Zion

Moses 7:18

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

This scripture has inspired me over and over throughout my years. What it says to me is that Zion is not just an ideal but a very real possibility. We are capable of creating communities where everyone is valued and cared for.

Our families and our wards are the places we begin but we don't have to stop there. We can open  our circles of love and concern and bring others into our lives. We can open our hearts and find room for all who cross our path.

Sometimes we default to the Lord actions that he has asked us to do for Him now. We often wonder what it will be like when He comes again with healing in his wings. What if we sought that healing now? What if we were His hands in making that happen now?  What if that healing was always intended to come through us as His ambassadors?  Has he not promised he will come to each of us in our need?

As we do simple things each day we are building Zion. When our love for the Lord and his children takes precedence over all other desires we are building Zion.

The man who stops to help change flat tire is building Zion. The woman who welcomes a new neighbor is building Zion. Whenever we invite others into our lives we are building Zion. When we choose to look past our differences and find the things we have in common we are building Zion.
Zion is just heaven on Earth and heaven is not a place as much as it is a condition of the heart.

As Latter Day Saints we are or at least we should be a Zion community. Creating that community is our task here upon the Earth. We sing of it over and over:

As Zion's youth in latter days. . . 

Come to Zion, come to Zion. . . 

As sisters in Zion. . . 

We know he is coming to gather his sheep and lead them to Zion in love. . .

Hope of Israel, Zion's army. . .

Perhaps one hymn that doesn't even mention Zion but touches us all as we sing it, describes best why we should be building Zion:

Because I have been given much, I too must give.

Because of thy grant bounty, Lord, each day I live

I shall divide my gifts from thee 

With ev'ry brother that I see

Who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care,

I cannot see another's lack and I not share

My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,

My roof's safe shelter overhead,

That he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord,

I'll share thy love again, according to thy word.

I shall give love to those in need; 

I'll show that love by word and deed;

Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

I personally love feeling that the things I am doing with my life are building Zion - building the kingdom of God on Earth. Serving the poor and needy qualifies for that. But living the gospel is the most important - not the outward things but allowing the Lord to change my heart and becoming a more loving and compassionate human being. I need Zion in my heart before I can help create Zion around me.

So that concept - Zion - inspires me on all levels but mostly it inspires me to believe that it can happen because it did once. Wouldn't it be nice to be a part of helping it happen again?

I used to want to write a book about Zion because I was so disturbed by the statistics about the poor in our world.   There is just so must inequity in how resources are made available to the peoples of our earth.  These statistics make the hymn quoted above even more meaningful.

From the University of Southern Maine website:

If The World Were a Village of 100

If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would look something like this...

ETHNICITY:

61 Asians

13 Africans

12 Europeans

8 North Americans

5 South Americans & the Caribbean

1 from Oceania

GENDER:

50 male

50 female

RELIGION:

33 are Christian

21 are Muslims

13 are Hindus

6 are Buddhists

1 is Sikhs

1 is Jewish

11 practice other religions

11 are non-religious

3 are Atheists

SKIN COLOR:

70 non-white

30 white 

LANGUAGE:

17 speak Chinese

9 speak English

8 speak Hindi

6 speak Russian

6 speak Spanish

4 speak Arabic

50 speak other languages 

FOOD:

30 would always have enough to eat (15 would be overweight) 

50 would be malnourished

20 would be undernouished (would be dying of starvation) 

FREEDOMS:

48 can't speak, act according to their faith and conscience 

due to harassment, imprisonment, torture or death

52 can

20 live in fear of death by bombardment, armed attack,

 landmines, or of rape or kidnapping by armed groups

80 do not

EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY:

12 are unable to read

1 has a college degree

12 own a computer 

8 have an internet connection

HEALTH:

12 are disabled

1 adult has HIV/AIDS

LIVING STANDARDS

43 live without basic sanitation

20 have no clean, safe water to drink

80 live in substandard housing

68 breathe clean air

32 breathe polluted air

MONEY:

6 people own 59% of the world's wealth (all of them from the United States)

74 people own 39%

20 people share the remaining 2%

21 people live on $1.25 (US) per day or less 

The village spend $1.24 trillon (US) on military expenditures

$100 billion (US) on development aid

If you keep your food in a refrigerator

your clothes in a closet

If you have a bed to sleep in

and a roof over your head

you are richer than 75% of the entire world population

Appreciate what you have & do your best for a better world.