Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 188; “You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion—where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When elders shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it. (HC 6:318-19.)”
Joel 2:32; “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”
Joseph Smith’s mouth knew no bounds as we can see in the hundreds of false prophecies he uttered in his relatively short career as con-man and apostle.
In my sanctimonious attitude I used to wonder why people would believe this stuff and then one day God told me to look in the mirror. That was a humbling experience!
I grew up believing to be prepared because the day would come that we’d be hoofin’ it to Missouri from our beloved Rocky Mountains. Stored in my parents basement were boatloads of rice, beans, barley and dried soy amongst the flour bins and boxes of dry laundry soap. And don’t forget the jell-o…
It never occurred to me that I should look in my Bible, or a map for that matter, to find out where the real Zion or Jerusalem was located. No one questioned and just did as they were told. I took my mother’s lead and did what she did…follow the prophet.
That was until. One day the Lord put it upon my heart to open the Bible the Church had given me and I began reading it, but most importantly God instilled in my heart to believe it as well.
The trek to Missouri sounds far-fetched to those outside the parameters of the Mormon lifestyle, but for the believers it’s as real today as it was for me back in the 60’s and 70’s.
If you’re LDS where do you believe Zion is located? Is it Missouri or Jerusalem as the Bible tells us? What about Utah or Nauvoo or Kirtland or Palmyra? Why did Joseph Smith continue to change his stories of where God was?
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