{"id":32729,"date":"2015-02-12T11:21:51","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T16:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=32729"},"modified":"2015-02-12T14:24:30","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T19:24:30","slug":"for-zion-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2015\/02\/for-zion-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"For Zion – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"For<\/a>Whatever happened to Zion?\u00a0 Whatever happened to the law of consecration?<\/p>\n

Aren\u2019t these things from a long time ago? Or for some time way in the future?<\/p>\n

No. They are only ever for now. Saying that we\u2019re not ready for Zion is like telling a guy\u00a0lost in the desert he’s\u00a0not ready for water.<\/p>\n

As Joseph Spencer puts it in For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(Kofford, 2014):<\/p>\n

The law of consecration is now, as it has always been, \u201cthe great stumbling block.\u201d It is a rock of offense and therefore a stone that we, the builders of Zion, are as likely to reject or ignore as we are to utilize. And yet, scripture assures us, this same stone will\u2014or at any rate must<\/em>\u2014become the head of the corner, the only sure foundation on which Zion can be built. (ix)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

More:<\/p>\n

Consecration is our only hope. Indeed, as I aim to show over the course of this book, consecration is inseparable<\/em> from hope. Consecration is the <\/em>hope of the Restoration, the singular task of the last days in which Christian hope is perfectly embodied. To become quite clear about the nature of hope is to begin to see that the Restoration IS\u00a0the law of consecration. In a crucial sense, there is nothing else that needs doing, nothing else on which to focus. Everything else that makes up the movement that began with Joseph Smith is meant to serve as an instrument for the fulfillment of this one law. As Hugh Nibley has put it, \u201cthe midpoint and focus of the whole operation is Zion. Zion is the great moment of transition, the bridge between the world as it is and the world as God designed it and meant it to be.\u201d (x)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Spencer is right about this.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve argued before<\/a>\u00a0that Mormonism is not about Mormonism.<\/p>\n

Mormonism comes into focus as living and true only when we stop looking directly at it and, instead, aim our attention at what Mormonism is itself aiming at. If you aim directly\u00a0at Mormonism, you\u2019ll miss seeing the thing that\u00a0deserves your fidelity.<\/p>\n

If Mormonism isn’t about Mormonsim, then what is<\/em> it about?<\/p>\n

Mormonism is about Zion.<\/p>\n

Zion isn\u2019t Mormonism but Zion is the only justification for it.\u00a0Mormonism can’t be used as its own justification. (Though\u00a0if it could, that would be even worse.)<\/p>\n

If Mormonism keeps wobbling out of view as something worth a lifetime of effort and devotion, it\u2019s because our hearts and minds aren\u2019t fixed on Zion.<\/p>\n

Zion is grace\u2014grace for grace, grace from grace, grace to grace\u2014enacted.<\/p>\n

Zion is the body of Christ vivified.<\/p>\n

In For Zion<\/em>, Spencer pairs a ridiculously sensitive and substantial reading of Paul\u2019s theology of hope with a groundbreaking re-reading of D&C 42 in light of the earliest manuscripts.<\/p>\n

As a work of scholarship, the book is first rate. As a rigorous call to a life of consecrated discipleship it\u2019s even better.<\/p>\n

On a weekly basis over the course of the next month or so, I\u2019ll host a round table discussion of For Zion <\/em>with a variety contributors that will engage the book chapter by chapter.<\/p>\n

Consider this an invitation to join us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whatever happened to Zion?\u00a0 Whatever happened to the law of consecration? Aren\u2019t these things from a long time ago? Or for some time way in the future? No. They are only ever for now. Saying that we\u2019re not ready for Zion is like telling a guy\u00a0lost in the desert he’s\u00a0not ready for water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32729"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32748,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32729\/revisions\/32748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}