{"chapter_no":"10","chapter_title":"Hymn of Zion - Domine, Fili unigenite","book_id":"4","book_name":"Beauty the World Has Never Seen","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"690","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":3,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 10<\/p>

Hymn of Zion - Domine, Fili unigenite<\/h1><\/p>

 <\/p>

The<\/i> <\/i>message of Zion <\/i>proclaimed through music <\/i>continues<\/i>—<\/i>The <\/i>seventh<\/i> movement: <\/i>Domine, Fili
unigenite<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"The last movement I will talk about today is Domine, Fili <\/i>unigenite<\/i>. This piece might be
likened to the celebration in heaven that occurs when the two-dollar level is reached in a stake of
the Church somewhere on earth. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"In the parable of the sower, the seed that fell into good ground 'brought forth, some
thirty, and some sixty, some an hundred.' All of our stakes are built on good ground, so we might
equate thirty as being the one-dollar level, sixty as the two-dollar level, and one hundred as the
three-dollar level. The average of these three crop yields is around sixty, or we might say, the
two-dollar level, so that is probably a good twenty-year goal for all stakes of the Church to strive
for.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"To get there, however, we first need to make it to the one-dollar level. That is a doubling
of righteousness over where we are on average today. There aren't really any formal statistics in
the Church that can measure this. It has more to do with an increase in momentum and the way
we feel inside and go about things. We will recognize it when we see it. Does our congregation
sing the opening hymn on Stake Conference Sundays with power and energy? That's a good first
yardstick.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Remember also that the success we make towards Zion is particularly sweet for those
among us who are suffering: the orphans, the poor, the disabled, the elderly, the sad, the single
persons and single-parent families, the lonely, the unemployed, the afflicted with diseases, and
so many more! Hope for a better tomorrow is important for everyone, but most especially for
these of our Heavenly Father's children who cry daily to the Lord for relief from their sufferings.
They need to feel our love more directly, and the movement towards Zion increases their joy the
most<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"In the story of Cosette in Les Miserables<\/i>, she awakens on Christmas morning to a
wonderful surprise. Her reaction is exactly what I am talking about here, a taste of what the
needy members of the Church can experience when early milestones of Zion are reached. <\/p>

 <\/p>

To quote from the story:<\/p>

On waking up, Cosette had run to get her shoe. In it she had found the gold piece. It was
not a Napoleon; it was one of those perfectly new twenty-franc pieces of the Restoration, on
whose effigy the little Prussian queue had replaced the laurel wreath. Cosette was dazzled. Her
destiny began to intoxicate her. She did not know what a gold piece was; she had never seen
one; she hid it quickly in her pocket, as though she had stolen it. <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

Cosette, less happy than the most insignificant swallow of heaven, had never known what
it was to take refuge under a mother's shadow and under a wing. For the last five years, that is to
say, as far back as her memory ran, the poor child had shivered and trembled. Formerly her soul
had seemed cold, now it was warm. Cosette was no longer afraid of the Thenardier. She was no
longer alone; there was some one there.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Cosette's joy can be our joy. The joy of the needy in our stakes can also be our joy if we
do good works among them. You can feel that same triumphant joy in life that is found in
Domine, Fili unigenite<\/i>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Okay, Brothers and Sisters, I have reached the end of my talk. Amazingly, it is only here
where I make a first formal mention of the law of consecration. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Without a doubt, the law of consecration is a key foundation upon which Zion is built.
The law of consecration goes beyond the routine decisions we make every day about money and
possessions. How and why we do things is just as important as what we do. This is not a law,
however, that members of the Church will be commanded to obey by someone speaking from
this pulpit. Celestial laws cannot be forced upon any one of us––not by God Himself, and not by
Church leaders. The same is true of the celestial kingdom––entrance therein is not forced upon
us; obedience to its law is voluntary. It is something all of us must study out in our minds and
ponder thoroughly. It is not the performance of a single good act on a given day, but the
consecration of one's time, talents, and economic resources to the work of the Lord over a
lifetime. It is a marathon run, not a sprint. We work towards it as best we can, in line with our
faith, and as our individual circumstances permit. <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"It is the will of the Lord that obedience to this law be left in the hands of the members of
the Church and that we seek the guidance of the Spirit to help us apply it in our lives. It is
therefore us, we the people, who decide how the law of consecration will be implemented in the
Church. The same is true of the building of Zion<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Okay, let's continue on now with the music. I will close my remarks and allow you to
enjoy the remaining parts of Gloria<\/i> uninterrupted.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"I greatly appreciate the opportunity to have been with you today. It's my hope that we
will have many such conferences of Zion like this in the years to come. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"I say these things humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.\"<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Amen\" was repeated by the audience in acceptance of the words spoken.<\/p>

The remaining movements of Gloria<\/i> were performed by the Choir, the closing prayer
was given, and the first Zion session of conference was brought to a close. <\/p>"}