The meanings of Zion

I have studied this subject for many years and in fact have had correspondence with several G.A's. see the study http://studiesonzion.com/documents/A_Scriptural_Study_On_Zion.pdf

Scripturally speaking Zion is a word that denotes something that is Heavenly, Celestial or of God. It is ‘A bit of Heaven on Earth’, or in other words the bringing of Heavenly ideals to Earth. The name Zion is literally taken from the City where God himself dwells: “These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the City of the living God, the Heavenly place, the Holiest of all.” D&C 76:66 Zion used in a general sense in the scriptures means ‘the cause of righteousness’ or ‘the work of God’ as in the following: “For thou shalt devote all thy service in Zion; and in this thou shalt have strength” D&C 24:7 “Now, as you have asked, behold I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” D&C 6:6; 11:6, 12:6, 14:6, 21:7-8, 24:7, 30:11.

In this generation the Doctrine and Covenants teaches that Zion is the Pure in Heart, in the Divinely Appointed Place, living by the Law of the Celestial Kingdom.

The Essential Parts of Zion are

Zion is the Pure in Heart: “Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion – The Pure in Heart; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn.” D&C 97:21

Zion is a distinct place: “And the nations of the Earth shall honour her, and shall say: Surely Zion is the City of our God, and surely Zion cannot fall, neither be moved out of her place, for God is there, and the hand of the Lord is there; and he hath sworn by the power of his might to be her salvation and her high tower.” D&C 97:19-20

Zion requires the Celestial Law: “And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the Law of the Celestial Kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself.” D&C 105:5 (This refers to The Law of Consecration, See also v 4, 29, 34)

Hugh Nibley a great advocate of Zion stated: Zion is any community in which the Celestial Order prevails. Zion is the pure in heart, But Zion is also a real city or any number of real cities. See BYU lecture series 1971/2 ‘Our glory or our condemnation’

It is important to realize that you cannot have the fullness of Zion without the United Order. Therefore Zion in its full meaning is not yet found anywhere upon the earth. Indeed the present stakes of the church cannot be stakes of Zion in the full scriptural meaning. they are ecclesiastical Stakes which are part of the building up of the church.

The Mormon concept of Zion is a Christian version of what Judaism has been striving to achieve for the last four thousand years. It's all about the creation of a community with standards, where people are supposed to care about each other, where everybody - high and low - has a job to do, a contribution to make, towards the happiness of all. I have a low tolerance for fairy tales and theological mumbo jumbo, but the concept of Zion is a large part of how Mormons make the most out of daily life. It's a good concept.

I'm sorry you had this experience Nettie. Just to set it straight, this church doesn't teach it's members that women have to walk behind men and that you have to have a lot of kids. I've held several leadership callings as young women's pres., enrichment leader and the like, and never once was I belittled by men. Also my husband and I have decided that we don't want too many kids- 2 or 3 will do- and that is a decision only between my husband and I and the Lord. I've never been pressured in church to have more. Though some people in this faith may not be nice or open-minded doesn't mean that the religion is that way too. There's probably people like in that every church but that doesn't mean it their religion is that way too. Actually my family is having some issues w/ a leader in our ward so we've started to attend another ward. Well, these are just my thoughts..