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Note: This article is just one of a number of testimonies I will be making as part of an effort to complete repentance I have before God and men. I would confess to you all that in the past I had endorsed a number of views which were false and inconsistent with God’s word. I had allowed those false teachings to be shared on this message board, and I had promoted them myself. I will not dwell much on the false teachings themselves, so much as I will testify as to what is right and true regarding those topics. If I have spoken contrary to these testimonials in the past, know that I now confess I was in error and in need of repentance and deliverance from a terrible deception.

Zion is written of in all three books of scripture. Much revelation has been brought forth concerning what it is, how it will come to pass, what it will be like, who will fight against it, how God’s protection will rest upon it, and how the Saints will be gathered to it.

Whereas the Book of Mormon tells us that Zion shall be on the face of this promise land, the Doctrine and Covenants reveals much more detail on specifically where Zion shall be located, and how it shall come about. This is according to God’s will, for that knowledge was to be brought forth by Ephraim because of their specific calling to “establish the cause of Zion.”

Some have claimed that the place of Zion has been abandoned by God – that Zion has been moved to another place. This concept we should carefully examined, and I strongly suggest that we insist on three witnesses, [Sec 6:13b] and that we rely on that which has been written, [Sec 16:1c] and hold fast to the rod of iron so that we do not get lost in the mist of darkness. [1Nephi 2:68, 69]

God’s Plans Are Not Frustrated by Men

God has told us that “the works, and the designs, and the purposes of God, cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught, for God doth not walk in crooked paths.” [Sec 2:1a] In other words, what God has planned, or decided, or set in motion, cannot be stopped or prevented by any work of man. “Remember, remember, that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men.” [Sec 2:2a] And God has also said: “For, as I, the Lord God, liveth, even so my words cannot return void, for, as they go forth out of my mouth, they must be fulfilled.” [Gen 3:30] When God decrees something, it will come to pass. If it does not, He would cease to be God.

There is an Appointed Place for Zion

God has told us that Independence, MO. and the surrounding counties, starting at the Temple Lot, is the land that is “appointed…, and it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the most high God; and the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it; and it shall be called Zion. And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another. And it shall be said among the wicked, Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible, wherefore we can not stand.“ [Sec 45:12d-13c]

Again, “before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob [the tribes of Israel] shall flourish in the wilderness; and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose. Zion shall flourish upon the hills, and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed. [Sec 49:5a, b]

Further, God tells us “Behold, there is none other place appointed than that which I have appointed, neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed for the work of the gathering of my Saints, until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them.” [Sec 98:4h]

Do you imagine within yourselves that God did not know what would happen to the Restoration Movement? Do you think he has been taken by surprise and has had to change his plans after all that He has decreed? I must confess that this blindness was upon me, for I had imagined that Zion could be moved out of her place. “Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered, they that remain and are pure in heart shall return and come to their inheritances; they and their children, with songs of everlasting joy; to build up the waste places of Zion. And all these things, that the prophets might be fulfilled.” [Sec 98:4g] God says there is no other place appointed than that which He has already appointed, neither will there be any other place appointed, and His words cannot return to Him void. His words will accomplish what He has purposed according to as He has spoken, for there is power in His word, and none can prevent it.

The Cleansing of Zion

There is much wickedness in the land appointed at this time, but we know from the prophets that it shall be cleansed of wickedness and given to His people for an inheritance, and it shall be the place of Zion in these last days, and it shall come to pass even as He has spoken it. “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days; and the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion, and shall be sent away, and shall not inherit the land; for, verily, I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked out.” [Sec 64:7a-b] Here we see that the rebellious in Zion will actually be cut off, or plucked out of the land that has been appointed. Many testimonies, dreams, visions and prophecies have already gone forth about how this shall be accomplished.

Again, do I hear you say that Independence will be cleansed? Is there revelation to that effect, or at least scriptures that may lend some credence to the idea? Yes, that is my testimony as well. Surely it will be cleansed. It must be.

I say it will be cleansed. Whether that cleansing is spiritual or temporal, or both, it will be cleansed, but that does not frustrate the purposes of God, neither has His word returned to Him void. Independence is the place appointed, and there shall be no other place that will be appointed. [Sec 98:4h] The righteous shall be gathered to it, and the unrighteous shall be gathered out of it. If it is cleansed by fire, whether that fire is spiritual or temporal, remember the testimony of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego who were thrown into the fiery furnace. Though the fire slew those men who had put them into the furnace, the wicked king saw “these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” And so it shall be with every true servant that is found doing the will of God. In fact, there are those who have been given the testimony that they shall be protected, whatever comes, as they have been called to be in this place, doing the work they are called to do. And what is it to you if God has sent his servants to this city in order that they might do a work there? Does God not know the timing of His judgments? Does He not know who His servants are, or where they are? All things are in God’s hands and his servants do not work according to the spirit of fear, but by faith, obedience and love. And perfect love casts out all fear. “And whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life, shall preserve it.” [Luke 17:33] “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life” [Mat 6:28] “For whosoever will save his life, must be willing to lose it for my sake; and whosoever will be willing to lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” [Luke 9:24]

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; but its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." [Jer 17:7-8] The righteous need not fear the judgments of God.

Of Zion it is said, “Darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD shall arise upon you and his glory will appear over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” [Isa 60:2-3] When the very darkest times come, the glory of God shall arise on Zion, and it shall be as a city set on a hill, and the wicked will fear to go to war against it.

Who will Build Zion?

“But if they [the Gentiles] will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, [speaking of Manasseh, or the Native Americans] unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance, and they [the Gentiles who are grafted into Ephraim] shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob;[Manasseh] And also, as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that “they” may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem; And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst, and then shall the work of the Father commence, at that day.” [3 Nephi 10:1-4]

This prophecy states that the Native American people, and as many of the lost tribes of Israel as shall come, will build Zion, and if the Gentiles are obedient, they can assist them. Since God tells us that His word would, “accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it.” [Isa 55:11] then any who love truth must realize that Zion cannot be unless the gospel is first preached to the Lamanites and they are converted to Christ. This is why the early Saints were commanded to take the gospel to the Lamanites, because God knew our efforts to establish the cause of Zion would be frustrated without them. When they begin to be converted, they will have the gumption to do what we have only been talking about. But we will convert them only when we have removed all hypocrisy from our midst and learned to truly live our lives according to what we have only confessed with our mouths. Then we shall convert them, not by words or intellectual arguments, but by power and great workings of the Holy Spirit. And when they are converted, then shall they rise up and once again posses this land, which was given unto them as an inheritance, and it is they who shall build Zion. Those that are found faithful among the Gentiles will be grafted in and allowed to assist them. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be joined, and so the tribe of Joseph shall be made whole upon the land of Joseph and establish Zion together, and it shall be an ensign to the nations.

Notice that according to the word of God we are to convert them, and not be converted by them. We are not to be taught by them, and there is good reason for this. Remember, their ways were not right before the Lord, as they had “dwindled in unbelief,” and “they became a dark and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.” [1 Nephi 3:134] and it was because of this “unrighteousness” that they were allowed to be scattered and smitten by the Gentiles.

This is not to say that there are not many good and honorable people among the Lamanites who have not yet accepted Christ, or that there is no truth among them. There are also many good and honorable Muslims, and they also have some truth among them. There is always a remnant of truth found any group that falls away, but we should remember that God has said they had fallen into idolatry and abominable practices, and there are many spirits at work among them, some of which are evil.

God has decreed that we “are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit; and ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken.” [Sec 43:4b-d]

Any who go to be taught by the Lamanites, rather than to teach according to what is given them from on high, adopting their ways in disregard to what the scriptures and the commandments of God say in this matter will fall into a snare, and the end result may be that his own soul will be in need of salvation, for he will have more in common with the Lamanites who have “dwindled in unbelief” than in the those of Manasseh who will one day awaken to their heritage, and come to a knowledge of the covenants of God to them, and be enlightened.

Because Manasseh and Ephraim, together with as many of the tribes of Israel that will, are to build Zion with assistance from the Gentiles that repent, we know that Zion does not yet exist anywhere… nor will it, until all is accomplished as God has decreed. And when it comes about, it will be in the place appointed by God, Himself. He has not altered His decree in that matter, and He has told us that He will not.

Additional Witnesses

Do we need more witness than the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants? Then look to the testimony of countless souls who are gathering to Missouri and the Kansas City area even as you read this letter. They are coming by commandment of God, and by direct revelation. If you desire to hear these testimonies, then seek them out, for there are many who are coming of different backgrounds and beliefs, and there are countless witnesses to this. Many of those gathering are not even part of the Restoration Movement. Even whole Christian communities are relocating from other parts of the country and purchasing lands, according to revelation given them, and they have no Restoration background or tradition of Zion being in Independence. If you ask them why God sent them there they will admit that they do not fully understand why God has sent them, only that He has.

Look at the testimony of Rick Joyner, a Christian with no Restoration background. God gave him a startling vision of what would take place in the last days. He recorded it in his book “The Harvest.” In Chapter 12 of that book, entitled “Israel and the Church” on page 176, he says: “As a testimony that the purposes of God is now approaching the synthesis of the two seeds, those who bless natural Israel (the Jews) will begin receiving spiritual blessings and those who bless spiritual Israel (the church) will begin receiving natural blessings. For example, it was because of one righteous act by Harry S. Truman, when he recognized the new state of Israel against the counsel of almost everyone in his government as well as world opinion, his home state of Missouri will be favored as a center of revival in the U.S., and his home town of Independence, MO. (Kansas City Area) will become a blessing to many other nations.”

Have faith and trust in the promises of God. What He has decreed in regards to Zion has not changed, nor will it.