Establishing Zion
Foundations
What principles should guide not just personal behavior but the institutions and organizations of a Zion society? This section develops five foundation stones drawn from scripture and prophetic teaching — devotion to God and Christ, charity, agency, accountability, and unity — and examines how those stones apply to the organizational framework the Lord revealed for Zion in Doctrine and Covenants 124.
The five foundation stones are not a checklist of requirements. They are the weightier principles of the gospel — the deep orientations of heart, soul, and community from which all more specific commandments and practices flow. They fall into three categories: two commandments (devotion to God and Christ, and charity), two eternal gifts that are fundamental aspects of our very nature (agency and accountability), and one commandment that no individual can keep alone (unity).
The Lord declared Nauvoo the cornerstone of Zion four times in that revelation. Reading Doctrine and Covenants 124 carefully reveals a complete community framework: a temple at the center, a Church organizational structure that continues recognizably today, a model for cooperative commercial enterprise with specific design features to prevent the concentration of ownership and prioritize Zion's good over profit, and individualized counsel on personal conduct that applies to all who seek to live in Zion. Together these components sketch what a Zion community actually looks like — not just spiritually but organizationally.
Two additional chapters consider the evolving role of the Church and the place of the family as Zion approaches — both of which are undergoing changes whose trajectory points clearly toward what Zion will require.
Chapters in this section:
