Third in a Three-Part Series on the Worldwide Church
The gospel of Jesus Christ is more than a set of teachings. It’s a community of real people living in real places.
In the early years of the Church, during the 1800s, the Latter-day Saints gathered in one spot to build a spiritual community. They often called it Zion. Emigrating from North America, Europe and the Pacific isles, these converts left everything familiar for the rocky climes of Utah. Together they forged a new home but never lost sight of their own native lands. An old Mormon hymn captures the feeling:
O home belov'd, where'er I wander,
On foreign land or distant sea,
As time rolls by, my heart grows fonder
And yearns more lovingly for thee!
Tho fair be nature's scenes around me,
And friends are ever kind and true,
Tho joyous mirth and song surround me,
My heart, my soul still yearn for you.
In recent generations, Latter-day Saints no longer gather in one place but instead foster community in their own homelands and congregations. No matter where we find ourselves, the people we love and the places we live are in our bones.
Read the entire commentary at the global edition of Mormon Newsroom.