If Zion was not to be built up
immediately, why were the saints sent to Missouri? In Section 58 the Lord
outlines four purposes for which he had sent the saints to Zion. The first was
a test of obedience for the saints (verse 6). They had already been obedient in
coming to Missouri and would yet have the opportunity to be obedient to
instructions still to come from the Lord. Second, they were to prepare their
hearts so they could bear a personal conviction of what was to come (also verse
6)—the building of Zion. By living in Zion they would acquire the personal
knowledge and experience upon which to base that testimony. Third, they were to
lay the foundations for the city of Zion (verse 7). Fourth, they were to prepare
a “feast of fat things . . . for the poor.” (See Isaiah 25:6.) Again, Joseph
must have been studying the book of Isaiah at the time. The “feast of fat
things” is the law of consecration. One purpose for the law of consecration was
to benefit the poor and even eliminate poverty.
Although all nations were to be
invited to Zion (verse 9), there was a sequence to be followed. The first to be
invited were the “rich and the learned, the wise and the noble” (verse 10). These
are the gentiles. Prophecies tell us that in this dispensation the
gentiles are to be the first to hear the gospel and the first to be invited to
participate in the building up of Zion (Matthew 19:30, 1 Nephi 13:42, D&C
29:30). This opportunity offered to the gentiles occurs in the “day of calling”
referred to in a later revelation (D&C 105:35). The “day of calling” is the
time of 1831-38. The prophecies also foretell that instead of accepting this
opportunity, the gentiles would reject it. Not only would they reject it, but
they would be the ones that would bring tribulation upon the saints who were
laying the foundations of Zion. After this rejection by the gentiles comes the “day
of choosing” (D&C 105:35) or the day of his power (verse 11) when
the house of Israel (the “poor, the lame, the blind, and the deaf”) shall build
up Zion and “partake of the supper of the Lord” (live the law of consecration).
The “day of choosing” still lies in the future.
Having sufficiently answered the
question concerning the time of the building of Zion, the Lord turned to the
first question asked by the Prophet: When will the wilderness blossom as a rose?
In verses 44-45 the Lord tells the elders of the Church what they must do in
the years before the fulfillment of Zion. They must “Push the people together
from the ends of the earth.” This phrase specifically refers to the gathering
of the descendants of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) under the gospel umbrella
in America (See Deuteronomy 33:13-17, 3 Nephi 14:12-13.) (Michael J. Preece, Learning
to Love the Doctrine and Covenants [Salt Lake City: MJP Publishing, Inc.,
1988], 109-10, italics in original)
Much of this jives with the comments offered by D. Charles Pyle,
which I reproduced in Refuting
James Walker on Joseph Smith's Prophecies (cf. Resources
on Joseph Smith’s Prophecies).
