Hymn: Israel, Israel, God is Calling

This hymn followed the Prophet's Talk where he "called" us to Listen/learn from conference and participate in missionary work personally and financially (so others can serve) 

It will be followed by Elder Hales talk where he "calls" us to listen to all the "calls" from this General Conference as if from the Lord, Himself, for this is HIS General Conference!

Question: Can you hear the voice of the Lord? What is He calling you to do? 

Answer: Come to Zion.  By heeding the word of the Lord through his servants we will become a Zion people. This must happen before we build the physical Zion. And the Savior will not return until we have built it. We know He comes. We know He is coming...soon.

The question is... will you be there? How will you "become" more of a "Zion" person because of this specific conference? 

(listen to this hymn before/as you read the following)

Hymn: "Israel, Israel, God is Calling"

In this arrangement; the men begin singing very softly;calmly; even though the message of the verse speaks of woe, anger and judgment. Perhaps this represents how the Savior's call is motivated by compassion for our suffering (which became His suffering). He will not shout in anger or try to scare us into coming to Him. The pains of our condition should be enough to bring us to Him. 

At first they sing in unison but with no accompaniment. This may represent the unity that must be present in Zion. The men also may represent the Priesthood that directs the establishment of Zion. 

The organ then joins in with a sustained, unchanging bass line suggesting the Lord's unchanging, ever-present call to "come" as given to all men through the Light of Christ.

 

Israel, Israel, God is calling, Listen...yes...you...God just called you to assist in His work...I know it sounded like Pres. Monson...but hear it as God's voice through His prophet.
Calling thee from lands of woe. are you in a land of affliction right now? Come out....
Babylon the great is falling; Remember the "great and spacious building" fell, for it had no foundation
God shall all her tow'rs o'erthrow. We know who's in charge; we know who "wins"
Come to Zion, come to Zion Come...come...
Ere his floods of anger flow. not just a little anger...floods...
Come to Zion, come to Zion don't just go anywhere; Go to Zion
Ere his floods of anger flow. "ere" means "before"...come to Zion before the "floods of anger flow"...(repeated twice for emphasis. The image "flood" brings to mind Noah and the Ark; which brings to mind, again, the following quote by Pres. Eyring:

"Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. That ground becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late"

(key change; the organ, representing the Spirit,  calls "Come" EIGHT more times. 

The women sing now, supported by the men (priesthood) They are no louder then the men were, for men and women are equally yoked; but since they are supported by the men, there is more volume; the call can be heard by even more people. They quietly but confidently tell us we do not have to stay in our present condition. There is another way...)

 

Israel, Israel, God is speaking. Has to call us twice to get our attention, even though it is God speaking...
Hear your great Deliv'rer's voice! Lift up your head; Hear His voice: He delivers from sin; persecution; suffering...
Now a glorious morn is breaking That "Glorious Morn" began with the First Vision and will end with the Second Coming when we shall enter the "Millennial Day"
For the people of his choice.Do you know how to become chosen? (See D&C 121)
Come to Zion, come to Zion, The invitation is clear, consistent, to all kindreds, tongues, and peoples.
And within her walls rejoice. Not near Zion...INSIDE. Not just physically "inside" but "inside" the "walls" of your own heart.  
Come to Zion, come to Zion, the pure in heart
And within her walls rejoice. happy are the covenant keeping children of God!

(another key change; EIGHT more calls by the organ (Spirit) to come;  more volume which emphasizes the message; more harmony in the voices representing how we each bring our own talents and personality to this work of gathering people to Zion)
 

Israel, angels are descending they speak the word's of Christ
From celestial worlds on high, so we know they are under God's direction
And to man their pow'r extending,...think restoration of priesthood power, but also continued ministering, for the prophet Joseph Smith said, "If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates."
That the Saints may homeward fly. Let's go quickly
Come to Zion, come to Zion,
For your coming Lord is nigh. It's near...
Come to Zion, come to Zion,
For your coming Lord is nigh. It's approaching...are you coming to Zion right now? In your heart? Are you "becoming" a Zion person?

(another key change; EIGHT more calls by the organ (Spirit); full volume; everyone is sharing the message now so all can hear; descant in the women's voices suggesting "angels" assisting in the work. 

This is the loudest verse in the hymn. To me, it suggests the "final call". We are told not to delay; not to persist in the error of our ways; that judgment is coming; that we cannot say we did not know it was coming; that Zion will be established because we have finally come to Christ...fully...completely)
 

Israel! Israel!now we're full voice; not shouting, but emphasizing the time is now!  
Canst thou linger Still in error's gloomy ways? How can you delay coming out of the world and into Zion? Gloom vs. Glory...what's to choose? Come...pleeeeease....
Mark how judgment's pointing finger "mark" means "take notice"...
Justifies no vain delays. There is no real excuse for delaying, so don't be surprised at what befalls you if you are outside the walls of Zion. Begin the journey and stay on it...
Come to Zion, come to Zion! Exclamation point!
Zion's walls shall ring with praise.Zion will be filled with praise there will be so much joy!
Come to Zion, come to Zion! 

 Zion's walls shall ring with praise.Repeated for emphasis. Zion is full of individuals whose hearts are full of gratitude for their Savior and Redeemer.

(As the hymn closes, I sense a kind of retreating. The men sing alone again, as in the beginning and are joined by the women at the end. Is it the doors of Zion closing? Is it getting late? Is it the sound of Zion fading as those who will not come retreat? Is it the quiet, persistent call that remains even after a burst of testimony fades? 

The last TWELVE calls to "come" are the organ (Spirit), which is persistent "so long as the Master of the Vineyard says there is time"...)

Come to Zion, come to Zion! Zion's wall shall ring with praise  

Come to Zion, Come to Zion

Zion's walls shall ring with praise. 

Zion's walls shall ring with praise For we are "free at last" and "all is well"

Zion's wall's shall ring with praise

(organ only continues with Come to Zion; Come to; Come to Zion; Come to;   Come to Zion; Come to; Come to Zion; come to; Come to Zion; come to; Come to Zion; Come to Zion)

We are called by "name" (SEVEN times) - and invited to "Come" (FIFTY-SIX times) in this hymn. Are you coming or not? Time to decide...

I feel impressed to include a portion of a previous conference talk by Elder Holland where he said so beautifully echoed the Savior's call to "come"...now...

"I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable, but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.

Whether you are not yet of our faith or were with us once and have not remained, there is nothing in either case that you have done that cannot be undone. There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that in the unfolding of time and eternity cannot yet be realized. Even if you feel you are the lost and last laborer of the eleventh hour, the Lord of the vineyard still stands beckoning. “Come boldly [to] the throne of grace,”³ and fall at the feet of the Holy One of Israel. Come and feast “without money and without price”⁴ at the table of the Lord.

I especially make an appeal for husbands and fathers, priesthood bearers or prospective priesthood bearers, to, as Lehi said, “Awake! and arise from the dust … and be men.”⁵ Not always but often it is the men who choose not to answer the call to “come join the ranks.”⁶ Women and children frequently seem more willing. Brethren, step up. Do it for your sake. Do it for the sake of those who love you and are praying that you will respond. Do it for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid an unfathomable price for the future He wants you to have.

My beloved brothers and sisters, to those of you who have been blessed by the gospel for many years because you were fortunate enough to find it early, to those of you who have come to the gospel by stages and phases later, and to those of you—members and not yet members—who may still be hanging back, to each of you, one and all, I testify of the renewing power of God’s love and the miracle of His grace. His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there.

So if you have made covenants, keep them. If you haven’t made them, make them. If you have made them and broken them, repent and repair them. It is never too late so long as the Master of the vineyard says there is time. Please listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling you right now, this very moment, that you should accept the atoning gift of the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the fellowship of His labor. Don’t delay. It’s getting late. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Related Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 133:7-16 
These verses are significant and should be studied in depth; but here are some highlights emphasized by this hymn:


 7 Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; ^agather ye out from among the nations, from the ^bfour winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

 8 Send forth the elders of my church unto the ^anations which are afar off; unto the ^bislands of the sea; send forth unto foreign lands; call upon all nations, first upon the ^cGentiles, and then upon the Jews.

 9 And behold, and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord unto all people: Go ye forth unto the land of Zion, that the borders of my people may be enlarged, and that her ^astakes may be strengthened, and that ^bZion may go forth unto the regions round about.

 10 Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the ^aBridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the ^bgreat day of the Lord.

 11 ^aWatch, therefore, for ye ^bknow neither the day nor the hour.

 12 Let them, therefore, who are ^aamong the Gentiles flee unto ^bZion.

 13 And let them who be of ^aJudah flee unto ^bJerusalem, unto the ^cmountains of the Lord’s ^dhouse.

 14 Go ye ^aout from among the nations, even from ^bBabylon, from the midst of ^cwickedness, which is spiritual Babylon.

 15 But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in ^ahaste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him ^bnot look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him.

 16 Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. ^aListen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to ^brepent.