Thursday, January 19, 2012

Infallible Authority, Chapter Seventeen

The Laborer in Zion
by J.J. Dewey
(To read the previous chapter, click here. To start this series at the beginning, click here.)

The Lord made a curious statement to Nephi which has never been correctly explained to my knowledge:
 “Behold, there are save two churches only; one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the Devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.” (I Nephi 14:10-11)
Mormons generally believe that they are the Church of the Lamb of God referred to and all other religions are the church of the devil, but is this correct? Nephi himself solves the mystery and tells us who it is that belongs to the church of the devil and interestingly, he does not name any particular religion:
 “Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for THEY ARE THEY WHO ARE THE WHORE of all the earth: for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.” (2 Nephi 10:16)
Could it really be that many of the LDS themselves make up part of the whore, or the great and abominable church? Yes. The scriptures clearly tell us that anyone that fights the establishment of Zion becomes a part of the whore, or the church of the devil. Else why did Nephi warn us: “And blessed are the Gentiles [The LDS], they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved.” (2 Nephi 6:12)

Since the Great and Abominable Church is composed of those who fight against Zion, we must ask the question, How does one fight against Zion? To understand let us examine some of the ingredients of which Zion will be composed.
When Zion is fully established, it will be an independent entity which will have “no laws but my laws.” (D&C 38:22)
It will be “independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world.” (D&C 78:14)
Zion will support the principles of freedom and limited government in our Constitution which is for the “protection of all flesh”. (D&C 101: 77)
The saints were told to “buy lands and gather together upon them; and in this way they may establish Zion... . They shall gather together unto the places which I have appointed.” (D&C 101:74 & 67)
Each place where there was a gathering was to be a stake. A stake was not supposed to be 3,000 saints in the midst of a city of 50,000, but it was to be composed of an actual city of saints staked out around the central stake. These stakes are referred to as if the curtains or the strength of Zion.” (D&C 101:21)
“Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the celestial kingdom.” (D&C 105:5)
In Zion we are told that “it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherewith the world lieth in sin.” (D&C 50:20)
We are told that 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 7:18)
How many are there in the Church today that actively work for the establishment of the above principles? Unfortunately, many have been excommunicated for doing so. Concerning those who are not for the principles of Christ, he said, “He that is not with me is against me.” (Matt. 12:30)

We are told that the natural man is an enemy to God, and the natural man does indeed rebel against the establishment of Zion. He does not want to gather out of Babylon and be separate from the world for he loves the world. He does not want to be equal in earthly things for he wants to be above his brother. He seeks to rely upon the arm of flesh rather than receive personal revelation. This person whether Mormon or not, who pits his will against Zion, belongs to the church of the devil. The number is legion for many who are for Zion in word are against it in deed.

On the other hand, many non-Mormons belong to the Church of the Lamb of God. These are they who have the fire of freedom burning in their breasts. They believe that all men should have the freedom to worship as they please so long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. They do not believe in establishing an authority for every decision for the final authority is the human spirit in communication with God.

The number of these people are few, and many of them are not members of the Church and some of them are inactive members who would participate if the Church were in order. These freedom loving people who live harmless lives and do many good things of their own free will are the true members of the Church of the Lamb of God even if they presently live in far off Russia or India. The cause of Zion is in the soul of many who have not yet heard the word, for it is written in their hearts.

One of the marks of the Great and Abominable Church is the practice of priestcraft and Nephi gives us a clear insight as to the definition thereof: “He commanded that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion ... . Wherefore if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.” (2 Nephi 26:29-30)

Is there priestcraft in the Church today? Are there those who set themselves up for a light that others must follow or suffer the consequences?

One may answer yes, but at the same time question that this is no more the case today than it was in the days of Joseph Smith or Brigham Young. But is there a difference in the attitude of the authorities today compared with the early days?

If you study the history of the Church, you will note a quite remarkable difference; the main one being the suffocation and strangulation in individual expression, freedom, and spiritual gifts in the Church today.

In 1843 the High Council was quite concerned about the teachings of a certain Elder named Pelatiah Brown even though Joseph Smith called him “one of the wisest old heads we have among us.” He was called up for trial for teaching mysteries not yet revealed. Of this Joseph Smith said, “I did not like the old man being called up for erring in doctrine. It looks too much like the Methodists, and not like the Latter-Day Saints. Methodists have creeds which a man must believe or be asked out of their church. I want the liberty of thinking and believing as I please. It feels so good not to be trammeled. It does not prove that a man is not a good man because he errs in doctrine.” (DHC 5:340)

It is interesting to note that today the Methodists allow greater freedom of thought, whereas the Latter-Day Saints are the ones who ask those whom they believe are erring in doctrine out of the Church.

Let’s examine several other statements of Joseph Smith:
“I stated that the most prominent difference between the Latter-Day Saints and sectarians was, that the latter were all circumscribed by some peculiar creed, which deprived its members the privilege of believing anything not contained therein, whereas the Latter- day Saints have no creed, but are ready to believe all true principles that exist as they are manifest from time to time.” (DHC 5: 215)
“I told him I had no creed to circumscribe my mind; therefore the people did not like me.” (DHC 5:214)
 “I want to come up into the presence of God, and learn all things; but the creeds set up stakes, and say, ‘Hitherto shalt thou come; and no further,’ which I cannot subscribe to.” (DHC 6:57)
Brigham Young spoke in a similar vein:
“If they have not yet undivided feelings, they will be chastened until they have them; not only until every one of them shall see for themselves, and prophecy for themselves, have visions for themselves, but be made acquainted with all the principles and laws necessary for them to know, so as to supersede the necessity of anyone teaching them. Is not the time to come when I shall not say to my neighbor, know the Lord, for he will know him as well as I do?” (J. of D. 3: 89)
Notice how Joseph Smith tried to avoid setting himself up as a light above his brethren: “I explained to him that I did not profess to be a prophet any more than every man ought to who professes to be a preacher of righteousness.” (DHC 5:232)

Why did the Lord say, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge ... the people that doth not understand shall fall.” (Hosea 4:6 & 14)

Notice that the Lord tells us that the people must understand. It is not enough to pin our faith on the sleeve of the leaders. Knowing this, the early prophets tried to inspire the people to be as good or better than they were. It is a great temptation for those placed in a leadership position to believe that God has chosen them for an authority rather than a servant. Many of these try to extinguish the lesser lights around them so all the light these little minds have is the radiation from the arm of flesh.

On the contrary, God has ordained that we all share the great light of God who is our source and eventually become great lights ourselves.

Yes, there is a difference in the leadership of the Latter-Day Saints today. Today they say, “Hitherto shalt thou come and no further.” You can believe the works of Joseph Fielding Smith, Talmage, and LeGrande Richards, but if you get a different interpretation out of the scriptures, you must stop and repent or get out.

Today the church does have a creed. It is the creed of the modern authorities of the Church which is essentially this: “The Brethren will never lead you astray. Do not think for yourself, but follow to the letter and think as you are told or get out.” Modern Mormons are circumscribed by this and the result is the present very low, almost nonexistent degree of spiritual manifestations in the Church.

As mentioned earlier, my nephew (and later myself) was called in by his bishop and excommunicated by the High Council within about a week because he believed the scriptures above the opinions of the modern authorities. The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the High Council is supposed to be split so half of them defend the person on trial, but they were all one voice against him. He had no defense. One of the reasons was that a visiting general authority told the High Council to cut him off before the trial was held. Yea, even the wicked have greater justice in their hearts than this!

In speaking of those who practice priestcraft, Nephi said, “They seek not the welfare of Zion ... . Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.” (2 Nephi 26:29-30)

Who is the “laborer in Zion”? Obviously he is one who is laboring for the cause of Zion and Nephi prophesies that the priestcrafters will cause such laborers to perish. Now these priestcrafters could not be Catholics or Baptists for they have had no laborers for Zion, for they do not even teach of it, so the prophecy can only refer to priestcraft within the church that has the Book of Mormon.

What does the laborer in Zion do? He works to establish celestial principles which are equality through free will, the gathering of Israel, he seeks for revelation from heaven, he seeks the mysteries of the kingdom of God, he seeks to enlighten his fellow men and women, and what happens to such a one? He is “frowned” on by the authorities and if he persists laboring for Zion, he is cut off.

After he is cut off, the atmosphere becomes so heavy between him and his member friends, that he makes no attempt to even go to the mainstream church and often winds up attending some fringe group who will at least receive him. Thus, the laborer in Zion perished and had to travel a strange path.
Copyright J.J. Dewey, used with permission.

[A note from Rock about leaving comments: Many readers have posted as "Anonymous" even though they don't wish to, only because they see no other option. If you don't have a Google, Wordpress, or other username among those listed, you can enter a username in the dropdown box that reads "Name/URL."  Put your name in the "Name" box, ignore the request for a URL, and you should be good to go.
I have a pretty firm policy of never censoring or deleting comments,so if your comment does not immediately appear, it probably means it is being held in the spam filter, which seems to lock in arbitrarily on some posts for reasons unknown.  If you have submitted a comment and it doesn't immediately show up, give me a nudge at RockWaterman@gmail.com and I'll knock it loose. -Rock]


19 comments:

Jon said...

Interesting, I just read the scripture on the Church of the Lamb of God a week or so ago and mentioned to my wife how I thought it enveloped more than just the LDS people.

Just last Sunday in gospel doctrine I was sharing how Eternal life can start in this life and how we need not wait for the life to come to start it from the allegory given by Lehi and interpreted by Nephi. The teacher didn't like that, he mentioned the flaming sword and the tree in the garden of Eden and then didn't let me respond, since that tree in the garden of Eden is the tree for immortality, not eternal life.

It's unfortunate that people can't leave the script. This particular teacher that I described above is very much into follow the prophet and area leaders and local leaders. I think part of it is difference in personality, there are the Followers, Leaders, and Loners. I think I fall under the loaner category because I don't much care what leaders say or rather I weigh the opinion with my own thoughts and try to come to my own conclusion. Sometimes it would be nice to rely on the arm of flesh, it would be easier, but I prefer liberty and freedom to that, even though it is harder.

Anyways, I'm babbling.

Commander Gidgiddoni said...

In regard to priestcrafts. Dewey quotes the book of Mormon, here is the scripture:
“He commanded that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion ... . Wherefore if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.” (2 Nephi 26:29-30)

I wrote this in an earlier post, but I'll repeat:

Let's compare how the prophets of the church today react to praise from others in general conference vs how Jesus Christ reacted.

Prophets today: What I have noticed is silence. They neither acknowledge or rebuke/reprimand those who have praised them. Let me know if you have seen otherwise.

Jesus Christ:
Let's look at Mark 10:17-18

17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

If we believe that our goal is to steadily become more like Jesus, we need to emulate Him. This can be done through following Him and His faithfulness, His love for God, and His humility before God.
Jesus, the one and only one in the history of the world, could have legitimately accepted the praise, still did not, and gave all of the praise to the Father.

It's important to be humble and acknowledge that the source of all good in our lives in God. Just as there is no growth or life without the physical sunlight, so it is with us in regards to spiritual growth and life.

Moroni 7 confirms:

12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.

13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

Finally, Moroni tells us what it means in our lives to do/be good. It is not simply outward actions. The Lord requires us to be fully converted through Jesus Christ's atonement. He requires our whole souls, and through Jesus Christ, we may be healed and converted. Thus, our desires, our passions, our will may become in line with His will.

6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.

7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.

8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.

Zo-ma-rah said...

A thought occurred to me. If we throw out the part about gathering to the twelve stakes and to New Jerusalem. Then we say that Zion is wherever the Saints gather. Then we still are not building Zion! It is a complete contradiction.

If we accept what L-DS leaders say that we are commanded to gather wherever we are(which doesn't make much sense anyway). Then this scripture alone condemns us: “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the celestial kingdom.” (D&C 105:5)

Are the L-DS people living(or even instructed to live) the principles of the Celestial Kingdom(*cough* Consecration *cough*)? No we are not. Therefor whatever we are building with all the church buildings and temples and millions of membership records IS NOT ZION! It CANNOT be Zion unless it is build up by the principles of the CELESTIAL Kingdom.

Saying that we are living lesser laws because we cannot handle higher laws is the EXACT SAME as saying we are not building up Zion because we cannot handle Zion.

I am definitely going to call a leader/teacher/instructor out on this next time I hear it.

Anonymous said...

I believe that we can & God expects us to live, all the Celestial laws of Zion on our own today, no matter where we are, member of the Church or not.

Only those who are already living these high laws individually, will even be invited to Zion when it's established as a group someday.

There is no Celestial law of Zion that any member or the Church or non-member can't easily live today, no matter where they are in the world.

Anyone can live even the law of consecration individually & give all their excess money & assets directly to the widows & fatherless around them, as the spirit directs them.

If we are righteous enough & have the Holy Spirit as our guide, we don't need to do it through a Bishop or Church leader to care for & support the widows & fatherless, especially if Bishops or the Church isn't set up to handle it yet or is not trustworthy of handling our excess money. The Spirit can just direct us on how to distribute our money ourselves.

Anonymous said...

Isa:66-5 Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word; Your BRETHREN that HATED you, that CAST you out for my names sake, said, let the Lord be glorified: but He shall appear to YOUR JOY, and THEY shall be ASHAMED.

I regret that I had but one life to be excommunicated from that worthless bunch, they worship the arm of the flesh and are barely above the animal kingdom in reasoning abilities. The stench of their selfrighteousness is as filthy rags, they aspire for the honors of men and love their darness. They are condemned each and everyone and the time of their repentance is over. They shall be pruned from the vineyard and cast into the fire, they shall have neither root nor branch.

Inspire said...

Gentiles love their art, their performances, their architecture and structure. That's all fine and good until the point when we start replacing these things as a substitute for God, claiming that the play act is the real thing. At that point it becomes idol worship and priestcraft. Unfortunately, we have fallen into that trap. We parade down the street showing off our fine apparel, when the truth is, we're naked as can be. Some are beginning to see it. More and more will soon.

That being said, Anon @ 12:29, your vitriol is palpable. The law of reciprocity says that what we put out there will come back to us. I would hope that you and others who are bitter because of the hypocrisy will be forgiving, patient and charitable while members start to wake up. IMO, the anger and judgment on one side is no better than the self-righteousness and closed-mindedness on the other. Perhaps you didn't have a soft landing when you were cast out of the church, but wouldn't you have liked one? Couldn't you have a little compassion for those who are still in the church? They're not worthless, but just at a different point than you.

That's what the grinding wheel (aka the church who oversees the carnal commandments) is for, so that we can realize that the arm of flesh will get us nowhere but in circles with blisters on our feet, until we turn to Christ and take on His burden, which is easy and light.

Anonymous said...

Those that reject such a great gift as the fullness will be judged for not takeing advantage of their oppurtunity. Not just because they missed out on the summer time to reap but also and mainly the destruction that their pacifist ways have reaked upon the innocent. They have paid tax's to the kingdom of the devil (federal reserve) thereby building up evil and genocide in the world. Paying for unjust wars, murdering children and mothers, maiming for life, children of God. And when a good latter day saint refuses to pay those illegal tax's they are excommunicated. Those psuedo prophets deserve nothing but total disdain for their hypocracy. There are many more examples, some hard to prove others just as blatant. I know for a fact that there are pedofiles in the upper echelon of the church, I have seen and have on file police records of these crimes, These were down loaded to my computer by a former police officer in case he was murdered. When he left law enforcement and went back into the military he had access to military intelligence and was able to see how the church was out to destroy him. This is an example of things hard to prove. When they excommunicated me I was refused the right to defend myself as outlined in d&c 102, it was a kangaroo court. They destroyed my family, they in essence took every thing that I had. If I call it like it is does that mean I am bitter? No more bitter than Christ was when He braided His whip before He threw out the money changers.

When men trample on the laws of God they go into darkness and how great is that darkness! In that darkness they will do anything, they are subjected to the devil, they hide their acts by oppression and you never know about it. This has become the situation in Zion and they say "all is well in Zion yea Zion prosperth" and the Kingdom is taken by deception.

I will be forgiveing and charitable when I go to hell to retrieve them because by that time they will have paid the uttermost farthing. meanwhile there is a great battle rageing and the innocent are paying a great price because the collecive conciousness of the Saints has not awaken. All is needed is for the majority to look upon the Brazen serpent to be awaken. This will cause a fundamental shift and introduce a higher reality. The nakedness of the psuedo leaders of the LDS will be exposed for the worthlessness that they are.

Anonymous said...

If Moroni were here today he would call the Mormons Kingmen, they follow a man rather than the gift of the Holy Ghost, "and cursed is he that putteth his faith in the arm of the flesh". They have declared their prophet and leader infailable, a King that can change scripture, that is above the law because he can change the law. Moroni threatened such to be put to the sword and rightly so. By your apathy you are compliscent in their crimes, in the comfort of your societies you defy God and think you are insulated from condemnation. You were commanded to be free from the blood of this generation, you are your brothers keeper. The occupiers have more honor than you and you mock them. You give them no thought unless you call them rabble rousers worthy of incarceration. Soon destruction will be at your doors to wake you from your slumber, it will be too late for many of you, your lamps are empty.

Steven Lester said...

Please do it in a gentle, loving manner, even as The Christ would. No name-calling or impatience. Remember to suffer for a long, long time.

Steven Lester said...

Yeah, I hate the Church too.

Anonymous said...

Well written. Echoes many of the things I have been thinking for years.

However (there I go again)--

I think that it's interesting that back in the late 60s/early 70s "in the church" there were quite a few people who taught this truth about the two churches and the kingdom of God.

I had an institute teacher at a large institute at a major state university who taught it.

He was a wise man; I remember how powerfully I felt the spirit as he taught this, and how NEW it was to me.

I think that some of us, many of us, met wise people when we were young--

and the years have allowed our thoughts to "marinate" and season and grow, sort of like compost--

I have much to thank Brother __________ for. He was an obscure man. I've never seen his name since, not in anything I've read that has anything to do with the CES, etc.

He was a quiet institute of religion professor, and he spoke the unvarnished truth.

Godly people are quietly living out their lives everywhere. Well, maybe some NOT so quietly--

:)

There was a time when I felt rage towards a church leader who deeply hurt one of my children. In my anger I said I wanted to see him suffer. Well, he did end up suffering terribly. And I was not happy about it. I had to let that rage go. It was not helping me or helping my family. And it was not Christlike. I can't pretend to follow Jesus Christ if I hold on to those feelings, though I know that it took years of prayer to get rid of them. I feel better now. I do not look forward to having to witness against that man, but I'm afraid I will, yet, have to. :(

Anonymous said...

Have to say I think this article is poor.
For a start, I looked up D&C 101:77 and it says nothing about "limited government".
I also believe the Gentiles to whom Nephi refers are not LDS. We are not Gentiles. The nations (US, UK etc) are, but we are not. We are Israelites by either lineage or adoption. This is LDS doctrine and is scriptually sound.
So that puts paid to that. Make an assumptive error at the beginning and the whole case is weakened.

Rock Waterman said...

If you are the same "Anonymous" with whom I have been having a discussion recently on these pages, I would appreciate if you would use your name or at least a username so I know who I'm talking with.

Perhaps it was not JJ Dewey who is proceeding from a false assumption. As I just responded (to you, I believe)in Chapter 18, Judah referred to the other tribes of Israel who had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians as "gentiles," as the word means "other nations," or put another way, "nations other than Judah."

Most of the seed of Albion (British, Scots, and Irish) understood themselves to have been descendants of Ephraim, and heirs to the promises God made to all the house of Israel. The early latter-day Saints, most of whom came from the British Isles as did most early Americans, saw themselves as literal latter day Israel. That's why they often called themselves modern Israel.

Some bible scholars believe the Scandinavians to have been descendants of Dan, due to the vikings culture and form of government being similar in form to that of ancient Israel. Also the preponderance of the name "Dan" found all over Denmark (meaning "Dan's Land") The Danube River, etc. Food for thought.

Anonymous said...

No my friend, the Jews never referred to the other tribes as Gentiles. Strangely enough they referred to the Gentiles as Gentiles.
Besides, we are not talking about the Jews as Nephi was not a Jew and knew it. Therefore, according to your reasoning he would have included himself in the generic label of "Gentile", which he clearly did not.

Anonymous said...

Not so, my friend. At no point does Nephi refer to himself as a Jew, even though he was from Judea. He was, however, quite clear that he was of the house of Israel (tribe of Joseph/Manassah). Not wanting to repeat myself, but following your logic (and the scriptures are very clear on this) he would have to refer to himself and his people as either Jews or Gentiles; and he did neither.
I'm not picking an argument for the sake of it (believe me, I have much better things to do with my time as I'm sure you do too), but it is clear to me that you are mistaken on this point.

Alan Rock Waterman said...

Well, I don't wish to belabor this any further either, but it seems to me that Nephi is expressing his frustration over his own people. He calls them "the Jews" the same way I might refer to my fellow Mormons. The fact that he refers to them by their common label does not mean thinks he is not one of them. And I wouldn't expect him to say anything such as "by the way, I'm one of them" because that was a given. I believe Nephi was referring to them as "the Jews" primarily because he was talking about the people back there in his home country of Judea.

I don't think Lehi was rejected by the people (the Jews) because he was seen as an outsider. I really couldn't say for certain whether in Lehi's day everyone who was of the remaining tribes (Mostly Judah, but with remnants of Benjamin, Levi, and Joseph) and who lived in the area of Judea all considered themselves "Jews"; but by the time of Christ that was certainly the case for most denizens except the Samaritans, who were considered some type of mongrel mixed breed.

Anyway, I really don't like using the phrase "I guess we'll have to agree to disagree," but I think we both do agree this issue isn't worth the time either of us is spending arguing it. So let's agree to disagree.

Anonymous said...

I think it was Moshe Dyane or another of the early leaders of the state of Israel who said, when a neutral venue for negotiations with the Arabs was being considered, "why don't we go to Salt Lake City; we're all Gentiles there."

Good Will said...

Again, doesn't Mr. Dewey see that even he is subject to the snare of apostasy? All he had to do was shut up! Are not our military men expected to keep secrets? Do not government officials require allegiance to their file leader? Why should the Church be any different?

Was the doctrinal point Mr. Dewey sought to reveal so important as to fight the Brethren? Didn't Lorenzo Snow reveal the truth "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may be", but was advised to keep it to himself?

Everything Mr. Dewey says here rings true -- with the exception of his self-righteous stance against the Brethren. He didn't have to challenge authority. Did Christ tell him to do that? (Or was that his ego speaking?) Is Dewey suggesting that the Brethren now lack, not just power, but priesthood authority, too?

That is mighty presumptuous, I believe. I fear to make such a claim, knowing that with the same saw I slice the Brethren, I sever myself from the Church.

Good Will said...

Zo-ma-rah,

The Church is correct in its current policy of "building Zion" wherever the membership resides. In order to be a light to the world, the membership of the Church must be in the world. If every Mormon were to depart from India or England for "Zion", how would those left behind ever hear of it? By missionaries alone? With no examples to scrutinize?

The Church membership, no doubt, is not strong enough (yet) to establish Zion. Were the membership today to be concentrated in one place, would all lustfulness cease? Would all covetousness and wickedness and strife depart? Hardly. Our "Zion" would be little different from Provo or Logan, Utah (or any other city where "mostly Mormons" now live -- in other words, a nice place, but not Zion).

It will take more than just moving together to make Zion. It will require conversion. And that will require a purging and a purifying we have not yet experienced.