What is Zion?
What is Zion? Is it an amorphous concept that we talk about never really defining it? Is it a people? Those that have somehow put off the natural man for a more pure nature. Is it a place? A real, solid, tangible place. What, exactly, is Zion?
In Doctrine and Covenants section 97 is says Zion is the pure in heart.
21 Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion —THE PURE IN HEART; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn.
What then, does it mean to be pure in heart?
As I have pondered on this, the conclusion I have come to is the pure in heart are those people, imperfect though they may be, that have no desire to harm others. There is no conscious intentional thought to do things that harm others. They do not desire to take advantage of their neighbor. There is in them no desire for power or gain. They eschew violence against their fellow men. They simply want peace.
Apparently this is a thought that I have been considering for quite a long time. I recently found this from a conversation, from many years ago, I don't remember having or with whom.
"I find it interesting when we think of Zion or a Zion people we think of a perfect society. What if Zion is not necessarily a perfect society but a "perfect attitude" for living in that society. We would still have people that irritated and annoy us but we would also treat them with love, compassion, respect and mercy. In essence allowing each to live according to their understanding. That would probably have a greater effect for changing people for good than anything else. Right now everything is force and compulsion in one form or another. It truly is all about what is in the heart. For what is in the heart shows even if we don't want it to, all by our actions."
How do we purify our hearts? How do we develop this "perfect attitude"? I find the vast majority of us are stuck in a very worldly mindset. Even those that have gained further light and knowledge with a greater understanding of the things of God still suffer from it. It would require a change of heart and mind from what we currently may possess. Is this something we do alone? Or do we, like stones in the river, help with this process in order to smooth the rough edges?
In contemplating Zion, I have come to the conclusion that it will more likely happen if allowed to coalesce organically (much like the Church of Christ) rather than with an intentional gathering. An intentional gathering will have difficulty succeeding as long as the worldly mindset comes with those who participate in it. Though it could become for some a refining experience. As people reach a certain point of understanding I believe they will naturally come together. It is when those who have developed pure hearts come together that Zion will begin to form.
I have also concluded that the cause of Zion is Peace. So to establish the cause of Zion is to establish peace. To bring forth Zion is to bring forth Peace.
Regardless, only the pure in heart can truly establish and bring forth peace because they will have no darkness in their hearts. Their intentions for themselves and their fellow men must be pure and not tainted with the desire for, among other things, control and gain over their fellow men and dragging them down. They will eschew selfishness and desire the best for their fellow men and work toward lifting them up.
Zion may be found in one individual heart, but when many of those hearts come together then the power of God can manifest to a greater degree. A Zion society will be transformative. I imagine it will be nothing like what we currently have here on the earth. If we recreate what we have in the world today then we truly will have failed to bring forth Zion. A concept that does not now seem so hard to define. It is bringing the ways of heaven to this earth. It is a people unlike any on earth. It is a place where all these may dwell. It is a concept, a people, a place that is quite the opposite of what we have in the world today. That is Zion.
