Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 September 1837

he closed his meeting we arose and  rectified some of his wide mistakes in  his presence before the congregation,  and informed the people if they would  meet next Sabbath at the meeting  house we would answer every objection  that had been presented against the  book of Mormon and our principles du ring the meeting. And last Sabbath  we met a congregation of several hun dred at the meeting house, assembled  together from the different Islands, and  we arose in their midst, and redeemed  our pledge by answering every objec tion that had been brought against the  book of Mormon, or our principles.— After meeting we repaired to the water  and again administered the ordinance  of baptism. The Baptist priest is no  less busy than his Methodist brother, for  while one is in the pulpit declaring to  the people, that the principles of the  book of Mormon are saping the very  foundation of our churches and holy  religion; the other is gone over to the  main land calling upon his Baptist  brethren, saying come over and help  us lest we fall. But cursed is man  that trusteth in man or maketh flesh his  arm saith the Lord God. O ye priests  of Baal your cry is in vain, the God of  Israel has set his hand the second time  to recover his people. The stone has  began to roll, and will soon become a  mountain and fill the whole earth. The  Lord is calling his church out of the  wilderness, with her gifts and graces  and restoring her judges as at the first.  God hath chosen the weak things of  this world to confound the wise, and  with them he will rend your kingdoms,  that the wisdom of your wise men may  perish, and the understanding of your  prudent men may be hid. The cry of  the Saints is ascending into the ears of  the Lord of Sabaoth for Ephraim.— The horns of Joseph are begining to  push the people together. The apos tles of the Lamb of God are bearing the  keys of his kingdom on the shores of  Europe Yea and the mighty Captains  of the ships at sea, are receiving the  gospel of Jesus Christ; and enjoying  its power, and the call of many from  distant Islands, has already entered  our ears; O come and preach to us,  we have sent a book of Mormon over  the billows of the great deep, to teach  those that are at sea. And the word  and work are propelled by the arm of  JEHOVAH. And the weapon that is  formed against Zion

In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the work JS was called to do. However, the term Zion was soon used more specifically to describe a community of believers who live in harmony and equality. The Book of Mormon explained...

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shall soon be  broken. And he that raises his puny  arm against it, is fighting against God  and shall soon mourn because of his  loss. We say these things are true as  God liveth, and the Spirit beareth rec ord and the record is true, and ven geance will be speedily executed upon  an evil work in these last days, there fore, O Babylon thy fall is sure.