Utopia/Zion

Almost thirty years ago when we lived in Denver, Brother Daniel Ludlow taught a class that I took. I can't remember much about it except that he said something that has stuck with me through the years. He said that if you want to know what will soon come to pass in the Lord's Kingdom, then listen carefully to what the adversary is about. For instance, before Joseph Smith had the first vision, there was a religious revival going on which was confusing and divisive. Before the blacks received the priesthood the world was stirred up over the civil rights movement. He said in essence that satan gets there first to distort people's thinking and to try and thwart the Lord's plan---to present a counterfeit if you will.

Today we are hearing a great divide in our nation and the world. It really is the war in heaven still raging. I just heard a commentator on the radio accuse a liberal caller of wanting a Utopia that will never work because she didn't believe in freedom. To want the government to redistribute everyones money by taking from the rich and giving to the poor will destroy incentive and take away everyone's prosperity (I agree). Satan uses many truths to present one distortion, such as gross inequality in the world is wrong (with which I also agree) but then he presents a false plan to equalize the problem. However, the reason the "Utopia" of the adversary will never work is one word---force---satan's counterfeit for Zion. Sir Winston Churchill said, "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

The Lord's plan WILL work because when people choose to work together for the good of everyone in their community there really will be "no poor among us" and we will be happy like the Nephites after the coming of Christ! I have heard it stated that it takes a MORAL people to have a representative government like we in the United States are blessed to have (which almost everyone agrees is certainly hanging by a thread) but a Zion government will take nothing less than a people with pure hearts and perfectly righteous minds, united as one!

I haven't thought of Brother Ludlow's comment for years, but this morning it came into my mind as I realized how much of this stuff we've been hearing. We've just been blessed to hear again the Lord's plan of happiness for His children during Conference! Our Bishop said this last Sunday, that he prayed for Zion in our ward and that we should strive for it in our families and that we CAN create in within ourselves, right here, right now! How exciting! I really do believe that the time is coming (oh please let it be soon) that we will ALL live in peace and prosperity together in Zion!