Pathway to Zion

It's one thing to describe Zion and something entirely different to make it happen.

The Pathway program, BYU-Pathway Worldwide, has the informal name of "Pathway to Zion." Through Pathway, every Latter-day Saint (as well as many people who are not Latter-day Saints) can obtain a great education, which leads to better employment possibilities, which leads to more prosperity and ultimately the elimination of poverty.

This is a phenomenal, world-changing opportunity that is growing fast. It deserves our recognition and support.

You can see the statistics here: https://www.byupathway.org/facts-stats

51,583 Total BYU-Pathway Worldwide unduplicated students in 2020^*

152 Countries

The Zion society we seek enables everyone to develop their talents and contribute to society. Everyone has a good education. Everyone avoids thinking errors. People can pursue life, liberty and happiness.

18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

19 And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion.

(Moses 7:18–19)

Healthy Thinking Patterns

The Emotional Resilience course (which every Latter-day Saint should take) includes a week on "Healthy Thinking Patterns" that can have profound implications for establishing Zion.  

Here's the outline:

Emotional Values and Skills

1. Our Thoughts Influence Our Emotions

2. Recognizing Inaccurate Thinking Patterns

3. Responding to Triggers

4. Creating More Accurate Thinking Patterns

5. Changing Our Thinking Takes Practice

The manual provides a list of "common inaccurate thinking patterns" that are not only common in the world. They are ubiquitous. 

The manual gives examples of how these thinking patterns affect our self-image, but these thinking patterns dominate the way people see the world and how we relate to one another, not only with interpersonal relationships, but also in politics, religion, science, economics, psychology, and other aspects of life. 

Recognizing and correcting these thinking errors will enable Latter-day Saints to establish the Zion that everyone in the world is looking for. They just don't know where to find it.

11 And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart—

12 For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—

13 Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—

14 These should then be attended to with great earnestness.

(Doctrine and Covenants 123:11–14)

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Here is the list of thinking patterns. See how they apply to you and others you know. 

The course includes awesome techniques for evaluating these errors and offers a system for us to either believe the thinking error or create more accurate thoughts.

Thinking Patterns	Explanation	Example
All or Nothing	Seeing something or someone as all good or all bad. Look for phrases with words like always and never.	“I always say the wrong thing.”
Mislabeling	Taking something that happened and making a broad or incorrect statement.	“The relationship ended, so I’m not good enough.”
Jumping to Conclusions	Interpreting others’ thoughts or assuming the worst possible outcome.	“I bet everyone is laughing at me.”
Personalizing	Blaming yourself or someone else for a situation that in reality involved many factors.	“They didn’t call me back, so they must be mad at me.”
Emotional Reasoning	Judging a situation based on how you feel.	“I feel guilty. I must have done something bad.”
Overgeneralization	Applying one experience and generalizing it to all experiences.	“I did poorly on this assignment, so why should I stay in the class?”
Negative Mental Filter	Focusing on a negative detail and dwelling on it.	“It feels like nothing went well today. It was just failure after failure.”
Discounting the Positive	Rejecting all positive experiences because you don’t feel like they count.	“It doesn’t matter if my daughter ate breakfast. She threw so many tantrums throughout the rest of the day!”
Magnification	Exaggerating your weaknesses or comparing them to others’ strengths.	“I barely cook dinner for my family, and when I do, it’s nothing like her dinners.”
“Should” Statements	Telling yourself how things should or should not be.	“I shouldn’t have messed up like that.”

Validating Others

Zion becomes real on an individual basis when people live the principles of Zion, including love, compassion, charity, empathy, etc.

The Emotional Resilience book, which is in effect a handbook for how to create Zion, offers this important explanation of how to validate others.

4. VALIDATING OTHERS 

Sister Reyna L. Aburto taught, “Even if we do not know how to relate to what others are going through, validating that their pain is real can be an important first step in finding understanding and healing” (“Thru Cloud and Sunshine, Lord, Abide with Me!” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019). 

To validate someone's feelings is to first accept someone's feelings and then to understand them. 

Below are some steps to help you validate someone who is facing a challenge: 

1. Listen. Be present and listen intently to what this person is telling you. Don't be defensive if you have contributed to their problem. 

2. Try to understand. You may need to ask compassionate questions to better understand what this person is feeling. Do your best to understand where they're coming from. 

3. Accept their feelings. Don't try to change them or say they're wrong for feeling that way. 

4. Express compassion. Express that you care about what they're feeling. You can validate their feelings by saying things like, "You feel disrespected. It's hard to feel disrespected (or anxious, hopeless, worthless, angry, etc.)," even if you can't relate to the situation or the cause of the feeling 

5. Show love. Tell this person that you care about them and that you are confident in their ability to solve or overcome the problem they are facing.

Self-reliance overview

One of the most profound developments in the modern world is the self-reliance program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The concept of self-reliance contrasts starkly with political systems and politicians who promise to solve problems through their programs. They often engender reliance on government instead of self-reliance.

Zion will come when people are prepared and eager to build Zion. The self-reliance program prepares people by teaching them how to gain an education, start a business, get a better job, and manage their finances. 

The program also includes a class in resilience, titled Emotional Resilience, that is preparing participants to help lay the foundation for Zion.

The contents of the course demonstrate how powerful this class is:

1. Building Emotional Resilience

2. Healthy Thinking Patterns

3. Our Body and Emotions

4. Managing Stress and Anxiety

5. Understanding Sadness and Depression

6. Overcoming Anger

7. Managing Addictive Behaviors

8. Building Healthy Relationships

9. Providing Strength to Others

10. Moving Forward with Faith

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/self-reliance/4-10-20-Emotional-Self-Reliance-Manual_updated.pdf?lang=eng

The scriptures explain that we should be honored in laying the foundation.

7 And also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and in bearing record of the land upon which the Zion of God shall stand;

8 And also that a feast of fat things might be prepared for the poor; yea, a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined, that the earth may know that the mouths of the prophets shall not fail;

9 Yea, a supper of the house of the Lord, well prepared, unto which all nations shall be invited.

(Doctrine and Covenants 58:7–9)

Superabundance

Reliable data shows that the world is becoming more and more abundant. While this trend contradicts the narratives from mainstream media (which promotes fear, contention and insecurity for business purposes), it represents the fulfillment of the prophecies and promises in the scriptures, both the Bible and the latter-day scriptures.

13 For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.

14 I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.

15 And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

16 But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.

17 For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

18 Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment.

(Doctrine and Covenants 104:13–18)

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Here's an example of how the data corroborates the truth of these passages:

We found that humanity is experiencing what we term Superabundance – a condition where abundance is increasing at a faster rate than the population is growing. Data suggests that additional human beings tend to benefit, rather than impoverish, the rest of humanity....

There is no physical or economic reason why human resourcefulness and enterprise cannot forever continue to respond to impending shortages and existing problems with new expedients that, after an adjustment period, leave us better off than before the problem arose.… Adding more people will cause [short‐​run] problems, but at the same time there will be more people to solve these problems and leave us with the bonus of lower costs and less scarcity in the long run.… The ultimate resource is people—skilled, spirited, and hopeful people who will exert their wills and imaginations for their own benefit, and so, inevitably, for the benefit of us all.

https://www.humanprogress.org/the-simon-abundance-index-2021/