A Utopian Society

by Autumn Dickson

Fourth Nephi describes a people who were all converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ together. It talks about what their lives looked like and how they felt. Fourth Nephi also describes how everyone was wicked again within three hundred years.

Fourth Nephi describes exactly why the Lord has a Judgment Day. It can also help us see what’s going to be necessary before the Saints are allowed to go and build up Zion again.

Judgment Day

Fourth Nephi can help us better understand Judgment Day and the Lord’s purposes.

Heaven is bestowed, but it is also created by those who live there. Heaven is bestowed in the manner that Christ paid for our sins so we could be cleansed to return to Heavenly Father. He also died so that we could be resurrected and receive perfectly whole bodies; this is another important aspect of heaven. Heaven is also bestowed in the manner that Heavenly Father has created a beautiful, glory-filled place for all of us to live after we die.

But even though there are certainly aspects of heaven that are given to us as gifts, there are also aspects of heaven that the people create. Listen to the heaven that was created by the people who lived after Jesus Christ visited the Americas.

4 Nephi 1:3, 15-17

3 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.

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.

16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.

What is heaven? What does it mean to live in heaven? Heaven is living with our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ again. It is living with everything we need and never worrying about having enough. It is having perfectly whole bodies that don’t decay or have infirmities.

Heaven is also being surrounded by people you can trust. You can look around you and be completely selfless. You can completely let go of what you need because you know that your neighbor is likewise looking out for you. You never have to be wary of people who might hurt you because everyone you’re surrounded by loves you, and you love them. That’s not something Heavenly Father forces. That’s something that we have to be.

Look at what happens later in the chapter after some time passes from when Christ visited.

4 Nephi 1:24-25

24 And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world.

25 And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them.

Their little heaven had burst. I picture myself living during that time. Perhaps you’re willing to be selfless and have all things in common among everyone, but because there are selfish people who want to have more, you actually have to be careful. There will be people who will take and not support back. The entire utopian society collapses if you can’t trust those around you to also be giving and work hard to help support everyone.

In Doctrine and Covenants 90, the Lord counsels Joseph Smith Sr. to keep his family small as pertaining to those who didn’t belong to his family. The Lord counseled Joseph Smith Sr. to be wise in how much he opened his home to those in need. We want to help everyone we can, but if everything is gone, there will be nothing left with which to help. Because we do not yet live in heaven, we have to be wise in how we distribute. You don’t leave your own family destitute by giving away everything to everyone else.

And this is precisely why the Lord has to have a Judgment Day. This is why He has to judge and separate us. Otherwise we would just keep living the way we’re living here except with resurrected bodies. There has to be a Judgment Day so there can be a heaven to live in. This isn’t just applicable in regards to temporal wealth; it’s applicable in every aspect of how the Lord asks us to treat one another.

Zion

Zion is a fascinating concept to me. I’ve always pictured what it would be like for the prophet to tell us it was time to head to Zion. I think a lot of us have imagined what that day would be like. Like heaven, I think sometimes we believe that Zion will just be handed to us on a silver platter.

Nope. Zion is something that we create. We don’t get to go build up Zion until we’re ready to be a part of it. When we have created Zion within our homes, wards, and stakes, then the Lord will know we’re ready to create it altogether in one place. Zion doesn’t just happen. It’s not given to us. We make Zion if we want to enjoy Zion.

Now we still live in a mortal, fallen world. The Lord doesn’t expect us to start living in a utopian society where everything is common among everyone. We can’t survive a completely utopian life in a world that doesn’t reciprocate. It’ll just ruin us. The Lord is wise about this.

So we don’t necessarily start living that utopian lifestyle in that manner yet. However, Zion starts in an individual heart. It is built heart by heart, person by person. Zion means you stand ready to forgive and let go of old grievances so that there can be peace. Zion means you stand ready to let go of your possessions and trust that the Lord has surrounded you with people who are like-minded. Zion means that you stand ready to give people the benefit of the doubt in any interaction. Once again, we don’t live in a utopian Zion yet. There are people who want to cause harm and hurt others, so we should be wise in how we interact with others.

But we can prepare ourselves and others will prepare themselves. The wheat and chaff will be separated, and we will be able to enter into that Zion society with the purest hope that we can experience as much heaven as is available here on earth.

As a child, I remember learning that Satan would be bound in the Millennium for a thousand years. I remember asking my dad why they let him go at the end of the thousand years. Was it prophesied that he would “escape” somehow? Obviously, my literal and limited understanding as a child has grown to understand that Satan didn’t have his hands tied behind his back. The world was simply choosing to be righteous enough that Satan had no effect.

We choose Zion, and the Millennium, and heaven. We create it.

In the last April General Conference, Elder Holland posed the philosophical question, “…it has always been intriguing to me that Jesus felt the need to pray at all. Wasn’t He perfect? About what did He need to pray?” Elder Holland gave his beautiful answer, and I add my own philosophical opinions to it.

Asking the question, “Why did Jesus have to pray if He was perfect?” carries the implication that we have the wrong definition of perfection. In our world, we think that being perfect means you can do everything and not need anyone. You can be happy completely on your own. You are a self-sustaining, blooming little island. This is utter garbage.

Real perfection is connection, the kind of connection we observe in 4 Nephi. Heaven is connection. It’s connecting with people who want to genuinely, peacefully, good-naturedly connect with you. This doesn’t mean that every introvert suddenly needs to become an extrovert. It doesn’t mean that you have to be connected to every single person at any given moment. I believe it means you truly treasure the most important and long-lasting sources of happiness, your family and close friends. It means that you can have a boundary without worrying about anyone purposefully crossing it. It means you won’t have to worry that others will assume the worst of you when you have a boundary because they will also be the kind of people who give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

Zion, the Millennium, heaven are going to be rather pleasant.

The people in the beginning of Fourth Nephi were experiencing a heaven on earth, and it eventually fell apart because the people destroyed it themselves. Someday we won’t have to worry about that anymore. Someday we will be given the opportunity to go live with our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ. Christ will make sure we’re cleansed, and He will help us don our resurrected bodies. If we choose to follow Christ, to trust His judgment of others, and stand ready to freely give to those who freely give back, we will be prepared to go there.

I’m grateful that I have Heavenly Parents who were wise enough to create this plan. I am grateful for a Savior who enabled this plan. I am grateful that They were wise and kind and selfless enough to teach us how to be like Them.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.

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