When shall we see Zion? In 1833 the Lord told Joseph Smith, “There is even now already in store sufficient, yea, even an abundance, to redeem Zion, and establish her waste places, to no more be thrown down, were the churches, who call themselves after my name, willing to hearken to my voice” (D&C 101:75). In Approaching Zion, Hugh Nibley echoes this message—that the Latter-day Saints will see Zion when they stop seeking Babylon.

Compiled from two decades of writing on this subject, these stimulating essays are provocative and sobering, based as they are, in Nibley fashion, on ample reference to the scriptures and the best thinking of all ages. Many of the essays have a highly informal flavor, being carefully edited transcriptions of Nibley’s rapid-fire, often extemporaneous remarks from notecards. We see his mind constantly at work, even in the midst of formal discourse, working and reworking ideas and resource materials, ever discovering and making new connections and drawing new inferences.

Because these essays deal with contemporary issues, some readers may find them controversial in places. This only underscores their importance. Nibley fully intended to shake us up, make us think, and call us to repentance. In this volume, he succeeds.