"Lord, to whom shall we go?" Charting the Course of the Church from Here to the Second Coming: Part 1

Calling the 144,000

My previous posts over the past year were trying to lay the foundation for this series, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" Charting the Course of the Church from Here to the Second Coming.

(If ever a title promised the farm, this is it.)

I've always said there's no use arguing the past if it distracts from what the Lord wants us to do in the present.  Right now, we need to prepare for the coming calamity. 

But not in haste.  As the Lord said, "Let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back" (D&C 133:15).

We just need to follow the promptings we receive from the Lord, one step at a time.

So I hope you're excited for this field trip.  Come aboard the Good Bus Zion, and let's get started.

(I know, I know, it used to be the Good Ship Zion, but the rowdy sailors tossed the kids overboard.  So now we're on a magic school bus like little children.  And remember, there are no seatbelts on school buses!  But don't worry, we have an awesome bus Driver.)

Paradoxes

If you've been following along with this blog, you know we've been trying to resolve the following paradoxes:

   1.  How can we have authority without force?

   2.  How can we have order without hierarchy?

   3.  How can we have equality without control?

After the last series, "The Church Began to be Broken Up," I thought it would be nice to focus on some of the positive things ahead of us.

   For since the beginning
   of the world have not men
   heard nor perceived by the ear,
   neither hath any eye seen,
   O God, besides thee,
   how great things thou hast prepared
   for him that waiteth for thee.​

(D&C 133:45)

This series is going to address the question, "Now what, Tim?  Where do we go from here?"
​
Things are just getting interesting!

We are witnessing times in which "the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face" (Helaman 4:23).

"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!"

    Are we?

A Problem Well Defined is a Problem Half Solved

You may have wondered, as I have:

   1.  If the Church is broken up, who is going to be in charge?  Who will lead us?

   2.  Without the organization of the Church, how will we know what to do?

   3.  If we aren't relying upon leadership to give us our marching orders, how will we know when to gather?

   4.  Without a hierarchy, how will we know who speaks for God?

   5.  "To whom shall we go?" (John 6:68) in the absence of a formal organization?  

Okay, let's make a couple of observations about these questions:

   -  Why do we presume an organization is the repository of truth rather than the gospel?

   - Why do we think an organization is necessary to lead us when we are followers of Christ and have the Holy Ghost to guide us?

Apples and Oranges

My friend Clark Burt wrote, "The gospel, the organization, and His church are not the same.  His gospel is the truth. The organization is the means to foster that truth, and His church are those that are built upon His gospel." (Emphasis added.)

Clark points out something I hadn't noticed before in 3 Nephi 27:8, where the Lord defines His church as:

    [I]t is my church,
    if it so be 
    that they
    [NOT "it"]
    are built
    upon my gospel.

(3 Nephi 27:8)

So we're talking about individuals (not institutions) here. 

His church are "they" (his children) who are "built" upon his gospel.

This is important in order for us to grasp what is coming down the pipeline of prophecy. 

There is―

   1.  the gospel, which is truth (D&C 84:45);

   2.  an organization, which is to foster the truth (Ephesians 4:12); and

   3.  the (invisible) Church (a.k.a. "the body of Christ"), which are all those who are built upon the gospel (1 Cor. 12:12).

In other words, the gospel exists independently of an organization or the Church.  Likewise, the Church exists independently of an organization. 

So, then, do we need an organization?

Why Have an Organization?

Good question! 

If an organization is not required to belong to Christ's Church (just ask Noah or Ether), then why do we need an organization at all?

The short answer is, to love one another.  To bear one another's burden.  To mourn with those who mourn.  To perform love's labor in fellowship and friendship.  

As Paul expressed so beautifully to his friends at Philippi:

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

(Philippians 3-11)

Organizations Can Be Good and Bad

While the gospel is above reproach, and His Church lies beyond mortal hands, organizations exist on a continuum of goodness (or badness).

   The best (goodest) organization is Zion.

I mean, don't we want to belong to an organization that increases our faith, hope and charity; one where we "remember and nourish [each other] by the good word of God" (Moroni 6:4)?

A church has no more light than its capacity to love.  

    How "remembered" are we?  

    How "nourished" are we?

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain When She Comes

Previously I wrote, "Zion is a marriage."  

But the curious thing is we get to decide whether to attend as the bride (Zion) or as guests (to the supper). 

(I guess we could skip the wedding altogether; after all, it's a destination wedding and who wants to travel all the way to Har Məgīddō?) 

     O, we'll all go out
     an' meet her
     when she comes.

Anyway, my point is that marriage is one way (there are others) of organizing a family.

Ergo, Zion is an organization organized by the Lord for those who belong to His church, His family; which are they who live His gospel.

    A society of, and for, His children.

Well, that clears it up!

What Does the Organization of Zion Look Like?

Now that we know Zion is not the church, we might wonder, "How, then, is Zion organized?"

Chances are, Zion will be organized very differently from the way we see the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being organized.  

Why?

Because the Church is a hodge podge of all kinds of people.  After all, an organization is just a composite of its members.  

Some of the members of the church belong to Christ's Church ("they" who are built on His gospel), but there are also others who exercise their agency in a manner inconsistent with His gospel.

In other words, the membership rolls of the Church are no help at all in discerning between those who are disciples of Christ and those who merely profess to be.

    Many will say to me
    in that day,
    Lord, Lord,
    have we not prophesied
    in thy name?
    and in thy name
    have cast out devils?
    and in thy name
    done many wonderful works?

    And then will I profess unto them,
    I never knew you
    ["Ye never knew me"]:
    depart from me,
    ye that work iniquity.

(Matthew 7:22-23)

So how do we know who qualifies for Zion?

Well, Zion is comprised of those who are able to endure the presence of the Lord without burning up like a box of Cornflakes doused in kerosene.

(I mean, I wouldn't want to be the one assigned to clean the church after Jesus's glory was unleashed at the ward picnic ― would you?  Just imagine trying to get the stains out of the hardwood in the cultural hall.)

Heart Healthy Cheerios

​The thing that qualifies us to belong to Zion is simple: can we walk with God?

That's the lesson we learn from our buddies in the City of Enoch, of whom it is written:  "And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion" (Moses 7:69).

Notice that it wasn't just Enoch who got to pal around with the Lord.  It was "all his people," too.  

And did they burst into flame the color of Lucy Ricardo's hair?  No!  

     O, we'll kill
     the old red rooster
     when she comes.

Why not?  How were the people able to endure the Lord's presence?

Maybe this is why the Lord said: 

   For this is Zion― 
   the pure in heart.

(D&C 97:21)

Notice, again, that Zion is not equated in this verse with the Church.  It is a quality possessed by individuals.

Then those individuals organize themselves ("govern themselves") into an organization as, and of, equals.  

But can Zion really be reduced to such a simple statement?  Yes!

   Blessed are
   the pure in heart:
   for they shall see
   God.

(Matt. 5:8)

After thinking about it, we can see a major difference between Zion and the Church.  In Zion, the Lord walks around in His pajamas while grabbing his morning lox and bagels.

   And there shall be no night there;
   and they need no candle,
   neither light of the sun;
   for the Lord God giveth them light.

(Revelation 22:5)

Check it out: who gives us light in Zion? 

(Spoiler alert: it is not the Sunday School President or Bishop or Prophet.) 
   
    It is the Lord Himself.

     And we'll all have chicken
     an' dumplins
     when she comes.

What Now Brown Cow?

At the beginning of this post, I asked the question, "Where do we go from here?"

Well, the first step of our journey is to come unto Christ, who personally welcomes us into His Church. 

    Yea, come unto Christ,
    and be perfected in him,
    and deny yourselves
    of all ungodliness;
    and if ye shall deny yourselves
    of all ungodliness,
    and love God with all your might,
    mind and strength,
    then is his grace sufficient for you.

(Moroni 10:32)