Zion Rising


Book Description

Generations after the creation of Adam and Eve, but two thousand years before the birth of Christ, they had a humble great grandson - named Enoch - the seventh great grandson to be exact. Enoch was slow of speech, ridiculed by others, and despite his inadequacies, he was foreordained to be a prophet of the Lord. Through the process of time, Christ transformed Enoch into one of the greatest seers and prophets God had ever forged (Moses 7:21). As Enoch was led and purified, he saw things not visible to the natural eye (Moses 6:36). He went forth, stood upon the hills and the high places, and cried with a loud voice to testify against men's wicked works, such that "all men were offended because of him" (Moses 6:36-37). Christ led Enoch to gather and purify His chosen people until He finally joined them. The City of Enoch became so righteous God raised it into the air until it was taken up into Heaven - as Zion - the pure in heart (D&C 92:21). The remnant left behind (Moses 7:22) were not forgotten by the Lord (Ether 13:6-8). They were assured that Christ would continue to gather up His people throughout the generations, reawaken them to who they really are, and lift up the righteous to Zion. In this manner, God would gather home souls until the last day, when Zion would return at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We are promised in the last days, when Zion breaks forth from above, Zion will also rise from beneath - purified and separated from the decaying world around it - elevated and lifted up to meet Enoch's Zion triumphant in the air (D&C 84:100). Then all of the Lord's family, so long separated - finally together - will fall on each other's necks, weep, kiss each other, rejoice and sing the new song of Zion (Moses 7: 60-64). We are in the last days. Babylon and nature continue to rage in greater commotion than ever before. Pandemics, wars, fear, disease, addiction, and disaster plague us. Hearts are failing. Darkness is swelling, and the roar of evil and hate is becoming more deafening than a global hurricane. And, Christ is keeping His covenant promise and "His hand is stretched out still" (Isaiah 9) to lift us up back home. Just like He did with the Enoch, and Zion anciently, the Lord is calling each of us to join and prepare Zion, today. Christ is leading His prophet and prophets to purify individuals, to purify a people - who will purify a world - for Zion to rise. This is the Earth's divine destiny-- and it can be our destiny too, as we awaken to our true selves, in Christ. As I have heard His voice calling through the final raging storm, I know you can too. We can all find shelter in Him. The Restoration, prophesied of old, is not only global, but individual. As He continues to restore His church, He is also restoring His people. Even now, He is working to restore each of us and help us find our individual, crucial divine purposes. For Christ is calling... and Zion is rising.




David and Zion


Book Description

J. J. M. Roberts was graduated from Harvard University, taught at The Johns Hopkins University, and then spent the bulk of his teaching career at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he influenced and was well loved by several generations of students. Here, 21 colleagues and former students contribute essays that reflect Roberts’ core interests.




Sports in Zion


Book Description

If a religion cannot attract and instruct young people, it will struggle to survive, which is why recreational programs were second only to theological questions in the development of twentieth-century Mormonism. In this book, Richard Ian Kimball explores how Mormon leaders used recreational programs to ameliorate the problems of urbanization and industrialization and to inculcate morals and values in LDS youth. As well as promoting sports as a means of physical and spiritual excellence, Progressive Era Mormons established a variety of institutions such as the Deseret Gymnasium and camps for girls and boys, all designed to compete with more "worldly" attractions and to socialize adolescents into the faith. Kimball employs a wealth of source material including periodicals, diaries, journals, personal papers, and institutional records to illuminate this hitherto underexplored aspect of the LDS church. In addition to uncovering the historical roots of many Mormon institutions still visible today, Sports in Zion is a detailed look at the broader functions of recreation in society.




American Zion


Book Description

"A deep, fascinating dive into a uniquely American brand of religious zealotry that poses a grave threat to our national parks, wilderness areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and other public lands. It also happens to be a delight to read." —JON KRAKAUER American Zion is the story of the Bundy family, famous for their armed conflicts in the West. With an antagonism that goes back to the very first Mormons who fled the Midwest for the Great Basin, they hold a sense of entitlement that confronts both law and democracy. Today their cowboy confrontations threaten public lands, wild species, and American heritage. BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN is a historian and conservationist. She received a doctorate in Environmental History from Montana State University in 2017, her dissertation focusing on Mormon settlement and public land conflicts. After college in Colorado, caretaking for a bed and breakfast in Mosier, Oregon, and serving breakfasts at a cafe in Kanab, Utah, Betsy has settled in Bozeman, Montana, where she now lives with her husband, writer David Quammen, three huge dogs, an overweight cat, and a pretty big python named Boots.




Iona Rising


Book Description

THE SYNAXIS IS BACK! The ancient battle between good and evil has reached its climax. Planet Earth is about to be destroyed. To save their world, the synaxis members must travel to a realm beyond their imagining, penetrate into the depths of the earth, and rebuild the ancient structure at Stonehenge. It's the greatest challenge they've yet faced, and the stakes couldn't be higher.




Zion Rising


Book Description

The dissertation explores the early social and political thought of Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the Mormon religious tradition. The research is based on a close study of Smith's scriptural and personal writings, augmented by historical sources produced by his early followers and others. Smith's thought is also set in the broader context of early American cultural and political history. In his youth, Joseph Smith experienced the revivals of the Second Great Awakening and the denominational competition for converts that followed in their wake. Confused and upset by doctrinal disputes, Smith sought for religious truth directly from God. In addition to answering his questions, his early visions and revelations foretold that the contention in American society would escalate into violence, war, and destruction. But Smith also proclaimed that a new nation, called Zion, would arise. Further revelations established Zion's laws and government and conceived a new balance between individual freedom and social harmony. Joseph Smith directed his followers to migrate to Jackson County, Missouri, where they attempted to stake out Zion's territory. He prophesied that Zion would grow in size and power as America and the nations of the world fell to ruin. In the short term, Smith's plan was to fill the county with his followers and take the reins of local government through ordinary democratic channels. Once in power, the Mormons could make a political space for themselves in which to live by divine law. The early settlers of Jackson County resented the Mormon community's solidarity, its growing numbers, and the swagger of its overzealous nationalists. When the Mormons became a real political threat, the early settlers forcibly drove them from the county. The magnitude of their losses in land and improvements required the Mormons to seek aid from the state of Missouri in returning to the county. Joseph Smith had to accommodate the Zion project to the broader political landscape. The effort to reoccupy their land, which never succeeded, led to a tenuous reengagement with American political culture.




Vision


Book Description




The Harp of Zion


Book Description




Red Rising


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. “Red Rising ascends above a crowded dys­topian field.”—USA Today ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—Entertainment Weekly, BuzzFeed, Shelf Awareness “I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.” “I live for you,” I say sadly. Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.” Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so. Praise for Red Rising “[A] spectacular adventure . . . one heart-pounding ride . . . Pierce Brown’s dizzyingly good debut novel evokes The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, and Ender’s Game. . . . [Red Rising] has everything it needs to become meteoric.”—Entertainment Weekly “Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow.”—Scott Sigler “Red Rising is a sophisticated vision. . . . Brown will find a devoted audience.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch Don’t miss any of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising Saga: RED RISING • GOLDEN SON • MORNING STAR • IRON GOLD • DARK AGE • LIGHT BRINGER