Please see the disclaimer.
Assumed Audience: Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are curious about history, civilizations, and/or Zion.
Epistemic Status: Extremely confident in the priciples. The more general or high level things are, the more confident I am. I become less confident as things become more detailed.
Chapter 3: “Every Knee Shall Bow” 1
“Say what?” Josiah said. “You mean to say that not believing in a god that does not exist is a problem?”
Eli just stared at him for a moment. “Yes.”
“You say that, but you’re the ones who refuse to acknowledge reality!”
“Josiah, you live in Zion, for goodness sake. You’ve surely learned history.”
“All of it is lies.”
Eli’s eyes widened, and his eyes moved to Samuel, who shrugged. “Some people just have no faith.”
Eli said, “Well, Josiah, I told you that pride is your problem, but it seems you have multiple. Your second problem is a lack of faith.”
“And how is that a problem?”
“Because without faith, you will never be able to believe and understand why and how Zion works.”
“Well, maybe Zion is what’s wrong.”
Eli laughed. “You live in the most peaceful and richest society to ever exist, and you think that society is the problem?”
Then he grew serious. “But I see more clearly why your father is worried.”
Josiah rolled his eyes.
“So let me tell you this, Josiah: you will bow to Christ. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus is the Christ.”
“Yeah, right,” Josiah said. “It’s not against the law to not believe your dumb religion.”
“You’re right,” Eli responded. “In fact, the crime of blasphemy is only a crime for those who profess to believe. It’s really bearing of false witness.”