Moses 7:16-18

"And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.
The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish. 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."
Moses 7:16-18


I think the whole idea of a Zion community is pretty astounding. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that he had a dream that his children would live in a nation "where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I think that Zion promises not only this, but much more. a community where there is no poor... think about that. no class distinctions, no ethnic distinctions... no judgment of people because of how they dress or what job they have. ... a community where you don't have to worry about locking your door, or someone stealing your car... where people really do work for one another's good, and never try to rip each other off. I was talking to a friend yesterday about the things that teach us that we need God, and the things that snatch us from the jaws of Hell... we need each other, and we need God... so much. Zion is possible... even promised. But *we* are the ones that need to build it.... we have to think about who we include in our circles of acceptance, and who we don't... think about who we consider friends and who we consider strangers... if there is *anyone* that we exclude as a default, we need to reconsider. in building Zion, we aren't going to be able to exclude people not of our faith, our lifestyle, or our hair color. :) not even our music preference.... (dang!) seriously... which one of us can say that we are better than *anyone* else? if we try to say that, we are so wrong. we all need to be snatched from the jaws of hell... we all need to be saved by the prayers of others. If the scriptures teach nothing else, they teach the fact that one individual *can* make a difference in this world... and I think an awful lot of us are going to have to have that conviction and work at living it to start building Zion. first we have to change *our* hearts... then we can start laying the physical foundations...