Embracing Technology

I have been impressed wit the sheer number of Church websites there are.  It seems as if many of them are quite new and have popped up in the last year or two.  Here is a sampling of those I am aware of:
lds.org (new church website)
youth.lds.org (youth website)
providentliving.org (food storage and emergency preparedness site)
combattingpornography.org (site name tells all)
familysearch.org (site name tells all)
vineyard.lds.org (service opportunities to assist the Church workforce)
ldsces.org (website for the Church education system)
apps.lds.org/LeadershipPatterns (leadership pattern website for the Church workforce)
store.lds.org (online materials distribution)
lds.netdimensions.com (workforce learning site)
josephsmith.net (resources on Joseph Smith)
mormon.org (introductory site/ profiles of members)
radio.lds.org (official church internet radio station)
A pretty good number I would say - and I'm sure I don't have them all.  This list doesn't include any unofficial sites that are also great resources either.  I am impressed with the recent way the Church has embraced the digital age and leveraged the internet as a tool to build the Kingdom.

Volunteer!

Though we don't volunteer for callings in the Church, in the case of Zion's camp it is almost seems as if they did.  Because they chose to volunteer for Zions camp many them were trusted in the highest councils of Church.  One might well ask, "What voluntary choices affect one's service in the Church today?"  I suppose that the choice of career may have something to do with it.  Not that some careers are preferred above others, but rather that the availability some careers provide for Church service allows for greater investments of time and effort.  Similarly choices involving hobbies and whether or not to magnify ones calling likely have a significant effect.  What if I had less hobbies and was able to magnify my service my service in the Church more fully?  I need and seek perspective on this one - not that I desire to attain a certain calling or position, but rather that I desire to be of better service where I stand.

The Standard of Zion

I was studying about Zions Camp recently.  It is an episode in Church History beginning in February of 1834.  The saints in Missouri had been forced from their homes and were in dire straits on the bank of the river and in neighboring Clay County.  Joseph Smith had received sections 101 and 103 of the Doctrine and Covenants directing the saints to organize and go reclaim the land of Zion.  Perhaps they had thought more upon the reality of their status as victims, than on the word of the Lord regarding the reasons why He had allowed them to become victims of such circumstances.  Like I have felt before, I can imagine the saints feeling more anxious to avenge their just cause than correct the faults that allowed it to be brought upon them. Zion's Camp ends up not accomplishing it's stated purpose of redeeming the land of Zion just as the Missouri saints had failed in their attempts to build Zion.  Ironically both failures have come of the same reasons - transgressions and contentions have stopped them.  The saints had been able to establish settlements both before and after the attempt at building the city of Zion.  Their failure comes when the standards for such a society are raised and they neglect the spiritual foundation upon which such a society should be built. 
When I consider the effect of Enoch's Zion, it isn't really any wonder that Satan fights so hard against the establishment of such a powerful force for good as Zion is - in community, in home, or in heart