Zion Shall Flourish

ZION SHALL FLOURISH                              

by Presiding Patriarch Carl VunCannon , Jr.

Volume 18, Number 1, Issue 70 Jan/Feb/Mar 2017

“Zion Shall Flourish” because God has commanded that it will flourish. To enable this to happen, there needs to be a group of God’s children with a belief system so strong that they will be willing to give all their resources, everything, to do the will of God and his Son, Jesus. This will include our agency, freely given, so Zion can flourish and be a blessing to the world and our neighbors.

By so doing, we fulfill the two great commandments; “…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”(Matthew 22:36-39).

This group of people must believe that God has given to his Son, Jesus, all the power of heaven to support our efforts in keeping all of his commandments (celestial law) which will culminate in his kingdom, Zion.

As we continue in our preparation of the Bride, we will see Zion develop, grow, and flourish. The speed of Zion’s growth will depend upon the spiritual condition (preparation of the Bride). Each of us, as members of the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, must recognize the responsibility which is ours as we individually and collectively prepare the Bride for the coming of the Bridegroom.

Because of the knowledge and understanding we have, through the revelatory process, we must be aware of the urgency of our preparation and delay no longer our obedience to the will of God and his Son, Jesus.

One of the most compelling requirements for preparing the Bride is having an eye single to the glory of God.

“And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you, and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him: for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (Doctrine and Covenants 85:18).

Those having an eye single to the glory of God will receive significant blessings as we cause Zion to flourish.

“Behold, blessed, saith the Lord, are they who have come up unto this land with an eye single to my glory, according to my commandments; for they that live shall inherit the earth,and they that die shall rest from all their labors, and their works shall follow them, and they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have prepared for them; yea, blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my gospel, for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth; and it shall bring forth in its strength; and they shall also be crowned with blessings from above; yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time; they that are faithful and diligent before me” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:1).

Having an eye single to God’s glory requires that we cannot separate the spiritual from the temporal. Both must operate to bear testimony of God in all areas of our everyday life as well as our spiritual life.

“Wherefore, verily I say unto you, that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal, neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam your father, whom I created; behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him; for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural, nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual” (Doctrine and Covenants 28:9).

“…To that end, let the Bishopric with the temporal law and the First Presidency with the spiritual law come together under the celestial law, such consummation making the secular become sacred and culminating in the attainment of the kingdom of God on earth” (Doctrine and Covenants R152:4).

Zion must flourish. It will flourish and become reality when each of us becomes convinced that God’s way is our way. Our actions convince the world of our faith in a creator of all things – God, the Father of all mankind. He, God, waits for our response.

There are many advertisements and TV commercials by hospitals in our area about the amount of wait time in their emergency rooms. Is fifteen minutes or thirty minutes too long?

The world is in a state of great emergency. What is an appropriate time for us to respond to God’s commandments to establish his kingdom, Zion?

Zion Must Flourish, and it must flourish NOW!

“The church is admonished again that joint responsibility is laid on all. Properly and equally borne, this responsibility will insure success, the consummation will be glorious, and all will share in that glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 141:8).