Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote an association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics, called the United Order, which were meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were minimized, and group unity achieved.
While Zion has often been linked with theocracy, the concept of Zion did not theoretically require such a governmental system. In this way, Zion must be distinguished from the ideal political system called theodemocracy, which Latter Day Saints believed would be adopted upon Christ's Second Coming. However, "Zion" maintains several possible meanings within the Latter Day Saint lexicon.
Latter Day Saints also believe in the construction of a New Jerusalem on the American continent, which is also referred to as Zion. Latter Day Saints believe the New Jerusalem will be built in Jackson County, Missouri by a remnant of the house of Joseph, assisted by repentant Gentiles.
Latter Day Saint usage of "Zion" Depending on context, "Zion" can have multiple meanings in the Latter Day Saint movement. Examples include:
Zion retains its Biblical meaning and refers to Jerusalem. (See Zion) Zion is the name of a physical city founded by the prophet Enoch, also known as the City of Enoch. Zion refers to the New Jerusalem, a physical, Millennial city expected to be located in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Zion metaphorically refers to any group of people that are unified and "pure in heart". The City of Enoch is one example of "a Zion people", and the people described in Fourth Nephi is another. For Zion to be fully realized, the society must be willing to live the law of consecration based on mutual feelings of charity, which is the pure love of Christ. Zion is the central physical location to which Latter Day Saints have gathered. The term has been applied to: Kirtland, Ohio; Jackson County, Missouri; Nauvoo, Illinois; and the Salt Lake Valley. Zion is also, according to Joseph Smith, the entirety of the Americas. Smith stated that "the whole of America is Zion itself from north to south". Zion is a metaphor for a unified society of Latter Day Saints, metaphorically gathered as members of the Church of Christ. In this sense any stake of the church may be referred to as a "stake of Zion."
Discussion
In one interpretation, Zion refers to a specific location to which members of the millennial church are to be gathered together to live. Stipulated by what is believed by the Latter-day Saints to be the revelation of Joseph Smith (D&C 57:1–5, LDS Church ed.), this is said to be located in Jackson County, Missouri, and its county seat, Independence. The region of Kansas City Metropolitan Area remains important today in the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Community of Christ, as well as many smaller branches and offshoots of the Latter Day Saint movement, who view it as having a crucial role to play in their Christian Millennialist theology.
In its broadest sense, Zion is regarded by Latter Day Saints as an association of the "pure in heart." Central to Zion's philosophical underpinnings was a sense of community cohesiveness and unity, a concept which seemed to be unraveling in the world of Jacksonian Democracy. Smith taught that the people of Zion would have all things in common (see United Order), and would not allow others in their community to suffer because of the principles of love, unselfishness, and work for the common good which would be imbued in the individuals capable of maintaining such a society. Zion therefore stands in contrast to proverbial Babylon, where wickedness, disunity, and poverty prevail.
The word "Zion" appears 53 times in the Book of Mormon, a key part of the Latter Day Saint canon, and 268 times in the LDS Church's version of the Doctrine and Covenants, a part of its canon consisting of what members believe to be modern-day revelation and written down by Smith mostly in the 19th century. Following the disappointments and strife which took place in Missouri during initial attempts to establish a "City of the Saints" in the region, the concept of Zion evolved to encompass a less geographically specific idea similar to the orthodox Christian concept of the "ekklesia" (See Ecclesia (Church)) or community of believers regardless of location. This concept is hinted at in such scriptural passages as the following: "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."