Ep. 51 - Resolving to Become Zion
Well, for today, I wanted to do just a solo episode. Last year, it really struck me how the first episode of the year, the first episode of the podcast ever came to me by pure inspiration. And I knew immediately the first thing that I wanted to talk about on the podcast. And I believe that this episode’s topic is equally inspired, and it was really cool for me to look back over the last year and see how much truth the Lord actually taught me relating to that first episode. And I hope that that will be the same for this episode as well. I want to talk about–in relation to the New Year and setting resolutions–setting goals, setting intentions for the coming year, which I think is a good practice. How can we apply that to our spiritual growth and our spiritual preparation? And what’s the most impactful way that we could possibly do that? And I was pondering that. And really the thing that stood out the most to me is this idea of resolving to become Zion ourselves, and that that will ultimately be the true test of who will be prepared for the second coming and who won’t be, is being able to transition into this state of being pure in heart and all of the associated characteristics with that. Zion is a place. It will be a place, but it’s also a people and us individually. Each of us individually will need to become the kind of people who can dwell in that place. It’s not going to be an automatic thing. This is something that I think perhaps we don’t, we don’t truly understand; we think that we’re just going to hitch a ride over to good old Jackson County, Missouri, and we’re going to build a city and it’s going to be safe and it’s going to be awesome. But the fact of the matter is, that city is going to be immaculate in every way. It will be a perfect place, a place where the Lord can dwell. And if that’s to be true, then it has to be built by people of a similar spiritual stature to that.
I really love to study Isaiah, as you guys know, and on his spiritual ladder of ascension, there are two categories that I really want to highlight today that illustrate this transition to what I mean when I talk about us individually becoming Zion. And that is the Jacob/Israel category, which is third from the bottom, so the third rung up the ladder and then the rung above that, which is the Zion/Jerusalem category. And if you go and study Isaiah, you’ll always find those names that come in pairs. And as you study each of those categories, there will be painted in your mind the characteristics associated with those people. So I want to just talk about that a little bit today.
So first off, let’s talk about Jacob/Israel. I want to start with this because I feel like this is where we tend to sit. I know I tend to sit in this space much more than I would like to. And there’s a little bit of a confusion because we see the word Israel and we’re like, “Oh, let God prevail. That’s the church.” Maybe that’s true and maybe we don’t want that to be true. So in this category, what you’ll find is these are believers. These are people who know that there is a God. However, they tend to be quite ambivalent about actually choosing the right. They tend to be spiritually blind because of that, because of poor choices, There is not yet a remission of sins at this level. And because of that, because mercy doesn’t have her say yet, there is justice at this level and the justice of God and the judgment of God that pertains to many of the plagues and the maladies and the nasty, nasty things of the last days. This category would be subject to that, despite the fact that they are believers. I would say that even having entered into the waters of baptism doesn’t guarantee that you are out of this category yet, because again, it’s not just about outward performances, it’s about an inward shift, an inward transformation about who we are. These people have an external testimony and they have spiritual promptings, but their response to those things could be more defined as a rote repetition or a going through the motions, again, instead of letting it change you. They will have to pay the debt for their sins before being resurrected. So even after this life, in a post mortal state, they will not have qualified to have the Lord pay the debt for their sins. They will still have to suffer the punishment for them before receiving, before receiving resurrection, essentially. And these are among the Earth’s non-millennial residents. So these people will not necessarily, in bulk for sure, endure the coming tribulations and be able to live with them with the millennial Messiah. So again, this is a challenging place to be. There’s a lot of idolatry here. There’s a lot of just kind of sitting on the fence between being in the world and being of God. And again, we all tend to sit in this space, I think, sometimes more than we would like to.
So, what do I mean when I’m talking about ascending to a state of becoming Zion, becoming that category, Zion/Jerusalem, who are God’s true covenant people, not just having gone through the motions, but who have actually experienced the power, the transforming power of covenants and ordinances? Well, these are those–we’re going to talk about this more in detail, but to give you kind of a high-level overview—these are known as just men and just women. They have repented of their transgressions. They have rid themselves of worldliness and they have received a forgiveness of sins that could be associated with a baptism of fire experience. They don’t have a desire to do evil anymore, similar to Mosiah’s people or King Benjamin’s people in the Book of Mosiah, rather. They just want to do good. They have been justified. They are in a salvation, a saved state, not yet an exalted state, though. They have a conditional covenant relationship with the Lord, they receive in full the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. They receive divine blessings under the Lord’s Law of Mercy, and they have officially entered into the straight and narrow path to perfection. They’ve been recreated closer to the image of God and His likeness. They’re not yet valiant, meaning there’s still testing that needs to be endured at this level and they are still subject to being deceived. You can fall from any level. By the way, personally in my studies, I think that Satan was at the level of Jehovah in pre-mortality and he fell. So that’s important to remember that we’re always the spiritual ascension and dissension. It’s always mobile and we’re always moving in one direction or the other. So there’s still an opportunity even here for us to fall. But, if we are to endure that testing and be proven, we’ll have the opportunity to be resurrected in a state of salvation on this level. And these are those who will abide the coming tribulation and be among the Earth’s millennial residents with the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is a huge transition. I don’t want to suggest that it’s any more of a transition than any other part of this spiritual ladder ascension concept that we talk about. But it is huge. It’s a big, big step. Again, going from not saved to saved, going from enduring tribulation and or not enduring tribulation and overcoming, to being able to do so. It’s a big deal.
And so I want to talk about that a little bit today and. What are some of the things that we can personally resolve to do to become a Zion/Jerusalem person? And I want to emphasize that I’m going to give some suggestions for resolutions or things to consider as you approach this year. I’m not saying we should do all these things at once. And I highly recommend, of course, turning to the Lord and consulting with him using the gift of the Holy Ghost and seeking that direction to make sure that this is personalized for you on what you really need to be most focused at for where you are on the spiritual path.
So Zion was a concept that was very heavily emphasized by Joseph Smith and by the early Restoration Saints. You could even make the argument that Joseph Smith’s main goal throughout his tenure as Prophet and President and Restorer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was to establish Zion, not just a place, but also a people. And unfortunately, it was such that the early saints lost that opportunity to become Zion. And in Doctrine and Covenants, section 105:9,10, we read why. The Lord says, “Therefore, in consequence of the transgressions of my people, it is expedient in me that my elder should wait a little season for the redemption of Zion, that they themselves may be prepared, that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experienced and know more perfectly concerning their duty and the things which I require at their hands.” So I want to dive into each of those things that the Lord specifically mentions. This idea of being prepared to be taught more perfectly, to have experience and to know more perfectly concerning their duty and the things which he requires. I’m going to dive into those and give some suggestions on where we each individually could be improving or working to meet these requirements, again, that the Lord said is going to be in place before the redemption of Zion can take place. Or this idea of a reversal of circumstances where the wicked begin to incur the curses and the righteous are finally saved and begin to be exalted.
So let’s talk about the very first one, this idea of being prepared. What is it that we’re being prepared for, and how is it that we might not be as prepared as we need to be? Well, the first thing that the Lord mentions is the transgressions of his people. And that’s a really interesting word, because I think it alludes to generational iniquity as well as personal sin. So it’s not just necessarily that like I’m a sinful person, although I am, it’s also that I have inherited false beliefs, I have inherited and accepted things as true that are not, that my father taught me and that his father taught him and that we haven’t even known is untrue, for generations. And so there’s this requirement for our preparation that we repent. And Orson Pratt talked about this. He said, “We were so covetous and filled with the selfish principle instilled into our minds by our forefathers that we would not give heed to the law, which the Lord gave through Joseph Smith concerning the consecrations that were to be made. In Isaiah 59, verse 20, it says, “But he will come as Redeemer to Zion, to those of Jacob who repent of transgression, says Jehovah.” Repentance is a really big concept and it’s one that I think we often get wrong. You know, we tend to think of the five R’s of this process where I realize I’ve sinned and I resolve, I want to be better and I make restitution and I pray and I say, I’m so sorry I did that bad thing. Please help me not do that bad thing tomorrow. And, while I think that there is truth in the various steps of that process, again, it feels a little too robotic and a little too reliant on ourselves, frankly, to actually constitute a true repentance. I think a more appropriate definition of repentance would be to return to the Lord. Which, if we were to consider what that actually means, requires quite a bit more on our parts. It requires a change of heart, a change of mind. It requires ridding ourselves of fear and pride. It requires us to sacrifice, to submit, and to enter once again into a pattern of perfect obedience and obedience to our ordinances. This is a big deal and something that I highly recommend we each to consider…What are ways that we don’t just need to repent, but ways that we need to return to the Lord? Anything that holds us back from Him, anything that keeps us in the dark, keeps us in untruth, is separating us from the Lord. And so it’s not only our sins that we should consider, but our false ideologies, that we have accepted, false beliefs about ourselves in the world. We each have opportunities to repent. And if we were to approach the concept in this way, the Lord is so giving. He’s so merciful. He will show us exactly the things that we’ve gotten wrong. And I’ll be honest, it can be pretty jarring, at times and it can cause a little cognitive dissonance, especially for those of us who’ve grown up in the church and who thought that we had it all figured out. For him to expose the weaknesses in our ideas and in, in our beliefs, it’s a little bit hard sometimes, but it’s also a beautiful vote of confidence from him that he trusts you with this deeper understanding, that he trusts you to have real intent and to actually act upon it. It’s a really beautiful, beautiful process.
Another word on the subject of obedience, which I feel like is one that has been drilled into my mind in the last year. When we talk about obedience, we’re not just talking about the commandments. We’re talking about every word of God that he gives to you. You have that scripture, it’s in Deuteronomy and it’s also in Matthew that we will be reading here soon–where its men are not meant to live by bread alone, but by every word which precedes from the mouth of God. That’s the kind of obedience that we’re talking about here. And Joseph Smith said that one of the reasons more or less that the people were in transgression was because they have not enjoyed the spirit of God sufficiently. When we’re baptized and have the laying on of hands, we assume that we automatically receive the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. That’s not entirely true. We are given an increased portion of the light of Christ, of access to the Holy Ghost, than what we are all, all of us born with. But then it requires our acting to actually receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. How do we do that? We do that through obedience to every prompting that the Holy Ghost will give us until such a time when the Lord says, “You have proven yourself sufficiently, you are now worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.” This is a big deal. The beautiful thing about it, though remember, is that perfect obedience to the Lord is possible. Why? “Because the Lord gives no commandment unto the children of men save He shall prepare a way that they will accomplish the thing that He has commanded them.” (I Nephi 3:7) So this is a big area for all of us to evaluate and to resolve, to say, “You know what? I want this. I want to be obedient to every word that you give me. Help me learn to recognize revelation and give me the strength to follow it perfectly.” The Lord is the one who makes this possible. By ourselves? Couldn’t do it no matter how much we tried. But as we lean on him, he will show us the way, he will give us the strength to truly repent and turn into him and to be obedient to every word. It’s so beautiful. So a couple of resolutions to consider. Where are areas in your life where you may have turned away from the Lord? Where are you more interested in the world’s solutions Resolve to eliminate or distance yourself from those temptations.
Another thing, a suggestion from a friend of mine would be to commit to a fast with the purpose of coming to recognize the voices in your mind. Every healthy mind has three voices: your voice, which is usually questioning and not very certain about anything. The voice of Satan, which uses the pronoun you and which is degregating and offensive to every prompting from the spirit and then the voice of the spirit in your mind, which is soft and subtle and will give you a single suggestion. And, and that is the truth. That is the rod of iron that we should all be pursuing.
Let’s talk about being taught more perfectly taught more perfectly in what? I mean, there are so many things.–And by the way, this is not an exhaustive list of ideas. I hope you will go to the chalkboard of your mind and consider, you know, in each of these areas what are things that you need to do to be more prepared to be taught more perfectly, etc..–But a couple of things that came to mind for me, first off, to be taught more perfectly about what the priesthood is. And this is something that I think is greatly needed for both men and women. If you go to the scriptures and study the topic of priesthood what you will find is that priesthood power is not exactly what we assume it to be. I think when we hear the word priesthood, our automatic definition in our mind is the power of God. That’s not entirely true. The priesthood is an order. It is an organization by which we enter into a covenant relationship with the Lord and which teaches us patterns by which we can come to access godly power. The priesthood in and of itself is not the godly power. We have evidence of that because we have tons of priesthood organizations and we don’t see the godly power that many other generations did. So what does that mean for us? Well, first off, it means, ladies, you have equal opportunity to access godly power as men do. And it is not by virtue of the fact that they are priesthood holders that they automatically have power. It’s important to realize the levels, the different organizations within the priesthood itself, that we have an Aaronic or a Levitical priesthood, and we have a Melchizedek priesthood. And what are the responsibilities of both of those? And how do we enter into each of them, men and women? In the Aaronic priesthood, we have the administration of outward ordinances and the ability to invite angelic ministers from the other side to perform miracles and to sanctify and bless others. On the Melchizedek side of it that’s where I think the real godly power comes into play. I recommend you read the Joseph Smith translation of Genesis 14, which talks extensively about Melchizedek and the man that he was and the miracles he performed. And that is our heritage. That is our opportunity if we were to claim it, if we were to claim the Melchizedek priesthood power. Those are the things that we’re going to see and how necessary those things will be as we approach the second coming and as we accomplish the work that will be required up until that point. In Doctrine and Covenants 113: 7& 8 there were some questions posed by Elias Higbee. He said, “What is meant by the command in Isaiah 52, verse one, which saith; Put on thy strength, O Zion–and what people had Isaiah reference to?” The answer that came said, “He had reference to those whom God should call in the last days, who should hold the power of priesthood to bring again Zion, and the redemption of Israel; and to put on her strength is to put on the authority of priesthood, which she, Zion, has a right to by lineage; also to return to that power which she had lost.” So a possible resolution for you here is to study the priesthood in the scriptures with brand new eyes. Look for the personal requirements to access the power that is made available by entering into the priesthood order that is available to both men and women. Doctrine and Covenants 84 is an excellent place to start. When you go to the scriptures, read them and take them at face value. Don’t have any expectations. Don’t write what you think you know. Read them for exactly what they’re saying and it will blow your mind.
Another thing that I think we need to be taught more perfectly about is signs that we need to be aware of and the actual events leading up to and pertaining to the second coming. This is an area that I think we tend to gloss over. We kind of know a few signs and we see them and so we’re like, “Oh yeah, it’s happening, it’ll happen any day.” But there are other signs that are going to be coming that we need to be aware of if we are going to be successful in navigating spiritually the trials and tribulations that lie ahead. I think one of the greatest ones, which we’ll be sure to talk about more in future podcast episodes, is the Lord’s servant, the end time servant who will be coming and an exodus sort of scenario that we will likely be experiencing. In Doctrine and Covenants 103 verses 15 through 18. It says “Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power;” again, referring back to the order of the priesthood and the power made available there. He says, “Therefore, I will raise up under my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel. For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm. And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be.” There’s a lot to dig into here and with this topic, and specifically the sign of the Lord’s servant that we will be looking for; there’s a lot to learn. And it’s important that we do, because if I weren’t talking about this now, would you know that you might need to leave your home and follow a man like unto Moses and be let out of bondage in the future? There’s a lot that we still can learn. And so I would resolve to study the signs, especially those in Isaiah, in Daniel and in the other Old Testament prophets. Personally, I got a 54 book compilation of all the Apocrypha that I’m really excited to read this year. There are so many places where we can learn and dig in and have the Lord teach us.
All right, the next one; my people need to have experience. What kind of experience is the Lord talking about? Is it the experience of going to church every week and partaking the sacrament and reading our scriptures? Or is there more? Is there more experience that my people are going to need to have? I want to talk a little bit about refining and purifying in Malachi 3 verses two through three, it says, “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord and offering in righteousness. In Doctrine and Covenants 105, verse six, it says, “And my people must need to be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer.” So we talked a little bit earlier about our transgression and obedience and how this scripture is saying that, generally speaking, as a people, we’re off track. And in order to get back on track, there must need to be chastening. There may be suffering. There’s going to be this refining process that we can choose to enter in individually, on our own beforehand, we can choose to let the Lord purify us and sanctify us and change us; we can choose that fierce and perfect obedience now. But if we don’t, it’s going to come either way. In Micah 4:10 it says, “Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now thou shalt go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.” It’s really interesting that in bringing forth Zion, oftentimes the Lord likens it to being in labor and having a child. And while we have many modern medical advances that make childbirth much more tolerable, I think we all know that that is a very painful process; that is suffering to the edge of your own life, to bring forth another life. And that’s the process that might be required unless we turn back and–as we’ve been talking about this whole time–choose to become Zion ourselves now. It’s the difference between being humbled by the Lord and choosing to be humbled. Both can be challenging, both can be excruciating. But at least in the choosing, you’ve used your agency. You have entered in. You have been at least mentally prepared and accepting and saying, “Okay, I’m going to allow this to happen.” And having that perspective, I think, makes a world of difference as opposed to being put in a situation where, “Now I’m forced to rely on the Lord because I literally have nothing left. I have no other choice.”
So it is really important to consider how can we resolve to prepare to withstand suffering and sanctification? Can we resolve to enter into a process of sanctification ourselves now? How do we overcome the fear of that and allow the Lord to do whatever it takes? Why would we want to? What are the blessings of the refiners’ fire? These are all wonderful topics to study and consider this year. I saw a funny reel. I’m not a big Instagram person, but I was on an Instagram and I saw a reel in it. It was a guy on the phone and it was just a whole line and it was like, “Me, calling God to make sure I signed up for the Success and Happiness package and not for the Trials and Tribulations package for 2023.” And I giggle because that’s so real. But at the same time, there’s some merit to, again, maybe signing up for that trials and tribulations package now, while you have the chance and while you can use your agency with the Lord to enter into that state instead of having to be forced to enter into labor later. This is coming. This is inevitable. The church is not going to have smooth sailing, as a body, in the days ahead, but we can choose as individuals now to do the spiritual work so that when the time comes, we’ve already had the sanctification. We’re already firmly in Zion’s camp.
The last one; his people need to know more perfectly their duty and the things required of them. In Doctrine and Covenants 64, verse 34, it says, “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in the last days.” A heart and a willing mind; our duty, the things required of us? It’s our whole selves. It’s our souls. It’s everything that we are. And we can resolve now to lose ourselves in the cause of Christ. To love God over ourselves, over the world, over all other relationships, over everything else. This is challenging. This is huge. This is the essence of what it means to offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit, which, by the way, is the sacrifice, ultimately, that is required for you to become Zion. It’s your whole selves. I think another thing that we need to know concerning our duty and the things required of us is that we pay a lot of lip service to the idea of becoming like Jesus Christ. And I think when we talk about that, we mean, you know, developing Christ-like characteristics and serving others and things like that. And I think that that’s all true. But I think we stop a little short and don’t realize that it may be the requirement that we become little saviors ourselves. This is something that we talked about in some of our marketing material when we were running the Secret Saviors Project last month is this idea that if we want to be like the Savior–well, he’s a savior and we can’t save anyone spiritually, we can’t rid anyone else of sin, we can’t offer them victory over physical or spiritual death. But there are many ways that we can act as saviors on Mt. Zion. It comes down to a willingness to choose to live the celestial law. In Doctrine and Covenants 105, verse five, it says, “And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise, I cannot receive her unto myself.” Well, Zion’s not built up yet. And that means that we’re not living the laws of a celestial kingdom. And if we’re not living it here, if we’re not willing to live it here, we won’t be willing to live it hereafter. And the celestial kingdom won’t be our inheritance. Joseph Smith said, “A man can never come unto Mount Zion and enter the city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in Heaven and to God and to Jesus, unless he becomes as a little child and is taught by the Spirit of God.” And again, I think that means being taught that celestial law, that willingness to be a savior in the ways that we can ourselves.
Ultimately, the law of the celestial kingdom, as we learn in the temple, is the law of consecration. And this is the law that permits there to exist all things in common among a people. It’s economical, but more especially, it’s spiritual. When we enter into the temple and we make our covenants, one of the covenants that we enter into is this law of consecration. We say that we do consecrate ourselves; our time, talents and everything the Lord has given us, or with which He will give us to the building up of the Kingdom of God on the Earth and to the establishment of Zion. I think oftentimes we think that that means that sometime in the future the prophet is going to say we need to live the law of consecration, the economical side of it, and that we just need to be prepared to do that. The economical side of it is important. It requires the consecration of our property and our goods for the support of the poor. It has to be entered into willingly and the goods that are dispersed according to needs and wants have deeds of ownership attached to them. The early Saints failed to submit to even this side of the law and as a consequence became subject to covenant curses. That’s why they were cast out of Missouri. It’s why their lives were sought. If they had been able to live the law of consecration, as it is designed, then they would have had covenant, spiritual protection from the Lord and nothing could touch them. This is what’s going to make Zion untouchable in a world of complete and utter chaos and violence, where neighbor is against neighbor and brother against brother. And if you don’t want to fight, you have to flee to Zion. So the economical portion is going to be there for sure, but there is the spiritual side of consecration, which is the harder side. The early saints couldn’t live the physical, economical side. How much harder do you think it was for them to live the spiritual side? And how does that parallel us? This is not a covenant on hold. This is something that we have covenanted to do beginning now. The spiritual side of consecration is that we give all that we are to God and to our brothers and sisters. It is a sacrifice of our self. And it’s meant to parallel that of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, what it’s going to look like, it’s going to be different for all of us individually. We all have different talents. We all have different time right now. But ultimately it will reflect in caring for and protecting and teaching and loving so many in our stewardship, even to answer God for the consequences of their errors. Joseph Smith said, “How are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them. And herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children of the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.” And we can read this two different ways; we can say we go to the temple and we do temple work and we do baptisms for the dead, and we do ordinations and ordinances, and we make covenants on behalf of the dead. And when it comes to the outward ordinances, that’s fairly consistent, those things are all required. And obviously the dead are absent from their bodies right now and cannot receive the outward ordinances. But what of the inward ordinances? What of our baptisms of fire and the Holy Ghost and calling and election and second comforter experiences that are a requisite for exaltation? Does our dead automatically get those? I don’t think so. When Joseph F. Smith had his vision of the dead in the interim between Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection, he noted that Christ did not go to those who were in spirit prison or those who were in spirit bondage, you might say, those who had not received all of their ordinances in mortality, outward and inward. Instead, he sent messengers who taught them. But could they receive those inward ordinances themselves while in that state? I’m not convinced. The other way to read this quote is that, “As we spiritually progress as individuals, we rid ourselves of the blood and sins of our generation and the previous ones through that repentance process. We enact saving power upon our dead who may not have had the same opportunity to pursue such a path. We become redeemers ourselves as we climb the spiritual ladder, and we’re able to offer that exalting power to others, the same way that our Savior, Jesus Christ did. He is at the top of the ladder. He is the penultimate spiritual example for all of us, and he walked the whole path himself. In doing so, he’s able to redeem us.” So what does all this mean? Well, it means that we can resolve now to learn more about what it is to be a proxy savior, how to take on that role. With the guidance of the Spirit and the Savior in our lives I know that if we choose to lose our life now, we will find it. And in doing so, we will bring redemption and glory and blessings upon generations past, present and future.
I hope that this has been insightful for you, especially as you consider the opportunity that another year of mortality brings and how you want to be shaped by the Lord this year. I testify that becoming Zion is a prerequisite for those who wish to endure the things that lie ahead in preparation for the Lord’s return. And that for his people to be able to be ready to receive him, this is what we have to become. I love the quote, “The length of time required to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion is strictly up to us and how we live, for creating Zion commences in the heart of each person.” I am so excited for this year. I’m excited about the opportunity we all have to become transformed by Him. And it is my prayer and my hope that we each will use this opportunity for our spiritual ascension on behalf of ourselves and also our loved ones so that we can be prepared for whatever may come our way in the near future.
I love you guys. Have a fantastic week.
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