Nephi continues to borrow from the prophecies of Isaiah, see Isa 29:8. He prophesies that those who contend against Zion will be like a thirsty man whose thirst is never quenched or a hungry man whose hunger is never satisified. Elsewhere, Isaiah make it clear that the day will soon come when the Lord will fight Zion’s battles, I will contend with him that contendeth with thee (Isa 49:25). The D&C teaches that the fame of Zion will spread because of the power of the Lord which will preserve it:
’And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;
And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.
And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.
And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.
And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.’ (DC 45:66-70)
The day will come when Zion, or the New Jerusalem, will become so powerful, both spiritually and politically, that it will strike fear into the hearts of the wicked. Verse 9 of chapter 22 reads, all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off. This doctrine was sometimes boldly and tactlessly declared by the early saints in Missouri. This contributed to the paranoia and hatred which was so easily engendered among the Missourians of the early 1830’s.