All This For the Salvation of Zion

As I read section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants recently I was particularly impressed by the very last verse: “And, verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should hasten to translate my scriptures, and to obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of Zion.”  The instruction to the Joseph Smith and Frederick G. Williams was to translate the scriptures and gain a knowledge of both things of the world and the things of God.  All this great effort was to be done with a very specific aim: “for the salvation of Zion.”  Perhaps we might apply this principle more broadly as we struggle to see the reasons to keep going each day despite difficulties.  Why should we continue trying to teach our children the gospel even when we feel we make no progress, why should we keep studying the scriptures when sleep calls more loudly each night, why should we continue attempting to do missionary work or family history work or attend the temple or simply keep trying to overcome our weaknesses when we feel unable to do so?  Why should we keep fighting to endure to the end?  Perhaps the Lord would answer us to all these questions: “All this is for the salvation of Zion.” 

               So, what is the salvation of Zion that we should be seeking?  Strictly speaking, “Zion is the city of our God” that will not be moved and will be such that it will be said, “God is there, and the hand of the Lord is there.”  Zion will be a people worthy to welcome the Lord in their midst, just as the Lord welcomed the people of Enoch into His midst when that the city was taken into heaven.  And how do we become that people?  The same section answers this question: “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” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:19, 21).  The goal of all of this, the essence of what it means to be Zion, is to purify our hearts before the Lord, to “be purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:48).  All the righteous seeking that we do in our homes, in the church, and in the gospel generally is to this end, to purify our hearts so that we can be a Zion people and dwell in the midst of God.  And if we do truly “seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion” as the Lord commanded us more than once in our dispensation, then we have this promise: “Blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:6, 1 Nephi 13:37).  So we must continue trying day in and day out, to establish Zion in our homes and personal lives no matter how slow the going seems to be, and the Lord in his time promises us the gift and power of the Holy Ghost to see us through.