Law of consecration

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The law of consecration is a commandment in the Latter Day Saint movement in which adherents promise to dedicate their lives and material substance to the church. It was first referred to in 1831 by Joseph Smith.

Origins

On February 4, 1831, Smith received a

revelation calling Edward Partridge to be the first bishop of the church.[1] Five days later, on February 9, 1831, Smith received another revelation detailing the law of consecration.[2]

As practiced by the Latter Day Saints in Smith's day, the law of consecration was for the support of the poor and to ensure that all members would be "equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs."

consecrate, their property to the Church of Christ, and the church then would assign to each member a "stewardship" of property "as much as is sufficient for himself and family."[4] If consecrated property became more than was sufficient for the assigned steward, the "residue" was "to be consecrated unto the bishop" kept for the benefit of "those who have not, from time to time, that every man who has need may be amply supplied and receive according to his wants."[5]

Under Smith, members attempted to implement the law of consecration through the establishment of the United Order, but it was never fully instituted due to conflict and disagreements.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

During the 1850s,

covenant with God to accept the law of consecration as part of the temple endowment
ceremony.

In the 1970s, LDS Church apostle Bruce R. McConkie stated that "[t]he law of consecration is that we consecrate our time, our talents, and our money and property to the cause of the Church: such are to be available to the extent they are needed to further the Lord's interests on earth."[8]

Rather than fully living the United Order to keep the law of consecration, members are asked to

tithe their income to support the church, to pay a generous monthly fast offering
to care for the poor, and to donate their time and talents in assisting in the operation of the church.

Adherents believe that the law of consecration will be fully practiced in the future, including during the thousand-year millennium after the Second Coming of Jesus.[9]

Mormon fundamentalism

In some

Mormon fundamentalist sects, including the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Apostolic United Brethren
, adherents live the law of consecration by deeding their homes and other personal property to the church, which then administers it to the members as needed.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 51
  2. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 42
  3. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 42:30; 51:3.
  4. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 42:32
  5. ^ Doctrine and Covenants 42:33
  6. ISBN 0874804205
    .
  7. ^ Marion G. Romney, "Living the Principles of the Law of Consecration", Ensign, February 1979.
  8. ^ Bruce R. McConkie, "Obedience, Consecration, and Sacrifice", Ensign, May 1975.
  9. New Era
    , May 1979.

References

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