Lesson 14
The Law of Consecration
by Phillip Allred

I recall being around eight or nine years old when I first became aware of consecration. The teacher also called this the "united order." It was explained that the members of the Church would bring all their things to the Bishop and he would put them into the "storehouse." From there the Bishop would determine the needs of each family or person and then provide for them out of the storehouse. I remember thinking that this was an awfully nice thing for the Church to do. But then the teacher shocked me with this question: "Would you be willing to bring your things to the Bishop, Philip?" Suddenly my detached picture of other people sacrificing their things shattered.

I remember going home that afternoon and looking quite differently at my "stuff." As I took a visual inventory, mentally fingering my treasures, I felt to ask myself if I would be willing to part with this or that if the Bishop asked me to. Some things were easy to theoretically part with. But there were others — precious possessions, which I could not think of giving away. Though the years have passed, that question never goes very far from me. Fairly consistently the issue poses itself again. Would I contribute my latest acquisition for the cause of someone in need?

President Gordon B. Hinckley's announcement of the "perpetual education fund" a few short years ago offered an opportunity for us to think less of our own things and more of the needs of others. I was caused to remember the Lord's own statement in the New Testament. "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (Matthew 19:29).

Meaning of Consecration

The word consecration may instill different feelings in different people. Historically it is associated with the giving of worldly possessions to the Church for the caring of the poor and the needy. Some have wondered if it is akin to communism. Others have feared it would rob them of their hard labor and industry. Still others worry that this system would be tantamount to a handout, further impoverishing those in need by fostering a feeling of entitlement or 'getting something for nothing.' Technically speaking, the word consecrate means to "make or declare sacred; to set apart or dedicate to the service of the Deity" and the word consecration means "dedication to the service and worship of God" (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989).

The following outline provided by two LDS scholars will help to define what the Lord has revealed about consecration; what it is and what it is not.

I. "The Earth is the Lord's

A. Lord created the earth (14:9; 104:14).

B. Earth is rich; there is enough to spare for all people (38:17; 104:17).

C. Riches of eternity promised by the Lord (38:39).

D. Goods given to the poor are given to the Lord (42:31).

E. Poor provided for in the Lord's own way (104:15-16).

F. Lord is no respecter of persons, rich or poor (38:16).

II. All People Are Children of God

A. Esteem brother as self (38:24-25).

B. Be one or not the Lord's (38:27).

C. We are responsible for the poor, needy, widow, and orphan so there will be no suffering (38:35; 83:1-6).

D. To be equal spiritually we must be equal temporally (78:6).

E. Poor will be exalted and the rich humbled (104:16-17).

III. Agency

A. Agency is basic to the law (104:17).

B. Stewardships were received according to just wants, needs, family, and circumstances (51:3; 82:17).

C. A person leaving the order retained his stewardship (51:5).

D. Saints had the privilege of organizing according to the Lord's law (51:15).

E. If the bishop and an individual did not agree on the amount the individual received as a stewardship, the contributor had the right of appeal (HC 1:364-65).

IV. Management by a Central Agency

A. Properties were consecrated to the Lord through the Lord's agents, the bishop and his two counselors, with a covenant and deed which could not be broken (42:30-31; 58:35-36).

B. Stewardships received by written deed from a bishop (51:4).

C. Surplus property, money, and food were place in a bishop's storehouse (42:33-35; 51:13).

D. Surpluses provided food and clothing for poor and needy and were used to purchase additional property (42:33-35; 58:37,49; 83:1-6).

E. Deeds conveyed according to the laws of the land (51:6).

F. Two treasures in Order: the sacred treasury and "another treasury" (104:60-72).

V. Specified Behavior Patterns

A. Labor with own hands (38:40).

B. Deal honestly and receive alike (51:4).

C. Avoid pride (42:40).

D. Avoid idleness (42:42; 56:17).

E. Pay for what was received (42:54).

F. Pay debts (104:78).

G. Improve talents and gain additional talents for the benefit of all (82:18).

H. Be faithful, just, and wise (51:19).

I. Give an accounting of stewardships to the Bishop (42:32; 72: 16-18; 104:11-13).

J. Seek interest of neighbor and glorify God (82:19).

VI. Private Ownership of Property

A. Pay for what was received from another branch of the Order (51:11).

B. System not communal (HC 1: 146-47; 3:28; 4:33; 6:37,38).

C. Surpluses given to Church after the needs and wants of an individual family are provided for (42:32-34).

D. Everyone to provide for own needs (75:28).

E. Saints to stand independent of all other creatures (78:14).

F. Initiative rewarded (82:17-18).

G. If individual left the order, he had no claim on original consecration, but the stewardship [that had been deeded back] was retained by individual (42:34; 51:5 [in Milton V. Backman, Jr. & Keith W. Perkins, "United Under the Laws of the Celestial Kingdom," Studies in Scripture, edited by Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, 1989, 1:170-173])."

From this outline we can see that divine consecration is characterized by private, legal ownership of property, diligent labor on everyone's part, agency, Christ-like love between members, and a love of God and the things He has provided for us on this earth.

Scriptural Instances of the United Order

It is interesting to note that all of our standard works contain historical references to God's people living the principles of consecration. The earliest "Zion" was Enoch's city as recorded in the book of Moses. Enoch "continued his preaching in righteousness" so much so that they became "one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them" (Moses 7:18-19). After the Pentecostal outpouring in the New Testament, Peter instituted consecration principles. "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common" (Acts 4:32).

In the Book of Mormon we read of Alma's people who imparted "of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted.” “They did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need" (Alma 1:27, 30; emphasis added).

The Lord instructed the early Latter-day Saints in Kirtland and Missouri to live consecration as well (D&C 42, 51, 78, 82-83, 104-105). However, the circumstances in Kirtland were such that obtaining enough land for each farming family to provide for themselves was difficult. Apostate activity also complicated their efforts (see heading to sections 54 and 56). The members in Missouri were struggling with "jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires" and by such things the Lord declared that they had "polluted their inheritances" (D&C 101:6). In 1838, with the receipt of section 119, Joseph was instructed that the Church should live the financial law that we are currently familiar with-the law of tithing (see the very helpful heading to this section and its potential implications for our understanding of D&C 64:23).

President Marion G. Romney addressed the inevitable question of whether we could or should be living the law of consecration now. "It is thus apparent that when the principles of tithing and the fast are properly observed and the welfare plan gets fully developed and wholly into operation, we shall not be so very far from carrying out the great fundamental of the United Order. The only limitation on you and me is within ourselves" (Look to God and Live, 1973, 227-28, cited in Backman and Perkins, 179). It should be remembered the principles of the law of consecration have been and will be adjusted to the circumstances of the people they are to serve. Undoubtedly there will be further light on the subject through the prophets as the Lord wills.

The Meaning of Equal

The Lord clearly states that there is a fundamental relationship between the way we possess our earthly things and our ability to receive future heavenly things. "That you may be equal in the bonds of heavenly things, yea, and earthly things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things. For if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly things" (D&C 78:5-6). Earlier in the revelations the Lord explained what he means by 'equal.' "Appoint unto this people their portions, every man equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs" (D&C 51:3). Consecration is to be respondent to the various conditions of those it is seeking to serve. It is not a rigid "leveling" that is unresponsive to the situations of different families and individuals.

In terms of being truly equal, Sister Carol B. Thomas taught a moving lesson in this last Sunday morning's General Conference session (April 2001) by suggesting that we might part with some of our clothes to the Deseret Industries "before they are out of style." There is a beautiful sentiment in this that befits a saint who is seeking to be like the Lord. Being of one heart and one mind, as Zion was described, consists partly in being "alike among this people, and receiv[ing] alike, that [we] may be as one, even as I have commanded you" (D&C 51:9).

God's Law of Consecration Reveals His Character

In conclusion, the Lord declares that consecration is "according to [his] laws" and that the Saints should feel 'privileged' to live it. Joseph Smith helps to understand the larger picture of what the Lord is seeking to accomplish by revealing such lofty social principles. "God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite to save them in the world of spirits" (TPJS, 354).

It is then our privilege to conceive of these laws of consecration being products of a higher intelligent being's knowledge of things "as they [really] are" (D&C 93:24) in heaven and begin to conform ourselves to that celestial reality. After all, we understand that this will be the type of society enjoyed eternally by those in the celestial kingdom (D&C 88:22; 105:5). "If you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you" (D&C 78:7).

Knowing myself the way I do, I recognize the temptation to be only theoretically willing — as if in some Herculean moment — to give all that I have to those in need. It appears to me that if I am going to daily employ my resources in the service of others, that I need to receive some greater portion of the Lord's heart and mind more than I presently have. Certainly a willingness to give of our things is good. Seeing our talents, skills and other blessings the Lord has given us as charitable commodities is right. But, even more fundamentally, I need a disposition to consecrate. As the prophet Moroni so helpfully beseeched, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; the we may be purified even as he is pure" (Moroni 7:48).

Far beyond my boyhood contemplation of giving my toys away, the Lord is revealing in the law of consecration his very character and nature. There is so much more to give than things! I love the words of Isaiah when he spoke of "preach[ing] good tidings unto the meek" and "bind[ing] up the brokenhearted" and "proclaim[ing] liberty to the captives" and "opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isaiah 61:1). Further, it is our privilege "to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (61:2-3). As recipients of his love, we can kindly seek the downtrodden and the oppressed, as he did during his mortal ministry — bringing them sweet reasons to rejoice. The kindnesses extended to me at such times in my life will never be forgotten. Why should not I do the same for my brothers and sisters in the world? In this way, I desire to be a greater consecrator in the Lord's kingdom, that I may "eat the bread [and] wear the garments of the laborer" (D&C 42:42).