This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide for Moses 7 includes the establishment of Zion.
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders about this chapter of scripture.
Zion
“In ancient times, God took the righteous city of Zion to Himself (see Moses 7:69). By contrast, in the last days a new Zion will receive the Lord at His return (see Moses 7:62, 64). Zion is the pure in heart, a people of one heart and one mind, dwelling in righteousness with no poor among them (see Moses 7:18). The Prophet Joseph Smith stated, ‘We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.’ We build up Zion in our homes, wards, branches and stakes through unity, godliness and charity.”
— President D. Todd Christofferson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2019 general conference, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return”
“The ancient prophet Enoch labored many years to bring his people to this state of righteousness. Like our day, they also lived in a time of wickedness, wars and bloodshed. But the righteous people responded. ‘And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them’ (Moses 7:18).
“Take special note of the word ‘because’ in this scripture. Zion is established and flourishes because of the God-inspired lives and labors of its citizens. Zion comes not as a gift but because virtuous covenant people are drawn together and build it.”
— Bishop Keith B. McMullin, then the second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, October 2002 general conference, “Come to Zion! Come to Zion!”
“‘And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; … and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth … , to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, … and it shall be called Zion’ (Moses 7:62).
“While the Zion where all walk with God is not before us yet, the way to Zion through faith on Jesus Christ is before us. We live among evidence of the promise of the scripture that righteousness and truth are in the earth and that Christ has come to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.”
— The late Sister Aileen H. Clyde, then the second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, October 1996 general conference, “Confirmed in Faith”
‘Of one heart and one mind’
“The Lord invites us not just to join His kingdom but also to be anxiously engaged in building it. God envisions a people who are ‘of one heart and one mind’ (Moses 7:18). And to be of one heart, we must seek pure hearts, and that requires a mighty change of heart.
“But that doesn’t mean changing my heart to align with yours. Nor does it mean changing your heart to align with mine. It means that we all change our hearts to align with the Savior.
“If we are not there yet, remember: with the Lord’s help, nothing is impossible.”
— President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2025 general conference, “‘By This All Will Know That You Are My Disciples’”
Agency
“A primary purpose of the Creation and of our mortal existence is to provide us the opportunity to act and become what the Lord invites us to become.
“The Lord instructed Enoch:
“‘Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
“‘And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father’ (Moses 7:32-33).
“The fundamental purposes for the exercise of agency are to love one another and to choose God. And these two purposes align precisely with the first and second great commandments to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves.”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2025 general conference, “They Are Their Own Judges”
“Our loving Father oversaw the Creation of this very earth for the express purpose of providing an opportunity for you and for me to have the stretching and refining experiences of mortality, the chance to use our God-given moral agency to choose Him (see Moses 7:33), to learn and grow, to make mistakes, to repent, to love God and our neighbor, and to one day return home to Him.”
— Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2024 general conference, “God’s Intent Is to Bring You Home”
“Even though he knew he had been called personally by a personal God, Enoch wrestled with feelings of personal inadequacy (see Moses 6:31). Enoch also wept over the human condition, but he was told, ‘Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look’ (Moses 7:44). If Enoch had not looked and been spiritually informed, he would have seen the human condition in isolation from the grand reality. If God were not there, Enoch’s ‘Why?’ would have become an unanswered scream of despair.
“At first, Enoch refused ‘to be comforted’ (Moses 7:44). Finally, he saw God’s plan, the later coming of the Messiah in the meridian of time and the eventual triumph of God’s purposes. Enoch saw how the throne of God features justice and mercy (see Moses 7:31).
“Significantly, the consequences of misused human agency were explained to Enoch: mortals had been given a commandment to ‘love one another,’ yet those then had become a people ‘without affection’ who ‘hate their own blood’ (Moses 7:33).
“We, too, can ‘refuse to be comforted.’ We can wrongly charge God with that large portion of human misery which is actually caused by mortals’ failure to keep His commandments. Or, like Enoch, we can be intellectually meek enough to look and to accept the truths about God’s being there and about His personality and plans.”
— The late Elder Neal A. Maxwell, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 1987 general conference, “‘Yet Thou Art There’”
A God who weeps
“God’s plan of moral and mortal agency allows us to learn by our own experience. Some of our greatest life lessons come from things we would never choose. In love, Jesus Christ descended below and ascended above all things. He rejoices in our divine capacities for creativity and delight, kindness without hope for reward, faith unto repentance and forgiveness. And He weeps in sorrow at the enormity of our human suffering, cruelty, unfairness — often brought by human choice — as do the heavens and the God of heaven with them (see Moses 7:28).”
— Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2025 general conference, “Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration”
“How grateful we are for all the scriptures, especially the scriptures of the Restoration, that teach us the majesty of each member of the Godhead. How we would thrill, for example, if all the world would receive and embrace the view of the Father so movingly described in the Pearl of Great Price.
“There, in the midst of a grand vision of humankind which heaven opened to his view, Enoch, observing both the blessings and challenges of mortality, turns his gaze toward the Father and is stunned to see Him weeping. He says in wonder and amazement to this most powerful Being in the universe: ‘How is it that thou canst weep? … Thou art just [and] merciful and kind forever; … peace … is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?’
“Looking out on the events of almost any day, God replies: ‘Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands. … I gave unto them … [a] commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood; … wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?’ (Moses 7:29-33, 37)
“That single, riveting scene does more to teach the true nature of God than any theological treatise could ever convey. It also helps us understand much more emphatically that vivid moment in the Book of Mormon allegory of the olive tree, when after digging and dunging, watering and weeding, trimming, pruning, transplanting and grafting, the great Lord of the vineyard throws down his spade and his pruning shears and weeps, crying out to any who would listen, ‘What could I have done more for my vineyard?’ (Jacob 5:41)
“What an indelible image of God’s engagement in our lives. What anguish in a parent when His children do not choose Him nor ‘the gospel of God’ He sent (Romans 1:1). How easy to love someone who so singularly loves us.”
— The late President Jeffrey R. Holland, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2003 general conference, “The Grandeur of God”
‘Man of Holiness’
“We are daughters of Heavenly Father, and each of us has a divine heritage of holiness. Our Father in Heaven has declared, ‘Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name’ (Moses 7:35). In the premortal world, we loved our Father and worshiped Him. We desired to be like Him. Out of perfect paternal love, He gave His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and Redeemer. He is the Son of Man of Holiness.”
— Sister Carol F. McConkie, then the first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, April 2017 general conference, “The Beauty of Holiness”
‘In process of time’
“The people of the city of Enoch are remembered by us as so good — so incredibly good — that the whole city was taken up into heaven. But if we read carefully we see that the city of Zion was taken up into heaven ‘in process of time’ (Moses 7:21). Just like the pioneers, just like you and me, it must have been a process of walking forward, step by step, over a long period of time.”
— Sister Virginia H. Pearce, then the first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, April 1997 general conference, “Keep Walking, and Give Time a Chance”
‘Truth will I cause to sweep the earth’
“The Lord has constituted us as a people for a special mission. As He told Enoch in ancient times, the day in which we live would be one of darkness, but it would also be a time when righteousness would come down from heaven, and truth would be sent forth out of the earth to bear, once more, testimony of Christ and His atoning mission. As with a flood, that message would sweep the world, and the Lord’s elect would be gathered out from the four quarters of the earth (see Moses 7:62). Wherever we live in the world, we have been molded as a people to be the instruments of the Lord’s peace.”
— Elder Robert S. Wood, then a General Authority Seventy, April 2006 general conference, “Instruments of the Lord’s Peace”
“The Lord, of course, saw our day. He saw the devastating effects of transgression. And He prophesied that He would provide protection for His people.
“He spoke to Enoch of the last days — the days of wickedness and vengeance — and He said:
“‘And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;
“‘And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth’ (Moses 7:61-62).
“Did you note that He said, ‘Truth will I send forth out of the earth’? To do what? ‘To bear testimony of mine Only Begotten.’
“The Book of Mormon was compiled and translated for our day. It came forth out of the earth as was prophesied to bless and guide the lives of the people of this day. It came in a day and time as the Lord knew it would when the dislocations caused by wickedness would be very intense.”
— The late Elder L. Aldin Porter, then a General Authority Seventy, April 2001 general conference, “‘To Bear Testimony of Mine Only Begotten’”
