4 Nephi

This is an example of a people who had peace and unity for hundreds of years. This must be close to what it was like for the people of Zion that were taken into heaven. So as I read I wondered to myself what did they do that made them one and how can we become one.

4 Nephi 1:2 and 3

...there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another. And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.

4 Nephi 1: 13

And it came to pass that there was no contention among all the people, in all the land; but there were mighty miracles wrought among the disciples of Jesus.

4 Nephi 1:15

And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.

4 Nephi 1:18

And how blessed were they! For the lord did bless them in all their doings... and there was no contention in the land.

I think we read these scriptures and we mistake these verses as a description when they are really a prescription. To have the unity and blessings of Zion we should have no contention in the land. It is a choice that we can make and it begins in each of our hearts. W can choose to deal justly with our fellow men and to not have disputes or contentions with them. I think it's significant that one of the very first things that Christ taught to he people of Nephi when he appeared to them was that there should be no disputations or contentions among them.

3 Nephi 11:28-30

...And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been... For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one to another. Behold this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

It seems pretty obvious to me that God does not want us to be angry. Many people say it's ok to get angry because Jesus got angry in the temple but Jesus does a lot of tings that we aren't allowed to do like take vengeance, pass judgment, take life. I'm ot convinced that he was Angry in the temple but I am convinced that getting angry is NOT OK. Not only is it not ok but the sooner that we stop having contention in our hearts the sooner they can be filled with the love of God, and we can begin to build Zion.

Later in the chapter their Zion society disintegrates and the reasons that their Zion began to fall apart are some of the same reasons that we do not have one now.

4 Nephi 1:24-26

...there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of cstly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world. And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them. And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain...

I think many of us agree that the love of money is the root of all evil, but I am more interested in applying this to my life and finding out where I am lacking. I think that there are many active members of the church who have a problem with "costly apparel". I'm going to go ahead and say that I believe that it is wrong to shop at a place like Anthropology, or to buy a pair of pants for $80. There will be many of you who argue with that but I maintain that there is something wrong with your priorities if you spend on one pair of pants what could feed a family for a week. You have to admit that you are not focused on building Zion.

I realized however that I do the same thing with computers. I have a shiny MacBook Pro which I take great pride in. I did get a ridiculously good deal and otherwise I never could have afforded it, but the problem is that I look down on PC users. I do it because my computer is better than theirs. Now I would never hate or hurt anyone because of that, but I really do take pride in my computer and it creates a class distinction. So I think we all need to examine our priorities and try to humble ourselves and realize that clothes and computers and cars are all unimportant and don't deserve our time or money. This is a hard thing for many people, because they have their hearts set on these worldly things, and that is why we don't have a Zion like people right now. You always knew there were still things to repent of, here they are.