About This Website

The Vision

We believe in the Restoration of primitive Christianity, in the revelations of Joseph Smith the prophet, and in his vision of establishing the New Jerusalem Zion. We seek to work together to prepare ourselves both spiritually and temporally to be comfortable living in such a celestial-level society.  However, even if none of this were true, Cooperative Free Enterprise has many benefits from which we could benefit by implementing it today.

The Goal

To recreate the success of Elder Lorenzo Snow in Brigham City in the mid-1800s. He slowly raised the entire labor force of that community from the level of America’s dog-eat-dog competitive free enterprise system up to a self-sustaining, self-reliant cooperative free enterprise economy inside a decade.  During a world-wide recession, Brigham City had its best year ever.
We will start as Elder Snow did but begin online and grow into a network of worker-owned cooperatives which early LDS leaders taught were a “stepping stone to the United Order”.

Current Approach

This website, ZionBuilders.org, will be modeled (loosely at first) on the  initial marketing co-op established by Lorenzo Snow. The profits will be used to legally incorporate as a co-op, to source and sell products that we use every day, and to set up co-op members in worker-owned co-ops to produce products and services to be offered here.

About the Founder

Jesse Fisher – Social Entrepreneur

As an LDS convert at the age of 8, I was enamored in my teens by the vision of living in the New Jerusalem once it was established. Already dissatisfied with life in ‘Babylon’, I knew that I was willing to do whatever it took to prepare myself to live in such a Celestial society. I have sought out, discovered, and put into practice more Zion-like principles and practices in terms of personal growth and social organization. I’ve assisted in launching two freedom-based schools which better approximate education in a Zion society than do our traditional American schools. I’ve designed a neighborhood government based on Moses’ Captains of 10 organization. I’ve also been a long-term proponent of Cooperative Free Enterprise and am now attempting to bring those principles into practice here.

Champions for Zion

I recently published the book, “Champions for Zion: Remarkable Teachings on Building Zion by Early LDS Leaders“. The book is a thorough review of all the teachings by LDS leaders from 1850 through the 1880s on “building Zion” or “establishing Zion” and related topics.  I learned a tremendous amount of new things I had no idea were once taught.

What early LDS leaders taught that surprised even me:

• Early Utah LDS leaders were bound and determined to build a Zion in Utah.
• Early LDS missionaries taught their investigators that the Saints were building Zion in Utah.
• Building Zion was central to the Gospel and the Church’s mission.
• Establishing Zion is as much, if not more, an economic activity as it is a spiritual one and includes achieving economic independence and unity.
• Cooperatives are “a stepping stone to the United Order“.
• We are obligated to build Zion by God and our temple covenants.