The following is a copy of the remarks given by Bishop Ty Kenworthy as part of the second annual ward conference of the Geneva Heights 12th Ward, and is provided for those who were unable to attend the the conference or those who wish to refer back to the message.

In June 1834, the prophet Joseph Smith and a band of saints from Ohio encamped on the bank of the Fishing River in Missouri. This so-called Zion’s Camp had marched to the aid of the saints in Missouri after they had been expelled from their lands in Jackson County and were taking refuge among a nearby settlement of saints in Clay County. The situation was desperate—both for the people of Missouri and the saints marching in Zion’s camp. The governor of Missouri had withdrawn his support for the saints and would soon issue his infamous extermination order.

While encamped on the Fishing River, after a 900-mile march from Ohio, Zion’s Camp was readying to take the fight to the Missourians who had so persecuted the saints. Preparing to cross the river and confront the mobs the next morning, Joseph Smith received the revelation we now know as section 105 of the Doctrine and Covenants. As I was preparing remarks for this ward conference, I was struck by the opening statement of this revelation that the Lord gave to Joseph Smith. Speaking about the saints who had been persecuted and exiled from Missouri, he said:

Verily I say unto you who have assembled yourselves together that you may learn my will concerning the redemption of mine afflicted people—Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now. But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them; And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom; 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. And my people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer.

D&C 105:1-6

After months of studying the topic of Zion in preparation for this talk, these first six verses are the ones that the Spirit continued to point me back to. Despite all we have been through, enduring nearly a year-long pandemic and all the economic, social, and health challenges that have accompanied it, the Lord is calling upon all of us of the 12th ward to repent. Speaking of the ward generally and not of individuals, we have not learned to be obedient to the things the Lord requires at our hands. We are not united. We are not imparting of our substance by paying proper tithes and generous offerings.

I will come back to these points in a moment, but first I want to give further explanation why this is all so important—especially why Zion is so important.

What is Zion?

As you study the Doctrine and Covenants this year, the topic of Zion will come up frequently—and for good reason. Prior to Joseph Smith, the prophet who spoke most about Zion was Isaiah. And in his writings, Zion is most closely linked to prophecies concerning the latter days. Our days. It therefore tracks that Zion would feature prominently in modern revelations. But what is Zion? Zion may refer to a place—a prominent mountain in the Holy Land, the city of Enoch that was taken from this earth and now dwells in the presence of God, or a future city that will serve as the sister capitol to Jerusalem after Christ’s return. Zion may refer to a people, such as the inhabitants of these locations I just mentioned or generally to members of the Lord’s church. The church itself is often referred to as Zion. The full and proper name of the stake to which we are part is the Orem Utah Geneva Heights Stake of Zion. Most importantly, however, is that Zion refers to a state of being—ones orientation to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We know of two scriptural examples of Zion societies—entire communities of people whose righteousness made them a Zion people. The first, and most famous, is the people of the City of Enoch. In describing the inhabitants of this city, we are told that “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). We find the second example in the Book of Mormon. After the resurrected Christ’s ministry among the people of this hemisphere, the people of his church are described as having “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 1:2-3). These descriptions serve as the template for any society that the Lord would deem as being His people.

Now, fast forward to the early days of the restoration of the Church. Joseph Smith realized that for Christ to return, the conditions of Zion needed to be present among the Saints. That takes us to Missouri just a few short years before the events I described at the beginning of this talk. It was in Missouri that Joseph Smith revealed that Zion, the future city, would be established. Before the city could be built, however, the people would need to become a Zion people. The prophet is quoted as having said “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object” (Teachings of the Prophet Jospeh Smith, p.160). Clarifying this statement in his April 2019 conference address, Elder Christofferson says “We build up Zion in our homes, wards, branches, and stakes through unity, godliness, and charity” (Preparing for the Lord’s Return, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, April 2019 General Conference).

Building Up Zion

In the years since the establishment of the church, it has been the intrinsic mission of the stakes of Zion and their composite wards throughout the world to build up Zion and establish a Zion people—a people the Lord can call his own. Until the Lord can find His people prepared to be received by him, his return must wait. I’ve heard it said that the second coming will happen once the world is ripe for destruction. But, as several general authorities have recently suggested, the world is wicked enough, what is needed is an increase in our personal righteousness.

So, I return now to the call for repentance given by the Lord to his saints in 1834 and refreshed anew for the saints of the Geneva Heights 12th Ward. As I said, the Lord kept bringing me back to these verses as the message most needed for this ward. I testify that the Lord intends for us to do and be better. If we hope to be prepared to receive him and be received by him—whether in this life or the next—we must establish a Zion people right here and right away. I also testify that he wants each of you, and all those who reside within our boundaries, to join him when he returns in triumph to begin his personal reign upon the earth. So, what do we need to do, in this ward, to become a Zion people and be prepared for his triumphal return? Well, we must become of one heart, one mind, dwelling in righteousness and with no poor among us. Let me give some specifics:

One Heart

To become unified, or of one heart, we must improve our ministering efforts. Speaking about the ward in general and not about individuals, this ward is frankly horrible at ministering. That must end today! Even more specifically, to our Elders Quorum and the brethren of the ward: you must take the lead in your families’ ministering efforts. Ministering is your responsibility according to the Priesthood office you hold. You cannot defer leadership in this to your wife, children or to anyone else. That said, sisters, you play a vital role in ministering as well, so please respond to your relief society presidency when they reach out to schedule a ministering interview with you. Whether you have done your ministering or not, participating in this interview is a responsibility of your discipleship. I have had the privilege of visiting for some amount of time with most all of you. You are good and friendly people. But to be friendly in not enough; we must be friends. By investing in our ministering efforts—motivated by friendship—we will be of one heart.

One Mind

We must continue to invest in our personal and family study of Come, Follow Me. As we make this unified gospel study a priority in our homes, we will become of one mind. This is especially critical for parents. Your children have no other source but you to develop their understanding and testimony of the gospel at this time. When we one day return to primary, your children will benefit from supplemental gospel learning yet again—but it should not be, cannot be the primary source of their gospel learning. If you have struggled to implement Come, Follow Me in your home, talk to your ministers and seek their help in establishing gospel study in the home. If you’ve tried and failed, just keep trying, and continually seek the Lord’s help. He will support your righteous efforts.

Dwelling in Righteousness

We best dwell in righteousness when we put the first two commandments first: to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Your commitment to these commandments and living righteously will be reflected in your efforts to share the gospel and extend the ordinances of salvation to your living neighbors and to your departed ancestors. This effort of gathering Israel is one of the priorities given us by our prophet, and I suggest that is because missionary work and temple and family history work are fundamental to a Zion society. In our scriptures and in our hymns, the Lord beckons Come to Zion—this is the same invitation we must extend to everyone both the living and the dead.

Israel, Israel God is speaking. Hear your great deliverer’s voice! Now a glorious morn is breaking For the people of his choice. Come to Zion, come to Zion and within her walls rejoice.

(Hymns: 7, “Israel, Israel, God is Calling”)

No Poor Among Us

Finally, we must do better at caring for the poor and the needy and ensuring that there are no poor among us. I’m going to be blunt: the rate of full tithe payers in the ward went down precipitously year over year. If it wasn’t for a big spike in donations after the first government stimulus check, fast offerings wouldn’t have even come close to covering our needs. This pandemic has been brutal to so many. Members have lost jobs or seen reduced pay due to impacts from the pandemic. However, there all also those who have been blessed with abundance in these trying times. In the great scale of things, those so blessed amid trials were not given such bounty because they were more righteous or deserving but were blessed so that they could be the means of blessing those whose circumstances were less fortunate. Despite fervent calls to all members to participate, enrollment in our financial self-reliance courses was disappointing. We must all commit to being financially self-reliant, and as part of that self-reliance recognize that all blessings flow from the Lord. And then, according to the covenants we made through baptism and in the temple, we must consecrate all such blessings to the sustaining of God’s work. Which means working to ensure that there are no poor among us.

Promise

It is a heavy burden as a bishop to have to raise the voice of repentance to my friends and neighbors. Believe me, I wrestled with the Lord, entreating him to let me share any other message. But He made his will known to me and I will obey. Nevertheless, no call to repentance comes without a reciprocal promise of blessings. So, exercising my keys as your Bishop, I give you the same promise the Lord gave to his saints on the banks of the Fishing River: that “inasmuch as [you] follow the counsel [which you received today]… [you] shall have power to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion” (D&C 105:37). To accomplish Zion is to be qualified to be called His people and we are told that Christ will visit his people, and dwell among them (see Moses 7:16-17). I can’t think of any greater blessing or promise that could be given than to dwell in the presence of Christ. And so I leave you with my best and my testimony that we can do and be better and by so doing qualify to be called a Zion people who dwell in the presence of Christ. In whose name I leave this testimony, even the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.