"And thus, even as I have said, if ye are faithful ye shall assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which is the land of your inheritance, which is now the land of your enemies.
But, behold, I, the Lord, will hasten the city in its time, and will crown the faithful with joy and with rejoicing."
Doctrine and Covenants 52:42-43
This is an interesting scripture, which reminds me of God talking to Moses, telling him that all the land that he could see would be his, and belong to his descendants. Things like that can turn sour when translated into the modern world where wars and monetary transactions tell us who owns what, and very few respect or understand the real-estate-based gifts of God. :) In this particular passage, God mentions that it was the land of their enemies, and in retrospect, knowing about the extermination order that made it legal to kill Mormons, that is pretty clearly true. But interestingly, God doesn't do the same thing here that he did with Joshua and the children of Israel. He doesn't command them to make an army and go down and conquer the land. He says instead that he "will hasten the city in its time." ... And I wonder if God just means that enemies, in time, can become friends, and forget past offenses. That we, through normal means, can together build an inheritance and forge a promised land.
We know that the stakes of Zion reach all over the world, and building a Zion people can happen anywhere as well. Anyplace where people are gathered together, living God's laws, can bring us closer to the ideal. Today, wherever we are, let's work at building Zion and furthering God's kingdom. Not through destroying those who disagree with us, but through loving them and taking care of them, and unifying us all. Sounds like plenty of reason for joy and rejoicing to me. :)
But, behold, I, the Lord, will hasten the city in its time, and will crown the faithful with joy and with rejoicing."
Doctrine and Covenants 52:42-43
This is an interesting scripture, which reminds me of God talking to Moses, telling him that all the land that he could see would be his, and belong to his descendants. Things like that can turn sour when translated into the modern world where wars and monetary transactions tell us who owns what, and very few respect or understand the real-estate-based gifts of God. :) In this particular passage, God mentions that it was the land of their enemies, and in retrospect, knowing about the extermination order that made it legal to kill Mormons, that is pretty clearly true. But interestingly, God doesn't do the same thing here that he did with Joshua and the children of Israel. He doesn't command them to make an army and go down and conquer the land. He says instead that he "will hasten the city in its time." ... And I wonder if God just means that enemies, in time, can become friends, and forget past offenses. That we, through normal means, can together build an inheritance and forge a promised land.
We know that the stakes of Zion reach all over the world, and building a Zion people can happen anywhere as well. Anyplace where people are gathered together, living God's laws, can bring us closer to the ideal. Today, wherever we are, let's work at building Zion and furthering God's kingdom. Not through destroying those who disagree with us, but through loving them and taking care of them, and unifying us all. Sounds like plenty of reason for joy and rejoicing to me. :)
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