Doctrine and Covenants 58–59
When the elders of the Church first saw the site of the city of Zion—Independence, Missouri—it was not what they expected. Some thought they would find a thriving, industrious community with a strong group of Saints. Instead, they found a sparsely populated outpost, lacking the civilization they were used to and inhabited by rough frontier settlers rather than Saints. It turned out that the Lord wasn’t asking them just to come to Zion—He wanted them to build Zion.
When our expectations do not match reality, we can remember what the Lord told the Saints in 1831: “Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God … and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:3). Yes, life is full of tribulation, even wickedness, but we can still “bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in [us]” (verses 27–28).
See also Saints, 1:127–33.
