We're a vibrant, inclusive faith community with a purpose.

We're a church on a mission to proclaim Christ through word and deed. 

Our vision is to be a beacon of God's grace and love, fostering a vibrant and inclusive community where all are welcomed, affirmed, and empowered to live out their faith boldly. Through meaningful worship, nurturing relationships, and compassionate service, we aspire to transform lives and communities,
​sharing the good news of God's love and grace to the world.

These are our core values:

• We are a welcoming church that shares a generous spirit of hospitality with all.
• We value both our heritage as the first Lutheran congregation in Utah and trusting God in ventures of which we cannot see the ending. 
• We put relationships ahead of institution.
• We are lighthearted and have fun together. We value excellence without being perfectionists. 
• Loving one another and serving our neighbor is not an either/or. We do both with passion.
• We treat others with the same grace we have received in Christ.
• “Come as you are” is not just a dress code; God loves you as you are, and so will we.  ​

What we believe

​We extend the same word of welcome and grace that God shares with us in  Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus' whole story is God's gift to this world that God loves so much, and that nothing can ever separate us from God's love in Jesus Christ. We all are sinners whom God declares to be saints and beloved children.
​We are saints, not because of the good we do, but because of the goodness of God.
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We invite you to join in our community of faith as we celebrate the gift of God's welcoming grace.

Justified by grace through faith

You'll hear Lutherans say, "We are justified by grace through faith." There's a bit to unpack in that. "Justified" is a biblical word that means "set right," or being put "in a right relationship" with God.  Some religions teach that it is up to us to do what is right in order to win God's favor. Lots of do's and dont's, lots of rules, and lots of keeping track.

And, if we're honest, that way leads to a lot of fear and despair, or just giving up, because none of us can do what's right all the time. 

Lutherans believe that God puts us right with God as a gift. For Christ's sake, God forgives us all our wrongs. It is sheer grace - that is, totally free, unmerited, and unconditional. Because God fills us with the Holy Spirit, we are now free and able to love God and neighbor with renewed hearts. We don't do good works to impress God, but rather to love our neighbor. 

Faith, then, is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.

Martin Luther was exuberant when he described the freedom of “a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that believers would stake their lives on it a thousand times.” He once wrote, “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things unceasingly.”

Faith does not close our minds to the world and our hearts to others. We continue to listen to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We listen to the witness of others and we watch for the ways God is active in the world around us. Faith opens a place for engaging others in conversation, for seeking the truth, for asking questions and speaking love in word and deed.

Faith is a full life, liberated for a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.

FAQs about Lutherans

What is a Lutheran?

The Lutheran Church celebrates the teachings of Martin Luther as they witness to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Luther became an Augustinian monk in 1505, and was ordained a priest in 1507. While continuing his studies in pursuit of a Doctor of Theology degree, he discovered significant differences between what he read in the Bible and the theology and practices then in use by the church.  On October 31, 1517, he posted a challenge on the church door at Wittenberg University to debate 95 theological issues.  Luther's hope was that the church would reform its practice and preaching to be more consistent with the Word of God as contained in the Bible.

What started as an academic debate escalated to a religious war, fueled by fiery temperaments and violent language on both sides. As a result, there was not a reformation of the church but a separation. "Lutheran" was a name applied to Luther and his followers as an insult but adopted as a badge of honor by them instead.

Lutherans still celebrate the Reformation on October 31 and still hold to the basic principles of theology and practice espoused by Luther, such as Sola Gratia (grace alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), and Sola Scriptura (scripture alone):

• We are saved by the grace of God alone -- not by anything we do;
• Our salvation is through faith alone -- we boldly believe that our sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who lived and died and rose from the dead to redeem us;
• The Word of God is the only norm of doctrine and life -- the only true standard by which teachings and doctrines are to be judged.

Another of Luther's principles was that Scriptures and worship need to be in the language of the people. Before that only Latin was used and only the most highly educated could read it or understand Latin when it was spoken. Lutherans still consider themselves a reforming movement within the Church catholic (meaning, "universal") and Lutherans have engaged in ecumenical dialogue with other church bodies for decades. Our denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has entered into cooperative "full communion" agreements with several other Protestant denominations.
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Luther's Small Catechism, which contains teachings on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession and Absolution, Holy Communion and Morning and Evening Prayers, is still used to introduce people to the Lutheran faith, as is the Augsburg Confession.

Is Lutheranism the Only True Religion?

​"Do Lutherans believe theirs is the only true religion?" This question was once put to the late Dr. Elson Ruff, editor of The Lutheran. His answer was, "Yes, but Lutherans don't believe they are the only ones who have it. There are true Christian believers in a vast majority of the churches, perhaps in all." The ELCA Confession of Faith says "This church confesses Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior and the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe ..."

How Do Lutherans Look upon the Bible?

​To borrow a phrase from Luther, the Bible is "the manger in which the Word of God is laid."  While Lutherans recognize differences in the way the Bible should be studied and interpreted, it is accepted as the primary and authoritative witness to the church's faith.  Written and transcribed by many authors over a period of many centuries, the Bible bears remarkable testimony to the mighty acts of God in the lives of people and nations.  In the Old Testament is found the vivid account of God's covenant relationship to Israel.  In the New Testament is found the story of God's new covenant with all of creation in Jesus.
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The New Testament is the first-hand proclamation of those who witnessed the events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. As such, it is the authority for Christian faith and practice. The Bible is not a definitive record of history or science. Rather, it is the record of the drama of God's saving care for creation throughout the course of history.

What Do Lutherans Believe About Creation?

Lutherans believe that God is Creator of the universe. Its dimensions of space and time are not something God made once and then left alone. God is, rather, continually creating, calling into being each moment of each day.

We believe that the creation story is fundamentally covenantal.  That is, God is in relationship with all of creation, and God empowers human beings to take part in the ongoing, unfolding of creation, and to love and sustain creation as a part of our calling as Christians. ​

Where Do Lutherans Stand on the Question of Sin?

Lutherans believe that all people live in a condition which is the result of misused freedom. "Sin" describes not so much individual acts of wrongdoing as fractured relationships between the people of creation and God.  Our every attempt to please God falls short of the mark. By the standard of the Law, of which the Ten Commandments are a classic summary, God expresses just and loving expectations for creation, and our failure to live up to those expectations reveals only our need for God's mercy and forgiveness.

What Sacraments Do Lutherans practice?

Lutherans practice two Sacraments as a "means of grace," that is, a way God comes to us in love, mercy, forgiveness, and new life. Although they are not the only means of God's self-revelation, we believe Baptism and Holy Communion are the two sacraments of the church.
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In Baptism, God freely offers grace and lovingly establishes a new community. It is in Baptism that people become members of Christ's Body on earth, the Church. Perhaps nothing demonstrates the grace of Baptism as much as the baptism of infants (which Lutherans practice), in which a child, without any intellectual understanding or ability to do "good works" is incorporated by God into the body of Christ. Again, a free gift!   

In Holy Communion -- often called the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist -- those who come to the table receive in bread and wine the body and blood of their Lord.  This gift is itself the real presence of God's forgiveness and mercy, nourishing believers in union with their Lord and with each other. At Zion, all are welcome, including young children, to Holy Communion.