Zion: The word Zion is variously employed: "This is Zion, the pure in heart." (Doc. & Cov.) In this instance the word refers to a people who are declared to be the pure in heart. In the south part of Jerusalem is a hill frequently spoken of in Jewish scripture as Zion, or Mount Zion. Then Enoch the seventh from Adam gathered the righteous and built a city, "that was called the city of Holiness, even Zion." The Lord in speaking to Enoch about the great events to take place in the last days, in which He would come to the earth in His glory, said He would with righteousness and truth sweep the earth as with a flood to gather His elect to "an holy city. * * * and it shall be called Zion, a new Jerusalem." The Nephite prophet, Moroni, tells us that Ether in vision saw the days of the coming of the Son of Man, and that "he spake concerning a new Jerusalem upon this land (America)," that was to built up unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph. (Ether xiii.) Jesus also after his resurrection, when He visited the Nephites on the American continent, told them that He would establish them upon this land, and if the Gentiles would not harden their hearts, but would repent of their sins, they should be included in the covenant, and should assist in building up the city New Jerusalem. (III Nephi xx.) The word Zion, then, is applied to a people; it is the name of a hill in the south part of Jerusalem; it is the name of a city built by Enoch and his people; it is to be the name of a city built in the last days by the saints of the Most High upon the continent of America. (Missouri Persecutions; also Outlines of Eccl. History, pp. 349-50.)
The Land of Zion: "When the Book of Mormon was revealed and it became known that the Americas were precious lands of promise, and that God had such a high destiny for the two continents as is described in the Book of Mormon, that among other things America was the place where the Zion of God should be built in the last days, the brethren in those early days very naturally became anxious to know where the city of Zion would be located. After much striving for the knowledge, the place of Zion was at last revealed to them. The Lord indicated the place for the commencement of the building of Zion, and the place for the temple upon which the glory of God should rest by day and by night. This place was declared to be near Independence, Jackson county, Missouri. The site for the temple and the land around about was dedicated under the supervision of the prophet, and the Saints in the eastern states were commanded to gather to this place. They did so, and lived there some three years when their enemies rose up against them and expelled them from the land under circumstances of great cruelty and hardship. The Saints, who had been driven from their homes, accounted themselves exiles from Zion, and there was much disappointment in Israel because, apparently the promises of God had failed them; for they looked forward to an unbroken possession of the land, notwithstanding the word of the Lord to the contrary. (See Introduction to Volume III of the History of the Church, pp. xxxii-xxxix.) Shortly after this, three years later, a still further removal was made into the counties of northern Missouri, and finally, as you know, the entire Church was expelled from the state of Missouri and had to take refuge in Illinois. The prophet with his usual activity began the establishment of stakes of Zion in Illinois, especially at Nauvoo and vicinity. Meantime the Saints were questioning much concerning Zion, and the privilege of dwelling therein. At the April conference, preceding his martyrdom, the prophet alluded to these disappointments, and he spake of Zion at considerable length. I want to read to you his words on that occasion. The Saints had too narrow a conception of Zion, and of the purpose of God with reference to her; and hence the prophet, in the course of his remarks, said:
"You know there has been a great discussion in relation to Zion, where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it, but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself, from north to south, and is described by the prophets who declared that it is Zion, where the mountain of the Lord shall be, and it shall be the center of the land. I have received instructions from the Lord that from henceforth wherever the elders of Israel shall build up churches and branches unto the Lord, throughout the states (having reference to the United States, of course) there shall be a stake of Zion. In the great cities, as Boston, New York, etc., there shall be stakes. It is a glorious proclamation, and I reserved it to the last, and designed it to be understood that this work shall commence after the washings and anointings and endowments have been performed here (i. e. in Nauvoo)."
The martyrdom of the prophet and the exodus to the mountains consequent upon that martyrdom made it impossible to carry out this policy of building up stakes of Zion in Boston, New York and other eastern cities. The Church found that it had all it could do in establishing itself in the valleys of the Rocky mountains, where it might fulfill the predictions of the prophet of this dispensation, to the effect that the Saints would become a great and powerful people in the midst of the Rocky mountains. Sometimes, however, I have wondered if we have not too much set our hearts upon these valleys, upon this state of Utah and these surrounding states; and if—like the Saints in the earlier history of the Church, when inhabiting Jackson county, we have not limited our conceptions of Zion by lines that are altogether too narrow. Last fall, as I journeyed through the eastern states, through New England, and in the south, and realized that in the southern states there are more than 10,000 of our people, and in the Eastern States mission more than 3,000, and in the Northern States mission a still greater number than in the Eastern States, I wonder if it would not be possible to establish stakes of Zion in the eastern and southern states as well as in Canada, in Mexico, in Oregon, in Arizona, or Colorado. Would it not be just as legitimate to establish stakes of Zion in South Carolina, in Florida, in Vermont or New York, as it is to establish stakes of Zion in these other places I have named? The whole land of America, the two great continents, is Zion, the land of Joseph; and I believe that the elements are forming, that God is so tempering the minds of men, so making them receptive of the truth, that by a strong, intelligent proclamation of the gospel, that God has entrusted to His Church, it may become possible for stakes of Zion to be established all over this land." (Defense of the Faith and the Saints, pp. 437-440.)
A Stake of Zion: A Stake of Zion is a division of the church territorially that embraces several wards[A] and branches. There is no set number of wards or branches necessary to constitute a Stake. That is arranged according to convenience. The Stake is presided over by a president, who is a High Priest, assisted by two other High Priests as counselors. They constitute the Presidency of the Stake, and preside over the organization in that Stake much in the same way that the President of the Church presides over the entire church; but is subject of course to the general authorities of the church.
[Footnote A: Wards: The Stakes are divided into ecclesiastical wards, presided over by a bishopric, consisting of a bishop aided by two high priests as counselors, unless the bishop is a literal descendant of Aaron, in which event he has authority to act as bishop without counselors. The bishopric has a direct general presidency over the quorums of the lesser priesthood in his ward, and presides even over those holding the Higher Priesthood as members of his ward; but not over the quorums of the Higher Priesthood as quorums.]
In each Stake is a Standing High Council, over which the Presidency of the Stake—or the President or either one of the counselors, when circumstances render it impossible or inconvenient for all to be present—preside. This forms the highest judicial tribunal in the Stake.
One or more Patriarchs are appointed to confer upon the people patriarchal blessings within the Stake. The High Priests are organized into a quorum with a presidency over them as already explained. The Elders are organized into one or more quorums, according as they are numerous enough for one or a number of quorums; and with the High Priests constitute the standing ministry in the Stake. (Outlines, pp. 374-375.)
Fitness in Doctrine Development: "Not only did our Prophet start right but he continued right. He not only received the gospel through the ministration of an angel; but he received his authority to preach it, administer its ordinances and build up the Church of Christ from those who last held the keys of that authority on earth. From John, who when on earth was called the Baptist, now raised from the dead and become an angel of God, he received the Aaronic Priesthood, which gave him power to preach repentance and baptize for the remission of sins, from Peter, James and John, the three chief apostles of the dispensation ushered in by the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus, he received the keys of the Melchisedek Priesthood—the Holy Apostleship, which gave him power to establish the church of Christ to the uttermost and regulate all its affairs; from Moses he received the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the' earth and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north; from Elijah the keys of the priesthood to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, according to the prediction of Malachi. Thus he was called and ordained of God through divinely appointed agents as was Aaron, and therefore fulfilled the law which provides that those who minister for men in things pertaining to God, must be called of God as Aaron was, by prophecy and revelation. In this development of the work of God, one sees a fitness of things. Look for a moment at the work God has proposed to himself to accomplish: The time has come for the restoration of the Gospel; for the re-establishment of his church; for the ushering in of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times in which he has promised to gather together in one all things in Christ, "both which are in heaven, and which are on earth." A reign of peace, a reign of righteousness is about to be inaugurated—the Millennium which the scriptures promised—long looked for by earth's troubled children—despaired of—given up—is about to be realized! The remnant of Israel is to be gathered to Zion; Jerusalem is to be established, no more to be thrown down; the nations are to beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears info pruning-hooks and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more—the earth is to rest from its wickedness. To bring this to pass, the cooperation of man is necessary—his obedience, his righteousness. To secure that obedience, that co-operation, faith is needed; and as faith is based on evidence, God proceeds to create the evidence by bringing a witness into existence who can not only testify of God's existence, but also of his purposes. He then enlarges the evidence by bringing forth the Book of Mormon, the voice of entire nations of people speaking out of the dust of ages, testifying that the Lord is God, that Jesus in the Christ, that the gospel is the power of God unto Salvation; and by thus increasing the evidence the foundation for faith was enlarged; and by establishing faith in the hearts of men the seed of obedience was planted. For faith is the incentive to action, the cause of obedience, and the foundation of all righteousness. When the work reached that stage of development that men could be taught repentance, and receive baptism for the remission of sins, who so qualified or who with more propriety could be sent to deliver the keys of the priesthood that is especially appointed to cry repentance and administer baptism than the teacher of repentance and the Baptists? Or, when the time came for the restoration of the apostleship, who could restore it save those who last held the keys of it on earth—Peter, James and John? Who so fit to restore the keys of the gathering of Israel and leading the ten tribes back from the north as Moses, the great prophet of Israel? Who so fitting to restore the keys of the priesthood which should turn the hearts of the fathers and children, towards each other as Elijah, of whom it was prophesied that he would do that work? Thus throughout there was a fitness in the development of the great work of God in the last days—an appropriateness to be observed in the personages employed to restore the keys of authority which opened up the several departments of the great dispensation. And it is to be observed, too, that this fitness of things as here pointed out was not the result of working to a well-matured plan in the mind of Joseph Smith; he was too young and too inexperienced to preconceive it all and then set himself at work to unfold it in such beautiful order. It was of course working to a well-matured plan, but the plan existed in the mind of God; and it was given to Joseph Smith piece-meal—incident followed incident without an apparent suspicion in his mind that each incident was a step in the progress of the mighty march of events matured in the mind of God—each key of authority, or part of the gospel but a fragment of a mighty and consistent whole that God was unfolding. The consistency and appropriateness of the development Joseph Smith never spoke of; it was left for others to note these things after the work was well advanced in he course of its development. The Prophet received the messengers God sent to him, and under their instruction proceeded with the unfoldment of the purposes of the Lord, and left it to others to admire the work and note the evidences of God's directing hand in the order of the events and the appropriateness of the parties entrusted with the introduction of the various departments of it." (New Witness for God, p. 219-222.)
Adam the President of All Dispensations to Our Earth: The following remarks of the Prophet respecting man and his relation to God, and the relationship of certain leading men to each other, in the several dispensations of the Gospel which have been given, cannot fail to be an interesting and instructive contribution and conclusion to this lesson. The remarks under division I are taken from a discourse by the Prophet delivered in June, 1839, in answer to some inquiries concerning Priesthood. The Prophet's remarks under division I appear in the Millennial Star, Vol. xxvii, pages 310, 311. Those in division II are from an article on Priesthood prepared by the Prophet, and read by Robert B. Thompson at the general conference of the Church held at Nauvoo, October 5, 1840, and are to be found in the Millennial Star, Vol. xviii, pages 164, 165.