Preface

As part of my daily gospel study at home every day, I read the book To My Friends,
Messages of Counsel and Comfort by Brother Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles. A key chapter of the book was entitled, "Remember Lot's Wife." The title itself is a
direct quote from the Savior, and the chapter teaches us the importance of not looking back, to
go forward in life, full of faith. But as it turned out, the Spirit of the Lord had a great treasure
hidden for me here. The night after reading this chapter, I had a very special dream, which I'll
share with you now.

In this dream, I found myself in Bountiful where I grew up. It was evening, dark outside,
and I was driving down the freeway fast and dangerously on my way to Salt Lake City to attend
a Jazz basketball game. Surprisingly, though, as I checked the rear-view mirror, I saw the
Bountiful Temple blocking out everything else behind me. It was brightly lit, more so than I had
ever before seen it, like something dramatic was going on there. Turning my head and looking
back, I saw that the brightness of the temple was so powerful that it lit up parts of the
surrounding mountains and even partway into the valley below. There was also a sound that
emanated from the temple, a voice of some kind, but it was too far distant for me to hear, and
therefore, not discernible. In the ensuing moments, I was somehow able to see the temple up
close; and even though it was nighttime, the brightness was like the sun of noonday. The
walkways and grounds had been changed. They covered a much larger area, and were more
beautiful than ever, having a perfect, Garden of Eden feel to them. Close by, I saw a large hill
where thousands had gathered and were sitting on the grass. I could now discern the sound that
had been too distant from me before. It was the voice of the Savior. He was there, in a setting
much like that of the Sermon on the Mount, teaching the members of the Church the principles
of Zion from A Wonderful Church. What a great feeling it was for me to hear Him speak these
very same words of the Spirit contained in the book! Seeing this from my driver's seat, the
circumstances seemed to be exactly opposite of those for Lot's wife. I needed to reverse course,
turn my car around, and head up to the temple... that's where the great excitement and action in
life was to be found, not at the Jazz game.

So, that's the dream. It's a message to me personally, and a message to everyone, serving
nicely as a preface.

The principles of Zion in this book will help make our wards exciting, vibrant, and
glistening of the Spirit of the Lord, attracting new members to the Church, not just in the
hundreds of thousands each year, but in the millions, and thus build momentum towards a
realistic goal of 30 million, 40 million, or even 50 million members in the years ahead.

I admonish you to take the time to read A Wonderful Church humbly and prayerfully
every day. You will enjoy your first full reading of the book immensely. The Spirit will teach
you how to become a catalyst of Zion in your ward and your testimony of the restored gospel
will grow greater and stronger than ever before, reaching a certainty.

Roy Albert Eddings