See Revelation, 16–17 Dec. 1833 [D&C 101:11]; and Revelation, 24 Feb. 1834 [D&C 103:3]. On 4 March 1845 Orson Spencer similarly opined that the governors who received the council’s letter would “enhance the bitterness of their own cup if they dont listen to us.” (Council of Fifty, “Record,” 4 Mar. 1845.)
“City of Zion” originally referred to the New Jerusalem that the Latter-day Saints intended to build in Independence, Missouri. When JS sent a square-mile plat for the city of Zion to the Latter-day Saints at Independence, he explained, “Where this square is thus laid off and supplied lay off another in the same way and so fill up the world in these last days.” This opened the door for other cities of Zion. (Revelation, 20 July 1831 [D&C 57:2]; Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early June–25 June 1833.)