Building Zion

Building Zion
Author: Thomas Carter
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2015-03-17
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1452942862

For Mormons, the second coming of Christ and the subsequent millennium will arrive only when the earth has been perfected through the building of a model world called Zion. Throughout the nineteenth century the Latter-day Saints followed this vision, creating a material world—first in Missouri and Illinois but most importantly and permanently in Utah and surrounding western states—that serves as a foundation for understanding their concept of an ideal universe. Building Zion is, in essence, the biography of the cultural landscape of western LDS settlements. Through the physical forms Zion assumed, it tells the life story of a set of Mormon communities—how they were conceived and constructed and inhabited—and what this material manifestation of Zion reveals about what it meant to be a Mormon in the nineteenth century. Focusing on a network of small towns in Utah, Thomas Carter explores the key elements of the Mormon cultural landscape: town planning, residences (including polygamous houses), stores and other nonreligious buildings, meetinghouses, and temples. Zion, we see, is an evolving entity, reflecting the church’s shift from group-oriented millenarian goals to more individualized endeavors centered on personal salvation and exaltation. Building Zion demonstrates how this cultural landscape draws its singularity from a unique blending of sacred and secular spaces, a division that characterized the Mormon material world in the late nineteenth century and continues to do so today.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publisher: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Total Pages: 470
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 1465103074

The prophet Brigham Young taught the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in a basic, practical way that gave inspiration and hope to the Saints struggling to build a home in the wilderness. Though more than a century has now passed, his words are still fresh and appropriate for us today as we continue the work of building the kingdom of God. President Young declared that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we possess the “doctrine of life and salvation for all the honest-in-heart” (DBY, 7). He promised that those who receive the gospel in their hearts will have awakened “within them a desire to know and understand the things of God more than they ever did before in their lives” and will begin to “inquire, read and search and when they go to their Father in the name of Jesus he will not leave them without a witness” (DBY, 450). This book reflects the desire of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to deepen the doctrinal understanding of Church members and to awaken within them a greater desire to know the things of God. It will inspire and motivate individuals, priesthood quorums, and Relief Society classes to inquire, read, search, and then go to their Father in Heaven for a witness of the truth of these teachings. Each chapter contains two sections—“Teachings of Brigham Young” and “Suggestions for Study.” The first section consists of extracts from Brigham Young’s sermons to the early Saints. Each statement has been referenced, and the original spelling and punctuation have been preserved; however, the sources cited will not be readily available to most members. These original sources are not necessary to have in order to effectively study or teach from this book. Members need not purchase additional references and commentaries to study or teach these chapters. The text provided in this book, accompanied by the scriptures, is sufficient for instruction. Members should prayerfully read and study President Young’s teachings in order to gain new insights into gospel principles and discover how those principles apply to their everyday lives. By faithfully and prayerfully studying these selections, Latter-day Saints will have a greater understanding of gospel principles and will more fully appreciate the profound and inspired teachings of this great prophet. The second section of each chapter offers a series of questions that will encourage thoughtful contemplation, personal application, and discussion of President Young’s teachings. Members should refer to and carefully reread his words on the principle being discussed. Deep and prayerful study of these teachings will inspire members to greater personal commitment and will help them resolve to follow the teachings of the Savior, Jesus Christ. If individuals and families prayerfully follow the principles in this book, they will be blessed and inspired to greater dedication and spirituality, as were the early Saints who heard these words directly from the lips of the “Lion of the Lord” (HC, 7:434)—the prophet, seer, and revelator, President Brigham Young.

Champions for Zion

Champions for Zion
Author: Jesse Fisher
Publisher:
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2018-11-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781723833625

What did Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, George Q. Cannon, and seventeen other early LDS leaders know about building Zion that we today have forgotten? Quite a bit, it turns out! Multiple quotes by multiple Church leaders on multiple occasions show that: a) Our early missionaries were teaching prospects that the Church was building the long-prophesied latter-day Zion in Utah and inviting them to participate, b) Building Zion was a core LDS doctrine, c) Zion-building was central to the Church's mission during the 1800s, d) Establishing Zion was central to God's plan to prepare the world for Christ's return, and that e) Building Zion was a primary focus of LDS leaders who also encouraged the members to focus there as well. And that's just from Chapter One! The author gathered well over 700 quotes by LDS apostles and prophets during Utah's territorial years. He then categorized and subcategories all the quotes according to what they teach us. The chapter and section headings in the first twelve chapters represent those categorizations. Concepts that were "one-offs" were generally excluded so that mainstream doctrines about establishing Zion could be identified. Here are the first twelve chapter titles, revealing remarkable teachings about establishing Zion in the Last Days: 1) Building Zion Was Central to the Gospel and LDS Church, 2) What IS Zion, exactly? 3) It's God's Will That the Saints Build Zion. 4) Prophecies About Zion, 5) Our Obligations Regarding Zion, 6) The Saints were actively building a Zion in Utah. 7) What is required of us to establish Zion?8) Building Zion is not just a spiritual activity, it's temporal too! 9) Babylon, Zion's Opposite, 10) Building Zion includes achieving economic independence from Babylon. 11) Zion Requires Economic Unity, and 12) Cooperation is a Stepping Stone to Zion. After gathering and classifying all 700+ quotes, the author is convinced that: a) God intended a Zion society to be established in the Rocky Mountains before the New Jerusalem is built. b) Though it is not a central focus today in the LDS Church, it will likely have to become so before Christ can return. c) God has not revoked his desire for his children to enjoy that kind of society, and that d) There is plenty we can do today to prepare ourselves and our families to qualify to live in Zion.

Zion Unmatched

Zion Unmatched
Author: Zion Clark
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2021-11-09
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1536227889

An extraordinary, deeply inspirational photo essay follows elite wheelchair racer and wrestler and Netflix documentary star Zion Clark. This stunning photographic essay showcases Zion Clark’s ferocious athleticism and undaunted spirit. Cowritten by New York Times best-selling journalist James S. Hirsch, this book features striking, visually arresting images and an approachable and engaging text, including pieces of advice that have motivated Zion toward excellence and passages from Zion himself. Explore Zion’s journey from a childhood lost in the foster care system to his hard-fought rise as a high school wrestler to his current rigorous training to prepare as an elite athlete on the world stage. Included are a biography and a note from Zion. This first in a trilogy of books to be written by world-class athlete Zion Clark.

Approaching Zion

Approaching Zion
Author: Hugh Nibley
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Total Pages: 664
Release: 1989
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Living the Book of Mormon

Living the Book of Mormon
Author: Gaye Strathearn
Publisher: Brigham Young University Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Book of Mormon
ISBN: 9781590387993

Zion Earth Zen Sky

Zion Earth Zen Sky
Author: Charles Inouye
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021-09-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781950304110

I am Japanese but was born and raised in rural central Utah. At ?rst, my parents were afraid that our involvement with the Church would weaken our grounding in Japanese tradition. As it turned out, it only reinforced my interest in animism, Buddhism, and other aspects of Japanese culture. As a scholar of Japanese culture, I have discovered that Latter-day Saint culture and Mahayana Buddhist culture are similar in many ways, and that the paths to the building up of Zion, on the one hand, and to Zen enlightenment, on the other, are one and the same. The genius of both faith traditions lies in how they push the abstract ideas of salvation down into the world of material practice. Raking sand in a Zen garden reminds us that mortality is similarly a "high maintenance" situation, where constant service is required if we are to grasp our purpose here on earth.

Tested by Zion

Tested by Zion
Author: Elliott Abrams
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2013-01-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107031192

This book tells the full inside story of the Bush Administration and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Written by a top National Security Council officer who worked at the White House with Bush, Cheney, and Rice and attended dozens of meetings with figures like Sharon, Mubarak, the kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and Palestinian leaders, it brings the reader inside the White House and the palaces of Middle Eastern officials. How did 9/11 change American policy toward Arafat and Sharon's tough efforts against the Second Intifada? What influence did the Saudis have on President Bush? Did the American approach change when Arafat died? How did Sharon decide to get out of Gaza, and why did the peace negotiations fail? In the first book by an administration official to focus on Bush and the Middle East, Elliott Abrams brings the story of Bush, the Israelis, and the Palestinians to life.

Zeal for Zion

Zeal for Zion
Author: Shalom Goldman
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 0807833444

The standard histories of Zionism have depicted it almost exclusively as a Jewish political movement, one in which Christians do not appear except as antagonists. In the highly original Zeal for Zion, Shalom Goldman makes the case for a wider and m

American Zion

American Zion
Author: Eran Shalev
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2013-03-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0300186924

DIV A wide-ranging exploration of early Americans’ use of the Old Testament for political purposes /div