Praying for Zion

By Nathan Volskay

     Back in 2014, I had the excellent opportunity to go to the CMRB Older Youth camp at the Odessa Hills Campground.  It was a truly wonderful week, with many experiences and testimonies.  There is one in particular that I wish to relay to you, my fellow Church members:

     Earlier in the week of the camp, our camp pastor had asked us to share some of our desires for Zion.  We gathered early Wednesday morning for a special service, during which the pastor asked us to pray for our desires and those that the others had expressed.  As a few stood to pray, I silently asked God if there was something He would like me to pray during this service.

     Unfortunately that’s not something I usually ask for, and I certainly wasn’t expecting the response I received: Shortly after I asked what I should pray, the still, small voice spoke to me and told me to pray for the redemption of Zion and its people.  Up to this point I have never heard that voice speak so clearly and be so emphatic.  Even with that, I still didn’t want to stand in front of that group and pray. As I continued to sit there however, a pressure began to build in my chest that grew every time I passed over a chance to stand.  Finally I gave in and knelt in the circle and prayed as I had been directed.

     Later that week, on Friday evening, we had our commitment service.  It was a truly wonderful service and the Spirit of God was burning like a fire in our midst.  At the end of the commitment portion we stood to sing a hymn, then joined hands for a closing prayer.  After the prayer finished, God’s Spirit was resting heavily on us and none of us wanted to let go of each other, so we remained there in the sanctuary.  We stood in absolute silence for a bit, then a few decided to pray.  As the others were praying I asked God for the second time that week if there was something He wanted me to pray.  This time I received no response, so I waited a while and then felt like I should ask again.  After I asked the second time I was prompted to once again pray for Zion and its people.  This time I immediately did as I was told.  Later that night, during campfire, I felt that the next day I was supposed to share these experiences at our closing service.  While I was sharing of the above experiences during our final service, I remember telling everyone that I wasn’t sure why God had twice instructed me to pray for Zion.  In the time since I have become aware of the fact that those experiences, the testimonies shared by others, and the classes relating to Zion that week have awakened in me the belief in Zion that has been taught to me since childhood.

No longer am I in doubt as to the reality of Zion – we obtained a portion of it that week.  It is real, it is coming, and it is soon.  I look forward with a joyful heart to the day of its return.