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gdm Digest           Wednesday, July 2 1997           Volume 01 : Number 016



In this issue:

    [none]
    ---> Lesson 22
    ---> Lesson 23

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or gdm-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues.

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Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 10:49:55 -0600
From: [e-mail]
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Doctrine and Covenants 71-75; 77
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Lesson 21

Scriptural Highlights

1. Confounding false stories spread by apostates 2. A second bishop called
and instructed 3. Joseph Smith to resume the translation of the Bible 4.
Clarifications of prophecies in the book of Revelation
While translating the Bible, Joseph Smith frequently asked the Lord to
clarify passages. Many revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants are the
Lord's answers to these questions. Invite class members to tell of how the
Holy Spirit has helped them gain a clearer understanding of the scriptures.
Discussion and Application Questions

* Why would the promise in D&C 71:9 have been important to Joseph Smith and
Sidney Rigdon when it was revealed? (See the headings to D&C 71 and 73; see
also the Class Member Study Guide for this lesson.) How has this promise
been fulfilled in this dispensation? (See the quotation from the Prophet
Joseph Smith.)

* In D&C 72 the Lord speaks of stewardships. What is a stewardship? (See
the quotation from the Guide to the Scriptures.) How do we account for our
stewardships today? (D&C 72:3-5.) In what sense does obtaining a temple
recommend involve an accounting of our stewardships?

* In D&C 73 the Lord directed Joseph and Sidney to resume translating the
Bible. What is the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible? (See the LDS
Bible Dictionary, p. 717; and the first quotation from Robert J. Matthews.)
What blessings do we enjoy because of Joseph Smith's inspired translation
of the Bible? (See the second quotation from Robert J. Matthews.)

* Seventy-seven of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were
received during the three-year period when the Prophet was translating the
Bible. How might the translating experience have helped Joseph Smith in his
calling as Prophet? (The experience provided a systematic approach to
learning gospel truths.)

* One role of the Comforter is to teach us "all things that are expedient"
(D&C 75:10). What has the Comforter taught you during your personal study
of the scriptures this year? What has the Comforter taught you as you have
discussed the scriptures in Sunday School class?

* Many of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants came when the
Prophet asked questions. What questions led to the revelation in D&C 77?
What experiences have you had when seeking divine answers to questions
about the gospel or personal matters?

* How does D&C 77 help us understand some of the prophecies in the book of
Revelation?

* Who are the two witnesses that will be raised up to the Jews in the last
days? (See D&C 77:15 and the quotation from Elder McConkie.)

Quotations

The Prophet Joseph Smith: "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from
progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble,
calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and
independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime,
swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God
shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done"
(History of the Church, 4:540).

Guide to the Scriptures ("Steward, Stewardship"): A steward is "a person
who takes care of the affairs or property of another. That which a steward
cares for is called a stewardship. All things on earth belong to the Lord;
we are his stewards. We are accountable to the Lord, but we may report on
our stewardship to=20
God's authorized representatives. When we receive a calling of service from
the Lord or his authorized servants, that stewardship may include both
spiritual and temporal affairs."

Robert J. Matthews: "When the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Bible, he
was not limited to what was found on the working page in front of him....
The spirit of revelation was always an additional source of information. In
the case of the Bible translation, the manuscript source was the King James
Version. This suggested certain ideas, but the spirit apparently suggested
many enlargements, backgrounds, and additional concepts not found on the
page. Thus the term 'translation,' when referring to Joseph Smith's
translation of the Bible, differs somewhat from that normally used when one
thinks of translating languages. To a prophet, a revelation is a more vital
and dependable source than a written text" (in Studies in Scripture: The
Pearl of Great Price, p. 37).

Robert J. Matthews: "It was Joseph Smith's study and translation of the
Bible that set the stage for the reception of many revelations on the
doctrines of the gospel" (Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible, p. 256).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie: "Who will these witnesses be? We do not know,
except that they will be followers of Joseph Smith; they will hold the holy
Melchizedek Priesthood; they will be members of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. It is reasonable to suppose, knowing how the Lord has
always dealt with his people in all ages, that they will be two members of
the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church" (The

Millennial Messiah, p. 390).

Next Week's Reading Assignment Doctrine and Covenants 76; 137
Page 41

Class Member Study Guide

Lesson 21

In late Npvember 1831, Joseph Smith resumed work on his inspired
translation of the King James Version of the Bible. On 1 December the Lord
revealed D&C 71, in which he told Joseph and Sidney Rigdon to temporarily
stop their work on the Bible and go on a mission to Kirtland, Ohio. There,
Ezra Booth, a former Church member, was publishing a series of letters in
the Ohio Star attacking the Church. The letters were causing bitter
feelings against the Church.

Ezra Booth had been a Methodist minister. He had joined the Church in 1831
after seeing the Prophet Joseph Smith heal the lame arm of Mrs. John
Johnson. But he did not remain faithful. The Prophet said of him, "When he
actually learned that faith, humility, patience, and tribulation go before
blessing, and that God brings low before He exalts; . . . then he was
disappointed" (History of the Church, 1 :216).
Joseph and Sidney traveled to Kirtland and were able to resolve many of the
problems caused by Ezra Booth's apostasy.
* How can the Lord's promise to these brethren give us comfort when people
attack the Church today? (D&C 71 :7-10.)
On 10 January 1832 the Lord told Joseph to begin translating again (see D&C
73). As the Prophet encountered questions in his work with the Bible, the
Lord gave him the revelations contained in D&C 74, 76, and 77.

As time progressed, the organization of the Church became more complete.
When the Church was organized in 1830, Joseph Smith presided as its "first
elder" (D&C 20:2). Edward Partridge was called as the first bishop in
February 1831 (see D&C 41 :9), and the first high priests were ordained in
June of that same year (see the heading to D&C 52). In December 1831 Newel
K. Whitney became the Church's second bishop (see D&C 72:1-8), and in
January 1832 Joseph Smith was sustained as President of the High Priesthood
(see the heading to D&C 75).

* According to D&C 72, what were the principal roles of the bishops in Ohio
and Missouri?

* One role of the Comforter is to teach us "all things that are expedient"
(D&C 75:10). What has the Comforter taught you during your personal study
of the scriptures this year?
Original manuscript of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Courtesy
Library-Archives,=20
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Auditorium,
Independence, Missouri.

Page 42
- -----------------------------------
Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church=85, p.338
HIRAM, a township in Portage Co., Ohio, about 35 miles southeast of
Kirtland, was the home of the Johnson family and a number of other early
members of the Church in 1831 and 1832. On the invitation of Father
Johnson, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, removed with his family to Hiram Sept.
12, 1831, and there continued the revision of the Bible, Elder Sidney
Rigdon assisting him as scribe. A few days after his arrival a conference
of Elders was held at Hiram, at which Wm. W. Phelps was instructed to
purchase a press and type at Cincinnati, Ohio, for the purpose of
establishing a periodical (Evening and Morning Star) at Independence,
Jackson County, Mo. While residing at Hiram, Joseph Smith received 13 of
the revelations contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, among
which is the revelation known as "The Vision". They are sections 65, 67,
68, 69, 71, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80 and 81 of the Doctrine and
Covenants. The Prophet also held meetings on the Sabbath and in the
evenings and baptized a number of people. Persecution soon began to rage
against him and the new converts, which ended in an attempt to murder the
Prophet and Sidney Rigdon on the night of March 24=9625, 1832. Both Joseph
and Sidney received brutal treatment and were both tarred and feathered by
the infuriated mob. During the attack, a little child, Joseph Smith
Murdock, was exposed to the night air, being sick with the measles, and
died in consequence. That little baby boy is sometimes called the first
martyr of the Church.
- ------------------------------
Benjamin Johnson Ltr to Gibbs, 1903 in E. Dale LeBaron (1967), p.343
"President Brigham Young." Of Brigham Young as President of the Church, I
will again bear this as a faithful testimony that I do know and bear record
that upon the head of Brigham Young as chief, with the Apostleship in full,
was by the voice of the Prophet Joseph in my hearing, laid the full
responsibility of bearing of the kingdom of God to all the world. And I do
further bear as a testimony, faithful and true, to the Church and to all
the world, that at a conference of the whole Church, at Nauvoo, subsequent
to the Prophet's death and return of the absent Apostles, that I sat in the
assembly near to President Rigdon, closely attentive to his appeal to the
conference to recognize and sustain his claim as "Guardian for the Church."
And I was perhaps, to a degree, forgetful of what I knew to be the rights
and duties of the apostleship, and as he closed his address and sat down,
my back was partly turned to the seat occupied by Apostle Brigham Young and
other Apostles, when suddenly, and as from Heaven, I heard the voice of the
Prophet Joseph, that thrilled my whole being, and quickly turning around I
saw in the transfiguration of Brigham Young, the tall, straight and portly
form of the Prophet Joseph Smith, clothed in a sheen of light, covering him
to his feet; and I heard the real and perfect voice of the Prophet, even to
the whistle, as in years past caused by the loss of a tooth said to have
been broken out by the mob at Hyrum. This view, or vision, although but for
seconds, was to me as vivid and real as the glare of lightning or the voice
of thunder from the heavens, and so deeply was I impressed with what I saw
and heard in this transfiguration, that for years I dare not publicly tell
what was given me of the Lord to see. But when in later years I did
publicly bear this testimony, I found that others would testify to having
seen and heard the same. But to what proportion of the congregation who
were present I could never know. But I do know that this, my testimony is
true.

The Prophet's lost tooth, to which I alluded was, as generally understood,
broken out by the mob at Hyrum while trying to pry open his mouth to
strangle him with acid, which from time, until the tooth was replaced by a
dentist neighbor, a year or so previous to his death, there had a
whistle-like sound to accompany all his public speaking which I again
plainly heard at the time of which I write.
Benjamin Johnson Ltr to Gibbs, 1903 in E. Dale LeBaron (1967), p.343 - p.344
- --------------------------
With his conviction strengthened by this spiritual manifestation, Benjamin
became one of the foremost in testifying that Brigham Young was the true
successor of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Benjamin declared:
=20
I will again bear this as a Faithful Testimony that I do know and bear
Record that upon the head of Brigham Young as Chief with the Apostleship in
full was by the voice of the prophet Joseph in in [sic] my hearing Laid the
full Responsibility of bearing off the Kingdom of God to all the world.
61(Johnson to Gibbs, 53.)

Knowing that President Brigham Young was now the Lord's prophet, Benjamin
found that "new confidence and joy continued to spring up within me, and
the subject of our finding a new home in the wilderness of the great West
was one that occupied much of my thoughts."
62 (Johnson, My Lif's Review, 104.)
E. Dale LeBaron; BYU Studies Vol. 32, No. 1, pg.189
- -----------------------------------
Richard Van Wagner, presented a Sunstone, a bit back that showed the
transfiguration of Brigham Young to be more than likely a Mormon Myth. For
example years later Orson Hyde testified in General Conference  that he was
there that day in when Brigham spoke with the voice of Joseph Smith.  This
is the most blatant example of Mormon Myth making, as according to Orson
Hyde's own Journal he had not yet returned to Nauvoo from a mission trip.
His Journal or do other Journals contain entries that day to any
transfiguration event.  The story evolved with time, from children saying
that Brigham Young spoke just like Joseph Smith, to adults most 20 or 3
years later claiming to have heard Joseph Smith's voice, and his visage,
but they did not record this at the time it happen.
Also folio's family history suite, contains many journals, but the only
references to Joseph's whistle, is that made by Johnson.
- -------------------------

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 22:05:25 -0700
From: "Perry L. Porter" <[e-mail]>
Subject: ---> Lesson 22

Doctrine and Covenants 76; 137

Lesson 22

Scriptural Highlights

1. The greatness of the Lord and his blessings to the faithful

2. A vision of Jesus Christ

3. Visions of Satan and the sons of perdition

4. Visions of the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms
Prayerfully consider how these revelations can meet the needs of class
members.

Discussion and Application Questions

* What circumstances led to Joseph Smith's receiving the revelations that
are recorded in D&C 76 and 137? (See the headings to these sections; D&C
76:15-21; and the Class Member Study Guide for this lesson.) How is the
information in these visions important to our salvation? How have you been
blessed as you have pondered the scriptures?

* Imagine yourself in the position of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon as
they received D&C 76. What are your impressions as you read this
revelation? How does this vision affect your understanding and appreciation
of the Savior?

* What do we learn about Satan from Joseph Smith's vision of him in D&C
76:25-30? What do we learn about the sons of perdition? (See D&C 76:31-38,
44-48; 132:27; and the quotation from the Prophet Joseph Smith.)

* What does the Lord mean when he says that the wicked will be cast into
the lake of fire and brimstone? (D&C 63:17-18; 76:36-38, 44; 2 Nephi
9:15-16; Mosiah 2:38.)

What is required for us to come forth in the resurrection of the just and
inherit the celestial kingdom? (D&C 76:50-53.) What does it mean to be
"sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise"? (D&C 76:53; see also D&C 88:3-4;
132:7; and the quotation from the Guide to the Scriptures).

* What blessings does God promise to those who inherit the celestial
kingdom? (D&C 76:58-70, 92-96.) What does it mean to receive a fulness of
the Father's glory? (D&C 93:16-17.) Why is it important for you to know
that you have the potential to become like God? (D&C 76:58-59, 95; 132:20;
Psalm 82:6.)

* What did Joseph Smith see in his vision of the celestial kingdom? (D&C
137:1-5.) What did he learn about people who died without receiving the
gospel but would have received it if they had heard it? (137:7-9.) What did
he learn about children who die before the age of accountability? (137:10.)

* What people will inherit the terrestrial kingdom? (D&C 76:71-80.)

* How are honorable people sometimes "blinded by the craftiness of men"?
(D&C 76:75). How can we keep ourselves from being blinded or deceived?

* What people will inherit the telestial kingdom? (D&C 76:81-89.) What is
the "hell" into which these people are cast before they inherit the
telestial kingdom? (D&C 76:84; see D&C 76:85; 2 Nephi 9:12; and the
quotation from Elder McConkie).

* How does our testimony of Jesus determine which kingdom we will inherit
after we die? (Celestial: D&C 76:51-53; terrestrial: D&C 76:79; telestial:
D&C 76:82, 101; perdition: D&C 76:31, 35.) What does it mean to be "valiant
in the testimony of Jesus"? (D&C 76:79; see 2 Nephi 31 :20; Moroni 10:32;
James 1 :22; and the quotation from President Benson).

* In the hereafter, how will the glory we inherit affect our access to God?
(Celestial: D&C 76:62; terrestrial: D&C 76:76-77; telestial: D&C 76:86-88,
112.)

* Contrast some of the traditional Christian concepts of heaven with the
vision of the three degrees of glory (D&C 76). Why are the differences
important?

Quotations

The Prophet Joseph Smith responded as follows to a question about who will
become sons of perdition: "What must a man do to commit the unpardonable
sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and
know God, and then sin against Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy
Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does
not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the
heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with
his eyes open to the truth of it" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
p. 358).
Guide to the Scriptures ("Holy Spirit of Promise"): "The Holy Ghost is the
Holy Spirit of Promise. He confirms as acceptable to God the righteous
acts, ordinances, and covenants of men. The Holy Spirit of Promise
witnesses to the Father that the saving ordinances have been performed
properly and that the covenants associated with them have been kept."

Elder Bruce R. McConkie: "That part of the spirit world inhabited by wicked
spirits who are awaiting the eventual day of their resurrection is called
hell" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 349).

President Ezra Taft Benson: "Not to be valiant in one's testimony is a
tragedy of eternal consequence. These are members who know this latter-day
work is true, but who fail to endure to the end. Some may even hold temple
recommends, but do not magnify their callings in the Church. Without valor,
they do not take an affirmative stand for the kingdom of God. Some seek the
praise, adulation, and honors of men; others attempt to conceal their sins;
and a few criticize those who preside over them" (Ensign, May 1982, p. 63).

Next Week's Reading Assignment Doctrine and Covenants 78-83; 104
Page 43

Class Member Study Guide

Lesson 22

Doctrine and Covenants 76 and 137 record marvelous visions about the
eternal destiny of mankind. As Joseph Smith and his scribe, Sidney Rigdon,
were translating the Bible, it became clear to them that "if God rewarded
every one according to the deeds done in the body the term 'Heaven,' as
intended for the Saints' eternal home must include more kingdoms than one"
(History of the Church, 1 :245). After translating John 5:29, they
meditated upon the meaning of the passage (see D&C 76:15-19) and received
the vision known as D&C 76.

As you study D&C 76, consider the following:
* Imagine yourself in the position of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon as
they received D&C 76. How does this vision affect your understanding and
appreciation of the Savior?

* How does our testimony of Jesus determine which kingdom we will inherit
after we die? (Celestial: D&C 76:51-53; terrestrial: D&C 76:79; telestial:
D&C 76:82, 101; perdition: D&C 76:31, 35.) What does it mean to be valiant
in the testimony of Jesus? (2 Nephi 31 :20; Moroni 10:32.)

* What blessings does God promise to those who inherit the celestial
kingdom? (D&C 76:58-70, 92-96.) What does it mean to inherit a fulness of
the Father's glory?
Joseph Smith received D&C 137 nearly four years later on 21 January 1836 in
the Kirtland Temple.

* What does D&C 137:7-9 teach about people who died without receiving the
gospel but would have received it if they had heard it? What does D&C
137:10 teach about the inheritance of children who die before the age of
accountability?
A room in the restored John Johnson home in Hiram, Ohio. The Prophet Joseph
received Doctrine and
Covenants 76 while he resided in this home.

Page 44
- -----------------------------------

[commentary: This vision complete the evolutionary understanding of the
Godhead for Joseph Smith, from what it was from his various accounts of the
first vision and early vagueness and inconsistency of documents such as
Lectures on faith.  Accepting Joseph Smith's evolution of do the God hood
is the only way to deal with criticisms as below.  I do not have any
references that frankly deal with JS's changing understanding of the
Godhood from a faith promoting point of view, if anyone has them I'll be
glad to pass them along.]

- ----------------------------

Fawn M. Brodie was one of the first to cast serious doubt upon the
authenticity of Joseph Smith's story of the First Vision: "The description
of the vision was first published by Orson Pratt in his Remarkable Visions
in 1840, twenty years after it was supposed to have occurred. Between 1820
and 1840 Joseph's friends were writing long panegyrics; his enemies were
defaming him in an unceasing stream of affidavits and pamphlets, and Joseph
himself was dictating several volumes of Bible-flavored prose. But no one
in this long period even intimated that he had heard the story of the two
gods. At least, no such intimation has survived in print or manuscript....
The first published Mormon history, begun with Joseph's collaboration in
1834 by Oliver Cowdery, ignored it altogether,...Joseph's own description
of the first vision was not published until 1842, twenty-two years after
the memorable event....

"If something happened that spring morning in 1820, it passed totally
unnoticed in Joseph's home town, and apparently did not even fix itself in
the minds of members of his own family. The awesome vision he described in
later years may have been the elaboration of some half-remembered dream
stimulated by the

"If something happened that spring morning in 1820, it passed totally
unnoticed in Joseph's home town, and apparently did not even fix itself in
the minds of members of his own family. The awesome vision he described in
later years may have been the elaboration of some half-remembered dream
stimulated by the early revival excitement and reinforced by the rich
folklore of visions circulating in his neighborhood. Or it may have been
sheer invention, created some time after 1834 when the need arose for a
magnificent tradition to cancel out the stories of his fortune-telling and
money-digging." (No Man Knows My History, New York, 1957, pp. 24-25)

Dr. Hugh Nibley, of Brigham Young University, was very disturbed with Mrs.
Brodie's statements, but he admitted that Joseph Smith did not publish the
story until 1842:  "Joseph Smith's 'official' account of his first vision
and the visits of the angel Moroni was written in 1838 and first published
in the Times and Seasons in 1842." (Improvement Era, July 1961, page 490)
1987 - MORMONISM--SHADOW OR REALITY?
- ----------------------------------------
SUNSTONE 12:2/29 (Mar 88)          ARTICLE
    Let it not be concluded, though, that the accounts of the First Vision are
just fabricated to buttress the ongoing personal struggles of Joseph Smith,
Jr.  As Milton Backman has pointed out, in some versions of the vision
certain aspects merely could have been emphasized over others.34 This in no
way indicates that all of the aspects of the vision were not experienced in
the actual event.  In no way would it invalidate the vision in its
complexity and intricacy as a psychic datum, answering the needs of Joseph
Smith in a personal way.
- ----------------------------------------------
SUNSTONE 5:4/21 (Jul 80)           ARTICLE
    Later research has confirmed these conclusions.  We now know that there
are eight separate versions of the First Vision.  We know that the
canonical version is one of the latest.  Most significantly, we know that
all eight versions differ in ways that are highly significant and sometimes
theologically crucial.  We also know that the early Church was largely
ignorant of any of these versions.  It was not until the publication of the
canonical account in 1838 that any attention was paid to the experience.
Even after that time it was used to buttress Joseph's prophetic authority
and not, as presently, to demonstrate the existence of God and Christ as
separate material beings.

    Given so many primary sources, the historian does not, of course, throw up
his hands in disgust.  He analyzes each document to see if it is obviously
spurious.  He checks the handwriting.  Is it Joseph's or that of a known
and trusted scribe or simply that of someone to whom Joseph told the story?
Are some versions more accurate in describing confirmable details than
others? Are others less so?

    The critical question, however, is where does such study lead? It leads
finally to a probable conclusion about the precise character of the event.
The historian gives his best judgment that one of the versions is better
than another, that there are irreconcilable differences among them, etc.
His judgment is based on skill, training, and experience, but it is,
nevertheless, a human judgment.  No matter how certain he may be, he cannot
declare one of these versions to be definitive in the life and faith of the
Church.
- ----------------------------------------
S. Dilworth Young, Conference Report April 1957,  p.118
Elder S. Dilworth Young

Of the First Council of the Seventy

I cannot remember the time when I have not heard the story, quoted by
Brother Bennion, concerning the coming of the Father and the Son to the
Prophet Joseph Smith. I am convinced as I grow older and become
proportionately wiser that if boys and girls in our Church could keep that
story uppermost in their hearts, believing it, having a testimony of it,
much of the ills of our youth which President Richards so graphically
portrayed this morning would not be.

I am concerned however with one [p.119] item which has recently been called
to my attention on this matter. There appears to be going about our
communities some writing to the effect that the Prophet Joseph Smith
evolved his doctrine from what might have been a vision, in which he is
supposed to have said that he saw an angel, instead of the Father and Son.
According to this theory, by the time he was inspired to write the
occurrence in 1838, he had come to the conclusion that there were two Beings.

This rather shocked me. I can see no reason why the Prophet, with his
brilliant mind, would have failed to remember in sharp relief every detail
of that eventful day. I can remember quite vividly that in 1915 I had a
mere dream, and while the dream was prophetic in its nature, it was not
startling. It has been long since fulfilled, but I can remember every
detail of it as sharply and clearly as though it had happened yesterday.
How then could any man conceive that the Prophet, receiving such a vision
as he received, would not remember it and would fail to write it clearly,
distinctly, and accurately?

It seems to me, too, that had he evolved such a thing, his enemies would
have used it against him. In 1838 there was a crisis in the Church. Men
were falling away. It was at that time that Oliver Cowdery became
disaffected. If any man in this Church had ever heard that story of the
first vision, Oliver Cowdery must have heard it. Yet his reasons for
disaffection were never given as an evolution of the first vision. Other
men of that time did not use it as their excuse. In 1844, when the final
conspiracy was concocted to murder Joseph Smith, the reasons given by those
men were not discrepancies in his story of the first vision, but rather
other matters far removed from it.

When Joseph wrote the story in 1838, men and women who had known him ever
since he had started this work took the story in their stride; that is, it
was common enough knowledge from the beginning that no one took an
exception to it. Everybody knew it; everybody had heard it; not exactly in
the words in which he wrote it I believe no man will speak extemporaneously
in the same manner that he will write something but essentially the same,
and when the Saints read it, it merely confirmed what they had heard over
and over again.

His mother should have known something about it. You will remember, he
walked into her house that morning and told her that the church to which
she had given allegiance was not true. To my way of thinking, he must have
told her all about the vision. When she chose to write the story of her
son's experience, she did not put it in her own words. I suspect that she
must have felt that so nearly was what he had written the way he had
described it to her, that she quoted his written statement.

All of these things seem to me to add up to irrefutable evidence, although
not said exactly, that Joseph Smith, in 1838, told the correct story of his
vision of 1820.

Recently I made some slight investigation, although not enough, trying to
find the testimonies of some of those who had heard Joseph say these things
before 1838. I did not find much I did not have time to look far but I have
one, which I should like to give you.

Edward Stevenson told how in 1834 the Prophet came to Pontiac, Michigan,
Stevenson's home town, and there held a series of meetings, attended by
Brother Stevenson. Brother Stevenson wrote that the following was the
Prophet's testimony on that occasion:

"I am witness that there is a God, for I saw him in open day, while praying
in a silent grove in the spring of 1820." Then Brother Stevenson wrote: "He
further testified that God the Eternal Father, pointing to a separate
Personage in the likeness of himself, said, 'This is my beloved Son. Hear
Him.'"

I submit this excerpt as enough like the story that the Prophet wrote to
bear witness that he wrote it accurately and correctly.

I am of the fifth generation. I can remember the second generation. My
grandchildren are of the seventh generation. Likely in their day, they will
remember not only my generation, but will see also, before they die, the
tenth or the eleventh generation. It is just possible that some of them may
be [p.120] interested enough to want to know what their grandfather thought
about these things, and they will investigate the conference reports. I
should like them to have in my words what I believe about this great event.

So will you indulge me while I talk a moment to my grandchildren and to my
great-great-grandchildren, to Loraine, to Parkie, to Charlotte, to Annette,
and Wendy, and any that may come hereafter. (I hope there will be many of
them.) I want you to know that I know that Joseph Smith walked into a grove
in 1820, inspired of the Lord to do so, knelt down, as he said, among the
silent trees, offered up a prayer, and there he was given a vision in which
he saw God the Eternal Father, who in his turn introduced to Joseph his
beloved Son. The Son told Joseph many things which would transpire but of
which he was not allowed to speak. Beginning with that vision, which gave
us our first knowledge since the time of the Savior of the true
relationship of our Father and his Son to us, has grown this Church. That
is my solemn and humble testimony to those of my house who in the future
will want to know what I thought and believed.

In order that they will have no doubt, and that no carping critic may read
into my words things that are not there, I should like to repeat for their
benefit what the Prophet said when he wrote his vision:

...I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of
the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

...when the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and
glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake
unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other This is My
Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Joseph Smith 2:16-17.)

I will stand on that witness and add mine that I know by the Spirit of the
Holy Ghost that it is true, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President David O. McKay:

The Congregation will join with the Choir now in singing "We Thank Thee, O
God, for a Prophet." The last speaker, the one to whom we have just
listened, is Elder S. Dilworth Young of the First Council of Seventy.

The Choir and congregation joined in singing the hymn, "We Thank Thee, O
God, For A Prophet."
President David O. McKay:

Bishop Joseph L. Wirthlin, Presiding Bishop of the Church, will now address
us. He will be followed by Elder Marion D. Hanks of the First Council of
Seventy.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 02 Jul 1997 19:48:43 -0700
From: "Perry L. Porter" <[e-mail]>
Subject: ---> Lesson 23

Doctrine and Covenants 78-83; 1 04

Scriptural Highlights

1. The Lord provides for the temporal needs of his Saints.

2. "Unto whom much is given much is required."

3. We are to care for the poor.

Ask a class member to bear testimony of the blessings of caring for the needy.
Discussion and Application Questions

* According to D&C 78:3-5, what were the objectives of the united order?
(See also D&C 82:18-19.) How does equality in "earthly things" help us
obtain "heavenly things"? (D&C 78:5). How does obedience to the Lord's
commandments help prepare us for life in the celestial kingdom? (D&C 78:7.)

* According to D&C 78:14, what was a further objective of the united order?
How can we prepare to be as independent as possible even during times of
adversity? How does the Church help members to stand independent?

* What does it mean to do things with an eye single to the glory of God?
(D&C 78:8; 82:19.) How can you know if you are doing things with an eye
single to the glory of God?

*Who is Michael? (D&C 27:11; 78:16; 107:53-57.)

* Why is it important to feel gratitude to God for our blessings? (D&C
78:19; 104:14.) In what sense are we always in debt to God? (Mosiah
2:20-24.) How can we develop feelings of greater thanksgiving for God's
blessings?

* How can the Lord's counsel in D&C 81 :5-6 apply to us today?

* What relationship exists between forgiving other people and obtaining
forgiveness from God? (D&C 82:1; 64:9-10; Matthew 6:12-15.) What blessings
come to us as we forgive and forget and leave judgment to the Lord? (D&C
82:23.)

* In D&C 82:1-7 the Lord promised to forgive his servants but warned that
they must refrain from further sin. What are the consequences when we sin
and do not repent? (D&C 82:3, 7; 1 :31-33.) How can we avoid becoming
complacent in our attitude toward sin?

* The Lord said, "I . . . am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do
not what I say, ye have no promise" (D&C 82:10; see also D&C 130:20-21).
How have you found this to be true? What is the Lord "bound" to do when we
obey him? Why do we sometimes have difficulty

page 45

Lesson 23

recognizing the blessings the Lord gives us when we obey?

* What does D&C 82:18-19 teach us about improving on the talents the Lord
has given us? What talents might we possess that could be helpful in
building the kingdom of God?

* According to D&C 83, what are the roles of the family and the Church in
providing for women and children? How can we make greater efforts to care
for the widows and fatherless? (James 1 :27.)

* What is a stewardship? (See D&C 104:11-13, the quotation from President
Kimball, and the quotation from the Guide to the Scriptures in lesson 21.)
What kinds of stewardships do we have today? How will the Lord bless us as
we magnify our stewardships? (D&C 104:30-33; 51:19.)

* In D&C 104:14-18 the Lord explains his way of providing for the temporal
needs of his children. What is our responsibility when we receive of the
Lord's abundance? How does the Church help us provide for the needy? (See
the quotation from Elder Nelson and the quotation from President Kimball in
lesson 16.) How might an evaluation of our needs and wants make it possible
for us to do more in caring for the needy?

* Although there is famine and great need throughout the world, the Lord
has said that "the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare" (D&C
104:17). What are some of the causes of famine and need? How can we avoid
contributing to these causes?

Quotations

President Spencer W. Kimball: "In the Church a stewardship is a sacred
spiritual or temporal trust for which there is accountability. Because all
things belong to the Lord, we are stewards over our bodies, minds,
families, and properties.... A faithful steward is one who exercises
righteous dominion, cares for his own, and looks to the poor and needy"
(Ensign, Nov. 1977, p. 78).

Elder Russell M. Nelson: "As individual members of the Church, you and I
participate in the Lord's 'own way.' At least once a month, we fast and
pray and contribute generous offerings to funds that enable bishops to
disperse aid This is past of the Law of the gospel. Each of us truly can
help the poor and the needy, now, and wherever they are. And we, too, will
be blessed and protected from apostasy by so doing" (Ensign, May 1986, p. 27).

Next Week's Reading Assignment Doctrine and Covenants 84-85

Class Member Study Guide

Lesson 23

Early in March 1832, the Lord revealed that there must be an organization
to regulate and establish the law of consecration among his people (see D&C
78). The Lord referred to this organization as an "order" (D&C 78:8), and
it later came to be known as the united order (see D&C 92:1). Saints were
to become part of the order "by a bond or everlasting covenant" (D&C
78:11). The order was to receive consecrations from the Saints of all their
possessions, give stewardships back to the Saints, and supervise the
storehouses of the Church.

In response to the command to "sit in council with the saints which are in
Zion" (D&C 78:9), the Prophet began preparing to leave for Missouri. This
was a particularly difficult time for Joseph. On the night of 24 March
1832, a mob broke into his home at Hiram, Ohio, dragged him out into the
cold, stripped off his clothing, covered his body with hot tar and
feathers, and broke one of his teeth trying to force a vial of poison into
his mouth. As a result of the mobbing, Joseph's adopted twins, who had been
suffering from measles, were exposed to the cold night air. One of the
twins died five days later from the effects of the exposure.

In spite of this tragedy and continuing mob threats to their families,
Joseph and other Church leaders left for Missouri on 1 April, only a few
days after the infant's death.

After arriving in Jackson County, the Prophet called a general council of
the Church. At the council, misunderstandings that had existed between some
of the Church leaders were amicably resolved (see D&C 82:1). Joseph was
acknowledged as President of the High Priesthood, as he had been three
months earlier in Ohio (see heading to D&C 75), and the Missouri branch of
the united order was organized. Section 82 was received during the
conference and section 83 a few days afterward.

Joseph Smith received D&G 104 two years later. In it the Lord temporarily
dissolved the united order in Kirtland and reorganized it separately from
the order in Missouri (see D&C 104:47-51). Properties were given as
stewardships to the members in Kirtland. Until this time, there had been
one united order that included the Saints in Ohio and Missouri. The Lord
made these changes because financial problems in Kirtland and persecutions
in Missouri made it advisable to separate the resources of the two groups
of Saints. The Lord commanded the Saints in Kirtland to use their
stewardships to further the important work of publishing the scriptures. He
also explained the way in which his Saints should care for the poor.
As you study D&C 78-83 and 104, consider the following:

* What were some objectives of the united order? (D&C 78:3-5, 14;
82:18-19.) How can we prepare to be as independent as possible even during
times of adversity?
What are the consequences when members of the Church sin and do not repent?
(D&C 82:1-7.) How can we avoid becoming complacent in our attitude toward sin?

* What is our responsibility when we receive of the Lord's abundance? How
might an evaluation of our needs and wants make it possible for each of us
to do more in caring for the needy?
Tarring and Feathering the Prophet, by C. C. A. Christensen. While living
in Hiram, Ohio, Joseph Smith was beaten and covered with tar and feathers
by members of a mob. Sidney Rigdon was also badly beaten and is shown Iying
in the background. Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts at Brigham Young University.
Page 46

VVVVVV-----From: Stephen Ott <[e-mail]>------VVVVVVV


Subject:  D&C 78-83, 104 Notes

Section 78
    Most students of Church history are aware that sections 78, 82,
92, 103, 104, and 105 carried a number of code names and words used
to disguise the identity of the persons, places, and concepts referred to.
The original drafts of these revelations did not contain these code words
but used rather the real names of the persons and places.  These code
words began with the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
However, many readers have not understood why these unusual names
were used.  Some have supposed they represented a divine or revealed
name of the persons and perhaps pertained to past or future existence.
This evidently was not the case.  The code names were used in 1835 so
as not to expose to the enemies of the Church the identity of the
persons, places, or concepts.  The 1876 edition of the Doctrine and
Covenants printed the real names in brackets after the code words.  This
practice was continues until the 1981 edition.  Since there exists no
present need to have the code names, the 1981 edition uses only the
names in the original manuscript.  This procedure is explained in the new
headnote to sections 78 and 82.
    Robert J. Matthews, "The New Publications of the Standard
Works?1979, 1981," Brigham Young University Studies, Volume 22,
Number 4.

    The United Firm was a business partnership consisting of about a
dozen Church leaders.  Members of the firm were either land-owners or
merchants whose purpose was to work in concert, using the financial
means at their disposal, to generate pofits.  Inasmuch as the members of
the partnership were also presiding Church leaders, it is difficult to
determine which of their financial transactions were purely personal and
which were Church-related  This dual relationship has led some writers
to erroneously conclude that the United Firm administered the law of
consecration.  Specifically, the Church bishop administered the program
of consecration.  The United Order was essentially a private business
concern.
    The nucleus from which the United Firm grew was the
Gilbert-Whitney store, as it was called, expanded to two branches (one
in Kirtland and one in Independence) ....
    Section 78 directed that the order be formed and commanded that
Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Newel K. Whitney "sit in council with
the Saints ... in Zion," to regulate the affairs of the poor.  ...  During
their
visit in Missouri, a meeting of the United Firm essentially incorporated the
Missouri branch of the Gilbert-Whitney Store into the firm.
    William E. McLellan stated on more than one occasion that there
were nine members of the United Firm, but there may have been more.
The following are known to have been members in 1832: Joseph Smith,
Sidney Rigdon, Jesse Gause, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, A. Sidney
Gilbert, Newel K. Whitney; undoubtedly Edward Partridge, William W.
Phelps, and John Whitmer were also members in that year.  Frederick G.
Williams and John Johnson became members of the order in 1833.
    The members of the United Firm were consecrated in their
respective responsibilities, and although they were to benefit personally
from the profits of the firm, the surplus profits were to be used for the
operation and blessing of the whole Church.
    ...  On 10 Aprl 1834 members of the firm met and decided that the
order should be dissolved, ... a revelation (section 104), commanded that
the two brances of the firm become separate entities and that the
members discontinue operating jointly.
    The coded names in section 78 and subsequent revelations
dealing with United Firm ... were used to prevent enemies of the Church
from taking advantage of the brethren after the revelations were
published.  It was decided that the financial affairs of the Church,
administered by the firm, should be kept confidential.
    Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and
Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 167-169.

    According to two manuscript copies ... section 78 was received
in Kirtland not Hiram ....  A notation in the "Kirtland Revelation Book," ...
details the Prophet's activities ... "From the 16th of February up to this
date [8 March] have been at home except a journey to Kirtland on the
29th Feby. and returned home on the 4th of March we received a
revelation in Kirtland and one since I returned home blessed be the name
of the Lord."  The revelation received in Kirtland was section 78 ... and
the revelation received after the Prophet's return to Hiram, Ohio, related
to the duties of the Church bishop and the calling of counselors in the
presidency of the High Priesthood ....
    Early manuscripts of section 78 ... clearly indicate that the subject
at hand was the organization of brancehs of the Literary and United
Firms ....  Explicit reference to these business concerns was deleted
when the revelation was published in 1835.  ...  The terms
"Adam-ondi-Ahman" and "Son Ahman" ... were not part of the original
revelation ... but were added in 1835.
    Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and
Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p.  312-313.

15,20: Adam-ondi-Ahman & Son Ahman not part of the original revelation.
Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A
Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants,
(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 313.

References to business concerns deleted when published in 1835.
Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A
Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants,
(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 313.


81
    At a priesthood conference hold in Amherst, Ohio, on 25 January
1832, Joseph Smith was ordained and sustained President of the High
Priesthood.  Less than two months later the Prophet appointed two men
to stand with him in the Presidency of the High Priesthood.  ...  Although
the "Presidency" of the High Priesthood ... was to preside over all
ordained high priests, by 1834 this body had become the First
Presidency of the Church.
    ...
    While the recipient of Section 81 has traditionally been believed to
be Frederick G. Williams, the "Kirtland Revelation Book" discloses that the
revelation was intended for Jesse Gause.  ...
    Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and
Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 170-171.

    Use of the term "First Presidency" in revelations prior to 1834 is
anachronistic.  In all cases where this occurs the language was modified
in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
    Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and
Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 314.

82
    ... 26 April 1832, a general council of the Church was convened
in which the Missouri Saints acknowledged Joseph Smith as President of
the High Priesthood.  At the close of the conference, the Prophet
received section 82.
    ...
    Section 82 concerns itself witht he organization of a branch of
the United Firm in Missouri and the responsibilities of the members of the
firm to "manage the affairs of the poor."
    Verse 1 specifically refers to difficulties between Joseph Smith
and Church leaders in Missouri and an eight-month-old disagreement
between Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge.
    ...
    We lack some details about the latter problem, but the factors
involved were "money," Ridgon's near drowning in the Missouri River on
his return trip to Ohio from Missouri in 1831, and inconveniences
suffered on the 1831 Missouri trip.  ...  Sidney became so disturbed over
this affair that he became mentally depressed and preached falsely in
public in Kirtland. ...
    ...
    Rigdon quickly became aware of his error, sought forgiveness,
and on 28 July was reordained as a member of the Presidnecy of the
High Priesthood.
    Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and
Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 172-175.

    Sidney's first revelation in Kirtland was telling the people that the
kingdom was rent from the, and they might as well all go home for they
were rejected.  The saints felt very bad and were alomost distracted.
When brother Joseph cam home, (who was absent at the hime) he
called Sidney into council and there told him he had lied in the name of the
Lord; and says he, "you had better give up your licence and divest
yourself of all the authority you can, for you will go into the hands of
satan, and he will handle you as one man handleth another, and the less
authority you have the better for you ....
    Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and
Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 315.

104
    ... an important revelation giving instructions to members of the
United Firm.  ... "revelation given April 23d 1834, appointing to each
member of the United firm their stewardships."
    Prior to the Prophet's leaving for Missouri in May 1834, he
desperately sought to borrow or collect by donation two thousand
dollars to pay pressing debts incurred by the United Firm.
    ... Joseph Smith and other journeyed to New York to seek
volunteers to help redeem the Jackson County Saints and to obtain
money "for the relief of the brethren in Kirtland."  ...a Church council
voted that several elders should "exert themselves to obtain two
thousand dollars for the present relief of Kirtland" ....  ... returned to
Kirtland unsuccessful in obtaining the needed money, the Prophet met
with Newel K. Whitney, Frederick G. Williams, Oliver Cowdery, and
Heber C. Kimball and prayed that the Lord would "furnish the means to
deliver the [United] Firm from debt."  ...
    On 10 April 1834, unable to secure the needed funds, members
of the United Firm met and agreed that the "order" should be dissolved
and each member have his stewardship set off to him.
    Section 104 gives the particulars of the division of the United Firm
among the members living in Kirtland, and also directs the two branches
of the firm (i.e., the Missouri branch and the Kirtland branch) to become
separate entities.
    ...
    ... another revelation, received the same day ... required "every
one of what was then called the firm to give up all notes & demands that
they had against each other and all be equal."
    ... which follow verse 59 in the "Kirtland Revelation Book," are not
part of the present text of section 104 of the Doctrine and Covenants:
Therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall take the books
fo Mormon and also the copy-right, and also the copy-right which shall
be secured of the Articles and Covenants in which covenants all my
commandments which it is my will should be printed, shall be printed, as
it shall be made known unto you; and also the copy-right of the new
translation of the scripture; and this I say that others may not take the
blessings away from you which I have conferred upon you.
    Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith:
A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and
Covenants, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 210-212.

    ... the practice of bracketing the real names next to the
substituted names began with the 1876 edition.  By the 1921 edition
almost all the real names had been identified.  In the 1981 edition the code
names were removed from the text in all but four cases, and the identity
of one of these four is suggested in a textual note.  ...
    ... received by Joseph Smith between 1832 and 1834.  ... Joseph
Smith was officially sustained for the first time by a conference vote as
President of the High Priesthood.  With his selection of two counselors in
March, the first presiding quorum of the Church was established.  ...  By
the end of the the membership was about ten thousand.  ...
Nevertheless, by 1832 a growing climate of hostility was manifesting
itself against the Mormons.  ...
    In the context of this growing hostility the decision was made to
conceal the true idnetities of various early leaders, particularly those
responsible for the economic matters of the Church.  Sicne there were
numberous problems connected with the early attempts to establish the
law of consecration and stewardship, especially as it related to property
holding, it was natural to hide the identity of those assigned specific
temporal duties.
    The published revelations which contained the substituted names
include section 78, 82, 92, 96, 103, 104, and 105.  ... all of them were
concerned with the united firm ....  Thus section 78, the first section to
use code names, deals with the establishment of a storehouse for the
pooor; section 82 with the management of the properties for the poor; 92
with Frederick G. Williams who was instructed as a member fo the First
Presidency to become a member of the united firm; 96 with the
purchasing of properties; 104 with the stewardships fo those who were
members of the united firm; and 105 with Zion's Camp and the
redemption of Zion in Missouri.
    ...  None of them appears in the 1833 Book of Commandments....
All but two (103 and 105) were printed in the 1835 Doctrine and
Covenants....
    It is clear that the pseudonyms were not part of the original
revelations, for in the cases where original manuscripts are extant, the
code names are absent. ...
    The first attempt in LDS literature to explain the substituted names
was made by Orson Pratt.  ...  Orson decided to publish an article on the
matter in The Seer.  Although it was a short essay, it was the first
attempt to publicly reveal the true identities of the pseudonyms.  ...  He
concluded his explanation by revealing the real names from memory and
listing the five pseudonums whose real names he could not remember:
Alsam, Mahalaleel, Horah, Shalemanasseh, and Melemson. ...
    Int he 1876 eidtion the code names were placed beside the real
names.  ...  The unidentified names in the 1981 edition, with only one
exception , are the same names Orson Pratt could not remember in 1854.
    ...
    The Phelps list is important because it finally reveals the identity of
the remaining substituted names.  ...it reveals the actual names of the
remaining three individuals unidentified in the 1981 edition of the D&C:
Mahalaleel was Algernon Sidney Gilber; Horah was John Whitmer; and
Shalemanasseh was William W. Phelps.  ...
    ...  It is possible that they were simply invented, but it appears
more likely that most of these names came from the Hebrew sutdies of
early Mormon leaders.  ... these early Mormons were just beginning their
Hebrew studies, and perhaps a closer search fo their texts and
dictionaries might reveal the actual source of these pseudonyms.
    David J. Whittaker, "Substituted Names in the Published
Revelations of Joseph Smith," Brigham Young University Studies,
Volume 23, Winter 1983, Number 1.

    ... these economic revelations were given to specific people for
specific purposes and ... generalizing may misinterpret them.
    ...  Contrary to the traditional idea of failure, the United Order of
Joseph Smith's time performed its mission brilliantly.  This group was
chosen even before the Twelve Apostles were called on 14 February
1835....  It combined the functions of today's Corporation of the
President, the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the
Presiding Bishopric in conducting the business affairs of the Church.  As
the Quorum of the Twelve became mature and stable, it assumed with
the First Presidency all the duties of the United Order.  ...  The creation of
units in Utah from 1854 to 1877, which were also called united orders,
has caused confusion....  The united orders from different eras had
different purposes, structures, and membership.  They also had no
historical continuity.
    The United Order of Joseph Smith's day was organized
essentially as a general partnership, with t a branch in Kirtland and one
in Missouri.  By law all the partners of a business partnership are fully
liable for the business agreements made by any one of the partners.  In
that sense, all the partners hold all business and personal assets in
common and put all business gains into one account before each
person's share of the total is calculated.  ...
    The original United Order was a combination of Church leader in
Kirtland ... and those who had recently been sent to Missouri....  Bishop
Partridge's two counselors, John Corrill and Isaac Morley, apparently
acted as agents of the firm....  Two other men -- Frederick G. Williams
and John Johnson -- were added later as full members by specific
revelations....
    ...
    From the original group of eleven partners, subgroups were
formed as specific transactions or funcitons needed to be carried out....
These subgroups were kept insulated from each other....  In today's
world where liability-limiting corporations can be formed almost at will,
the myriad of general partner/silent partner arrangements of Joseph
Smith's Order would likely be recast into a system of subsidiary
corporations under the control of a parent corporation.  ...that was not
practical in Joseph Smith's day, since a separate act of state legislature
was needed for any new corporation and men in the legislature were
often hostile to LDS interests.  ...  If two or three men operated one store
under a normal business name, and two or three other men operated
another store under a different business name, and a third group
operated a printing establishement under a third name, no one would
suspect that all were really part of the same group....
    ...  It allowed the United Order brethren to control their business
credit, risks, and liabilities.  If a creditor of one Mormon enterprise
realized that he could claim payment from several other enterprises
which were all parts of the same organization, that creditor could
severlely disrupt the gathering and settlement of the Saints.  As it was,
the creditors contracted with a limited set of men and looked only to them
for repayemnt.
    The brethren contracted some large debts in their business
dealings with the trade and finance institutions of their time....  These
large lines of credit were necessary to sustain extensive purchases of
land in Kirtland and Missouri, and later, Far West and Nauvoo....  Church
- -controlled firms made wholesale purchases of goods and resold them to
the Saints, providing a reliable source of supplies and precluding
price-gouging by outside traders....
    It was, of course, necessary for some early migration plans to be
secret....  If anyone, Church member or not, knew shere and when the
Church was planning to move, they could purchase land at the
destination from the government and then resell it at a large profit to the
Saints.  ...
    ... the existence and mission of the United Order was of
necessity known to very few.  ...
    ...  After the initial thrust into Missouri, communication between
the east and west branches probably was too slow to allow most
decisions to still be made in Kirtland.  Men on the spot had to be given
that authority.  The single firm became two firms, and each probably
added extra personnel as agents.  ... the eastern branch relinquished
control of the western branch's operating decisions.  Finally, some time
after 1838, the functions of the United Order were absorbed by the First
Presidnecy, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric....
    Kent W. Huff, "The United Order of Joseph Smith's Times,"
Dialogue: Journal of Mormon Thought, Summer 1986.

- -------
Subject:  Extract of comments on Law of Consecration

    ... it need not be imagined that the Latter-day Saints cannot truly
live the law of consecration nor truly please God in their economic lives
unless or until they reinstitute some particular aspect or phase of early
Mormon Consecration.

     ...  While not all of the "law" deals with economics or caring for
the poor, Doctrine and Covenants 42:30-42 contains the underlying
principles of the law of consecration and is generally considered the
basic source whenever discussing this law.

    Most Saints have thought that the united order was widely
practiced in Ohio and Missouri.  Indeed, the phrases order, united order,
and order of Enoch frequently appear in the Doctrine and Covenants....
... these are substitute phrases for "united firm," the original words in the
revelations for an organization which was disbanded 23 April 1834  (see
D&C 104).  The wording was changed so that enemies of the Church
and angry creditors would not use the printed revelations against the
Church.  Members of the united firm were also given coded names in
several editions of the Doctrine and Covenants for the same reason.
    The united firm was a business partnership between a handful of
Church leaders, no more than twelve at any one time, to consolidate the
financial resources and organizational and professional talents of these
men to generate profits to be used for the personal living expenses as
well as the economic needs of the Church.  ..  The main reason for the
tremendous indebtedness accrued by the united firm was the
destruction of the Church printing press and the closure of Sidney
Gilbert's store by mobs in Independence....

    The law of tithing, while considered by some commentators in the
past as in "inferior" law to the law of consecration, seems to have been
merely a new phase of consecration.

Bruce A. Van Orden, "The Law of Consecration," The Capstone of our
Religion: Insights into the Doctrine and Covenants, Edited by Robert L.
Millet and Larry E. Dahl (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1989)

- ------
Subject:  More notes on Law of Consecration

    In one of the revelations instructing the Saints to move to Ohio
(see D&C 38:32), Joseph learned that the Lord would reveal to him a
new divine law in that state.  Upon his arrival, Joseph learned that
serious problems were plaguing members of the Family.  The pooling of
property had led some to believe that everything should be shared,
including clothes, and what belonged to one belonged to all.  On
9?February 1831, twelve elders approached Joseph Smith and inquired if
the time was ripe for the unfolding of the "law" that had been mentioned
in the New York revelation.  In their presence, the Prophet sought divine
information and recorded most of what is today section 42 of the
Doctrine and Covenants.5 Included in this revelation was a partial
description of the law of consecration and stewardship.
    According to his law, members were to consecrate their
properties to the Lord for the support of the poor "with a covenant and a
deed which cannot be broken" (see D&C 42:30).  This "substance" or
property was to be "laid before the bishop." Following an expansion in
the government of the Church in the early 1830s, which included the
calling of bishop's councilors and the introduction of the office of high
priest, Joseph Smith edited the revelation to read that the properties
were to be laid before the bishop "and his two councilors, two of the
elders, or high priests, such as he shall appoint or has appointed and set
apart for that purpose."6The bishop was then to convey to this member,
who was called a steward, property sufficient for his and his family's
needs.  A steward was to be accountable to the Lord for "his own
property, or that which he . . . received by consecration" (see D&C
42:31-32).  After this first consecration, surpluses were to be conveyed
to the bishop, kept in the Lord's storehouse, and used "to administer to
the poor and the needy," as determined by the bishop (see D&C
42:33-34).
    ...
    ...  Between the end of October and December 1830
approximately nine families living in Kirtland joined the Church.  These
individuals owned 132 acres of land in that township.  Most of these
converts were living on the Isaac Morley farm.  If all of the land owned
by the Kirtland Saints would have been divided among these nine
families, each family would have received less than fifteen acres.
Although Newel K. Whitney owned a profitable mercantile store and
didn't need as much land as most, a majority of the Kirtland converts
were farmers; fifteen acres was not sufficient to support an average
family.
    ...
    One problem encountered in organizing communal societies was
a tendency for poor people to be attracted to such movements and for
the wealthy to shun such enterprises.  For example, one possible
problem encountered by the Family was that some took advantage of
Isaac Morley, who had undoubtedly contributed more than others.  That
which belonged to one was considered the property of all, arousing
jealousy and bitter feelings.  ...  However, as explained, one of the
probable reasons that the law of consecration and stewardship was not
immediately put into use in Kirtland was because members did not own
sufficient land in that town for a satisfactory redistribu?tion to have
occurred.
    ...
    ...  While visiting the Saints in Thompson, the Prophet learned that
the bishop of the Church was to receive the property of the people and
was to divide the "inheritances" among the stewards according to their
"circumstances,"  "wants," and "needs".  ...  There was confusion
among early members concerning whether the consecrated property
that was deeded to the bishop should be leased or deeded to the
stewards.  Eventually, Joseph resolved this problem and in harmony with
divine guidance edited section 51 ... by adding the following instructions
to this revelation: a transgressor who left the Church was to retain that
which had been deeded to him but had no claim on the surplus that he
contributed to the Church...."
    When Leman Copley was encouraged to live the law of
consecration and stewardship, which would have meant sharing his
property with others and losing title to part of his farm, he apostatized.
The New York Saints were in a difficult situation.  After initiating a
building program in Thompson, they were ordered by the legal owner of
the property to leave.  They had sacrificed economically while complying
with the commandment to move to Ohio.  ...  After seeking advice from
the Prophet, they were instructed to move to western Missouri.  ...
    ...  Most of the converts who had been living in Kirtland in the fall
of 1830 also migrated to Jackson County, Missouri.  All of the individuals
who are known to have been members of the Family ....
    ...
    During this second residence of the Prophet (between mid-1832
and January 1938), like his first brief stay in that community, there is no
evidence that Joseph Smith attempted to implement the law of
consecration and stewardship in that community.  Many factors hindered
such action.  At no time during this decade did the members own
sufficient land in Kirtland for all stewards to have been given an
adequate inheritance.  ...
    Developments in Missouri also probably interfered with the
application of the law of consecration and stewardship in Ohio.  Lack of
a correct understanding of this law, lack of money and land, selfishness,
covetous desires, persecution, and expulsion from Jackson County all
contributed to the failure of the Saints in Missouri to live this higher law.
In 1838 members throughout the Church were given a lesser law, the
law of tithing....
    Meanwhile, members in Kirtland were striving to live another
commandment, the law of consecration rather than the law of
consecration and stewardship (as described in sections 42 and 51).
Except in a few rare instances, members were not asked to deed title of
their property to the Church and receive in exchange an inheritance.
There was no attempt in Kirtland to obtain a degree of equality through
the redistribution of property according to family circumstances, wants,
and needs.  Instead, members were commanded to consecrate or
dedicate their lives for the building of the kingdom of God on earth.  ...
Moreover, these and other Latter-day Saints were commanded to
sacrifice and pay a tithing (see D&C 64:23).  Tithing at that time was not
interpreted as we understand this law today, but referred to "all freewill
offerings, or contributions, to the Church" (see section heading to D&C
119).
    One of the closest applications of the law of consecration and
stewardship in Ohio is found in the operations of two businesses, the
Literary Firm and the United Firm (also known as the United Order).
These were two Church-sponsored businesses which had branches in
Ohio and Missouri.  The primary purpose of the Literary Firm was to
publish Church literature, such as the Book of Commandments, 7he
Evening and Morning Star, the Doctrine and Covenants, 7he Messenger
and Advocate, and a hymnal.  Organized in November 183 1, this
partnership continued to print material for the Church until 1838 (see D&C
70:1-5; 72:20-21)."
    The United Firm was similar to the Literary Firm in a number of
ways.  ... the United Firm pooled the talents and resources of three
groups within the Church: men who possessed special skills needed to
operate the business, Church leaders (including a representative from
the First Presidency), and members who made significant economic
contributions (such as Martin Harris).  These partners used their talents
and material means to build the kingdom of God on earth, including
generating profits for the Church (see D&C 82:11-12; 92: 1; 104:19).
    Although some historians in the past have suggested that the
United Firm or United Order functioned as a board of directors who
managed the law of consecration and stewardship, this body did not
administer this law in Ohio nor Missouri.  ...  Partners in the United Firm
did not enter this business by deeding title of their property to the bishop
and receiving in exchange an inheritance.  Instead of directing the law of
consecration and stewardship, the Partners, in harmony with the
principle of stewardship, obtained and managed various Church
businesses.  ...  it was dissolved in Kirtland in 1834.  Then the
redistribution occurred under the direction of the Prophet (see D&C 104)
rather than through the bishop and his councilors.

Milton V. Backman, Jr., "Clothed With Bonds of Charity: The Law of
Consecration and Stewardship in Ohio, 1830-1838", Hearken, O Ye
People: Discourses on the Doctrine and Covenants, Sperry Symposium
1984 (Sandy, Utah: Randall Book Co., 1984)

- ----------

Subject:  "Joseph Smith and the Law of Consecration" notes

    Unfortunately, these published works have given too little
attention to sources.  Public discourses, unofficial comments, and
isolated references made years after the fact have been given more
weight than official documents and contemporary newspaper articles,
letters, and diaries.  Moreover, these studies have overlooked the fact
that the meaning of certain fundamental terminologies used in the
Prophet's lifetime?like "the law of consecration, " "the united order, " and
"the order of Enoch"?came to mean something quite different in Utah.  ...
 the early Mormon law and practice of consecration was not worked out
in a single day, but it developed and changed over several years.  ...
    ... (1) consecration?that is, the act of setting apart or devoting
one's self and his possessions for sacred purposes?became a
fundamental law of the Church in 1831 and was never rescinded, and
that (2), specific programs of consecration were established and
necessarily modified by Church authorities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois.
None of these specific economic programs, conceived of by the Prophet
and his closest associates and implemented or partially implemented by
the early Saints, should be viewed as the "real" law of consecration and
all other substitutes.  ...   Thus, it need not be imagined that the
Latter-day
Saints cannot truly live the law of consecration nor truly please God in
their economic lives unless or until they reinstitute some particular aspect
or phase of early Mormon consecration.



    Joseph Smith's first serious interest regarding an economic law
for the Church must have begun soon after he met Sidney Rigdon in
December 1830. ...  Rigdon had been in the thick of the religious
excitement over communal living for a long while.  It was only a few
days after he found the Prophet Joseph Smith in Western New York that
revelations regarding economics and consecration began to be received.
 ...

    Section 42 described the underlying principles which comprised
the new law of consecration.  These principles differed little from those
of other religious communities of the day, all based in the requirement of
consecrating all of one's possessions to a common fund for the purpose
of eliminating poverty and assisting in the payment of common debts
through personal sacrifice.  However, the implementation of these
principles in the Mormon practice of consecration differed considerably
from other idealistic communities.
    ... a hybrid combining individualism and collectivism; it contained
elements of communitarianism as well as capitalism.  The program was
distinctly communitarian in that it required total consecration of all
possessions as well as yearly donation to the church of all surplus
profits.  It not allow for private ownership of property, and it contained
strong elements of group control and supervisory management bv the
bishop.  ...  Stewards were given specific .property for which they alone
were responsible.  There was freedom of enterprise in production and in
the management of properties held as stewardships as well as basic
freedom of economic activity.



    ... prospective stewards, would legally transfer title to all of their
possessions to the bishop.  ...   The bishop's job was to make sure that
the prospective steward's disclosure was satisfactory and then
determine what he should be given as an "inheritance." ... in the case of
differences of opinion, the bishop had the authority to make a final
decision regarding the size and nature of the steward's inheritance.
    An important feature of the Mormon law of consecration which
clearly distinguished it from other communitarian systems was the
concept of individual stewardship.  "Every man" was to be a "steward
over his own property.  ... there was to be a "yearly"  accounting
between the bishop and the steward. ...


    ...  Mormon bishops were rare during the first decade of the
Church's existence.  There were hardly more than two until the Mormons
settled in Nauvoo.  During the 1830s, the high priests assisted when
necessary by the elders, directed the administrative and spiritual affairs
of the Church.  ... bishops did not have charge of specific congregations,
nor did they spend large amounts of time interviewing and counselling
members in their private lives.



    The bishop was given the management and supervision of the
finances of the Church as well as the law of consecration and
stewardship.  The bishop received the properties of the Saints, allocated
stewardships, administered to the poor, and managed Church funds.



    During the first few months after the reception of the law of the
law of consecration and stewardship, an attempt was made by some of
the Saints in Ohio to comply with its provisions.  A group Saints from
Colesville, New York, established themselves at Thompson, Ohio, near
Kirtland in May 1831.


    The second attempt to establish the l831consecration law was
Jackson County, Missouri.  ...   An article in the church newspaper, The
Evening and the Morning Star, explained that members who settled in
Jackson County and did not "receive their inheritance by consecration,"
would not even be recognized as Saints nor have their names recorded
on any church records.  Consecration was compulsory for any Mormon
who desired to gather with the Saints in Missouri.

    The stewardship contract was to be binding during the life of the
steward unless he left the Church or  was excommunicated.  Were this
to happen, he would forfeit the land and be compelled to pay an
equivalent for the personal property.
    The contract obligated the bishop to provide for the steward and
his family in the case of "infirmity or old age" so long as they were
members of the Church.  If the steward were to die, the widow could
"claim [the] property" on the same terms as her husband.  ...  Printed
forms were used containing the deed of gift contract on the left-hand
side and a "stewardship agreement" on the right.  These contracts were
both properly signed and witnessed.
    ... the Mormon system of land tenure during this period did not
include full rights of conveyance of property in fee simple.  The contracts
granted right of use only?a life lease subject to cancellation by the
bishop in case of withdrawal from the Church or excommunication.  And
the revelations had clearly spelled this out.  After the bishop "has
received the properties" of the steward, they "can not be taken from the
church." And again, he that "sinneth and repenteth not shall not receive
again that which he has consecrated unto me."
    ... the system prohibited the steward from selling or exchanging
the consecrated property with others in the program, even family
members.  ...the rigid control of the property by the bishop tended to
discourage opportunists who might join the economic system to obtain an
"inheritance" of land, and promptly withdraw.


    ... the failure of the 1831 of the 1831 economic law is not
surprising.  Frist, the denial of private ownership of property was a
drastic modification of conventially accepted and recognized property
rights.  ... private accumulation and control of wealth was viewed by
Americans as an essential guarantee of every citizen of the United
States.  Similarly, the requirement of the stewards to transfer all of their
property to the bishop and to reconsecrate their annual surpluses
threatened the incentive motive and prompted members to withhold
possessions from consecration or pursue private investments outside of
the system.
    ... the members were by and large poor before they entered the
consecration system.  Redistribution of property thus resulted in a
leveling down rather than a leveling up of the stewards' living standard.
...



    ... the brethren in Missouri decided that a change in the
consecration law was imperative.  Private ownership of property was
essential.  ...  You must "give a deed, securing to him who receives
inheritances, his inheritance for an everlasting inheritance, or in other
words to be his individual property, his private stewardship."
    ... transfer of land in fee simple was not universal.  Some
(perhaps many) of the stewards were content to leave their property in
the hands of the bishop.  However, with regard to surplus
consecrations, the Mormon leader was emphatic.  Gifts, whether real or
personal property, must be conveyed to the bishop by deed or title.  ...
see that whatsoever is given, is given legally."  ..."in this way no man
can take any advantage of you in law."  Should the steward be found a
transgressor or desire to withdraw from the system, he would retain title
to his inheritance, but "the property which he had consecrated to the
poor [the gift or surplus]" would remain in the hands of the Church.  "He
cannot obtain [it] again," insisted the Prophet, and he is "delivered over to
the buffetings of Satan."

    There was no further attempt to enforce the 1831 law of
consecration dn stewardship in Ohio, nor in any other branch of the
Church outside of western Missouri, after the failure of the Colesville
Branch at Thompson, Ohio.  Because the 1831 economic system
contained communitarian ideas, and because many converts to
Mormonism in the Western Reserve had been identified with Rigdon's
"Family," it took the Mormons quite some time to convince the public that
they did not practice common stock principlis.  (Even in Nauvoo,
outsiders believed that the Saints maintained a community of property.)


    The Literary Firm, organized in November 1831, concerned itself
with the printing of official Chruch literature.  ...
    Members of this partnership practiced the law of consecration
and stewardship, though in a slightly different manner than the Saints in
Missouri....  For example, they consecrated their time, skills, and money
for the purpose of printing Church literature rather than deeding personal
and real properties to the Church bishop.  ...it was agreed that these men
were to "have claim for assistance upon the bishop."  ...they were
ventually to live from the profits of the sale of the publications, and even
produce surpluses from the business "which shall benefit the church" at
large.
    ...
    In March 1832, a companion firm, known as the United Firm, was
organized in Ohio.  ... proceeds of the United Firm were to assist in the
operation of the Literary Firm.
    ...



    The United Firm (also known as the "United Order" or "Order of
Enoch") was a business partnership organized in Kirtland, Ohio, on the
1st of March, 1832.  Its membership consisted of a handful of Church
leaders, never exceeding twelve in number.  Capital for this enterprise
derived from loans which were secured by the assets of members of
the firm who were either landowners or merchants residing in the
Kirtland area.  The purpose of the partnership was to consolidate the
financial resources and organizational talents available to these men in
order to generate profits which could be used for personal living
expenses as well as the economic needs of the Church.

    ... the partners "resolved" that the United Firm would do business
under two different name (1) "Gilbert, Whitney & Company" in Missouri
and (2) "Newel K. Whitney & Company" in Kirtland.
    ...

    Other details concerning the operation and management of the
United Firm foro the next year are sketchy at best.  ... large amounts of
money were borrowed....
    ... members of the Firm had other worries and pressures which
directly or indirectly curtailed the fulfillment of their goals.  Not only
were
the partners having trouble making ends meet with the limited funds at
their disposal, but numerous unforeseen expenses continued to take
monies that could have otherwise paid some of the company's bills.

    ... when all possibilities of obtaining the necessary money were
exhausted, the United Firm was dissolved and divided, and a revelation
was received which confirmed these decision.  ... the breakup of the
company did not immediately absolve the partners from repaying loans to
creditors, but i did allow the members to operate and manage their own
stewardships privately and independent of the United firm's
administrative canopy.
    ...
    Section 104 of Doctrine and Covenants (1) gives the particulars
of the division of the United Firm among its members living in Kirtland and
92) because of the problems inherent in managing and communicating
with the Missouri branch of the company as well as the failure of the
store and the loss of the printing office in Independence, directs that the
two branches "no longer be bound" together.  ...
    ...
    Because the partners of the western branch of the Firm had
been expelled from their properties (i.e., the printing office, the
storehouse, and the residences and lots) no particulars were given at
this time as to how they should be divided.

    In 1835, a portion of the rim's notes still remained unpaid.  Even
so, that summer, when the manuscripts for the second edition of the
Doctrine and Covenants were being prepared for publicaton, it was
decided that the Uniter Firm revelations (78, 82, 92, 96, 104) should be
included.  However, because of potential lawsuits over the delinquent
notes, it was considered unwise to publish the names of the partners of
the now defunct company.  These revelations, received specifically for
the Firm, contained important gospel principles and teachings about
consecration.  Therefore, it was agreed that coded or fictitious names be
substituted for the partners' real names.  Also it was thought best to alter
the name of the United Firm to read "United Order" or "Order of Enoch."
"Order" sounded like a religious fraternity and was void of an business
connotations.
    ...
    Unaware of the history of the United Frim during the
1830s, Mormons in Utah (as early as the 1850s) began to
confuse terminology regarding the law of consecration and the
United Firm (Order).  Since all of the then existing references to
the Firm in the doctrine and Covenants had been changed to the
"United Order," it was easy to assume, though erroneously, that
"United Order" in the Doctrine and Covenants referred to a
religio-socio-economic law instead of a business partnership.
Consequently, in the 1870s, the terms "United Order" and
"Order of Enoch" were used by the saints to refer to
communitarian programs, instituted by  Brigham Young,
programs which sought to elevate the poor, achieve a
self-sufficient economy, and establish spiritual unity.  And the
United Firm (Order) revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants
were quoted as authority to encourage the Saints to pool their
labor as well as their capital to realize these communitarian
goals.
    In the twentieth century, the terms "Law of
Consecration," "Law of Consecration and Stewardship," "United
Order," and "Order of Enoch" have come to be used
interchangeable by the Latter-day Saints.  It is often assumed,
erroneously, that these terms refer to a single economic
program revealed to Joseph Smith in the 1830s, and that this
same program will be practiced by the Saints in the future.


    ...  On the 7th of December, the bishopric committee presented
their proposal.  They suggested that an annual "voluntary freewill
offering" would "be pleasing in the sight of the Lord" and would "in some
degree" fulfill the law of consecration.  They agreed that a percentage of
a member's net worth was "a more equal mode of raising funds" than a
tax on what he produces or on his annual income.  It was also agreed
that widows, generally, and "all other families" whose total assets were
less than seventy-five dollars should be exempt from this "tithing."  The
amount of the tithing to be required was 2% or 1/50th of a member's net
worth.  Any of the Saints who were unwilling to contribute this amount
were to be considered "weak in the faith" and "under the influence of
covetousness to that degree that their case must be considered
hopeless unless they repent."
    In order to assure accountability, once yearly each household
steward would "render and inventory" to the bishop declaring his net
worth....  ...the bishopric and local presidency and high council would
yearly determine what percentage of a steward's net worth would be
needed "to be raised [for] the following year."  ...
    ...
    Record which would demonstrate how this 2% "tithing" worked,
are presently unavailable,  ... if the program was implemented at all, it
lasted only a short while.  ...a general call was issued to the Saints to
"consecrate their properties" to the Lord, "for the support of the poor and
needy," and funds were allocated to "build a sufficient storehouse or
houses to receive all the consecrations of the people."  ...consecrations
were altogether too sparse to answer the needs of the poor and pay
existing operating expenses....
    The voluntary contribution initiative of 2% of a member's net
worth, conceived of in December 1837, undoubtedly served as a prelude
to the new economic system given in July 1838.  ...  The nature of this
inquiry as well as the text of the revelation make it clear that "tithing," as
it is used in section 119, did not simply connote ten percent, but a
contribution or an offering or a donation of one's possessions or time.
    There is no evidence that Mormon leaders or members
perceived the economic plan embodied in section 119 to be an
"inferior law" of Church economics.  ... the 1838 program was
viewed by the Saints simply as a new phase of consecration.  ..
many hailed it as a markedly improved economic plan for
obtaining donations and contributions.  Admittedly, this
program did not provide for the bishop to redistribute the
wealth of the members, nor to allocate specific inheritances or
personal stewardships.  Yet, significantly, the equalizing effect
of the 1838 plan on the members was identical to earlier
programs.
    Until after 1844, there was never any attempt to establish
a set amount of money or property as a required contribution
from the faithful.  To a person who asked Joseph Smith to
indicate what percentage of amember's assets or income was
required to be in good standing, the Mormon leader wrote: "We
have no special instructions ... respecting how much a man of
property shall give annually."  The question of how much
should be required did not exemplify the tru spirit of charity and
implied limits of responsibility; it assumed that some
prescribed quantity of money, property, or service could
release ... a Mormon from further obligation to his religion or to
his fellowman.
    The Prophet's response transcended the mundane question of
percentages and emphasized true generosity in giving and freedom from
all taint of self-interest.  We ask only that our members "feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, provide for the widow, dry up the tear of the orphan,
comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no
church at all, wherever [they] find them."  ...
    During the remainder of the Prophet's lifetime contributions and
donations were obtained by regular encouragement from teh pulpit and
by general epistles.  ... Joseph Smith opened the Recorder's Office every
Saturday to receive the Saints' "tithings" (cash donations) and
"consecrations" (property donations).
    In addition to the general call for voluntary contributions at
Nauvoo, Joseph Smith, in 1842, sought to achieve a more perfect
program of sacrifice and consecration among those whom he believed to
be faithful and loyal.  He proposed to accomplish this by placing these
Saints under explicit covenants of obedience while at the same time
teaching them exalting keys of knowledge and power.  The sacred ritual
which encompassed these covenants and ordinances was known as
the ancient order of the priesthood or temple endowment.  ... covenant of
consecratoin became an integral part of the higher order of the
melchizedek Priesthood.  For those chosen to participate in this sacred
ceremony, the covenant of consecration became a vital part of the
process by which they could become joint-heirs with Christ by
consecrating all of their time, talents, and material wealth to the Chruch
and by sacrificing ... all things for the advance of God's work on the
earth.


^^^^^^-----From: Stephen Ott <[e-mail]>------^^^^^^^

------------------------------

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