In the early church, talk of building Zion and becoming a Zion people was everywhere. Then, twenty-five years ago, following the publishing of Hugh Nibley’s essay collection, Approaching Zion, and then an iconic “Plotting Zion” conference co-sponsored by Sunstone the following year, “Zion” seemed poised to once again rise up as a vital and energizing concept. But today, we hear much less about it. Has Zion simply become a vague thought, something we strive to practice only “within our hearts”? Are there arenas in which it still holds relevance for how we organize our lives and communities?

Boyd Petersen, Jim Smithson, Rachel Whipple, Ron Madsen, Warner Woodworth