Purpose

The Zion Story is a historical preservation project begun officially in September 2021 in Independence, Missouri. The purpose of the project is to collect, catalog, and preserve the materials which will help future historians answer the question of “How did we get from the Extermination Order to the establishment of Zion?”

What is Zion?

Zion is what happens when people of various backgrounds come together in harmony and love to create a place where peace reigns, righteous living prevails, unity is seen in being of one heart and one mind (or purpose) and there are no poor among them because all work together to make sure that everyone’s needs are met. The purpose of Zion is to help prepare us all for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In the 1830s the “Mormons” were expelled first from Jackson County, and later from the State of Missouri. Missouri Governor, Lilburn Boggs issued Missouri Executive Order 44, commonly known as the “Extermination Order.”

From 1838, when it was issued, until 1976 when it was rescinded by Missouri Governor, Christopher S. Bond, the Extermination Order effectively prevented peace and harmony and stood in the way of people freely gathering to Missouri with the intent to begin to work toward establishing Zion.

Prior to the rescinding of the Extermination Order, very few of the descendants of those who were originally expelled dared to return to the area. This has now changed.

What is Being Collected?

While The Zion Story is primarily focused on collecting the personal written stories of those who have been inspired by the Spirit to move or gather to Independence, Missouri and the surrounding areas, other materials are also being accepted for the archive.  These include, but are not limited to:

• Oral history recordings
• Videos of individuals telling their gathering stories
• Photographs
• Journals
• Scrapbooks
• Church congregation histories
• Maps
• Artwork and other materials

Together, these materials will help historians piece together the full story of all who have been inspired to come to this area. It will also help them discover what it took for this region of the world to become ready to meet the Lord at His Second Coming.

Because of this scope, although initially donors are encouraged to share their own personal “gathering” or “coming to Zion” story, ultimately, the desire is to have additional stories shared of spiritual experiences, personal experiences of living here, observations of how the area has changed over time, and conversion stories (if the donors have changed religions over time). 

With this in mind, there are two sets of story prompts available to help you prepare your personal story which can be downloaded below.

How to Contact The Zion Story

If you have questions about The Zion Story or would like to contribute to the archive, please email Cheri Battrick, who is serving as the director of the project, at thezionstory@gmail.com. In addition to the main project, The Zion Story now has specialists heading up the portions of this project related to the stories of those who are Spanish-speaking, Polynesian, or from various Restoration Branches.  If you would like to be connected to one of those specialists, please indicate this in your email.