Blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion – 1 Nephi 13:37 – Ponderize
1 Nephi 13:37
And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.
The best way to start is to define what Zion is:
Moses 7:18
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.
Whether for an individual or community, Zion can only be built upon the principles of righteousness. When we seek to bring forth Zion, we seek to establish these principles of righteousness in our own heart and in the hearts of others. It is according to the love of God that we desire to save others, for Joseph Smith said,
“A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.”
What greater blessing can be given to another than the principles of righteousness? So, where can we find these principles of righteousness to learn for ourselves, so that we then can then bless the whole human race? For the answer to this question, we only have to look at the previous two verses (35-36).
1 Nephi 13:35–36
35 For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb.
36 And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation.
These words are one and the same as the Book of Mormon, and it contains the principles of righteousness or in the Lord’s words, “my rock and my salvation.” My rock means the Lord’s revelations. I love that He didn’t say a portion of His rock and His salvation, but the wording he used denotes a fullness. To learn more about the Book of Mormon containing the fullness of the Gospel read this great article: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/1986/04/questions-and-answers/why-do-we-say-that-the-book-of-mormon-contains-the-fulness-of-the-gospel?lang=eng.
And how will the Book of Mormon be brought unto us, it will be hid up and brought forth by the gift and power of the Lamb. My heart is so full of gratitude to God for preserving and bringing forth this book, which contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Armed with this book, containing the revelations and salvation of Christ, we are prepared to learn and live these great principles of righteousness, teach them to others, and bring forth Zion.
Is it any wonder then, that Moroni 10:3 prepares the reader for the message found in the proceeding verses, known as the Moroni Challenge.
Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
They only way that the Book of Mormon could be sitting in front of the the reader or in their hands, is by the mercy of the Lord, even by the gift and power of the Lamb. Then in verses 4-5 comes the Holy Ghost, fulfilling his role as the testifier of truth; testifying of the Lamb of God, testifying of His revelations and His salvation contained in the Book of Mormon, and testifying of His great power that is shown forth on every page of the Book of Mormon.
This is where we come in, “And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost.” We will have the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, to do what–to testify boldly of the Lamb of God, testify of His revelations and His salvation contained in the Book of Mormon, and testify of His great power that is shown forth on every page of the Book of Mormon. As we “publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall [we] be.”
What a great responsibility and privilege that is ours, for we must gather together all who will hear Christ’s voice, be numbered with His fold, and take upon them His name. To build Zion, we must first gather scattered Israel unto the principles of righteousness that “there shall be one fold, and one shepherd (3 Nephi 15:21).”
President Russell M. Nelson recently told the youth: that the “gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty.”
If we magnify this our responsibility and privilege to gather Israel unto Christ and His righteousness, and then “endure unto the end [we] shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb.”
Craig
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