“Zion Shall Flourish, and the Glory of the Lord Shall Be upon Her”
Doctrine and Covenants 64:33–43
33 Wherefore, be not weary in well–doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.
35 And the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion, and shall be sent away, and shall not inherit the land.
36 For, verily I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked out.
37 Behold, I, the Lord, have made my church in these last days like unto a judge sitting on a hill, or in a high place, to judge the nations.
38 For it shall come to pass that the inhabitants of Zion shall judge all things pertaining to Zion.
39 And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known.
40 And even the bishop, who is a judge, and his counselors, if they are not faithful in their stewardships shall be condemned, and others shall be planted in their stead.
41 For, behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her;
42 And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come unto her out of every nation under heaven.
43 And the day shall come when the nations of the earth shall tremble because of her, and shall fear because of her terrible ones. The Lord hath spoken it. Amen.
Elder Hartman Rector Jr. said:
“The kingdom of God is a winner. Isn’t it great to be part of a winner? Don’t you love a winner? I do. I confess I hate to lose. I think I’m the worst loser in all the world. I don’t believe in it. Some say it matters not whether you win or lose but how you play the game. Don’t you believe it; it makes a lot of difference whether you win or not. We came to this earth to win, and we will win if we stick with the Lord, because the Lord is not going to lose. He can’t lose. The kingdom is a winner, and when we do it His way, we will win with Him. The promise is sure: ‘. . . He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved’ (2 Nephi 31:15).
“Testimony won’t save us, but testimony coupled with faith and conversion, which includes staying power, which is endurance, will exalt us.
“Listen to the words of the Master:
“‘Wherefore, as ye are agents, ye are on the Lord’s errand; and whatsoever ye do according to the will of the Lord is the Lord’s business.
“‘Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
“‘Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.
“‘And the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion and shall be sent away, and shall not inherit the land.
“‘For, verily I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked out.
“‘Behold, I, the Lord, have made my church in these last days like unto a judge sitting on a hill, or in a high place, to judge the nations.
“‘For it shall come to pass that the inhabitants of Zion shall judge all things pertaining to Zion.
“‘And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known.
“‘And even the bishop, who is a judge, and his counselors, if they are not faithful in their stewardships shall be condemned, and others shall be planted in their stead.
“‘For, behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her;
“‘And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come unto her out of every nation under heaven.
“‘And the day shall come when the nations of the earth shall tremble because of her, and shall fear because of her terrible ones. The Lord hath spoken it. Amen’ (D&C 64:29, 33–43).
“Does that sound like a loser to you? I tell you it doesn’t. And those who are converted, who can follow the Lord and His anointed servants, these are they who will bring to pass the purposes of God. Before you can be a great leader in the kingdom of God, you must first be a great follower. Obedience is still better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams (see 1 Samuel 15:22).
“May the Lord bless us to hold fast and remain faithful as we follow the Lord’s anointed servants, and may we feel good about it. I pray that we will, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
(“The Strength of Testimony,” Ensign, May 1974, 111.)
