Babel or Zion: Two Ways Humanity Tries to Reach Heaven

One of the great patterns in scripture is the contrast between two kinds of societies. One tries to reach heaven through human power. The other becomes prepared so that heaven can receive it.  These two patterns are represented in scripture by Babel and Zion.  The story begins in Genesis 11.

The Beginning of Babel

After the Flood, humanity was united. The scripture tells us: “The whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.”  Unity, by itself, is not a problem. In fact, unity can be a great blessing. But what mattered was what spirit governed that unity.

The people said:

“Let us make brick… let us build us a city and a tower… and let us make us a name.”

Their goal was clear: they wanted security, identity, and permanence. They feared being scattered across the earth.  So they began building the Tower of Babel.  Then the Lord said something very revealing:

“Behold, the people is one… and this they begin to do.” (Genesis 11:6)

This phrase is important. The Lord was not concerned about the height of a building. What He saw was the beginning of something much larger.  Human beings had discovered the power of organized, unified civilization.

The Significance of the Bricks

Genesis tells us something curious: “They had brick for stone, and slime for mortar.”  Why mention that?

• Stone is something God creates.
• Brick is something humans manufacture.
• Stone is found.
• Brick is made.
• Every natural stone is different.
• Bricks are uniform, standardized, and mass-produced.

The builders of Babel were creating a civilization built not on what God had given them, but on what they could manufacture themselves.  Are you seeing the problem yet?

This was more than construction. It symbolized a civilization attempting to secure its future independent of God.

The “Let Us Make” Parallel

Earlier in scripture we hear God say: “Let us make man in our image.” (Genesis 1:26)  At Babel, humanity echoes that language: “Let us make brick… let us build… let us make us a name.”   It is almost a mirror of the creation story—but reversed.

    Creation Story         vs           Tower of Babel

    Divine Creation                      Babel Creation

    Let us make man                     Let us make brick

    Image of God                          Human name

    Life                                         Structure

    Identity given                          Identity manufactured

Instead of creating life, humanity was creating systems and structures meant to replace dependence on God.  You still say, "I don't see the problem."

So now the Lord says:  “Let us go down, and there confound their language.”   Why should they do that?   Well, humanity is trying to ascend to heaven trying to bypass God's plan to bring them back.  So, God had to descend to intervene.

What did God do?  He confounded the language and scattered the people across the earth.  Why did the Lord intervene?  The Lord explained His concern saying, “Nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”   The problem was not technology or innovation.  The problem was unified rebellion anchored on the arm of the flesh.

Humanity had discovered the power of collective organization without righteousness.  Unity multiplies human capacity.  But it multiplies whatever spirit governs it.   So on the one hand we see that   Pride + unity = Babylon and on the other hand we see that Righteousness + unity = Zion.

A Faithful Family at Babel

Amid this great scattering, scripture preserves an important story.   In Ether chapter 1, we learn that one man—known as the brother of Jared—prayed to the Lord during the confusion of languages.  He asked that his family and friends might not have their language confounded.

The Lord granted his request.

Because of faith, this small group was preserved rather than scattered.   The Lord then led them away from Babel to a promised land across the ocean. Their journey eventually produced the Jaredite civilization recorded in the Book of Mormon.

This brief account shows something remarkable:   While most people at Babel tried to secure their future through towers and cities, the brother of Jared turned to the Lord in prayer.   And the Lord made a way.

The Opposite Pattern: Zion

Scripture presents a model scattered opposite Babel in the account found in Moses 7 of the City of Enoch.  There we read: “The Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and there was no poor among them.”   Notice how different this unity is from Babel.

    Babel                                             Zion                        

    One language                                One heart

    External unity                                Spiritual unity

    Make a name                                 Become righteous

    Built tower                                     Became a holy societty

Babel tried to break into heaven. Zion became the kind of people heaven could lovingly welcome.  And the result was astonishing.

Scripture says:   “Zion… was taken up into heaven.”   Babel climbed upward and failed.   Zion was lifted upward by God in glory.

The Pattern Continues in Every Age

These two patterns continue throughout scripture and history.  Human societies repeatedly attempt to create:

• security without righteousness
• unity without charity
• identity without covenant
• salvation through human systems

This is the Babel pattern.   But God calls His people to a different path.  The Zion straight and narrow path.  It does not begin with towers or systems. It begins with transformed hearts.

The Choice Before Every Generation

The lesson of Babel is not that human progress is evil.  The lesson is that human power without divine guidance leads to confusion.  Unity itself is not the danger.   Unity governed by pride is destruction. Unity governed by righteousness is Zion.   So the real question for every society—and every individual—is this:   Are we trying to build a tower to heaven?   Or are we becoming the kind of people that heaven can welcome?

In two sentences:

Babel shows what happens when humanity becomes one without God.    Zion shows what happens when humanity becomes one with God.

 Zion: Peace in the City of Enoch

The City of Enoch—called Zion, the City of Holiness—stands in scripture as one of the most remarkable examples of what humanity can become when fully reconciled to God. The account, preserved in the Book of Moses, describes a people who achieved such unity and righteousness that the Lord Himself dwelt among them, and eventually the entire city was taken into heaven.

Their peace was not created by laws, wealth, or political power. It emerged from a deeper source: a covenant people whose hearts had been changed.

Scripture summarizes Zion in a single verse:

“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)

Within this description lie the conditions that made peace possible.

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One Heart and One Mind

Zion began with unity—not uniformity, but harmony of desire. The people were “of one heart and one mind,” meaning their loyalties were aligned with God and with one another.

This unity did not erase individuality. People still possessed different gifts, stewardships, and responsibilities. But contention disappeared because charity governed relationships. Personal differences no longer produced division because love replaced competition and pride.

Unity in Zion was therefore spiritual before it was social. The people wanted the same ultimate good: to follow God and bless one another.

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Dwelling in Righteousness

The people of Enoch “walked with God.” They repented, kept commandments, honored covenants, and followed prophetic teaching. Because of this righteousness, the Lord came and dwelt among them (Moses 7:16).

Peace was not merely the absence of conflict; it was the presence of God.

Their society was stable because it rested on covenant loyalty rather than human agreement alone. Obedience invited divine power, and divine presence produced security.

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No Poor Among Them

The statement that there was “no poor among them” reveals how spiritual unity expressed itself temporally.

This does not necessarily mean identical possessions or enforced equality. Scripture elsewhere teaches that stewardships differ according to circumstances and needs (see the Doctrine and Covenants). Zion did not eliminate difference; it eliminated deprivation.

• No one was abandoned.
• No one was exploited.
• No one lacked what was necessary to live with dignity.

When hearts were united in charity, care for the vulnerable became natural rather than compelled. Spiritual unity produced temporal justice, and temporal care preserved spiritual unity.

Thus Zion joined heaven and earth: covenant love became visible in daily life.

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Who Could Enter Zion?

Zion was not restricted by lineage, status, or privilege. Enoch preached repentance broadly, inviting all to come unto God.

In principle, anyone willing to repent, accept covenant life, and live the laws of Zion could belong. The invitation was universal.

Yet Zion was also conditional. Those who chose violence, pride, or rebellion effectively excluded themselves—not because gates were closed, but because Zion can only exist where its principles are lived.

Zion was open to all, but inhabitable only by the converted.

As righteousness increased, the city became spiritually distinct from the surrounding world until it was ultimately taken into heaven. Entry afterward was no longer possible for those who remained unprepared.

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Why Zion Societies Collapse

Scripture also teaches why Zion does not usually endure among mortals. Its fall never begins with invasion or scarcity but with a change of heart.

The pattern appears repeatedly, especially in the Book of Mormon:

• Prosperity leads to pride.
• Pride leads to comparison.
• Comparison leads to division.
• Division produces inequality and contention.

The loss of unity precedes the return of poverty. Temporal inequality emerges as a symptom of spiritual separation.

When charity weakens, stewardship becomes possession-centered, generosity declines, and covenant bonds loosen. Only then do external threats gain power.

Zion is therefore lost from within before it is ever conquered from without.

Its preservation requires continual humility, repentance, and renewed devotion to God.

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The Central Principle of Zion

The City of Enoch teaches that Zion is neither an economic system nor merely a spiritual ideal. It is a covenant condition of a people whose hearts are aligned with God.

• Unity does not mean equality of gifts.
• Righteousness does not eliminate individuality.
• Consecration does not erase stewardship.

Instead, Zion exists where differences remain but abandonment disappears.

A simple way to express the doctrine is:

Zion is a society in which love of God transforms love of neighbor until no one is spiritually or temporally left behind.

Peace in Zion was not enforced; it emerged naturally when a people became truly “one heart and one mind.”

For this reason, the story of Enoch is not only history but prophecy. Scripture teaches that Zion will return before the Lord’s coming—not merely as a place, but as a people prepared to receive Him.

The question the account quietly leaves with every reader is not whether Zion once existed, but whether hearts today are willing to become the kind of people among whom Zion could exist again.

What did Isaiah mean? "thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:"

The phrase comes from Book of Isaiah 48:18, where the Lord laments that Israel did not fully hearken to His commandments:

“O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.”

Isaiah is using two powerful natural images to describe the kind of life covenant obedience would have produced. 

Isaiah is expressing a kind of divine “if only.” If Israel had listened, their lives would have been marked by:

• Unbroken peace

• Overflowing righteousness

• A flourishing, stable, abundant existence

It’s both a rebuke and an invitation:

This is what God wanted—and still wants—for you.

Let’s look carefully at each symbol.

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1. “Thy peace been as a river”

In Hebrew thought, a river symbolized several things at once:

Continuous flow

A river does not appear briefly and disappear — it moves steadily day and night.

Peace here means more than absence of conflict.  It implies ongoing spiritual well-being, stability, and divine favor.

This aligns closely with covenant peace — the inner order that comes from being aligned with God’s will (see also Mosiah 2:41).

Life-giving power

In the ancient Near East, rivers meant survival:

• crops grew,

• communities thrived,

• deserts became fruitful.

So Isaiah suggests:

Obedience would have made their lives fertile and sustained by God, not spiritually dry.

Direction and purpose

A river has a source and a destination.  Peace flows from God toward eternal life — not random calm, but guided progression.

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2. “Thy righteousness as the waves of the sea”

Now Isaiah shifts imagery — from steady flow to unceasing motion.

Endless abundance

Ocean waves never stop. One follows another without exhaustion.  The waves of the sea are powerful, numerous, unstoppable, and ceaseless. They keep coming in endless succession—never running out, always advancing, covering the shore repeatedly.

Righteousness here means:

• not occasional goodness,

• but continual covenant faithfulness.

It would have become their nature, not merely their behavior.

Expanding influence

Waves spread outward. Righteousness was meant to:

• grow,

• multiply,

• influence generations.

This echoes covenant promises to Abraham — righteousness spreading through posterity and nations.

Power joined with rhythm

Waves are powerful yet ordered. Isaiah implies righteousness guided by divine law rather than chaotic zeal.

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3. Why Isaiah speaks in the past conditional (“had been”)

This is crucial.

Isaiah is mourning a lost possibility.

God is saying:

If you had listened, peace and righteousness would have become natural, abundant, and unstoppable in your society.

It is not merely individual regret — it is a covenant society that might have existed.

This resembles the unrealized ideal of Zion:

• peace flowing continually,

• righteousness multiplying collectively.

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4. A deeper covenant pattern

Notice the pairing:

Image	Meaning	Covenant Result
River	inward condition	Peace within souls and society
Waves	outward action	Righteous living spreading outward

Peace is what righteousness produces internally.
Righteousness is what peace enables externally.

They reinforce each other.

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5. A subtle prophetic insight

Isaiah contrasts two kinds of motion:

• River → steady, directed, life-giving.

• Sea waves → vast, repeating, immeasurable.

Together they describe a people whose covenant life becomes:

• stable and

• expansive.

In other words:

Obedience was meant to transform Israel from surviving spiritually into overflowing spiritually.

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6. Application

The verse teaches that commandments are not primarily restrictive — they are hydraulic (they channel divine life).

When aligned with God:

• peace flows naturally rather than being forced,

• righteousness becomes habitual rather than strained.

Many Christians (and hymns like "It Is Well with My Soul" or "I've Got Peace Like a River") draw on this verse to describe the inner peace that comes from trusting and obeying God, even amid life's storms. It's not always the absence of trouble but a steady, flowing assurance that carries one forward.

In short, Isaiah meant that genuine obedience to God opens the door to a life marked by constant, life-giving peace and overflowing moral/spiritual vitality—far better than the instability and scarcity that come from ignoring Him.

President Russell M. Nelson has taught similarly that obedience brings “spiritual momentum” — very much like Isaiah’s river and waves imagery.

Did LDS leaders once split their congregations in half by political party?

The "story" that LDS leaders once split their congregations in half by political party is a popular historical anecdote based on actual events from the 1890s. While it is often simplified in retelling, the core of the story is rooted in the strategic efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to transition Utah from a theocratic territory to a U.S. state.

Here are the facts regarding that period:

1. The Dissolution of the "People’s Party"

For decades, Utah’s politics were split between the People’s Party (mostly Latter-day Saints) and the Liberal Party (mostly non-members or "Gentiles"). This "bloc voting" was a major barrier to statehood because the U.S. government viewed it as a theocracy. In 1891, the People’s Party was officially dissolved to allow members to join the national Democratic and Republican parties.

2. The Strategic "Division" of Wards

Because most Church members at the time leaned toward the Democratic Party (the national Republicans had been the ones most aggressively campaigning against polygamy), Church leaders feared that a lopsided shift to the Democrats would keep Utah from being accepted by the Republican-led federal government.

• The "Half and Half" Legend: To achieve a visible two-party system, leaders urged members to divide "about evenly" between the two parties. In some local units, this was reportedly literal; bishops or stake presidents occasionally stood before congregations and suggested that those on one side of the aisle become Republicans and those on the other become Democrats to ensure a balance.

• Encouragement of Republicanism: High-ranking leaders like George Q. Cannon specifically encouraged prominent members to join the Republican party to show the federal government that Latter-day Saints could be loyal to both sides of the American political spectrum.

3. The 1896 "Political Manifesto"

The transition was not without conflict. In 1896, the Church issued a policy known as the Political Manifesto (or the "Political Rule of the Church"). This required high-ranking Church officials (General Authorities) to get permission from the First Presidency before running for political office. This was intended to avoid the appearance of the Church "sponsoring" candidates, though it led to the high-profile dismissal of Apostle Moses Thatcher, who refused to sign it.

4. Modern Political Neutrality

While the 1890s involved active engineering of the political landscape, the Church’s official stance has evolved into one of strict political neutrality. Today, the Church:

• Does not endorse, promote, or oppose political parties or candidates.

• Prohibits the use of Church buildings or membership lists for partisan purposes.

• Encourages members to be active citizens and vote according to their own conscience.

Despite this official neutrality, demographic data from the late 20th and early 21st centuries shows a strong trend of Latter-day Saints in the U.S. affiliating with the Republican Party, a shift that occurred largely in the 1970s and 80s over social issues rather than by administrative decree.