Our Littleton Stake Vision

We will become a Zion people by receiving and reflecting Divine love and grace; the love of God will dwell in our hearts and, surely, there could not be a happier people.

The mission of Jesus Christ and the purpose of His atonement (at-one-ment) are to enable us to 1) have a loving, growing relationship with God (here and hereafter), and 2) to establish the oneness and unity that is Zion.  Zion begins when we come unto Christ as a little child, receive the word of God in faith and humility, pray to God and feel His abundant love for us. As we make and strive to keep covenants, renewing them weekly, joyfully repenting daily, feasting on the word of God, and always remembering our Savior, the Holy Spirit will always be with us, testifying of God’s love.  God’s love will dwell in our hearts, giving us a perfect brightness of hope, filling our souls with the abundance from which flows charity toward our families, church members, and all mankind.  As we receive God’s love and reflect it to others, our hearts will be knit together in unity, righteousness and love, having no poor and no contention among us. Zion is open to all who are willing to come unto Christ. As Zion people, we invite and welcome all into Zion, and into the circle of our love. And surely there could not be a happier people!

This website is intended to support and help us in our efforts to become Zion people.

Eternal Truths That Help Us Receive And Reflect Divine Love

A close, loving relationship with God is our first focus and priority:  The first and great commandment is to love God with all our heart, might, mind and strength. When we focus our efforts on improving our relationship with God, everything else will follow.

How can we build a relationship with God?  As with any relationship, it can only be done with consistent focus and effort.  Commit time each day to this relationship.  Strive to trust and receive God’s love for you personally.  As your sense of God’s love for you deepens, your love for God will increase.

We are children of Heavenly Parents who love us:  We have Heavenly Parents who care deeply for us and want to help us grow in light and truth. They want to bring us home.  We are currently in a fallen state, separated from God’s presence, but the Spirit testifies of God’s love for us. He offers His Spirit as our constant companion to help us build a close relationship with Him.

How can we initially receive God’s Spirit and feel His love?   “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” to save and redeem us. Trust the atonement of Christ, receive the word of God and turn to Heavenly Father in prayer with attitudes of faith and humility. You will feel His love.

Christ atoned for us: Christ descended below and overcame all things. His pure love and power will
never fail us.  As we rely wholly on His merits, mercy and grace, He will cleanse, heal, enable and strengthen us. Because of Christ’s atonement, we can always leave the past behind and start anew.

How do we receive the blessings of His atonement?  By trusting the promises of Christ that flow from His atoning sacrifice.  By accepting Him as our Savior here below, taking upon us His name, and serving in His household. By walking forward in newness of life.

Christ is our Advocate:  Through His experience in the atonement, Christ understands us completely and is our greatest advocate. His focus is to reconcile and connect us to God. Whereas Satan is our accuser who wants to separate us from God's love.

How can we follow the Advocate? Resist the voice of the Accuser, and hearken to Christ’s uplifting, hopeful voice. Gain awareness and ask, “Am I an advocate or an accuser in my thoughts and words about myself and others?”

Exercising agency in the face of opposition:  Christ will never force himself upon us and will never force us to repent and become like Him.  He will knock, but only we can open the door. We use our agency to choose the focus of our attention, the patterns of our thoughts and actions, and the investments we make in our relationships (God, family, others). In this fallen world, strong faith and good relationships only come by way of consistent effort and focus. There is real opposition, and we must battle to make headway.

How can we battle opposition? With consistent daily and weekly faithful connections and
patterns. Daily worship through humble prayer, yielding one’s heart, and feasting on the word of
Christ are essential. Weekly worship, partaking of the sacrament with purpose, attending the
temple, and serving others will assist us in our efforts.

Faith involves choice and mental exertion:  We choose whether to trust God or not. We choose whether to receive His great love. We all experience dearth and abundance in our lives, and the areas where we focus our attention will grow in our minds and hearts. We see our world most accurately when we choose to focus on God’s goodness, grace and blessings which are evident around us all the time.   

How can we choose faithful thought patterns?  Talk back to negative thinking, and replace it with thought patterns of trusting God’s love for us individually and recognizing His willingness to help us. Many times each day, but especially during prayer, consciously look for and acknowledge in gratitude the evidence of His great love (including the beautiful world that was created for us).

Faith first, repentance second:  The 4th Article of Faith got the order right. Faith should be the first crucial step in any process of repentance. By opening our hearts to God’s love and the Savior’s grace, change becomes so much easier.

How do we exercise faith first? Understand that sin, error and learning by experience are intended parts of God’s plan for us. God and Christ understand, and it is never too late.  Trust God’s love, trust in our potential as God’s children, and trust in Christ’s atonement. Trust the promises of the gospel. Then work on repentance with faith and hope in your heart.

When we feel heavily burdened and tired, we can humbly come unto Christ for rest:  Christ invites:  “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Life is challenging, but fear and pride are what make life really difficult.

How can our burdens become light in humility? When we come unto Christ as a little child, let go of worldly concerns, and take His yoke upon us, we pull together with Christ.  His strength and grace makes our burdens easy and light. We learn of Him and become like Him. God giveth grace to the humble.

Faith leads to Hope, Hope leads to Charity:  Although we are far from perfect in this life, if we resolve our insecurities and self-focused concerns with faith--by receiving God’s love, trusting His promises, and trusting our Savior’s atonement--our hearts will be filled with a perfect brightness of hope for a glorious future.  We will live our days encircled about by the arms of safety and love. The security of God’s promises and the abundance of His love enable us to turn outward to others in charity, loving our neighbors as ourselves, even loving our enemies.      

How do we progress from faith to hope to charity?  Get faith right, and the rest will naturally and readily follow. See Moroni 7.

Zion is our goal:  Our desire is to build Zion on earth to provide a righteous place for our Savior’s return. Zion will receive Him and His great work will be carried forward.

How can we build Zion? By using the atonement, because this is its purpose; to help us become
at-one with God and with others, building unity in our core relationships and then beyond. The
Godhead is our example of complete unity. When God’s love dwells in our hearts, we are living
a Zion life. In the atonement, Christ became at-one with us and knows how to help us become
of one heart and one mind with others.

Purrfeckshun is not required:  None of us will be perfect in this life, and the great news is, it’s not required! Perfectionism was Satan's plan. He wanted to impose His will to prevent all sin, thereby earning a prideful honor by his perfect performance (“not one soul shall be lost”). Perfectionism and other forms of pride are based on insecurity and proving one's superiority: comparing, competing, contending, criticizing, and controlling. God’s plan involves sin and error, learning by experience, and daily humble joyful repentance, relying wholly on Christ.

How can we avoid perfectionism?  By not taking ourselves (including our performance, appearance and image) so seriously. By instilling within a gentle sense of humor and an attitude of self-forgiveness and compassion.  By trusting the atonement and being humble, open, vulnerable, and real.

Covenants well-lived create wonderful relationships:  The path from exclusive dating to engagement to marriage involves a progression of increasing commitments or covenants that, if well lived, establish a joyful, fulfilling relationship. Likewise, making and keeping successive covenants with the Lord help create a wholehearted, joyous connection and bring grace into our lives.

How do we build relationships?  Since we are imperfect, we must constantly and humbly recommit to our covenants. We do this with regular focus and attention, including things like Friday night dates, couple retreats, family home evening, sacrament, Sabbath, temple worship, and service.  Helping others come unto Christ and move forward on the covenant path is the best focus of our service.

By sanctifying the Sabbath we receive God's richest blessings: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Great blessings of the gospel are reserved for those who honor the Sabbath and keep it holy.

How do we honor the Sabbath?  We can look forward to the Sabbath as our time to worship reverently, renew our souls, and build our relationship with God. Our excitement for the day can build as we prepare. If we remember our Savior's sacrifice and repent with real intent beforehand, we partake of the sacrament worthily; we are washed clean and enjoy the great blessing of a completely fresh start in all of our relationships. We can continue to do God’s will and focus on His purposes the entire day.  It can be a joyful day for families to connect in a spirit of love.

The Temple is a place of beauty, covenants, peace, revelation and pure hope:  Temple covenants seal individuals to God and seal families together.  The temple provides hope, a powerful assurance of a glorious future in heaven with God, Christ and family.  It centers our mind upon spiritual realities and brings peace. The temple is a place of personal revelation.  Family history work brings many powerful lessons and blessings.

How do we receive these blessings?  Attend the temple often with a humble, seeking, faithful heart that is open to revelation. Enjoy learning family history, doing family history work, and taking our own names to the temple.