4–5.

[xiv] D&C 104:14, 11-13.

[xv] Moses 1:39.

[xvi] D&C 104:15-16.

[xvii] D&C 42:39.

[xviii] D&C 104:16-18.

[xix] History of the Church, 4:227.

[xx] Luke 10:30-37.

[xxi] Luke 10:37.

[xxii] Hinckley, “Blessed Are the Merciful,” 68.

[xxiii] Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” 54–55.

[xxiv] D&C 105:4–5.

As we have learned, Abraham desired to become like God and to receive greater revelations and privileges. Therefore, to that end he sought for the higher commandments, which are associated with the Melchizedek Priesthood and which yield those results. These greater commandments helped to conduct Abraham, a “follower of righteousness,” into the Lord’s presence. Likewise, when the Nephites stood in the presence of the Lord, they received greater commandments that had to do with celestial living. Their account becomes our model.

The Greater Commandment to Pray Always

Of the many commandments that the Lord gave to the Nephites on the occasion of his appearance, we will single out three that directly produce a Zionlike life. The first is the commandment to pray always. Jesus ”commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.”

At a minimum, praying always would mean that we should assume a reverent, prayerful attitude while we go about our daily activities. This would include continual communication, worship, awareness, gratitude, accountability to God for our actions, and recognizing our total dependence on the Lord. This prayerful attitude is the engine that drives humility and the purification of the heart; this attitude raises the antenna of revelation and flags opportunities to serve.

Continual prayer forms a shield of protection against the adversary, whose attacks are as persistent as should be our prayers. To the Nephites, Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him. . . . Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name.”

Then Jesus raised the issue of light as a reason to pray. As much as he was the Light and had set a bright example, so his disciples must become lights themselves, for the purpose of drawing people to the Light by means of their prayers and actions:

Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you. . . . Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up-that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed. And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world.

We must personalize and live this commandment; but if we neglect to live it, we will lose the protection of prayer and become vulnerable to the attacks of Satan: “And whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation.”

Constant prayer helps us to retain light. As we know, light is synonymous with truth, spirit, intelligence, power, law, life, agency , and glory, to name a few things. Whereas a celestially resurrected body “shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in [it],” a telestial body must receive ongoing transfusions of light in order to progress spiritually: That which is of God is light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”

The Lord has told us how we can infuse light into our systems. A few transfusion methods are participating in scripture study, partaking of the sacrament, being anointed with oil, performing charitable service, participating in temple worship, and, of course, praying. The more our bodies are filled with light, the more we can comprehend all things. Therefore, we should pray always.

Continual prayer facilitates the creation of Zion people by offering them an avenue of communication with God. But there is more. Continual prayer provides Zion people access to God’s protection and power of discernment. Continual prayer gives them a way to infuse light into their beings, thus increasing their capacity to assimilate or enjoy truth, spirit, intelligence, power, celestial law, spiritual life, and glory, and agency. Once lighted through constant prayer, a Zion person is commanded to light other people and bring them to the Light, even Jesus Christ.

Prayer fulfills the law of asking and receiving. The simple act of praying is a powerful agent to access God and draw upon his goodness, abilities, and resources. Asking the Father in the name of Jesus Christ for those things that we need is central to the law of consecration. Once we have covenanted to live that law-and indeed are striving to live it-we are forevermore entitled to ask for those things that we need and want from the higher kingdom so that we might build ours.

And what is the eternal kingdom that we are striving to build by asking and receiving? Our families. Therefore, the Lord instructed, “Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.” Continual prayer is the vehicle to ask and receive, and sincere prayer carries the Lord’s absolute promise: “And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.”

From all indications, it seems that once the Nephites, in their interaction with the resurrected Lord, had experienced the power of prayer, they never returned to offering casual prayers. Surely they recognized prayer’s inherent power to make them Zion people, and obviously they employed it. If we wish to become Zion people with the ability to ask for and receive blessings, we must follow this same pattern.

The Greater Commandment to Have All Things in Common

Almost as an aside, Mormon noted that after the Savior’s visit, the Nephites experienced a cultural transformation that was as extraordinary as the mighty change that they had experienced in their hearts. Mormon wrote: “And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.”

It is difficult to overstate the significance of this occurrence. The cultural change that had happened among the converted Nephites was the polar opposite to life as they had known it. Once they had made a covenant to assume this new way of life, they determined to live that new way without external legislation. That is, they managed to live a new way by individual choice.

Because of the new condition of their hearts, they determined to become stewards who were accountable to God; no longer would they see themselves as owners of the Lord’s property. Forevermore, they would labor to build up the Church and their Zion instead of selfishly pursuing individual wealth-building enterprises. They would fully embrace the Royal Law of the gospel: “Thou shalt the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The result of their transformation was that they became one and had all things in common.

Their faith in living this new cultural experiment paid off with unbelievable and unanticipated blessings. Mormon recorded that contentions and disputations ceased; “and every man did deal justly one with another;” poverty, servitude, and social stratification were eradicated; the people became equal; peace prevailed; and great and marvelous miracles became the norm. Moreover, the people experienced unequalled prosperity. Now unified, they built great cities, and “did wax strong, and did multiply exceedingly fast, and became an exceedingly fair and delightsome people.”

Continuing, we read that they married within the Covenant, “and were blessed according to the multitude of the promises which the Lord had made unto them.” They became strictly obedient and “did walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord and their God, continuing in fasting and prayer, and in meeting together oft both to pray and to hear the word of the Lord.” The love of God dwelt in the hearts of the people. “And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God. There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God. And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings.”

We might expect that our initial attempts to implement the law of Zion so that commonality could prevail would feel like a temporary cultural shock, causing us to rethink our priorities. But if we can summon courage and push through the learning curve, incredible blessings await us, which will more than compensate for the effort.

The Greater Commandment to Be “Even As the Lord Is”

For the commandments to pray always and have all things in common, Jesus is our Exemplar. When he prayed for the Nephites he focused their attention on his example: “Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye have all witnessed.” Jesus is our model of a celestial lifestyle: “I have set an example for you.” Pertaining to the law of consecration, which produces commonality among all people, the Lord said that this law is “even as I am.” If we were to choose one word to describe Jesus’ with the Father and the relationship to which we must aspire if we hope to become even as he is, that word would be oneness: “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.”

If we are commanded to become like him, we might ask ourselves, What are the Father and the Son like? Perhaps Joseph Smith offered the best description: “God is the only supreme governor and independent being in whom all fullness and perfection dwell; who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient; without beginning of days or end of life; and that in him every good gift and every good principle dwell; and that he is the Father of lights; in him the principle of faith dwells independently.”

Of course, at this stage of our existence, we can only appreciate these divine traits; for now, these traits are beyond our reach. Therefore, our efforts should be centered on developing these divine traits. As we continue to progress, we rely on the Lord’s promise that our journey will lead us to inheriting all that God has and become all that he is.

As we strive to become even as the Father and the Son are, we remember that we have in common with them our co-eternalness; that is, our origin is the same; likewise, because we are literal children of God, our potential destiny can be the same. Our challenge, therefore, is to become co-equal with the Father and the Son, and that is accomplished by following their example and developing their traits and their level of oneness.

To become like God is to internalize his lifestyle so completely that we will not depart from it. Describing God, Joseph Smith said that he was the same before the creation as he is today: “He changes not, neither is there variableness with him; but that he is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and that his course is one eternal round, without variation.” For us to become even as the Father and the Son are, we must strive for a consistency of righteousness.

The Prophet continued to list a set of characteristics and attributes that the Father and the Son possess in perfection. We must develop these traits if we are to become like them. The Prophet began with the characteristics of mercy and graciousness (“indulgent, generous, displaying divine grace and compassion”). Continuing, the Prophet said that God is “slow to anger” and “abundant in goodness.” Moreover, “He is a God of truth and cannot lie”; “He is no respecter of persons”; that is, if we work righteousness, he is obliged to accept and bless us, just as he accepted and blessed Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph Smith, and all who sought his face-and if we do wickedly, he is obliged to send consequences, regardless of our previous favor. Finally, “he is love.”

The Prophet went on to say that God’s character is a set of perfect attributes; that is, he possesses the following qualities in totality. These are:

• Knowledge-He knows all things past, present, and future.
• Faith or power-He is all powerful.
• Justice-He is completely fair and equitable.
• Judgment-He is perfect in both his reasoning and his rulings.
• Mercy-His grace, compassion, long-suffering, pity, clemency, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, understanding, leniency, and benevolence are infinite and unending.
• Truth-Beyond being incapable of lying, he deals with things as they really are; he is accurate, genuine, precise; he is honest, loyal, devoted, and sincere; his integrity is impeccable; he deals with unimpeachable facts and certainties.

When the Lord commands us to become like him, he expects us to aim for these characteristics and attributes. Our eventual goal is to become like him: that is, celestial governors in our own right; independent beings in whom all fulness and perfection dwell; gods like the supreme God, who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, without beginning of days or end of life; beings who possess every good gift and in whom every good principle dwells; celestial fathers and mothers of lights, in whom the principles of faith dwell independently.

These are samples of greater commandments–to pray always, to have all things in common, and to be even as Jesus Christ is–that have power to help us become Zion, the pure in heart, and to qualify to someday stand in the presence of God.

Author’s Note

Click here to view a new video presentation called, “The Pure in Heart.”

This article was adapted from my new book, The Three Pillars of Zion. Click here to receive a free sample.

D&C 59:4.

Abraham 1:2, 15-19.

See, for example, 3 Nephi 12-14.

3 Nephi 20:1.

3 Nephi 18:15, 18-19.

3 Nephi 18:16, 24-25; emphasis added.

D&C 88:7-13.

1 John 5:6; D&C 84:45; 88:66.

D&C 84:45.

D&C 93:29.

D&C 88:7-10, 13.

D&C 88:13.

John 1:4.

D&C 93:30-31.

D&C 93:36.

D&C 88:67.

D&C 50:23-24.

D&C 88:67.

John 16:24; 3 Nephi 27:29; D&C 4:7; 49:26; 88:63; 103:31.

3 Nephi 18:21.

3 Nephi 18:20; emphasis added.

3 Nephi 26:19.

Matthew 22:37-39.

4 Nephi 1:3-18.

3 Nephi 18:24.

3 Nephi 18:16.

D&C 38:27.

Smith, Lectures on Faith, 2:2.

D&C 84:35-39; 132:19-24.

Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 395.

Smith, Lectures on Faith, 3:13-18.

Smith, Lectures on Faith, 4:5-10.

Smith, Lectures on Faith, 2:2.

To become Zion people, we must make a decision. Once and for all, we must commit to both believe and live what we have received. It is not enough to go through the motions of being a Latter-day Saint. We must thoroughly study and understand the new and everlasting covenant, which is the offspring of the Atonement.  Receiving, committing to, studying, and living the Covenant are the vehicles that allow us to become Zion people. In the final analysis, it is what we have become that will determine our eternal possibilities.

If we are to become Zion people, what will be our characteristics?

• Above all, pure in heart.
• Separate from Babylon.
• Of one heartand mind-unified with Godand our fellowmen.
• Equal in opportunity for and access to God’s blessings.
• Stewards, not owners, who are accountable to God.
• Having chosen God over mammon.
• Striving to laborfor Zion and not to amass personal waelth.
• Having completely consecrated ourselves: our time, talents, and all that we have and are for the upbuilding of the kingdomof Godand the establishment of Zion.

“How Long Halt Ye Between Two Opinions?”

If Zion is our aspiration, this description is what we must become. And it all starts with making a commitment. Well did Elijah challenge his contemporaries: “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.” As long as our commitment waits, Zion’s blessings remain unclaimed.

In a conference address entitled “Becoming the Pure in Heart,” President Spencer W. Kimball taught that we should keep uppermost in our minds the vision of who we are and what we are about. He said, “For many years we have been taught that one important end result of our labors, hopes, and aspirations in this work is the building of a latter-day Zion, a Zion characterized by love, harmony, and peace-a Zion in which the Lord’s children are as one.” Then he quoted Doctrine and Covenants 48, in which the Lord gives us a glimpse of the latter-day Zion:

Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. . . .

Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you-that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come; and also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and in bearing record of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand.

And after that cometh the day of my power; then shall the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in unto the marriage of the Lamb, and partake of the supper of the Lord, prepared for the great day to come. Behold, I, the Lord, have spoken it.

With the gift of seership, President Kimball proclaimed that this scripture will be fulfilled. The day of Zion will surely come, and it is our destiny to cause it to happen. Then he asked if these promises do not inspire us to lengthen our stride and quicken our pace to do our part in this marvelous latter-day work. At that point he mourned that many of us are still mired in Babylon, uncommitted and floundering between two divergent philosophies. He said,

Unfortunately we live in a world that largely rejects the values of Zion. Babylon has not and never will comprehend Zion. . . . Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people. Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart. Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism. No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart. Zion is “every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.” (D&C 82:19.) As I understand these matters, Zion can be established only by those who are pure in heart, and who labor for Zion, for “the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.” (2 Nephi 26:31).

Our duty and our opportunity are clear. We need only to commit.

“It Is High Time to Establish Zion”

In an address given to the Saints on May 2, 1842, Joseph Smith rejoiced in the coming day of Zion, which assumes that some individuals within the Church will have prepared themselves to become the pure in heart:

The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the latter-day glory…. [the establishment of Zion is] a work that God and angels have contemplated with delight for generations past; that fired the souls of the ancient patriarchs and prophets; a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family.

To establish Zion, whether in the heart of an individual, a marriage, a family, or in a priesthood community of Saints, President Lorenzo Snow admonished us to cease the destructive practice of competition and the selfish building up of our own kingdoms. We must resolve now, he said, to center our efforts on the building of God’s kingdom for the establishment of Zion:

It is high time to establish Zion. Let us try to build up Zion. Zion is the pure in heart. Zion cannot be built up except on the principles of union required by the celestial law. It is high time for us to enter into these things. It is more pleasant and agreeable for the Latter-day Saints to enter into this work and build up Zion, than to build up ourselves and have this great competition which is destroying us.

Again, calling for us to prepare for the establishment of Zion today and simultaneously denouncing the competitive practices that prohibit Zion, President Snow said,

What a lovely thing it would be if there was a Zion now, as in the days of Enoch, that there would be peace in our midst and no necessity for a man to contend and tread upon the toes of another to attain a better position, and advance himself ahead of his neighbor! And there should be no unjust competition in matters that belong to the Latter-day Saints. That which creates division among us pertaining to our temporal interests should not be.

Let us state here that Zion, meaning the ideal of Zion, is the perfection of sanctification. That is our aim and the reason that we submit to the transforming process of being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. If Zion is the pure in heart, then we must become pure-that is to say, unalloyed, unmixed, uncontaminated, uncorrupted, unsullied-if we truly desire to qualify for the ultimate blessings of Zion. President Snow ended with this definitive statement: “So long as unrighteous acts are suffered in the Church, it cannot be sanctified, neither can Zion be redeemed.” Our call to become Zion people is a call to act now and begin to embrace the principles of Zion, “or else,” the Lord warns, our “faith is vain.”

An editorial written by Bishop Newel K. Whitney and his counselors in the Messenger and Advocate sums up the urgency to become Zion people now:

Whatever is glorious. Whatever is desirable-Whatever pertains to salvation, either temporal or spiritual. Our hopes, our expectations, our glory and our reward, all depend on our building up Zion according to the testimony of the prophets. For unless Zion is built: our hopes perish, our expectations fail, our prospects are blasted, our salvation withers, and God will come and smite the whole earth with a curse.

Clearly, it is high time to establish Zion!

A Few Could Form the Foundation of Zion

If we accept the Book of Mormon to be our latter-day guide, we also accept the account in Third Nephi to be our model for the latter-day establishment of Zion. In surveying that account, we are immediately struck by the fact that even a few pure-in-heart people could anchor the principles of Zion to the earth.

Mormon makes the point that only 2,500 Nephites made up the initial group of Zion people. According to the Third Nephi model, the small group of the pure-in-heart people act as leaven by setting an example and encouraging others to become pure in heart and join with them under the organizational leadership of thepriesthood. We note with interest that within a few years, the entire Nephite population had become pure in heart and was assimilated into Zion.

Are we willing to be counted among the few who have the courage to embrace the principles of Zion in our lives? Hugh Nibley quoted Brigham, who issued the following warning: “If we are not faithful, others will take our place.” Zion is our opportunity, but we can lose it through apathy or carelessness. President Young said that though individuals might fail, nevertheless the Church will succeed:

“We may fail, if we are not faithful; but God will not fail in accomplishing his work, whether we abide it or not.” Obviously, our individual inaction will have little impact on the Lord’s global plans for Zion. His purposes will roll forth, and the prophecies and promises concerning Zion will all be fulfilled: “If we do not wake up and cease to long after the things of this earth, we will find that we as individuals will go down to hell, although the Lord will preserve a people unto himself.

Then President Young asked, “Shall we do this in our present condition as a people? No; for we must be pure and holy.” Continuing, he said, “If my brethren and sisters do not walk up to the principles of the holy Gospel . . . they will be removed out of their places, and others will be called to occupy them.” To the uncommitted, he stated that the unifying principles of Zion can be divisive and troublesome: “Of the great many who have been baptized into this Church, but few have been able to abide the word of the Lord; they have fallen out on the right and on the left . . . and a few have gathered together.”

Joseph Smith also lamented about the Saints’ lack of commitment to the cause of Zion: “I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all. How many will be able to abide a celestial law, and go through and receive their exaltation, I am unable to say, as many are called, but few are chosen.”

The first latter-day opportunity to build up Zion evaporated with the contentions and jealousies of the early Saints. That will not happen again. Most certainly, the Lord, through his prophet, will call a “select” few, “who are worthy to be called” to form the foundation of latter-day Zion, and when that happens, Babylon’s fate is sealed. Elder McConkie wrote:

“There has been a day of calling,” a day in which all the elders of the kingdom were invited to come forward and build the New Jerusalem, “but the time has come for a day of choosing.” The response of his early Latter-day Saints having been inadequate, the Lord will now choose, when he will, those who are to accomplish the great work. “And let those be chosen that are worthy.” When the day comes, none but those who qualify by obedience and righteousness will participate in the work. “And it shall be manifest unto my servant”–the President of the Church who then governs the kingdom–”by the voice of the Spirit, those that are chosen; and they shall be sanctified; and inasmuch as they follow the counsel which they receive, they shall have power after many days to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion.” (D&C 105:14-37.) After many days, a designated period in which we still live, those who are called, chosen, selected, appointed, and sent forth by the voice of the Spirit, as it speaks to the President of the Church, shall build the New Jerusalem and the holy temple to which the Lord Jesus Christ shall come in power and glory as the great Millennium is ushered in. In the meantime, our work as a people is to keep the commandments and sanctify ourselves so that if the call comes in our day, we shall be worthy to respond.

If we are waiting to become Zion people when we hear the announcement of the priesthood society of Zion, we will be sorely disappointed. Zion, the location, does not make Zion, the people. Zion is a condition of the heart. Hence, we no more wait for an announcement to become Zionlike than we wait for an announcement to live the law of consecration. When it comes to living the laws and principles of Zion in our individual lives, nothing waits. We have covenanted and we are expected to strive to become Zion people today.

Our preparation for “the upbuilding of an ‘holy city’ which shall be called Zion” is plainly an individual effort that centers on our attempts to purify our hearts. Joseph Smith said, “All who build thereon [the foundation of Zion] are to worship the true and living God, and all believe in one doctrine, even the doctrine of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

To this end, President Lorenzo Snow counseled, “Then let us practice honesty and diligence in our various callings, seeking unity and to cultivate the spirit of brotherhood financially as well as spiritually, that we may be in readiness, upon call, to go forth and build up the center stake of Zion and prepare a house in which to meet the Lord our Savior and Redeemer.” Until the prophetic call to Zion comes, said Joseph Smith, “the Lord wants the wheat and tares to grow together; for Zion must be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.”

What, then, must we be about? The Prophet Joseph Smith answered, “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.” Repeatedly the Lord has commanded us to “seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” Therefore, we are to “arise and shine forth, that [our] light may be a standard for the nations.” Our safety and the safety of other good-hearted people are at stake. Only in Zion will there be temporal and spiritual protection: “And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.” Our unique latter-day calling is to prepare the earth for the coming of Christ, the great Millennium, and the vanquishing of Satan.

How shall we begin to become individual Zion persons? President Kimball offered three steps: “First, we must eliminate the individual tendency to selfishness that snares the soul, shrinks the heart, and darkens the mind. . . . Second, we must cooperate completely and work in harmony one with the other…. Third, we must lay on the altar and sacrifice whatever is required by the Lord.” The result of living these steps, he said, is charity.

Everything about Zion comes down to love. If we are filled with charity, we will be selfless, cooperative, and willing to sacrifice all that we have and are; we truly will be Zion people. It is interesting to note that Enoch established a city called Zion after his people had been denominated Zion by the Lord. The society of Zion is comprised of people who have first qualified as Zion in their hearts. Most assuredly, then, it is high time to establish Zion.

Author’s Note

Click here to view a new video presentation called, “The Pure in Heart.”

This article was adapted from my new book, The Three Pillars of Zion. Click here to receive a free sample.

Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” 32-34.

1 Kings 18:21.

D&C 58:3-12.

Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 362-63.

Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 231.

Snow, The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, 181.

Smith, History of the Church, 2:146.

D&C 104:54-55.

Whitney, Cahoon, and Knight, Messenger and Advocate 3 (Sept. 1837): 563.

3 Nephi 17:25; 19:1-5; 4 Nephi 1:2.

Nibley, “Educating the Saints-a Brigham Young Mosaic,” 85; quoting Young, Journal of Discourses, 8:144, 183; 18:304; 8:144; 16:26; 11:324; Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 331.

McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 619.

Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 79.

Snow, The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, 185.

Smith, History of the Church, 2:228.

Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 160.

D&C 6:6; 11:6; 12:6; 14:6.

D&C 115:5-6.

Moses 7:60-65; D&C 43:28-35.

Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 364.

Moses 7:18-19.

Charity Defines Discipleship

Charity transforms a natural man into a sanctified Saint-a Zion person-someone who by nature seeks to comfort the downtrodden, redeem the oppressed, heal the sick and the afflicted, and console the brokenhearted.

If charity is the defining characteristic of Jesus Christ, it is also the defining characteristic of his people. When they, like their Master, encounter need, they confront it. They will not allow lack and suffering to exist in their presence. They are willing to consecrate all that they are and have to blessing the sufferings and underprivileged. For this reason, consecration, the foundational law of Zion, has no need to be legislated; consecration, like charity, is a condition of the heart.

Keeping and Feeding-the Two Tests of Charity

Jesus gave us two tests of  charity:

1. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
2. “If ye love me feed my sheep.”

Clearly, charity–Christlike love, Zion love–is defined by action. For example, in a marriage a declaration of love is meaningless unless it is demonstrated by keeping one’s vows and proffering service to one’s companion: keeping and feeding. The spouse who professes love but is disloyal is a liar; the spouse who proclaims love but who is selfish and non-sacrificing is a hypocrite.

Conversely, charity keeps its vows and goes out to find and nourish others. Elder Marvin J. Ashton taught that the keeping element of charity centers on keeping the first and great commandment, the royal law, which is a foundational law of Zion: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy heart, and with all thy mind….Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

Keeping and feeding are to stand proxy for the Lord and do as he would do if he were present. Therefore, to the extent that we keep the Lord’s commandments, we show our love for him; and to the proportion that we feed the Lord’s sheep, we keep the first and great commandment. This is Zion!

Charity–The Life Blood of Zion

Most certainly, charity is love in action, and that action always involves sacrifice. Without the action of charitable sacrifice, Zion could not be established in the life of an individual, a marriage, a family, or in a priesthood society. It is by consecrated sacrifice that we keep the commandments and hold true to our covenants. It is by sacrifice that we feed the Lord’s sheep. It is by sacrifice that we love God. Helping, giving, and loving always require selfless sacrifice. It is sacrifice, we sing, that “brings forth the blessings of heaven.”

Charitable service creates a positive imbalance that demands correcting. This is the hundredfold law, which President Thomas S. Monson described this way: “It is an immutable law that the more you give away, the more you receive.” Then, referencing a quote attributed to Winston Churchill, he said, “‘You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.’” The Lord always rewards us with more than we sacrifice.

This “immutable law”-the hundredfold law-drives Zion’s cycle of abundance and makes Zion people exceedingly prosperous. Of course, this law runs contrary to Babylon’s practices of grabbing, competing and hoarding. The hundredfold law, which flows from the law of consecration, stipulates that if we will give what we have and are, the Lord will reward us beyond our sacrifice: “an hundredfold.”

As long as we do not stop the cycle abundance by keeping what we receive, we will become vessels of help. Through us the Lord will pour down blessings to his needy children, and in the process our prosperity will increase until it approaches the infinite abundance of the kingdom of heaven. Thus, charity is the lifeblood of Zion, and consecrated sacrifice is the that propels Zion’s prosperity.

When charity, the love exemplified by Zion people, is planted in the hearts of a few, it acts as leaven “until the whole [of humanity is] leavened.” Others love because we love them, and soon Zion is anchored on the earth by love. Joseph Smith said, “A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”

Charity Is Defined by Service

President Hinckley called love ”the lodestar of life.” Citing the Savior’s reference to the Final Judgment, President Hinckley reminded us that Jesus will say to those on his right hand that they shall inherit his kingdom because they effectively “fed, clothed, and visited Him” by blessing his children.

President Hinckley wrote: “One of the greatest challenges we face in our hurried, self-centered lives is to follow this counsel of the Master, to take the time and make the effort to care for others, to develop and exercise the one quality that would enable us to change the lives of others-what the scriptures call charity. . . . Best defined, charity is that pure love exemplified by Jesus Christ. It embraces kindness, a reaching out to lift and help, the sharing of one’s bread, if need be.”

Zion people become angels to the poor and afflicted. We are taught that there are “angels round about [us], to bear [us] up.” As much as angels are instruments in the Lord’s hands to sustain and help us to carry our heavy burdens, so we, by our charitable service, become angels to God’s children and instruments in the Lord’s hands to steady the weak and to heft their weighty load. President Kimball said, “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”

It is a gospel verity that charity saves the lives of both the giver and the receiver. Charity is sometimes a handout, but it is always a hand up. comes to our souls when we lift another and give of ourselves and our means for the purest and highest of motivations–love.

President Joseph F. Smith said, “I would advise that we learn to love each other, and then friendship will be true and sweet. It has been said by one, that ‘we may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.’” We note with interest that it was only when the people of Limhi repented, unified, and began to practice a form of consecration to care for the widows and orphans that deliverance from bondage came.

Cain first stated the motto of Babylon in the form of a question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” That self-centered statement became the foundation of the Anti-Christ doctrine that was advanced by others including Korihor. The entire anti-Christ philosophy is also anti-Zion. It is faithless, immoral, destructive, and selfish. In no way does it draw us to Christ, encourage us to depend on him, shelter us from the consequences of sin, provide for the poor, or make us our brother’s keeper.

To Cain’s selfish motto–”Am I my brother’s keeper?”–The Lord countered with the doctrine of Zion that carries promises: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him.”

Charity is the mantra of Zion. President Heber J. Grant said, “Make a motto in life: always try and assist someone else to carry his burden.” Charity is also the source of safety for Zion people. The prophet of Ecclesiastes stated that when we plant seeds of service to bless God’s children, we save our own souls. When evil attempts to overwhelm us, when terrifying storms gather above us, when temptations fell trees all about us, charity will protect us-”there [our safety] shall be.” The prophet said we do not understand how God transforms our charitable acts into cloaks of safety; we only know that it happens. Therefore, we are to go about liberally planting the seeds of charitable service: “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand.” We do not know which seeds of charity will take root and how they will prosper. We only know that by sowing and nourishing charitable acts, many people are blessed by our actions, and in the process we will be kept safe. This is the safe and secure state of Zion people.

Charitable Service Prospers the Giver

The promise of charitable service is that of an abundant return. President Marion G. Romney taught the following truth: “You cannot give yourself poor in this work; you can only give yourself rich.” His statement is a confirmation of the ancient prophet’s teaching: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.”

This suggests both a boomerang effect and a germination period. Bread that is cast upon the water will most certainly float back to land on the tide or a current; that is, our charitable actions will always return to bless us. Moreover, the seed that makes the bread that is cast upon the water will eventually find land, set down roots, sprout, and grow; that is, charitable acts carry the potential of life within them; charitable acts might take time to find ground and take root, but in time, those acts will become a beautiful and fruitful tree. We cannot be impoverished by casting the seeds of our charity upon the water. We cannot consecrate ourselves poor.

Abundance flows to Zion people as they manifest charity. They grow from grace to grace by giving grace for grace. It is also upon the principle of charitable service that Zion people progress toward perfection. Therefore, by receiving grace (the Lord’s help) for grace (our service), we grow from grace (light, truth, power, and perfection) to grace (more light, truth, power, and perfection).

According to John the Baptist’s testimony, Jesus grew in grace (light, truth, power, and perfection) by giving grace (service): “And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace. And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness.” Likewise, we progress incrementally from grace to grace to a fulness of glory by keeping the commandments and giving service, whereupon the Lord blesses us by granting us grace for our having given grace to another: “For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.”

Again we see the hundredfold principle in giving charitable acts. When we receive the seed of grace from God or from a charitable person, we should plant rather than hoard that seed of charity by giving charity to another person. The replanting of the seed will urge a stalk to grow, which contains many seeds. Then if we will plant again, we will realize a marvelous harvest. Thus, ever repeating the cycle of planting and harvesting constitutes the mystery of Zion’s prosperity. It is the Zion principle of giving then receiving in return with increase.

Therefore, should we be concerned about keeping the commandment to consecrate and extend charitable service? Do we really believe that we will end up with less? President Kimball refuted the idea and challenged our faith:

What are we to fear when the Lord is with us? Can we not take the Lord at his word and exercise a particle of faith in him? Our assignment is affirmative: to forsake the things of the world as ends in themselves; to leave off idolatry and press forward in faith; to carry the gospel to our enemies, that they might no longer be our enemies. We must leave off the worship of modern-day idols and a reliance on the ‘arm of flesh,’ for the Lord has said to all the world in our day, ‘I will not spare any that remain in Babylon.’

Clearly, our ultimate safety and security are only found in extending charity and consecrating our lives, property, time, and talents for the building up of God’s kingdom and for the establishment of Zion.

Charity Is an Absolute

Few scriptural absolutes are as stunning as those describing charity:

• “If ye have not charity, ye are nothing.”
• “Charity never faileth.”
• “Charity . . . is the greatest of all.”
• “Charity . . . endureth forever.

In a world where everything fails, only those things that are built upon the foundation of charity will not fail. When we seek charity first, as exemplified by our seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness first, we are promised that all else will fall into place and be added unto us. Because of charity, the blessings of the priesthood will flow to us forever without compulsory means.

Charity Is a Gift–the Greatest Gift

Despite our best efforts, we never will obtain charity or know its power in our lives unless the Holy Ghost delivers it to us. Charity is a spiritual gift that must be sought. Like the principle that states that we are saved by grace only after all we can do, we receive charity as a gift only after we do all we can to obtain it. Therefore, because salvation is impossible without charity and because charity is delivered to us as a gift of the Spirit, Mormon pleads with us to “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.”

When charity finally enters our souls, Mormon continues, this love becomes the vehicle to make of us “sons of God.” Charity has the power to make us “like him.” Ultimately, upon the principle of charity, we will become “as he is” – Zion! This is our “hope; that we [through our charity] may be purified even as he is pure.” This is the principal aim and the ultimate destination of the royal law, the celestial law of love upon which a Zion life is built.

Charity is the quality of love that propels Zion’s foundational law of consecration and fulfills the first and second commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” We consecrate because we love, and when love motivates all we do, we become Zion.

Author’s Note

This article was adapted from The Three Pillars of Zion. You may receive a free sample at www.PillarsOfZion.com.

1 Timothy 1:5.

John 14:15; emphasis added.

Paraphrased from John 21:16; emphasis added.

Ashton, “Love Takes Time,” 108.

Matthew 22:36-40.

D&C 97:8.

Phelps, “Praise to the Man,” Hymns, no. 27.

Genesis 26:12; 2 Samuel 24:3; Matthew 13:8-23; 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 8:8; D&C 98:25; 132:55.

Monson, “In Quest of the Abundant Life,” 2.

4 Nephi 1:7.

Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:21.

Smith, History of the Church, 4:227.

Hinckley, Standing for Something, 6.

D&C 84:88.

Tanner, “All Things Shall Work Together for Your Good,” 104.

Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 252.

Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 192.

Mosiah 21:16-18.

Genesis 4:9.

Alma 30:12-28.

Psalm 41:1-2.

Grant, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 139.

Ecclesiastes 11:2-6.

Romney, “Welfare Services: The Savior’s Program,” 92.

Ecclesiastes 11:1.

D&C 93:12-13; emphasis added.

D&C 93:20; emphasis added.

Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:30.

Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” 54-55.

Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 417; quoting D&C 64:24.

Moroni 7:46-47.

3 Nephi 13:33.

D&C 121:46.

2 Nephi 25:23.

Moroni 7:48.

We cannot read the scriptures, especially latter-day scriptures, and avoid personal responsibility for becoming Zion people. Without reservation, our obligation is to accept every revealed Zion principle and put it into practice. To that end, President Benson laid the obligation of becoming Zion squarely on our shoulders. Zion, the priesthood society, he said, can only be brought about by Zion people. As more and more of us decide to embrace the principles of Zion, he said, the celestial order will finally exist among us, then we, individually and collectively, will be prepared to receive the Lord.

Zion is the standard among celestial and celestial-seeking beings. The celestial condition of Zion is the exact opposite of the telestial condition of Babylon; therefore, we are constantly faced with choosing between the two. We cannot have it both ways. Let us examine the Zion way of obtaining safety and security.

The Law of Restoration

Zion’s abundance flows from the law of restoration. This law becomes operational when we enter into the new and everlasting covenant at baptism, and the law reaches its zenith in the resurrection. Joseph Smith taught to the degree that we have sacrificed, suffered or been opposed or denied, we shall be restored. In fact, the Lord promised that we would be restored an hundredfold: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

The promise of hundredfold restoration is repeated so often in the scriptures that we are obligated to consider it as literal. The apostle Paul wrote, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Here is how the law of restoration might work. Imagine sacrificing $10,000 to help a needy friend. Most of us would feel the acute sting of such a sacrifice. But suppose that the Lord were to restore to us $1,000,000. Suddenly, the $10,000 would become a non-issue. Herein is a key to Zion’s abundance.

Struggling with Zion and Babylon Principles

In a telestial world, especially one in which the philosophies of Babylon enjoy almost free reign, we struggle when we are confronted with celestial laws. Giving our way to prosperity is an example. We can point to nothing in our environment that suggests this law will work. In Babylon, we can no more make sense of less is more than we can of walking on water. So how do we square with the idea that giving away our time, talents and resources is the only way to achieve the unequalled prosperity of Zion and ultimately an inheritance in the celestial world?

Clearly, we must rely on the prophets to articulate celestial laws. Following is how King Benjamin summed up the law of restoration:

And behold, all that [God] requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you. And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him. And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

Here is how we might portray the celestial law of restoration as it applies to Zion’s condition of abundance and prosperity:

• Our love of God motivates us to seek to serve him.
• Because God is not in need, he immediately asks us to transfer our service to his suffering or needy children.
• When we do what God asks of us, he accepts our sacrifice “unto the least of these” as if we had done it unto him.
• Our sacrifice creates something akin to a credit in our favor, which credit demands payment.
• God gladly assumes this obligation, which is actually an opportunity to bless us. He rewards us for our service: first, because he loves us; second, because we have obeyed the law upon which the blessing is predicated, and third, because our service has created an implied celestial deficit that needs correcting.
• Because God will not and cannot remain in a real or implied deficit position, “he doth immediately bless [us]; and therefore he hath paid [us]. And [we] are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever.”
• What is the result? We live forever in the condition of divine debt-celestial debt-debt that is structured so that we can receive an abundance of blessings.

This is the hundredfold principle. We are always rewarded beyond our sacrifice. God overpays his obligations, and therefore we find ourselves eternally indebted to him and we always enjoy an abundance of blessings.

New Math

We cannot make sense of the law of restoration or the hundredfold law for an obvious reason: the math doesn’t work. Let’s take the law of tithing, as an example. In the telestial world, ten minus one equals nine; but in the celestial world, because we are dealing with a celestial law and celestial math, ten minus one can equal eleven or fifteen or fifty or “an hundredfold.” But never nine!

For instance, in past articles we have cited the example of the kernel of corn. Given the choice of planting or eating it, we chose the Zion way of faith and planted it; that is, we gave it away. Our faith increased when we observed our seed grow into a stalk with several ears of corn. Now we had another choice: eat the ears of corn or plant (give away) the kernels. Once again, we applied the Zion principle of exercising faith and planting. Now the result of our faith and sacrifice was a great harvest-all from a single kernel.  Elder Boyd K. Packer said, “As you give what you have, there is a replacement, with increase!” This in the hundredfold law: a most important principle of Zion that lends to safety, security and abundance.

What Doth It Profit to Cling to Our Stuff?

True safety and prosperity are only found in making the sacrifice of all things through consecration and by following Christ. Jesus sounded a warning against our tendency to step into the snare of the love of money: “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

When a wealthy young man went away sorrowing after having received the Lord’s answer regarding the price of becoming perfect, Jesus turned to his disciples and said, “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Imbedded in the Lord’s explanation is an introduction to the law of consecration, which is founded on the law of restoration. This law is our safety net from the preoccupation of wealth, and it is a key to our becoming perfect.

To the rich young man, the Lord said, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor.” Although the rich man was clearly a good man, who had lived the commandments, he could not bring himself to accept the law of consecration, which would have covered him in safety and security, and would have opened the door to perfection. Truly, it is hard for a rich man-or for that matter, a proud, selfish, power-hungry, recognition-seeking man-to lay aside the things of this world and still achieve heaven.

Safety and Perfection in Consecration

We learn several important principles of Zion from the incident of the Savior and the rich young man:

1)     Perfection hinges, not on living the commandments alone, but on living the Law of consecration.

2)     The ultimate test of discipleship is the Law of consecration.

3)     The law of consecration was instituted, in part, for our safety, because pursuing and hoarding wealth can result in the loss of exaltation.

4)     The law of consecration is hard to live, but it is harder for a rich man.

5)     Only divine intervention can save the rich, who are those who have too much of what they do not need or deserve, but that intervention is not necessarily guaranteed.

6)     Consecrating our excess to the poor tends to stockpile treasure in heaven, where treasure is needed.

7)     The law of consecration makes us truly safe and secure. The Lord invited the rich young man to “come and follow me,” which implies true safety. If we are with the Lord, we are safe.

8)     Consecrated sacrifices earn “an hundredfold” return. If that is true, the rich young man would have received hundredfold more blessings than he sacrificed to bless the poor, and in the process of giving, the Lord would have kept the young man safe; he would have achieved perfection, and he would have earned eternal life.

Thus sang the psalmist: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.” Deliverance, preservation, safety, blessings, protection, strength, and health-these are the blessings of consecration.

The Hundredfold Law

The incident of the rich young man disturbed the apostles so much that they began to search their souls. Evidently, they wondered if they had fully complied with the laws of sacrifice and consecration so that they might obtain eternal life. Jesus offered them an astonishing promise: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Here the Lord makes two divine promises connected with consecration: 1) an hundredfold return, and 2) the promise of eternal life. Those who live this celestial law will be blessed a hundred times their sacrifice, and they will inherit exaltation!

Whatever we give the Lord in service to his kingdom, his children, or in personal sacrifice are restored to us “an hundredfold.” That is the celestial law of Zion. Jesus’ apostles had firsthand experience with the hundredfold law on at least two occasions: first, when Jesus fed the five thousand and second when he fed the four thousand. Each time, Jesus required the apostles to bring (consecrate) all that they could to the Lord. Then when Jesus blessed their offering, the resource multiplied and fed many.

Of significance, in each instance, Jesus instructed the apostles to gather up the fragments and take note of the resulting quantity. Amazingly, the five loaves and two fishes had not only fed thousands, the fragments now filled twelve baskets! An hundredfold return!

The laws of restoration, consecration and the hundredfold law are celestial laws that we must live by faith in a telestial world. When we sacrifice and consecrate our time, talents and resources to build the Kingdom of God, to promote the cause of Zion, and to bless the lives of others, we invoke these celestial laws of abundance upon which Zion people and a Zion priesthood society are built. What the Lord said to his disciples, he repeats to us: “freely ye have received, freely give”; “feed my lambs…feed my sheep.”

Of the “many” who are called to eternal life, only a “few” will actually achieve it, and when they do it will be because they made a consecrated effort, allowing the law of restoration to engage, which triggered the powers of earth and heaven to work together to return an hundredfold reward and the promise of eternal life.

Author’s Note

This article was adapted from The Three Pillars of Zion. You may receive a free sample at www.PillarsOfZion.com.

Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p.118

See Matthew Cowley, Matthew Cowley Speaks, p.30

See Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ-Gifts and Expectations,” New Era, May 1975

D&C 105:5

See Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, p.30

Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.296

Matthew 19:29

1 Corinthians 2:9

Mosiah 2:22-24

See D&C 42:38

See D&C 130:21

We are tempted to describe abundance in terms of finances, and it can certainly include such blessings; but abundance and prosperity more often refer to blessings that lend to safety, security and an outpouring of divine favor.

See Gen 26:12; 2 Samuel 24:3; Matthew 13:8-23;19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 8:8; D&C 98:25; 132:55

Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, January 1983

Matthew 16:26

Matthew 19:23

Matthew 19:21

Psalms 41:1-3

Matthew 19:29

See Matthew 19:16-30

See Mark 6:35-44 and Mark 8:1-9

See Mark 6:35-44

Matthew 10:8;

John 21:15-16

In Part 1 of this two-part series, we that a foundational principle of the law of stewardship is “all things ultimately belong to the Lord, whether property, time, talents, families, or capacity for service within the Church organization.

Stewards act in their lives or in a Church calling as a trustee for the Lord, not out of personal ownership or privilege. While we no longer are required to deed over our property, we are required to figuratively deed over our hearts. We recognize that ultimately our time, talents, and property belong to the Lord, and we are stewards assigned to manage his resources under his direction. Then a remarkable thing happens: God helps us to depart from Babylon, and he becomes our Paymaster in Zion. Once the Lord has separated us from Babylon and has placed within our care a stewardship in his kingdom, we must discharge our duty faithfully and never turn back.

The law of stewardship is the law upon which Zion’s equality is achieved. Zion people come unto Christ and hearken to his voice by seeking to purify their hearts; by seeking to equalize the condition of the Lord’s children through the giving of their means; by striving to heal the Lord’s children, bolster their faith, and love them. The pure in heart view themselves as stewards rather than owners, and they seek to bless the Lord’s children with their stewardships, which is the sum of everything that they have and are.

Stewardships in the Scriptures

As we study the standard works, we discover the concept of stewardship throughout. Stewardships are also referred to as callings, trusts, charges, responsibilities, and inheritances or portions. Some stewardships are classified as spiritual while others are temporal. For example, a Church calling is a spiritual stewardship, while an individual’s business and holdings are a temporal stewardship. Of course, even temporal things are spiritual unto the Lord.

In the early days of the Church, stewardships were also called inheritances or “portions.” BYU professor Clark V. Johnson explained that the Lord “required the bishop of the Church to give every man an inheritance. [The Lord] explained that Church members were equal according to their family, circumstances, wants, and needs (D&C 51:4).” Here we see the principles of stewardship and accountability as they apply to an inheritance. We note that it is the bishop who assigns inheritances in Zion, and he is also the one who, in behalf of the Lord, receives an account of their management.

Receiving and reporting on Church callings and tithing settlement are manifestations of these principles. With regard to the management of their stewardships, “the Lord reminded members of the Church that when they had enough to satisfy their needs, they were to give the surplus to the storehouse. D&C 70:7-D&C 82:18 Excess gained in the operation of the stewardship was to be used to administer to those who were in need (D&C 42:33-34). The bishop kept all surplus donated from the stewardships in a storehouse he organized (D&C 51:13).”

Even today we might expect to render accountings of our various stewardships to the bishop. For example, we make such an accounting to him when he interviews us for a temple recommend, and from time to time, when we counsel with him, we also make an accounting of our lives. Because the law of consecration requires that we consecrate our time, talents, and all that we have and are to the kingdom of God, the bulk of our stewardships usually lie outside the Church organization. Nevertheless, we are accountable for them to the Lord and to his servant, the bishop. Perhaps more blessings would flow to us if we lived the law of stewardship more faithfully and felt more accountability on each point of the law.

We would expect that our actual inheritances in priesthood society of Zion would follow the pattern described in Doctrine and Covenants 58: “This is a law unto every man that cometh unto this land to receive an inheritance; and he shall do with his moneys according as the law [of consecration] directs.” Although we privately own our inheritances, we must consider them as consecrated stewardships, and thus we are accountable to the Lord for them according to the law of accountability. If we live the law of stewardship, we are promised safety, for our consecrated effort is “to prepare [us] against the day of vengeance and burning.” If we do not live this law, we run the risk of suffering the consequences: “If any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.”

Understanding the Order of the Law of Stewardship

In section 104 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord revealed the order by which inheritances (stewardships) are apportioned from the Lord’s resources to us, the stewards. We are reminded that “the sacred things” which are “delivered into the treasury” are the Lord’s, “and no man among you shall call it his own, or any part of it, for it shall belong to you all with one accord.” The surplus derived from the management of the stewardship rightly belongs to Lord and must be placed in his sacred repository for the common good: “And thus shall ye preserve the avails of the sacred things in the treasury, for sacred and holy purposes. And this shall be called the sacred treasury of the Lord; and a seal shall be kept upon it that it may be holy and consecrated unto the Lord.” The Lord’s servant, the bishop, manages the treasury and the Lord’s resources. This is the order of the law of stewardship.

In our day, we would call this sacred treasury the bishop’s storehouse. Of course, the Church maintains other treasuries-for instance, monetary funds, warehouses of supplies, and service departments. We also read of sacred treasuries in heaven. For example, “Lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life.” To access that heavenly treasury, we must sacrifice our personal treasures in this world: “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto [the rich young man], Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”

One definition of “treasure” is anything that is good. Under this definition, even our testimonies could be considered stewardships. We know that the law of consecration requires that every good thing that we receive from the Lord must be returned to him with increase. Interestingly, when we bear sincere testimony, our testimony grows, and that allows us to fulfill the law and return our testimony to the Lord with increase. Our bearing witness of the truth is much like casting our testimony into the treasury of heaven; in return, great blessings are unleashed: “Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.” “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God.” Again, these blessings flow from the order of the law of stewardships.

Upon what principle do consecrated properties flow into the sacred treasuries? “Joseph Smith taught that the consecration of properties must be done by mutual consent. The bishop could not dictate in matters of consecration or he would have ‘more power than a king.’ The Prophet further explained that there must be a balance of power between the bishop and the people in order to preserve ‘harmony and good-will.’” Therefore, the bishop, who is the Lord’s steward, is authorized to extend stewardships to his people; the people accept the stewardship and manage and account for it by their free-will choice; the people sustain the bishop in his calling. That sustaining is done by mutual covenant: the people agree to accept the bishop as the voice of the Lord, and he agrees to receive their accountings and judge them righteously in the Lord’s name. In his office, the bishop is entrusted to receive free-will offerings from the surpluses of the stewards’ stewardships, and he places those offerings in the common treasury. Then the stewards, who have common access to the treasury, may draw upon it, with the bishop’s permission, for their needs and wants.

Clearly, the interaction between the stewards and the bishop is one of common consent. The bishop manages the treasury, assigns stewardships, and takes accountings, and the people sustain his actions, and through his ministry gain access to the Lord’s treasury. Such transactions are to be done “only by the voice of the order, or by commandment. . . . And there shall not any part of it [the treasury's resource] be used, or taken out of the treasury, only by the voice and common consent of the order.”

We see this law in action in every ward in the Church today. One of the highest manifestations of this law is that the steward receives access to the Lord’s resources for the purpose of growing and managing his stewardship: “And this shall be the voice and common consent of the order-that any man among you say to the treasurer: I have need of this to help me in my stewardship.” In whatever form the law of consecration and the law of stewardship exist, the order that governs those laws will always apply. By common consent, the bishop, who is sustained by the voice of the people, will always apportion, aid in, judge, and take accounting of all stewardships pertaining to the kingdom of God. This is the order of the law of consecration.

Spiritual Gifts Are Stewardships to Bless Others

The stewardships that the Lord places in our trust are our time, talents and abilities, and everything else that we are or possess. Some of these stewardships are listed in Doctrine and Covenants 46 and are called spiritual gifts. These gifts include:

• The gift of knowing-”that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.”
• The gift of believing-”on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful.”
• The gift of administration-”the differences of administration.”
• The gift of “the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal.”
• The gift of “the word of wisdom.”
• The gift of “the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge.”
• The gift to have “faith to be healed.”
• The gift to have “faith to heal.”
• The gift of “the working of miracles.”
• The gift of the ability “to prophesy.”
• The gift of “discerning of spirits.”
• The gift of speaking “with tongues.”
• The gift of “the interpretation of tongues.”

Why does the Lord give us these gifts as stewardships? The answer echoes the language in the priesthood covenant. We receive gifts from the Lord “for [our] sakes, and not for [our] sakes only, but for the sake of the world.” The Lord said, “All these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God.” When we consider the Lord’s answer, we recall other scriptural injunctions to consecrate our resources for the purpose of blessing other people: “For of him unto whom much is given much is required.” “Freely ye have received, freely give.” Clearly, we cannot achieve celestial glory without blessing others.

Significantly, Doctrine and Covenants 46 mirrors many of the principles stated in the parable of the talents, signaling to us the parable’s latter-day relevance. Talents are gifts and therefore stewardships, and thus are to be used to bless the Lord’s children. Because every person receives a gift or gifts from God, we are treated equally-a characteristic of Zion. Thus, the Lord says, “And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just-and all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church-every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.”

These gifts, or talents, prepare us for the Lord’s return; they “are suited to the gifts and needs of the individual to give him or her the maximum opportunity for growth in the Kingdom of God.” How we manage our talents determines our eventual inheritance in the celestial kingdom. Joseph Smith taught: “Many of our brethren are wise in . . . their labors, and have rid their garments of the blood of this generation and are approved before the Lord.”

Profitable and Unprofitable Servants

Jesus first introduced the idea of profitable and unprofitable servants in the parable of the talents. Over a century earlier, King Benjamin discussed the concept of serving profitably. Although our present mortal circumstances greatly hamper us from being profitable to the Lord, nevertheless, we must make the attempt, because profitability is central to our eternal progression and thus to the ever-expanding kingdom of God. When the Lord gives us a trust, we are to magnify it on our watch. Otherwise, as the parable of the talents states, the unprofitable servant is cast into outer darkness, where “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

At least two criteria lead to profitability: (1) our being “anxiously engaged in a good cause, do[ing] many things of [our] own free will, and bring[ing] to pass much righteousness,” and (2) yielding our hearts and wills to God. Because we are agents with agency, we are endowed with the power of choice and the capability to magnify our stewardships. The goal of our creative effort is to “bring to pass much righteousness.”

We also learn that the greater the profitability of the stewardship, the greater the trusts that God will eventually place in our care. Commenting on the teachings of Joseph Smith, Orson Hyde wrote:

The most eminent and distinguished prophets who have laid down their lives for their testimony (Jesus among the rest), will be crowned at the head of the largest kingdoms under the Father, and will be one with Christ as Christ is one with his Father; for their kingdoms are all joined together, and such as do the will of the Father, the same are his mothers, sisters, and brothers. He that has been faithful over a few things, will be made ruler over many things; he that has been faithful over ten talents, shall have dominion over ten cities, and he that has been faithful over five talents, shall have dominion over five cities, and to every man will be given a kingdom and a dominion, according to his merit, powers, and abilities to govern and control. . . . There are kingdoms of all sizes, an infinite variety to suit . The chosen vessels unto God are the kings and priests that are placed at the head of these kingdoms. These have received their washings and anointings in the  temple of God on this earth; they have been chosen, ordained, and anointed kings and priests, to reign as such in the resurrection of the just.

For the present, our maximum effort will not generate the maximum profits that our stewardship is capable of producing. For that to happen, we must draw upon the principle of grace; we must humbly yield our wills to God, submit to his counsel, and allow him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Only by such a partnership can the stewardship reach the summit of its potential. We are greatly benefitted by such a relationship. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught that we enhance our individuality by yielding our wills to God; that is, as we are stretched and molded by him, we become more capable of receiving “all that the Father hath.” He concluded by saying we simply could not be entrusted with God’s “all” until our wills more closely corresponded to God’s will.

Profitable servants improve upon that with which they have been entrusted; they employ sound management principles by reducing waste and insisting that invested resources generate an appropriate return; they are tireless workers and represent well the person to whom they are accountable: “O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength.” Then, when profits are produced over and above that which the servant needs to care for his family and himself, the servant releases that surplus to the Lord, to whom the surplus rightly belongs: “Nevertheless, inasmuch as they receive more than is needful for their necessities and their wants, it shall be given into my storehouse; and the benefits shall be consecrated unto the inhabitants of Zion, and unto their generations, inasmuch as they become heirs according to the laws of the kingdom. Behold, this is what the Lord requires of every man in his stewardship, even as I, the Lord, have appointed or shall hereafter appoint unto any man. And behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the church of the living God.”

How happy are the profitable servants who can report to God that they have accomplished everything that they were charged to do.  They will hear: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.”

Stewardships Prepare Us for Eternal Life

Because the law of consecration is the law of the celestial kingdom, we might expect to receive, develop, and account for stewardships there. This assumption is evidenced in the Lord’s promise to righteous couples who are sealed in the temple and keep their marriage covenant. He promises that they “shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths.” The fact that this list contains diverse stations stated in the plural suggests that our celestial assignments and inheritances might shift and expand throughout the eternities, as we progress in our Father’s kingdom.

We also might expect that we will receive these stewardships by consecration, and that we will be held accountable for them. To develop our celestial stewardships, we might expect that we would draw upon the Father’s vast resources to improve and manage our stewardships, and, in turn, we would consecrate the resources thereof back to his higher kingdom to which we belong. If that is the case, if we intend to achieve that exalted state and live in that priesthood society, we must first learn to live the laws of consecration and stewardship here and now.

The Lord said, “And whoso is found a faithful, a just, and a wise steward shall enter into the joy of his Lord, and shall inherit eternal life.” And Elder McConkie added, “It is by the wise use of one’s stewardship that eternal life is won.”

Conclusion

These articles are adapted from The Three Pillars of Zion. You can download a free sample of this new Zion series at www.PillarsOfZion.com.

D&C 42:33, “D&C 42:7171.

D&C 29:34-35.

Johnson, “The Law of Consecration,” 100.

D&C 58:36.

D&C 42:32.

D&C 85:3.

D&C 104:18.

D&C 104:64-66.

Helaman 5:8.

Luke 18:22.

Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 335.

D&C 62:3.

Luke 12:8.

Johnson, “The Law of Consecration,” 100, quoting Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 23.

D&C 104:64, 71.

D&C 104:72-73.

D&C 46:13-25.

D&C 84:48.

D&C 46:13-25.

D&C 82:3.

Matthew 10:8.

Matthew 25:14-30.

D&C 82:17-19; emphasis added.

Johnson, “The Law of Consecration,” 100.

Smith, Evening and Morning Star, July 1833.

Matthew 25:14-30.

Mosiah 2:20-21.

Matthew 25:30.

D&C 58:27.

Helaman 3:35.

Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith, 299.

D&C 84:38.

D&C 4:2.

D&C 70:8-10.

Matthew 25:21.

D&C 105:4-5.

D&C 88:107.

D&C 132:19.

D&C 51:19.

McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 767.

In the vocabulary of consecration, an agent is a steward. The trust extended to a steward is a stewardship, which, according to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, is a “responsibility given through the Lord to act in behalf of others.”

The concept of stewardship reminds us of the principle that “all things ultimately belong to the Lord, whether property, time, talents, families, or capacity for service within the Church organization. An individual acts in a Church calling as a trustee for the Lord, not out of personal ownership or privilege.” When we receive a stewardship, whether as a calling, a trust, or an inheritance, we are “expected to sacrifice time and talent in the service of others,” which builds “a sense of community. When all serve, all may partake of the blessings of service. The ideal attitude toward stewardship suggests that it is not the position held but how well the work is done that counts.” One can readily see why stewardship is central to Zion and the law of consecration.

The Riches of the Earth Are the Lord’s

When a Zion person exercises his agency to live the law of consecration, he makes a conscious choice to become a steward of the Lord’s property. His approach to ownership is that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “that all things belong to the Lord. ‘I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine. . . . Behold, all these properties are mine. . . . And if the properties are mine, then ye are stewards; otherwise ye are no stewards.’” There can be no mistake about who owns what; the Lord states emphatically, “the riches of the earth are mine.”

Even in a telestial setting, we encounter the concept of stewardship constantly. For example, a business owner will enter into an agreement to hand over the management of his company to a trusted employee, provided the employee gives his best effort, pursues the mission of the company, is committed to increasing the company’s profitability, and is accountable to his employer. In return, the employer pays the employee a fair wage, with which the employee takes care of his family. The employee has no right to divide his attention with another interest, change the purpose of the company, use its resources outside his employer’s desire, or take the profits for himself. We might ask ourselves, If we understand these principles on a telestial level, why can we not apply them to a celestial situation?

Let us examine the law of consecration in this light. By agreeing to take upon us this covenant, we agree that everything belongs to the Lord and we are stewards. From that point forward, we cease to lay claim to our time, talents, and possessions. Rather, we essentially enter into a management agreement with the Lord, in which we agree to give him our best and undivided effort as we administer the affairs of the stewardship that he places in our hands. We agree to pursue the ordained purpose of that stewardship, the core issue of which is always to assist in bringing to pass the immortality (the quality of immortality, i.e. telestial, terrestrial or celestial) and the eternal life of man. Moreover, we agree to use and disseminate the stewardship’s resources as the stewardship’s Owner directs. We agree to magnify the stewardship, to take no more of the surplus than we are entitled to, and to be accountable to the Owner for our management of his resources. For the Lord’s part, he agrees to allow us our agency in managing his resources, and he agrees to take care of us and keep us safe while we are on his errand.

In no uncertain terms, we are expressly forbidden to hoard the Lord’s property or claim it as our own. Martin Harris learned this lesson: “I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon.” At another time, the Lord commanded William E. McLellin to focus on proclaiming the gospel and to “think not of thy property.” Clearly, a Zion person’s claim to his property is subordinate to the Lord’s claim. But if we view our property as our own and not as a stewardship, we break the law of consecration and step into sin: “Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me?” Who can lay claim to property or tempt the Lord with it, especially when we know that everything belongs to him in the first place? We recall that Satan tried to entice Jesus with property and was soundly condemned: “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan.”

On the other hand, as Martin Harris and William E. McLellin learned, our property is a stewardship that must be consecrated for the building up of the kingdom of God and the establishment of Zion. The law of consecration provides that no poor should exist among us. Ultimately we will be held accountable for the diligence we pay to living this law and for the discharge of our stewardships.

God Becomes Our Paymaster

An early attempt to implement the law of consecration required members to deed over their property to the Church. Today, we are asked to figuratively deed over our hearts. We recognize that ultimately our time, talents, and property belong to the Lord, and we are stewards assigned to manage his resources under his direction. To appropriately fulfill our assignment, we agree to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” Furthermore, we agree to become “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love,” and “willing to submit” to the Lord. Then a remarkable thing happens: God helps us to depart from Babylon, and he becomes our Paymaster in Zion. Of course, this miracle is individualized for each person, but it occurs nevertheless.

The Lord takes care of those in his household; he supports the stewards in his employ, and “the laborer is worthy of his hire.” What the Lord said to Warren A. Cowdery could be said to every steward in Zion: “[My steward shall] devote his whole time to this high and holy calling, which I now give unto him, seeking diligently the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all things necessary shall be added thereunto.”

Now that the steward has been extracted and insulated from Babylon, he resides in the safety of his Lord, allowing him to devote his entire effort to his stewardships. In the transition, he ceases to labor for the cause of money and he begins to labor for the cause of Zion: “But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.” This does not mean that the steward does not need money or to receive monetary compensation for his labor; rather, it means that the cause of Zion and managing his stewardship are his focus. The moment he views the stewardship as his own or attempts to accumulate the resources of the stewardship to himself, he is in conflict with the interests of his Paymaster. Even in Babylon, such an employee would be considered dishonest and an extortionist; he would be summarily dismissed and cast out. Any employee knows that the surpluses derived from his labor belong to the owner to do with as he pleases. The employee errs when he judges the employer’s use and distribution of profits.

The righteous steward discovers that his Lord is a very generous Paymaster. What Elder Carlos E. Asay said of missionaries’ meriting blessings for their labor could be said of any steward:

The word merit is defined as “reward . . . just deserts” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary). Such a definition often turns our minds to temporal gains received for service rendered. It also suggests a dollar return on a dollar invested and nothing more. Another definition, however, refers to merit as “spiritual credit or stored moral surplusage regarded as earned by performance of righteous acts and as ensuring future benefits” (ibid.). This latter definition appeals to me and seems to apply to missionary service because the process of sharing the gospel with others is centered in “righteous acts” and carries “future benefits” for both the giver and the receiver. In fact, the list of spiritual credits or by-products received by those who seek to save souls is endless. Those who engage in missionary service soon learn that God is a very generous paymaster. We can never place him in our debt (see Mosiah 2:22-24).

Righteous stewards earn temporal and spiritual credits, which may be redeemed in the storehouse of their most generous Paymaster for many times their original value.

Never Turn Back

We must become a righteous steward. Once the Lord has separated us from Babylon, as is exemplified in the temple initiatory ordinances, and when he has placed within our care a stewardship in his kingdom, we must discharge our duty faithfully and never turn back.

Peter taught, “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”

The implications are sobering. If we have cried unto the Lord to help us escape Babylon, and then he rescues us and gives us a stewardship and employment in his kingdom-if, after all that, we weaken and return to Babylon and again become entangled in its charms, our situation will be worse than the first. We will find ourselves left alone with no further claim on the Lord’s resources or on him as our Paymaster.

Nephi explained that the journey from Babylon to Zion is the most significant journey in time or eternity. Nothing could be more important than arriving at the tree of life and partaking of its fruit, both of which are symbolic of the love of God. When we finally reach our destination, we must stay. Otherwise, according to Nephi, every person who arrived at the tree and thereafter gave heed to Babylon “had fallen away.” Here, then, is the safety and the condemnation of the law of stewardship.

The Law of Stewardship and the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

When righteous men (and later righteous men and women at the time of temple marriage) take upon them the oath and covenant of the priesthood, they agree to receive the blessings and obligations of the priesthood “for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the world.” That is, we are under covenant to exercise the priesthood to gain our salvation by helping to save others. Therefore, to fulfill this part of the priesthood covenant, we approach our stewardships with the attitude of caring for our families, caring for others, and caring for the Lord’s purposes. Consider the Lord’s admonition to the elders, who had taken upon them the oath and covenant of the priesthood:

And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them. . . . And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do it unto me; . . . every man shall be made accountable unto me, a steward over his own property, or that which he has received by consecration, as much as is sufficient for himself and family. And again, if there shall be properties in the hands of the church, or any individuals of it, more than is necessary for their support after this first consecration, which is a residue to be consecrated unto the bishop, it shall be kept to administer to those who have not, from time to time, that every man who has need may be amply supplied and receive according to his wants. Therefore, the residue shall be kept in my storehouse, to administer to the poor and the needy, . . . that my covenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I shall come to my temple. And this I do for the salvation of my people. . . . For inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these, ye do it unto me. For it shall come to pass, that which I spake by the mouths of my prophets shall be fulfilled; for I will consecrate of the riches of those who embrace my gospel among the Gentiles unto the poor of my people who are of the house of Israel.

Stewardship and Equality

The law of stewardship is the law upon which Zion’s equality is achieved. As we have mentioned, equality is defined as having equal access. In Zion, each person must have equal opportunity to receive a stewardship, to develop it, and to have equal access to the Lord and the Lord’s resources. To qualify for the celestial kingdom, we must live the foundational law of stewardship, which stipulates that “every man [must be made] equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs.”

Inequality is wholly telestial in nature; inequality cannot exist in a celestial atmosphere. As we recall, the Lord has stated emphatically that we must become “equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and earthly things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things. For if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly things; for if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you.”

Failing to live the law of stewardship and turning a blind eye to inequality are classified as sins: “But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.” We need only look at the world condition to see the consequences of selfishness, greed, and using the resources entrusted to us without accountability to God: “And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin.” How can we escape this darkness and bondage? The answer separates righteous Zion people from the wicked people of Babylon: “And by this you may know they [the people of Babylon] are under the bondage of sin, because they come not unto me. For whoso cometh not unto me is under the bondage of sin. And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me. And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked, and that the whole world groaneth under sin and darkness even now.”

We might ask ourselves this question: Could it be possible to make the covenant of consecration, then ignore the law of stewardship with its injunction to equalize people-and still claim that we are acquainted with the voice of the Lord and that we have come unto him?

Zion people come unto Christ and hearken to his voice by seeking to purify their hearts; by seeking to equalize the condition of the Lord’s children through the giving of their means; by striving to heal the Lord’s children, bolster their faith, and love them. The pure in heart view themselves as stewards rather than owners, and they seek to bless the Lord’s children with their stewardships, which is the sum of everything that they have and are.

Part 2

We will conclude our study of the law of stewardship with Part 2. These articles are adapted from The Three Pillars of Zion. You can download a free sample of this new Zion series at www.PillarsOfZion.com.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1418.

Psalms 24:1.

McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 767, quoting D&C 104:14, 55-56.

D&C 38:39.

Moses 1:39.

D&C 19:26.

D&C 66:6.

D&C 117:4.

Matthew 4:8-10.

D&C 51:19; 72:3-4; 78:22, 82:3, 11; Luke 16:2; 19:17; Matthew 25:14-30.

D&C 42:30.

D&C 84:44.

Mosiah 3:19.

D&C 84:79.

D&C 106:3; emphasis added.

2 Nephi 26:31.

Asay, The Seven M’s of Missionary Service, 9; emphasis added.

2 Peter 2:20-21; emphasis added.

1 Nephi 11:21-23.

1 Nephi 8:34.

D&C 84:48.

D&C 42:30-39.

D&C 82:17.

D&C 101:5.

D&C 51:3.

D&C 78:3-5.

D&C 49:20.

D&C 84:50-53.

NOTE: This article is the last of four articles adapted from Chapter 8 of The Three Pillars of Zion. You can download a free Sampler of this new Zion series at www.PillarsOfZion.com.)

In Parts 1-3 of this four-part series, we learned how the Jewish marriage symbolizes the New and Everlasting Covenant, the first pillar of Zion. Something extraordinary begins to happen when we see the scriptures through the lens of the marriage covenant. Suddenly, we understand that the New and Everlasting Covenant is much more than a system of covenants, ordinances, and commandments; the Covenant describes an intimate, loving and fruitful relationship. This is the covenantal relationship that is offered to us by the Bridegroom, who invites us to take his name upon us and to share his life.

Perhaps to better teach us that our covenantal relationship with him is very much like a marriage, the Lord describes the New and Everlasting Covenant in tender and caring language that is charged with symbolism and importance. Founded on the New and Everlasting Covenant, Zion is established, and the vocabulary that illustrates this first pillar of Zion is at once beautiful and endearing.

Review

In Part 1 of this series, we learned that the Jewish marriage describes the beauty and loving nature of the New and Everlasting Covenant. In Part 2 of this series, we examined the betrothal ceremony. In Part 3, we examined the events that occur during the waiting period-the time between the betrothal and the wedding.

• After the betrothal ceremony, the bridegroom’s father made the first of two announcements of the marriage of his son. The first announcement, or calling, was proffered to close friends, family, and others who were invited to the wedding. We are likewise called to the wedding of the Son. Sadly, we also understand that of the many who are called, few will actually be chosen to attend.
• Once the bride was betrothed, she wore a veil in public to show that she had entered into the marriage covenant. The bride wore the veil as an indication that she belonged only to her husband and that no one else had the right to appreciate her beauty except him. This custom is reminiscent of present-day temple worship. Once we have accepted the Lord in the Covenant, we, like the Jewish bride, are considered set apart, consecrated and holy.
• The friend of the bridegroom was a witness of the couple’s covenant. During the betrothal period, the friend conveyed messages between the bride and groom, and he helped the bride prepare for the coming of her husband. Just so, the Holy Ghost, witnesses our covenant-making process. While we wait and prepare for the Lord, he conveys messages between the Bridegroom and us (the bride). Additionally, he prepares us for the coming of the Bridegroom. He encourages us to remain faithful, and ultimately, when we are finally brought together, he bears testimony of our having remained worthy.
• During the long betrothal period, both the bride and the bridegroom were to prepare for each other. She would make herself beautiful and learn essential skills for her new life. He would prepare a place for his beloved in the mansions of his father. Because the bride did not know the day or hour that her bridegroom would come for her, she had to live her life in constant anticipation and readiness. To endure the wait, the bride retained reminders of his promise to return-”I go away and come again unto you.” These reminders, which she held close to her heart, were the bride price, the marriage contract, and the token. She also had his pledge, which was reminiscent of the Lord’s words to us: “Let not your hearts be troubled; for in my Father’s house are many mansions, and I have prepared a place for you; and where my Father and I am, there ye shall be also.” And at another time, “I go to prepare a place for you.”

In this final article, we will examine the events leading up to the actual wedding. These events begin with the father’s giving his son permission to go and claim his bride. At that point, the father issued his second and final call to the wedding. Then the wedding processional began. The bridegroom came as a thief in the night and whisked away his beloved and conveyed her as a queen to the place that he had prepared for her. Then the wedding took place; the bridegroom and his bride were finally together, never again to be parted.

Invitation to the Wedding

When the bridegroom completed the “little mansion or bridal chamber” for his bride, and when the groom’s father finally declared that the construction and preparations met with his approval, the father finally gave his son permission to go and claim his bride. Immediately, the bridegroom began to organize a wedding procession by calling and gathering his close associates. In this we remember the reference to the Lord’s coming with “all the holy angels with him.”

While the bridegroom was thus engaged, the father sent his servants to make the second announcement or in other words “for the last time.” We recall that the first announcement or calling happened at the time of betrothal. At that time, the invited guests covenanted to come to the wedding whenever the father announced that the wedding, feast and festivities are about to commence. We must keep in mind that the chosen ones had promised that they would remain in readiness and attend the marriage of the son. To reject the invitation now would be nothing short of a monumental insult and a serious offense. Jesus spoke about the second announcement and the seriousness of following through on our initial covenant:

A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Notice that the chosen guests who did not attend the wedding used as excuses property, possessions and family concerns. It is sad but true that many of the chosen ones will step aside from their covenant: “Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men.”

For an invited guest to place anything above his commitment to attend the wedding or for an invited guest to be unprepared, as were five of the ten virgins, are insults that will summon the Father’s indignation. To not respond to the Bridegroom’s advent will most certainly result in such individuals’ being shut out from the wedding and the Bridegroom’s denying knowing them.

The Wedding Processional

The bridegroom led a procession to the bride’s home to claim her. He was decked out in regal attire, often wearing a crown, dressed in garments “scented with frankincense and myrrh,” and appearing in every way like a king. This joyous occasion was one of “singing, dancing and merriment.” Now the bridegroom’s long-awaited purpose and the object of his sacrifice were about to be rewarded. The clamorous late-night procession wound through the streets with their torches beaming and their trumpets blaring, awakening everyone along the way. The scriptures inform us that “the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet.” Those in the procession beckoned others to join them: “…and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

When the procession neared the bride’s home, “a messenger was sent ahead to give the shout, ‘The bridegroom cometh!’” At that point, the bride had about half an hour “to make final preparations” before the shout was given again and the bridegroom claimed her. “And he [the angelic messenger] shall sound his trump both long and loud, and all nations shall hear it. And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled.”

Claiming the Bride

The Jewish marriage is filled with the imagery of the New and Everlasting Covenant. When we entered into the Covenant with the Bridegroom through baptism, we recognized the fact that he had paid a price for us. In the covenantal agreement, he promised to provide for us, redeem us, and to live with us in a loving relationship. Then he presented us with tokens (his wounds) representing his love and devotion. He did all of this in the presence of witnesses. He vowed to prepare a place for us in the mansions of his father, and he promised to one day return for us: “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” When at last he would finally come for us, we together would make the marriage complete and he would seal us his. This is an interesting phrase, given our understanding of the temple. Conversely, if we neglect or reject our covenant with the Lord, “the devil doth seal [us] his.”

The hour had finally come for the loyal and long-suffering bride. Having made all preparations, having waited faithfully and patiently for the bridegroom’s return, having heard the trumpet and the shout, having gathered all together during the last half hour, and having heard the final shout, the bride now gave herself willingly to the bridegroom as he burst through the door of her home to claim her. By this action, the bridegroom suddenly elevated his bride to the stature of a queen.

The New and Everlasting Covenant provides for such regal unity: “[The Bridegroom] hast made us unto our God kings and priests [and queens and priestesses]: and we shall reign on the earth.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:

This unity among all the saints and between them and the Father and the Son, is reserved for those who gain exaltation and inherit the fulness of the Father’s kingdom. Those who attain it will all know the same things; think the same thoughts; exercise the same powers; do the same acts; respond in the same way to the same circumstances; beget the same kind of offspring; rejoice in the same continuation of the seeds forever; create the same type of worlds; enjoy the same eternal fulness; and glory in the same exaltation.

Immediately, the bride was lifted up into a special chair-a throne-”and carried to her new home. The four strong men,” who conveyed the bride, were “given the honorary title, Giborei Yisrael, or heroes of Israel.” In this regal setting, the bride appeared stunningly beautiful without spot or blemish. Moreover, she was beautiful within, having prepared during and faithfully endured the wait. Similarly, the apostle John saw latter-day Zion “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” The psalmist wrote, “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.”

Now the bridegroom brought her to the place he had prepared for her. Donna Nielsen explained:

The most important period of the marriage festivities was when the bride entered her new home. The bride and groom were sometimes crowned with real crowns or with garlands or roses, myrtle, or olive leaves…. The couple was treated like royalty during this time. The new husband was literally considered a king and priest in his own home, with his wife as queen.

How glorious is the Covenant that exalts us and makes us equal with the King of Heaven!

The Wedding

A number of symbolic events occurred when the guests entered into the father’s home. These events hearken to blessings that attend the New and Everlasting Covenant. For example, each guest had his feet and hands washed, then he was anointed, embraced and kissed. These gestures were evidences of reconciliation; no hard feelings would be allowed in the father’s house on such a joyous occasion. We might expect to be thus treated when we regain the Father presence.

“Another Jewish custom was to wear a ‘wedding garment.’” These garments were supplied to the guests by the bridegroom’s father. They were white, “a color associated with royalty.” Moreover, the white garments represented light. If someone were found not wearing a garment, such as the guest mentioned in Matthew 22:11, he would be cast out. His action would be interpreted as disdain for the father’s generosity.

While the guests were dressing, greeting and conversing, the bridegroom and the bride dressed in their white wedding clothing, which was symbolic of “purity, forgiveness of sins, and solemn joy.” Isaiah exulted, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

At this point, the bride would be anointed with sweet olive oil. We remember that this sanctifying act signified her joy and her willingness to transform her life from a single woman to a queen to her husband. This change of status was shared by both the bride and the bridegroom. “Each groom at the time of his wedding and later in his own home was to be considered as a king and a priest.” The act of clothing the couple in royal wedding robes signified among other things that they were now consecrated to become fruitful and bear children. Similarly, the Covenant clothes us “with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.” Our purpose changes from profane to holy, and joined with the Lord we become fruitful.

Now the time of the wedding was at hand. The place of making the covenant was under a canopy, a square piece of cloth held up by four poles. The canopy was open on all sides, reminiscent of the hospitality Abraham and Sarah showed guests in their open tent. The canopy was usually positioned outside so as to be under the stars. Symbolically and among other things, it represented “God’s sheltering love” and also the covenant that God made with Abraham, promising that his children would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens. Likewise, when we marry in the temple, we are sealed together in the presence of the luminaries of heaven and blessed with all the blessings of Abraham, including “a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.”

After the bridegroom had been escorted to the canopy by his parents, the bride was brought to the canopy by hers. At that point, the “officiator faced the couple and read the Psalm of Thanksgiving (Psalm 100). A goblet of wine was raised, and a blessing was said over the wine. This was called the ‘Cup of Joy.’ Both the bride and the bridegroom drank from the same cup, indicating they would share the joys of life together.” Likewise, we are yoked to Jesus in the New and Everlasting Covenant. Our Bridegroom covenants to share with us all the joys and sorrows of life; by covenant, we will never be left alone.

Then the bridegroom places a ring, which represents eternity, on the bride’s right index finger. It was the right hand that was used for making covenants. At that point, the bridegroom “lifted the bride’s veil and placed the corner of it on his shoulder. This was a proclamation to everyone present that the government of his bride now rested on his shoulder,” an image that Isaiah used to describe the Savior’s relationship to us. Then the marriage contract was read aloud for all to witness, which reading was followed by the officiator’s reciting blessings. Similarly, the Lord pronounces blessings upon those whom he seals together:

And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them–Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection…and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths…and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

Next, the officiator offers a second cup of wine to the couple. “This cup was called the ‘Cup of Sacrifice’ and the ‘Cup of Salvation.’ They would have to share sacrifices in life, but eventually those sacrifices would be a source of salvation for both of them.” Again, in the Covenant, the Bridegroom vows to walk the path of life by our side. Against all odds, he is determined to drink of the Cup of Sacrifice for our salvation: “…the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” Our life together is one of mutual sacrifice that most assuredly will lead to mutual salvation. In the Covenant, we counsel and make decisions together; we love together; we hurt together. What he wants, we want. We share in our hopes, desires and dreams, and we also share in our sorrows. We are one.

Drinking from the Cup of Sacrifice or the Cup of Salvation is vividly described in the Savior’s own words: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit–and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink–Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.”

The Bridegroom’s Plea

No doctrine is more glorious than the New and Everlasting Covenant. Significantly, the Bridegroom initiates the invitation to join with him in a covenantal relationship that is as holy, loving, intimate, fruitful, trusting and enduring as an eternal marriage. Equally significant is the fact that in inviting us to enter into a covenant relationship, the Lord essentially pleads with us that we will have mercy on him that we might agree to join with him. Hosea 6:6 states, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice….” This is an interesting twist considering the fact that we are ever pleading for his mercy.

We begin to understand this gospel irony when we note that the Hebrew word for mercy is hesed, which “refers to the deep spiritual and emotional bond that exists between two very close people such as husband and wife. Immediately, one perceives that God wants us to be as emotionally and spiritually close to him in thought and action as a devoted husband and wife would be…. It is a humbling moment when we realize that such a powerful, loving, and kind God wants this type of a relationship. Such knowledge inspires one to ‘grow up’ spiritually and to think more about the impact his life has on God.”

That the Lord would literally beg us to enter into a covenantal relationship with him evokes tender images. At the end of his earthly ministry, we recall that Jesus lamented over proud Jerusalem, the bride whom he had courted for so long, the bride whom he would have gathered to him so many times in protective and loving care, and yet she would not give him her love. That image evokes the vision of a prospective groom, who has loved a woman for a very long time, and finally has managed to gather enough to pay a substantial bride price by sacrificing his all. Now he hands her a document written on fine parchment which contains his covenantal promises: He will provide for her, redeem her, love her and give her his name. Then he offers her a token or a gift of value, a representation of his promises, and in the presence of witnesses he recites a pledge to irrevocably bind and consecrate himself to her forever. Now he places a cup of wine before her…and waits. Will she drink of the cup or will she refuse him?

How we respond to the Bridegroom’s invitation will determine our eternal future. A great and divisive decision lies before us. Those who neglect or reject the Lord’s proposal to enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant will find themselves on his left hand, symbolically the hand of disdain to the Jewish mind. Conversely, those who accept the Lord’s proposal and thereafter live faithfully in the Covenant will find themselves on his right hand, the hand of covenant making, the hand on which the bride accepts her husband’s ring.

Jesus commented on this reality in words of stark imagery: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

May we respond to the Lord’s plea and accept his invitation to join him in the New and Everlasting Covenant. Then may we, like the bride, stand forever on the Bridegroom’s right hand and there exult as did Jeremiah, “This is the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Publisher’s Note

The Three Pillars of Zion is an extensive 5-volume set of books that explores the covenants, attributes and characteristics that define a Zion person. This Zion series is heavily documented with over 3,800 references, making it one of the most extensive research projects ever written about Zion. New York Times best-selling author, Ron McMillan, says, “Larry Barkdull has written one of the most definitive works on the subject of Zion.” This ground-breaking series contains one of the most critical messages for our day. We invite you to learn more and receive a complimentary copy of the Pillars of Zion Sampler at www.PillarsOfZion.com.

John 14:28

D&C 98:18

John 14:2

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.33

Matthew  25:31

See Jacob 5:62-64; D&C 24:19; 39:17; 43:28; 88:84; 95:4; 112:30

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.40

Luke 14:16-24

D&C 121:34-35

See Matthew 25:1-13

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.41

JS-Matthew 1:37

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.42

D&C 88:94-95, emphasis added

John 14:2-3

See Mosiah 5:15

See Alma 34:35

Revelation 5:10

Bruce R. McConkie, “Unity,” Mormon Doctrine, p.814

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.43

Revelation 21:2

Psalms 45:13-15

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.44

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.51-54

Isaiah 61:10

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.52, 54-55

D&C 88:125

See John 15:5-8

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.55-56

D&C 132:19

See Matthew 11:29-30

See Isaiah 9:6

D&C  132:19-20

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.57-60

John  18:11

D&C 19:16-19

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p. iv

See Matthew 23:37

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.57

Matthew  25:31-34, 41

Jeremiah 15:16

(NOTE: This article is the third part of four articles adapted from Chapter 8 of The Three Pillars of Zion. You can download a free Sampler of this new Zion series at www.PillarsOfZion.com.)

In Parts 1 and 2 of this four-part series, we discussed how the Jewish marriage mirrors the New and Everlasting Covenant with amazing similarity. A Zion life, marriage, family and priesthood society are built upon three foundational covenants-pillars. The first of these covenants is the New and Everlasting Covenant, which the Lord chooses to describe in terms of marriage, the most beautiful, intimate and fruitful of all relationships. Clearly, the ancient Jews clearly structured the rituals surrounding the marriage covenant to symbolize the New and Everlasting Covenant.

Review

In Part 1 of this series, we learned that the Jewish marriage describes the beauty and loving nature of the New and Everlasting Covenant. In Part 2 of this series, we examined the betrothal ceremony.

• The bridegroom was to pay a bride price for his beloved. Likewise, the Savior “buys” us with his blood; we are “bought with a price.” We are his peculiar treasure. When we enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant with the Savior, we leave behind all other loyalties and affections and shift our devotion exclusively to him.

• The bridegroom offered his intended bride a marriage contract, which stipulated among other things that he would provide for her security, redeem her if she were taken captive, and live with her in love forever. Likewise, we cling to the Covenant because it offers us the Bridegroom’s guarantees of continually providing for us, keeping us safe, redeeming us from our enemies, and living with us in loving and fruitful companionship. The Covenant promises us the Bridegroom’s name, and it reminds us of the great price that he paid for us. The Covenant guarantees that he will endow us with all that he is and has.
• The bridegroom’s offered his beloved “a token,” or “a gift of value.” Similarly, we receive tokens of the Lord’s sacrifice, which are represented by the emblems of the sacrament.
• The bridegroom made a pledge of devotion to his bride. By this, he irrevocably consecrated himself to her with a promise that could not be broken. Similarly, the Lord covenants with us, saying, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled.”
• Then the bridegroom offered a cup of wine to the bride. The wine represented blood, which always accompanied covenant making. If she chose to enter into the covenant of marriage, she would drink of the cup and thus take upon her the bridegroom’s name. We express our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ by partaking of the cup that represents his blood, and thus we make and renew our Covenant with him.
• The betrothal ceremony ended with a feast, which included the “breaking of bread.” To commemorate the day we entered into the New and Everlasting Covenant, we eat a covenantal meal containing broken bread.

In this third segment of this four-part series, we will examine the events that occur during the waiting period-the time between the betrothal and the wedding. We will examine the calling, symbolic clothing, the responsibility of the friend of the bridegroom, and the importance of the bridegroom and the bride’s preparing for each other.

The Father’s Announcement

Immediately after the betrothal ceremony, the bridegroom’s father made the first of two announcements of the marriage of his son. This announcement, or calling, is proffered to close friends, family, and others who were invited to the wedding. The scriptures inform us that “many are called” to the wedding because of their relationship with the father and the son.

By covenant, if the invited people accepted the father’s invitation, they were duty-bound to honor their commitment; that is, they must agree to come to the wedding when it was eventually announced, regardless of the inconvenience of the hour. Donna Nielsen explained, “The initial acceptance obliged the guest to respond to the summons at the ‘hour of the banquet.’ Only those who accepted the first invitation would receive the final invitation when the feast was ready.”

The Bride’s Veil

Maidens, who were not yet spoken for, could be seen in public with unveiled faces. But once they had entered the betrothal or engagement period-that is, when they had entered the Covenant-they veiled their faces in public. This custom, of course, is reminiscent of temple worship. Once the young woman had accepted her beloved proposal of marriage, she was considered set apart, consecrated and holy. Therefore, she wore the veil as an indication that she belonged only to her husband and that no one else had the right to appreciate her beauty except him.

As a symbol of consecration, the bride would forevermore “wear a veil over her hair whenever she was in public. This would indicate her status as a betrothed woman and signal that she was not available to anyone else. She would wear a veil over her hair for the remainder of her life as a symbol of her devotion and faithfulness to her husband. Properly understood, her veil hid only that which was too precious for the common, careless gaze.” This was not a sign of inferiority, but rather of glory. Her beauty was to be “enjoyed exclusively by her groom. In fact, only those things which were treasured and glorious were veiled.”

Sometimes in scripture Christ becomes the Bride, who beckons us to receive him. As the Bride, he also symbolically becomes the “veil,” as indicated by the author of Hebrews. This term, veil, seems to signify that we go through him to return to the Father. In this light, other scriptures connecting Christ and the veil begin to take on added meaning. For example, “Sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you will see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.”

Only the bridegroom was allowed to look upon the bride’s beauty that remained hidden behind the veil. Just so, it is our unique honor to part the veil and gaze upon the glory of the Lord: “And again, verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that have been ordained unto this ministry, that inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am.”

Clearly, that which is most holy is hidden behind the veil. We recall that Moses veiled his face after he returned from speaking with the Lord. His face was filled with so much glory that the people could not endure his presence. That same idea of veiling that which is most holy was represented in the tabernacle and later in the temple of Solomon: a first veil concealed the inside of the temple and a second veil concealed the Holy of Holies.

As we have mentioned, the bride became a temple to her husband; therefore, in symbolism, she wore the veil to indicate that by covenant her beauty and her loyalties belonged exclusively to her husband. Likewise by covenant, we “veil ourselves” from the things of the world and allow no unhallowed hand or glance to remove us from the Bridegroom to whom we give exclusively the beauty of the temple of our souls. By covenant, we “come unto Christ (the Bridegroom)…and deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness,” and we love him with all our “might, mind and strength.” Symbolically, we hold sacred those things about ourselves that only the Bridegroom might cherish. “Like a temple,” wrote Donna Nielsen, “the woman was now ‘set apart’ for holiness-the greatest holiness of all.”

The Friend of the Bridegroom

After the bridegroom had paid the bride price, offered his beloved the marriage covenant, given her a token or emblem, consecrated himself to her and pledged his enduring devotion, then after the bride had indicated her agreement to enter into the marriage covenant by drinking the cup of wine in the presence of witnesses from a cup, and finally, after the two had shared a covenantal meal together, the bridegroom left to prepare a place for her in his father’s house. The bridegroom and the bride would not see each other again for about a year. Then on an unspecified night, he would come suddenly for her and whisk her away.

Until then, the friend of the bridegroom, who had been a witness of the couple’s covenant, would act “as liaison between the bride-to-be and the groom during the betrothal period…[he would become] the guarantor of the bride’s virgin chastity until the consummation took place…[later he acted as the] governor at the marriage feast, and finally, his last obligation was announcing to the assembled guests that the full marriage was successfully ‘completed.’”

In this tradition, we see the obvious role of the Holy Ghost, who witnesses the initial covenant-making process. Thereafter, as we wait and prepare for the Lord, the Holy Ghost conveys messages between the Bridegroom and us (the bride). Additionally, he prepares us for the Bridegroom, encourages us to remain faithful, and ultimately, when we are finally brought to the wedding, the Holy Ghost justifies us to the Bridegroom and bears testimony of our worthiness. Thus, he oversees the entire proceedings from start to completion, and in the end he declares the covenantal process is finished. Then the Bridegroom’s friend hands us over to the Bridegroom and the friend’s job is completed.

Preparing for Each Other

During the preparation period, which might approach one year, the bridegroom and the bride busied themselves with the primary thing on their minds: their coming wedding. As we have mentioned, the young woman was now considered a bride, so she wore a veil over her hair in public as a token of her new status. Whereas she had belonged to her mother and father, she now belonged to her husband; therefore, she set aside all former relationships in favor of the relationship with her husband, which would define her forevermore: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

For the bride to be separated from her beloved for a year was an exercise in long-suffering and patience. As she prepared for her wedding, she wondered when her bridegroom would come for her. Her not knowing the day or hour is a theme of the Second Coming that is widely rehearsed in scripture. For example, “…the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes.” Because the bride did not know the time, she had to live her life in constant anticipation and readiness. Her faithfulness is reminiscent of the five virgins whose lamps were trimmed and filled with oil when the bridegroom came. Her example also hearkens to the chosen few, those handful of faithful saints among the many who were called to the marriage of the king’s son. Only those people were actually allowed to attend the wedding.

The apostle Paul applied the imagery to a woman who was now about to give birth: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

Commenting, Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:

Paul’s illustration here is perfect. The Second Coming is compared to a woman about to give birth to a child. She does not know the hour or the minute of the child’s arrival, but she does know the approximate time. There are signs which precede and presage the promised arrival. And so it is with our Lord’s coming. He shall come as a thief in the night, unexpectedly and without warning, to the world, to those who are in spiritual darkness, to those who are not enlightened by the power of the Spirit. But his coming shall not overtake the saints as a thief, for they know and understand the signs of the times.

On difficult days, the bride might have even despaired, wondering if her bridegroom would ever come. Likewise, we might become discouraged when the Lord delays his coming to our aid. Nevertheless, we are counseled to watch, pray and not faint while waiting. We are to “seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life.” In every difficulty, the Lord will eventually come for us. Even if the time is protracted, he will come. The Lord told Isaiah, “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come…he will come and save you.” We are assured that “he remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself manifest unto all.” “Ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.” Most certainly, the Bridegroom will come; it is not a matter of if but when.

To comfort and help the bride endure his absence, the bridegroom left in her possession reminders of his promise to return-”I go away and come again unto you”–which symbolize his enduring love for her. These reminders, which she holds close to her heart, are the bride price, the marriage contract, and the token. When he left her, he knew her wait would be difficult. His pledge was reminiscent of his words to us: “Let not your hearts be troubled; for in my Father’s house are many mansions, and I have prepared a place for you; and where my Father and I am, there ye shall be also.” And at another time, “I go to prepare a place for you.”

It is important here to realize that during the separation period the bridegroom was preparing for his bride; she was not preparing alone. Additionally, although he would be physically absent, he had arranged to provide for her safety and her comfort. He assigned his trusted “friend” or “comforter” to watch over her until he returned. We recall that when Jesus announced his imminent departure, he said to the apostles, “I will not leave you comfortless.” As we have mentioned, the Lord’s “friend” is the Holy Ghost.

During the protracted betrothal period, the bridegroom spent his time building his beloved a bridal chamber within the confines of his father’s house or estate. After the wedding, the chamber would become their home. Donna Nielsen explained:

The new home was built under the direct personal supervision of the groom’s father. In that culture, a son is considered to be a representative of his father, and everything that the son does reflects either favorably or unfavorably on the father…. With such close identification between a father and his son, the father wanted everything regarding the bride’s new home to be as beautiful and perfect as it could be…. The father of the groom was the sole judge of when the preparations were complete….When the father determined everything was ready, he gave permission for the son to claim his bride. No one knew when that permission was forthcoming…only the father knew.

The bride would not see her bridegroom until the night he came for her, which time was hidden from her view. Thus, the bride spent the betrothal period preparing for the time that her bridegroom, who was also preparing, would finally receive his father’s commission, suddenly appear with little warning then whisk her away to the “mansion” that he had prepared for her.

The Serious Nature of Preparing

The subjects of preparing for the Bridegroom’s return and receiving an inheritance in his Father’s kingdom occupy chapter 25 of Matthew. This chapter describes who and what we are preparing for, how we must prepare, and how the principle of stewardship assists us to prepare. Here the Lord gives three parables-The Ten Virgins, The Parable of the Talents, and The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Kent P. Jackson wrote:

These allegories seem to form a progression, teaching different aspects of readiness that Jesus encouraged of His listeners and readers. The Joseph Smith translation of verse 1 places the story of the ten virgins clearly in the context of the Second Coming…. (Matthew 25:1-13) Preparation is a necessary precaution because “ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” This parable…ends with the admonition, “Watch!”

In the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the master, traveling to “a far country,” leaves different quantities of his goods in the hands of three servants, to each “according to his several ability.” Two of the servants doubled their master’s resources that had been entrusted to them. The third, however, hid his allotment for safekeeping. To the two who magnified their investment, the master said upon his return, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” The final servant returned the master’s talent to him, yet he did not receive his lord’s praise but rather his condemnation: “Thou wicked and slothful servant.” This is not a parable about the uncertain timing of Christ’s return but about what we are to do with the gifts He has entrusted to us while we were waiting. As Joseph Smith taught, we should “improve upon all things committed to [our] charge.” This parable…ends with the unprofitable servant’s intense sorrow, “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The final parable, that of the Sheep and the Goats (see Matthew 25:31-46), again addresses what people do with the blessings entrusted to them-but in a different way. The setting…is a judgment scene: “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory…and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.” Those placed on his right hand will receive an inheritance in His kingdom, whereas those on his left hand will be sent off to “everlasting fire.” Jesus explained in some detail the criteria for the King’s just judgment. Those worthy of an inheritance of glory will be those who fed Him when he was hungry, gave Him drink when he was thirsty, took Him in when He was a stranger, clothed Him when He was naked, visited Him when He was sick, and came to Him when He was in prison. Those who will be condemned will be the ones who had the same opportunities but did none of those worthy things.

The burden of stewardship is intrinsically linked to our preparation for the Lord’s Second Coming. In this context, we are both the bride and the steward. First, as the bride, we must anticipate the Bridegroom’s arrival in an attitude of constant readiness, as would a betrothed bride prepare and watch as she waited for the promised return of her beloved. She would “always remember him.” Just so, during our wait, we are to remain absolutely loyal to the Bridegroom. We are not to divide our affections with another. Our entire attention is to prepare for the coming wedding when we will be more surely joined with the Bridegroom and live with him forevermore. The one who helps us to prepare and who comforts us so that we can endure the wait is the Bridegroom’s “friend,” the Holy Ghost. We are also comforted by holding in our possession the price that the Bridegroom paid for us, the Covenant he made with us, and the token (his wounds) that he gave to us.

In our dual roles of bride and steward, we receive from the Lord both gifts and stewardships to help us endure the wait and prepare: 1) as the “bride,” we receive from the Lord gifts to help us remember him and his promise to return; 2) as the “steward,” we receive from the Lord stewardships as sacred trusts to manage his property and resources until he returns. As both the bride and the steward, we are to anticipate the Lord’s return and actively prepare for it. As the steward, we are to magnify our stewardships during the wait. We do so by using the resources and surpluses of the stewardship to bless the Lord’s children. As the steward and the bride, we have covenanted to take upon us his name, and therefore we belong to him. As his bride, his children become our children, and we share in his efforts to take care of them.

Both the loyal bride and the faithful steward are “accounted worthy to inherit the mansions prepared for him of my Father.” But, as both the bride and the steward, if we do not prepare for the Bridegroom, if we do not remain loyal to him, if we do not listen to his friend, if we are ashamed of the gifts he has given us or hide or misuse our stewardships or do not use them as he instructed (to bless the lives of others)-if we do any of these things, he will say to us when he comes that he does not know us: “Depart from me.” Then sadly we will have forfeited the marriage. In that miserable state, we will be cast away to where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” We will find ourselves on the Lord’s left hand, the place that is called “cursed,” and described as “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Clearly, the Bridegroom expects his bride to hold his name in high regard, always remember him, and remain loyal to their marriage covenant. To the extent that the bride remains faithful, she will have the Bridegroom’s friend to attend, comfort, instruct and prepare her for the Bridegroom’s coming and the wedding.

The Bride’s Final Preparations

As we have mentioned, the bride did not know the exact day and hour of the bridegroom’s coming, but her relationship with the bridegroom’s friend would have provided her signs of the bridegroom’s coming. As the approximate time approached, she intensified her preparations. She kept herself adorned. She practiced applying wedding make-up, and she paid special attention to her fingernails, hair, and skin so that she would appear as attractive as possible for her new husband. Also from the time of the bridegroom’s departure, she had kept a lamp burning in her window; she would keep it burning bright until he came for her.

As the time of the wedding drew closer, the young girl anxiously awaited her groom’s arrival. By custom, it would be sudden, with an element of surprise, and often late at night. She invited her sisters, cousins, and friends to join her vigil and be supportive at this time of joyous anticipation…. Night after night, they would strain to hear the shouts of the bridegroom and his friends.

This custom is reminiscent, of course, of Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins. We recall that the vigil had gone on a long time, and the bridegroom had “tarried.” Then late in the night, “at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Intrinsic in the New and Everlasting Covenant is the stipulation that we, the bride, “watch.” That is, we must live in a state of happy anticipation and preparation, “for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

In the last days before her wedding, the bride would submit to a ritual washing and anointing, because she was about to become royalty. At her wedding, she become a queen and presented to a king. In a special pool called a mikvah, the bride immersed herself completely in “living waters.”

Her life and her body were to be the gift of a living sacrifice to her husband, and to be pure without spot or blemish was a condition required of sacrifices (Ephesians 5:27; Romans 12:1)…. The Jewish bride did not immerse herself because of uncleanness, but in preparation for holiness, to fulfill God’s commandment to be fruitful and multiply…. After her immersion in the mikvah, the bride’s friends would help her anoint herself as part of the preparation for marriage.” This ceremonial immersion in living water symbolized, among other things, “a preparation for holiness.” Additionally, “it also represented a separation from an old life to a new life-from life as a single woman to life as a married woman.

As part of the New and Everlasting Covenant, we are also to go into a holy place (the temple) “to prepare…for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointing.” The visual image of washing hearkens to the process of purification, which is to eliminate impurities, contaminants and pollutants. We are washed or purified in preparation to be anointed and thus sanctified. The idea of anointing speaks to the process of changing the purpose of something or someone. By ceremonially washing and anointing her body, the bride avowed that she was clean and ready for her life’s purpose to change; she was now ready to be endowed with the fulness of the marriage covenant and thus become a queen in Israel. By the rituals of washing (purification) and anointing (sanctification), the bride demonstrated her willingness to become totally consecrated to her husband and yield to the transformation of her life’s purpose. Now, all was in order to that she could join with her husband, who would be her king.

Of interest, the bridegroom, although not required, usually submitted to washing in the mikvah to purify himself in preparation for the wedding. This voluntary washing reminds us the Savior’s submitting to baptism, although he was sinless. His purpose was to enter the New and Everlasting Covenant by fulfilling all righteousness. Later, at the end of his life, he also submitted to voluntarily sanctify himself so that he might better help others to become sanctified so that they could become one with him: “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth…. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”

Thus we see Jesus submitting to the processes of purification and sanctification to prepare himself to become one with those whom he loved. It is said that Jesus Christ is our Mikvah-Israel, which means “hope of Israel.”

Next Time

In the next segment of this series, we will examine the events leading up to the actual wedding: the father’s giving his son permission to go and claim his bride; the father’s issuing his second and final call to the wedding; the wedding processional; the bridegroom’s coming as a thief in the night, whisking away his beloved, and conveying her as a queen to the place he has prepared for her. Then the wedding takes place; the bridegroom and his bride are finally together, never again to be parted.

Publisher’s Note

The Three Pillars of Zion is an extensive 5-volume set of books that explores the covenants, attributes and characteristics that define a Zion person. This Zion series is heavily documented with over 3,800 references, making it one of the most extensive research projects ever written about Zion. New York Times best-selling author, Ron McMillan, says, “Larry Barkdull has written one of the most definitive works on the subject of Zion.” This ground-breaking series contains one of the most critical messages for our day. We invite you to learn more and receive a complimentary copy of the Pillars of Zion Sampler at www.PillarsOfZion.com.

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.40

See D&C 121:40; Matthew 22:14

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.41

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.16, 31

See Hebrews 10:20

D&C 88:68, emphasis added

D&C 67:10, emphasis added

See Exodus 34:29-35

See Hebrews 9:1-7

Moroni10:32

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.31

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.19

Genesis 2:24

D&C  49:7

See Matthew 25:1-13; D&C 45:56-59

See Matthew 22:1-14

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4

Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, vol.3, p.54

See Matthew 26:41; Luke 1:18

D&C 101:38

Isaiah  35:4

Mosiah  27:30

Mosiah  24:14

John 14:28

D&C 98:18

John 14:2

John 14:18

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.34-35

Kent P. Jackson, “The Olivet Discourse,” The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ: From the Transfiguration through the Triumphant Entry, Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment, eds, p.342-43

D&C 20:77

D&C  72:3-4

See Matthew 25:12, 30, 41

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.36, 38

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.39

Matthew  25:5-6

Matthew 25:13

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.38

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.37-38

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.125

Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.308

See Isaiah 4:4; Psalm 51:2

See Leviticus 8:10-12

See D&C 20:77

Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p.44

See Matthew 3:15

John 17:19, 21

See Donna B. Nielsen, Beloved Bridegroom, p. 125, quoting a rabbi from the first century