Joseph Smith wrote of Zion even before the organization of the
Latter Day Saint church. In April 1829, he dictated a
revelation which urged him and his scribe,
Oliver Cowdery, to "seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion." The attempt to reach that goal became a driving force in early Latter Day Saint history, and remains a powerful influence among Latter Day Saints today. In March 1830, the
Book of Mormon was published. The Book of Mormon prophet
Ether taught that a remnant of the
house of Joseph would build a holy city in the Americas. Afterwards, there would be a New Jerusalem that would come down from heaven where the remnant would live. Latter Day Saints believe that this refers to the City of Enoch, and that it will return to the earth from heaven at the
Second Coming. Later in the Book of Mormon timeline, Jesus visited the
Nephites in the Americas and taught that they were a remnant of the house of Joseph. After they were brought to the knowledge of the Lord, they would be given the Americas as their inheritance. Repentant
Gentiles will assist them in building the New Jerusalem. Early Latter Day Saints interpreted these scriptures to mean that there would be a sudden and dramatic conversion of the
American Indians to Mormonism. They viewed themselves as repentant Gentiles that would assist the American Indians in building the New Jerusalem, In January 1831,
Parley P. Pratt took these teachings to the
Lenape, a mission which many Mormons expected to be very successful and dominated Latter Day Saint thought in Kirtland. except for the descendants of
Cain, who were black and had no place among them. This city became so righteous and pure that it was
translated (taken) from the presence of the earth and brought into the presence of God, leaving behind on earth only
Methuselah and his family (including
Noah) to repopulate the earth with righteous people. It was described as populated by an organization of people who are common owners of the property and none being richer or poorer. After Pratt's unsuccessful mission, the concept of the New Jerusalem started being reinterpreted and integrated with the teaching of Zion. Instead of building New Jerusalem together with the Native Americans, they began seeing it as two different places, with Zion being built upon the hills and the Lamanites in the wilderness. The revelation further stated, "Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and the spot for the temple is lying westward..." Smith later envisioned the temple as being the starting point for the creation of a
New Jerusalem: "Verily this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem shall be built by the gathering of the saints, beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be reared in this generation." While Latter Day Saints were anxious to gather to Missouri, Smith said he received another revelation to stay in Kirtland for five years, during which time the wicked would not be destroyed. This made it difficult for the Latter Day Saints to build Zion. By July 1833, Smith said he received an additional revelation stating that Zion was the pure in heart. The Latter Day Saints no longer viewed the building of Zion as imminent. A revelation in December 1833 through Smith states the belief that the Latter Day Saints were unable to establish Zion in "consequence of their transgressions". The revelation says that among the Saints there were "jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances." Instead, Joseph Smith began teaching that "The whole of North and South America is Zion, the mountain of the Lord's house is in the center of North and South America.". The Latter Day Saints were finally driven from Missouri in 1838 as a consequence of the
Mormon War and Governor
Lilburn Boggs'
Extermination Order. On March 1, 1842, Smith wrote 13 statements of belief which would later be adopted as the faith's
articles of faith. He wrote that "Zion will be built on the American continent." For the rest of the century, Latter Day Saints were encouraged to gather to Zion by gathering to the centers of the church population in different places in America, such as
Nauvoo, Illinois and
Utah. However, in the twentieth century, Zion began to be reinterpreted as a spiritual gathering where one changed their heart rather than their home. However, Latter Day Saints still held on to the idea of building a Zion in Jackson County, Missouri, particularly a temple for the New Jerusalem. President
Lorenzo Snow taught that "there are many here now under the sound of my voice, probably a majority who will have to go back to Jackson county and assist in building the temple.".
Plat of Zion A comprehensive
plat was devised by Smith in 1833, describing the planned city as an organized
grid system of blocks and streets, with blocks house lots that alternated in direction by columns of blocks between north-south streets. Designed around
Latter Day Saint principles of
agrarianism order and community, the plan called for 24 temples at the city's center, reflecting the central role played by the church in the community. The temples were to be used for education, administration, cultural events and worship. The plan called for a city of 15,000 to 20,000 people living in a city with agricultural land to be reserved on all sides of the city, enough to supply the city "without going too great of a distance". The plan did not allow a city to become too large; once a city had reached the 20,000 limit it was envisaged that other cities would be built: "When this square is thus laid off and supplied, lay off another in the same way, and so fill up the world." While never utilized, the plat ultimately served as a blueprint for subsequent Mormon settlements in the
Mormon Corridor. ==Contemporary application==