Zion....

The following speech was given by our very own Stella Nickerson and Kate Thompson. They are two of the most amazing girls I've ever met. They wrote this particular speech in order to show us all that we can truly build Zion as we carry our Jerusalem experiences with us throughout the rest of our lives. I loved it and wanted to include it in my blog. Enjoy!


We want Zion. Before we left for Jerusalem, we were told, “This experience will be the closest you will ever come to Zion.” However, we feel this statement is misleading and needs clarification.


First, it would be a tragedy if this was our only Zion-like experience. We, personally, plan on creating Zion in our future apartments, homes, and communities. Second, it makes Zion sound too easy. It limits Zion to a physical place, as if as soon as we step within the magical walls of the Jerusalem Center, our hearts will align and we will be nigh unto taken up. Conversely, it sounds as though as soon as we leave we will give up Zion to the next semester's students. We submit that Zion is not inherited, but built. If we want Zion, it's up to us to build it.

One of us has been writing this treatise in her mind since that first orientation meeting. Her thesis—Zion is built upon principles of unity, charity, and purity. It was, essentially, a harangue on how we needed to shape up and build Zion. But as the semester progressed, she saw us individually growing and changing and building. Where she wanted to see more unity, suddenly there was unity thanks to things like Diana's Judge-Free Zone and long road trips. Where she thought we needed more charity, we found it in Galilee; as we made goals to understand Christ, we became like Him and developed His love. As for purity, perhaps we could step it up a notch, perhaps not; we each know where we stand. But that is no longer the focus of this paper.

The problem with the original thesis is that we assumed we knew better than you the way to bid farewell to Babylon and come to Zion. But as we watched the growth of everyone here, including ourselves, and saw those basic principles of Zion flourish, we were humbled. Instead of calling the Center to repentance, we would like to share some thoughts.



We want to spend our last little while here building Zion.

Recently, we have had drama. Even now, we can't use the Internet to look up quotes about Zion. In the past two days, the beautiful feelings of unconditional love that filled the Center have been replaced by ugly feelings of resentment and conflict. We believe that the Adversary is trying to set back our progress in building Zion. By filling the last two weeks with contention, he hopes to taint our entire experience.

We have reason to be angry or annoyed with our leaders and they have reason to be angry or annoyed with the students. But are these reasons reason enough to forget the cause of Zion? We need those leaders and they need us. We need to be unified with our leaders as much as with each other. Let us not be Us and Them. Let us not attack and counterattack. Instead, let's create an environment where everyone, students and leaders alike, can present their side and try to understand each other. Instead of getting our dander up, let's approach it as Christ: hear what others have to say with charity towards each individual. Seek first to understand and then to be understood.

Refocus on the goals you brought to Jerusalem. In the months this treatise has been evolving, we learned that we can not tell you how to build Zion. You know better than we do what you need to do. We know better than you do what we need to do. We have been humbled by your example so far, and so we will leave you with this:

We commit to building Zion and everything that entails.

Love,

Kate and Stella