Latter-day Saint Usage of "Zion"
- Zion retains its Biblical meaning and refers to Jerusalem; (See Zion)
- Zion is the name of a physical city founded by the prophet Enoch, also known as the City of Enoch;
- Zion refers to the New Jerusalem, a physical, Millennial city expected to be located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri;
- Zion metaphorically refers to any group of people that are unified and "pure in heart"; the City of Enoch is one example of "a Zion people", and the people described in Fourth Nephi is another; for Zion to be fully realized, the society must be willing to live the Law of Consecration based on mutual feelings of charity, which is the pure love of Christ;
- Zion is the central physical location to which Latter Day Saints have gathered; the term has been applied to Kirtland, Ohio; Jackson County, Missouri; Nauvoo, Illinois; and the Salt Lake Valley;
- Zion is also, according to Joseph Smith, the entire continent of America. Joseph Smith stated that “the whole of America is Zion itself from north to south”.
- Zion is a metaphor for a unified society of Latter Day Saints, metaphorically gathered as members of the Church of Christ; in this sense any Stake of the church may be referred to as a "stake of Zion."
Read more about this topic: Zion (Latter Day Saints)
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