Economics, Politics, and the Gospel

Terminology:

Law of Consecration & Stewardship: the principles of the Lord s economic system.

United Order: the organization of men who oversee the operation of the Law of Consecration & Stewardship.

Want: something lacking that ought to be had; should have.

Need: something necessary for survival; have to have.

[All bracketed words are in the original, unless otherwise noted. Bold has been added by the compiler, unless otherwise noted.

"Private Ownership under the United Order," President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. (Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 54-59.)

Brethren:

I have been trying for a week to relieve you of this experience, but Brother McKay, so kind, so sweet, and so merciful, has been perfectly adamant. So I stand before you here, not to preach, but to counsel with you.

There is a great deal of misapprehension among our people regarding the United Order.

I have not been able to believe that the United Order meant what some people have thought it meant, so within the last months I have spent quite a little time reading the revelations thereon, also reading our history, and at the same time giving some consideration to a dissertation which has been written regarding the Order.

There is a growing--I fear it is growing--sentiment that communism and the United Order are virtually the same thing, communism being merely the forerunner, so to speak, of a reestablishment of the United Order. I am informed that ex-bishops, and indeed, bishops, who belong to communistic organizations are preaching this doctrine. So I thought that perhaps if I said just a few words to you tonight regarding the way I interpret the revelations that are printed about this in the Doctrine and Covenants (if there are other revelations about the Order, I do not know of them). I thought if I said something about it, it might be helpful. I recommend that you, my brethren, read a few of the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants which cover this matter, beginning with Sections 42 and 51. (See also Sections 70, 78, 82, 83, 85, 90, 92, 96, and 104.) If you will go over these sections, I feel sure that you will find that my explanation of the United Order will be substantially accurate.

I may say to begin with, that in practice the brethren in Missouri got away, in their attempts to set up the United Order, from the principles set out in the revelations. This is also true of the organizations set up here in Utah after the Saints came to the Valleys. So far as I have seen there has been preserved only one document that purports to be a legal instrument used in connection with the setting up of the United Order, and that document is without date. It is said to have been found among the papers of Bishop Partridge. It was a "lease-lend" document. You may have heard that phrase before. Under this instrument the Church leased to Titus Billings a certain amount of real estate and loaned him a certain amount of personal property. [Joseph Smith, History of the Church 1:365-367.]

This instrument is not in accordance with the principles laid down in the revelations touching upon the United Order.

The basic principle of all the revelations on the United Order is that everything we have belongs to the Lord; therefore, the Lord may call upon us for any and all of the property which we have, because it belongs to Him. This, I repeat, is the basic principle. (D&C 104:14-17, 54-57.)

One of the places in which some of the brethren are going astray is this: There is continuous reference in the revelations to equality among the brethren, but I think you will find only one place where that equality is really described, though it is referred to in other revelations. That revelation (D&C 51:3) affirms that every man is to be "equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs." (See also D&C 82:17; 78:5-6.) Obviously, this is not a case of "dead level" equality. It is "equality" that will vary as much as the man's circumstances, his family, his wants and needs, may vary.

In the next place, under the United Order every man was called to consecrate to the Church all of the property which he had; the real estate was to be conveyed to the Church, as I understand the revelations, by what we would call a deed in fee simple. Thus the man's property became absolutely the property of the Church. (D&C 42:30; 72:15.) Then the bishop deeded back to the donor by the same kind of deed, that is, in fee simple, and also transferred to him by an equivalent instrument, so far as personal property was concerned, that amount of real and personal property, which, the two being taken together, would be required by the individual for the support of himself and his family "according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs." This the man held as his own property. (D&C 42:32; 51:4-6; 83:3.)

In other words, basic to the United Order was the private ownership of property, every man had his own property from which he might secure that which was necessary for the support of himself and his family. There is nothing in the revelations that would indicate that this property was not freely alienable at the will of the owner. It was not contemplated that the Church should own everything or that we should become in the Church, with reference to our property and otherwise, the same kind of automaton, manikin, that communism makes out of the individual, with the State standing at the head in place of the Church.

Now, that part of a man s property which was not turned back to him, if he had more than was needed under this rule of "equality" already stated, became the common property of the Church, and that common property was used for the support of the poor of the Church. It is spoken of in the revelations as the "residue" of property. (D&C 42:34-36.)

Furthermore, it was intended, though apparently it did not work out very well, that the poor coming into Zion, and by Zion I mean, here, Missouri--the poor coming into Zion were to have given to them a "portion" of land, which land was to be either purchased from the Government (and it was planned to purchase large areas from the Government), or purchased from individuals, or received as consecrations from members of the Church. The amount of this "portion" was to be such as would make him equal to others according to his circumstances, his family, his wants and needs.

The land which you received from the bishop by deed, whether it was part of the land which you, yourself, had deeded to the Church, or whether it came as an out-right gift from the Church as just indicated, and the personal property which you received, were all together sometimes called a "portion" (D&C 51:4-6), sometimes a "stewardship" (D&C 104:11-12), and sometimes an "inheritance." (D&C 83:3.)

As just indicated, there were other kinds of inheritances and stewardships than land or mere personal property; for example, the Prophet and others had a stewardship given to them which consisted of the revelations and commandments (D&C 70:1-4); others had given to them a stewardship involving the printing house (D&C 104:29-30); another stewardship was a mercantile establishment (D&C 104:39c42).

I repeat that whatever a steward realized from the portion allotted to him over and above that which was necessary in order to keep his family under the standard provided, as already stated above, was turned over by the steward to the bishop, and this amount of surplus, plus the residues to which I have already referred, went into a bishop s storehouse (D&C 51:13 and citations above), and the materials of the storehouse were to be used in creating portions, as above indicated, for caring for the poor (D&C 78:3), the widows and orphans (D&C 83:6), and for the elders of the Church engaged in the ministry, who were to pay for what received if they could, but if not, their faithful labors should answer their debt to the bishop. (D&C 72:11 ff.)

Now, as time went on and the system developed, the Lord created two other institutions besides the storehouse: one was known as the Sacred Treasury, into which was put "the avails of the sacred things in the treasury, for sacred and holy purposes." While it is not clear, it would seem that into this treasury were to be put the surpluses which were derived from the publication of the revelations, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and other similar things, the stewardship of which had been given to Joseph and others. (D&C 104:60-66.)

The Lord also provided for the creation of "Another Treasury," and into that other treasury went the general revenues which came to the Church, such as gifts of money and those revenues derived from the improvement of stewardships as distinguished from the residues of the original consecrations and the surpluses which came from the operation of their stewardships. (D&C 72:11 ff.)

The foregoing is the general outline as it is gathered from the revelations of the law of the United Order which the Lord spoke of as "my law." (D&C 44:6; 51:15.) There are passages in the revelations which, taken from their context and without having in mind the whole system, might be considered as inconsistent with some of the things which I have set out, but all such passages fall into line if the whole program is looked at as contained in all of the revelations.

The fundamental principle of this system was the private ownership of property. Each man owned his portion, or inheritance, or stewardship, with an absolute title, which he could alienate [to transfer (property or a right) to the ownership of another--added by compiler], or hypothecate [to pledge (property) as security or collateral for a debt without transfer of title or possession--added by compiler], or otherwise treat as his own. The Church did not own all of the property, and the life under the United Order was not a communal life, as the Prophet Joseph, himself, said, (History of the Church 3:28). The United Order is an individualistic system, not a communal system.

We have all said that the Welfare Plan is not the United Order and was not intended to be. However, I should like to suggest to you that perhaps, after all, when the Welfare Plan gets thoroughly into operation--it is not so yet--we shall not be so very far from carrying out the great fundamentals of the United Order.

In the first place I repeat again, the United Order recognized and was built upon the principle of private ownership of property; all that a man had and lived upon under the United Order, was his own. Quite obviously, the fundamental principle of our system today is the ownership of private property.

In the next place, in lieu of residues and surpluses which were accumulated and built up under the United Order, we, today, have our fast offerings, our Welfare donations, and our tithing, all of which may be devoted to the care of the poor, as well as for the carrying on of the activities and business of the Church. After all, the United Order was primarily designed to build up a system under which there should be no abject poor, and this is the purpose, also, of the Welfare Plan.

In this connection it should be observed that it is clear from these earlier revelations, as well as from our history, that the Lord had very early to tell the people about the wickedness of idleness, and the wickedness of greed, because the brethren who had were not giving properly, and those who had not were evidently intending to live without work on the things which were to be received from those who had property. (D&C 56:16c20.)

Furthermore, we had under the United Order a bishop s storehouse in which were collected the materials from which to supply the needs and the wants of the poor. We have a bishop's storehouse under the Welfare Plan, used for the same purpose.

As I have already indicated, the surplus properties which came to the Church under the Law of Consecration, under the United Order, became the "common property" of the Church (D&C 82:18) and were handled under the United Order for the benefit of the poor. We have now under the Welfare Plan all over the Church, ward land projects. In some cases the lands are owned by the wards, in others they are leased by the wards or lent to them by private individuals. This land is being farmed for the benefit of the poor, by the poor where you can get the poor to work it.

We have in place of the two treasuries, the "Sacred Treasury" and "Another Treasury," the general funds of the Church.

Thus you will see, brethren, that in many of its great essentials, we have, as the Welfare Plan has now developed, the broad essentials of the United Order. Furthermore, having in mind the assistance which is being given from time to time and in various wards to help set people up in business or in farming, we have a plan which is not essentially unlike that which was in the United Order when the poor were given portions from the common fund.

Now, brethren, the Church has made tremendous advances in the Welfare Plan. We shall have to make still greater advances. As the Message of the First Presidency said this morning, we are being told by Government officials that we face what we used to call "hard times." If the Welfare Plan is fully operative, we shall be able to care for every destitute Latter-day Saint wherever he may be.

Now, I would like to say something else, brethren, again by way of counsel. I shall be accused, when I do, of talking politics, and perhaps on this point I may say I do not read anonymous letters. When they come in I just throw them into the wastebasket. I only read enough of the signed scurrilous [expressed in vulgar, coarse, and abusive language--added by compiler] letters that are sent to know that they are scurrilous, and then they follow along. So it is useless for anyone to try to take out any personal feeling in that way.

You and I have heard all our lives that the time may come when the Constitution may hang by a thread. I do not know whether it is a thread or a small rope by which it now hangs, but I do know that whether it shall live or die is now in the balance.

I have said to you before, brethren, that to me the Constitution is a part of my religion. In its place it is just as much a part of my religion because it is one of those institutions which God has set up for His own purposes, and, as one of the brethren said today, set up so that this Church might be established, because under no other government in the world could the Church have been established as it has been established under this Government.

I think I would be safe in saying that my fellowship with you in the Church depends upon whether or not I accept the revelations and the principles which God has revealed. If I am not willing to do that, then I am not entitled to fellowship. Anyone else who fails to accept the revelations and the principles which God has revealed stands in precisely the same situation.

In the 101st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which contains a revelation received by the Prophet in 1833, when the persecution in Missouri was at its highest, the Lord told the brethren that they should appeal for help. Then He added these verses, which I want to read to you:

According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;

That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.

Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.

And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood. (D&C 101:77-80.)

I suppose you brethren will all know, but I will recall it to your attention, that the Constitution of the United States is the basic law for all of the Americas, or Zion, as it has been defined by the Lord.

You brethren from Canada know that hour great British North America Act in its fundamental principles, is based upon our Constitution, and you know that in the courts of Canada, the reports of our Supreme Court, and our Federal courts generally, are just as persuasive as the decisions of the courts of England, and even more so, where questions of constitutional law and constitutional interpretation are involved.

You brethren also know that from the Rio Grande down to the Horn there is no constitutional government except those that are founded primarily upon our own Constitution. In Mexico the revolutionary party which more than a century and a quarter ago rebelled against the king of Spain and established a republic, copied almost verbatim, and practically overnight, our Constitution, and made it their own. Neither Mexico nor the others to the South interpret their Constitutions as we interpret ours. They have different standards and different canons of interpretation, for their fundamental system is the civil law, while ours is the common law. But the great essentials of that document, the Constitution of the United States, which God Himself inspired, is the law of Zion, the Americas.

So, brethren, I wish you to understand that when we begin to tamper with the Constitution we begin to tamper with the law of Zion which God Himself set up, and no one may trifle with the word of God with impunity.

Now, I am not caring today, for myself, anything at all about a political party tag. So far as I am concerned, I want to know what the man stands for. I want to know if he believes in the Constitution; if he believes in its free institutions; if he believes in its liberties, its freedom. I want to know if he believes in the separation of sovereign power into the three great divisions: the Legislative, the Judicial, the Executive. I want to know if he believes in the mutual independence of these, the one from the other. When I find out these things, then I know who it is who should receive my support, and I care not what his party tag is, because, brethren, if we are to live as a Church, and progress, and have the right to worship as we are worshipping here today, we must have the great guarantees that are set up by our Constitution. There is no other way in which we can secure these guarantees. You may look at the systems all over the world where the principles of our Constitution are not controlling and in force, and you will find there dictatorship, tyranny, oppression, and, in the last analysis, slavery.

I have said enough. I believe you understand what I have said. Today, our duty transcends party allegiance; our duty today is allegiance to the Constitution as it was given to us by the Lord. Every federal officer takes an oath to support that Constitution so given. The difference between us and some of those to the South of us is this: down there, their fealty runs to individuals; here, our fealty and our allegiance run to the Constitution and to the principles which it embodies, and not to individuals.

God give us wisdom and enable us in these times of trouble and strife clearly to see our way, that we may be instrumental in sustaining the Constitution, in upholding our free institutions, our civil rights, our freedom of speech, of press, of religion, and of conscience. If we shall stand together we shall save the Constitution, just as has been foreseen, and if we do not stand together, we cannot perform this great task.

God grant that we may be true, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. {Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 54-59.}

"Socialism and the United Order Compared"

Marion G. Romney, (Conference Report, April 1966, pp. 95-101.)

What I am going to give you now is a statement I have prepared in answer to the question, "Is Socialism the United Order?" Some of you may have already heard it. This is the first time I have ever attempted to give a talk a second time. My excuse is that the Brethren have asked me to give this talk here tonight.

I suppose the best way to start a comparison of socialism and the United Order is with a definition of the terms. Webster defines socialism as:

"A political and economic theory of social organization based on collective or government ownership and democratic management of the essential means for the production and distribution of goods; also, a policy or practice based on this theory." (Webster's New International Dictionary, 2nd ed. Unabridged, 1951.)

George Bernard Shaw, the noted Fabian Socialist, said that:

"Socialism, reduced to its simplest legal and practical expression, means the complete discarding of the institution of private property by transforming it into public property and the division of the resultant income equally and indiscriminately among the entire population." (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1946 ed., Vol. 20, p. 895.)

George Douglas Howard Cole, M. A., noted author and university reader in economics at Oxford, who treats socialism for the Encyclopedia Britannica, says that because of the shifting sense in which the word has been used, "a short and comprehensive definition is impossible. We can only say," he concludes, "that Socialism is essentially a doctrine and a movement aiming at the collective organization of the community in the interest of the mass of the people by means of the common ownership and collective control of the means of production and exchange." (Ibid., p. 888.)

Socialism arose "out of the economic division in society." During the nineteenth century its growth was accelerated as a protest against "the appalling conditions prevailing in the workshops and factories and the unchristian spirit of the spreading industrial system."

The "Communist Manifesto" drafted by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels for the Communist League in 1848 is generally regarded as the starting point of modern socialism. (Ibid., p. 890.)

The distinction between socialism, as represented by the various Socialist and Labour parties of Europe and the New World, and Communism, as represented by the Russians, is one of tactics and strategy rather than of objective. Communism, like other socialists, (1) believe in the collective control and ownership of the vital means of production and (2) seek to achieve through state action the coordinated control of the economic forces of society. They (the Communists) differ from other socialists in believing that this control can be secured, and its use in the interests of the workers ensured, only by revolutionary action leading to the dictatorship of the proletariat and the creation of a new proletarian state as the instrument of change. (Ibid.)

A major rift between so-called orthodox socialism and communist socialism occurred in 1875 when the German Social Democratic party set forth its objective of winning power by taking over control of the bourgeois state, rather than by overthrowing it. In effect, the German Social Democratic party became a parliamentary party, aiming at the assumption of political power by constitutional means.

In the 1880s a small group of intellectuals set up in England the Fabian Society, which has had a major influence on the development of modern orthodox socialism. Fabianism stands "for the evolutionary conception of socialism ... endeavoring by progressive reforms and the nationalization of industries, to turn the existing state into a 'welfare state.' " Somewhat on the order of the German Social Democrats, Fabians aim "at permeating the existing parties with socialistic ideas [rather] than at creating a definitely socialistic party." They appeal "to the electorate not as revolutionaries but as constitutional reformers seeking a peaceful transformation of the system." (Ibid.)

The differences in forms and policies of socialism occur principally in the manner in which they seek to implement their theories.

They all advocate:

(1) That private ownership of the vital means of production be abolished and that all such property "pass under some form of co-ordinated public control."

(2) That the power of the state be used to achieve their aims.

(3) "That with a change in the control of industry will go a change in the motives which operate in the industrial system...." (Ibid.)

So much now for the definition of socialism. I have given you these statements in the words of socialists and scholars, not my words, so they have had their hearing.

Now as to the United Order, and here I will give the words of the Lord and not my words. The United Order, the Lord s program for eliminating the inequalities among men, is based upon the underlying concept that the earth and all things therein belong to the Lord and that men hold earthly possessions as stewards accountable to God.

On January 2, 1831, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that the Church was under obligation to care for the poor. (See D&C 38.) Later he said:

I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth,... and all things therein are mine.

And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

But it must needs be done in mine own way.... (D&C 104:14-16.)

On February 9, 1831, the Lord revealed to the Prophet what his way was. (See D&C 42.) In his way there were two cardinal principles: (1) consecration and (2) stewardship.

To enter the United Order, when it was being tried, one consecrated all his possession to the Church by a "covenant and a deed which" could not "be broken." (D&C 42:30.) That is, he completely divested himself of all of his property by conveying it to the Church.

Having thus voluntarily divested himself of title to all his property, the consecrator received from the Church a stewardship by a like conveyance. This stewardship could be more or less than his original consecration, the object being to make "every man equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs." (D&C 51:3.)

This procedure preserved in every man the right to private ownership and management of his property. At his own option he could alienate it or keep and operate it and pass it on to his heirs.

The intent was, however, for him to so operate his property as to produce a living for himself and his dependents. So long as he remained in the order, he consecrated to the Church the surplus he produced above the needs and wants of his family. This surplus went into a storehouse from which stewardships were given to others and from which the needs of the poor were supplied.

These divine principles are very simple and easily understood. A comparison of them with the underlying principle of socialism reveal similarities and basic differences.

The following are similarities: Both

(1) deal with production and distribution of goods,

(2) aim to promote the well-being of men by eliminating their economic inequalities;

(3) envision the elimination of the selfish motives in our private capitalistic industrial system.

Now the differences:

(1) The cornerstone of the United Order is belief in God and acceptance of him as Lord of the earth and author of the United Order.

Socialism, wholly materialistic, is founded in the wisdom of men and not of God. Although all socialists may not be atheists, none of them in theory or practice seek the Lord to establish his righteousness.

(2) The United Order is implemented by the voluntary free-will actions of men, evidenced by a consecration of all their property to the Church of God.

One time the Prophet Joseph Smith was asked a question by the brethren about the inventories they were taking. His answer was to the effect, "You don't need to be concerned about the inventories. Unless a man is willing to consecrate everything he has, he doesn't come into the United Order." (History of the Church, 7:412-413.) On the other hand, socialism is implemented by external force, the power of the state.

(3) In harmony with church belief, as set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants, "that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property" (D&C 134:2), the United Order is operated upon the principle of private ownership and individual management.

Thus in both implementation and owner ship and management of property, the United Order preserves to men their God-given agency, while socialism deprives them of it.

(4) The United Order is non-political.

Socialism is political, both in theory and practice. It is thus exposed to, and riddled by, the corruption that plagues and finally destroys all political governments that undertake to abridge man s agency.

(5) A righteous people is a prerequisite to the United Order.

Socialism argues that it as a system will eliminate the evils of the profit motive.

The United Order exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process both are sanctified. The poor, released from the bondage and humiliating limitations of poverty, are enabled as free men to rise to their full potential, both temporally and spiritually. The rich, by consecration and by imparting of their surplus for the benefit of the poor, not by constraint but willingly as an act of free will, evidence that charity for their fellowmen characterized by Mormon as "the pure love of Christ." (Moro 4:47.)

No, brethren, socialism is not the United Order. However, notwithstanding my abhorrence of it, I am persuaded that socialism is the wave of the present and of the foreseeable future. It has already taken over or is contending for control in most nations.

"At the end of the year [1964] parties affiliated with the [Socialist] International were in control of the governments of Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Israel, and the Malagasy Republic. They had representatives in coalition cabinets in Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Switzerland; constituted the chief opposition in France, India, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and West Germany; and were significant political forces in numerous other countries. Many parties dominate in governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America announced that their aim was a socialist society." (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1965 Book of the Year, p. 736.)

We here in the United States, in converting our government into a social welfare state, have ourselves adopted much of socialism. Specifically, we have to an alarming degree adopted the use of the power of the state in the control and distribution of the fruits of industry. We are on notice, according to the words of the President [Lyndon B. Johnsont added by compiler], that we are going much further, for he is quoted as saying:

"We re going to take all the money we think is unnecessarily being spent and take it from the 'haves' and give it to the 'have nots.'" (1964 Congressional Record, p. 6142, Remarks of the President to a Group of Leaders of Organizations of Senior Citizens in the Fish Room, March 24, 1964.)

That is the spirit of socialism: We're going to take. The spirit of the United Order is: We're going to give.

We have also gone a long way on the road to public ownership and management of the vital means of production. In both of these areas the free agency of Americans has been greatly abridged. Some argue that we have voluntarily surrendered this power to government. Be this as it may, the fact remains that the loss of freedom with the consent of the enslaved, or even at their request, is nonetheless slavery.

As to the fruits of socialism, we all have our own opinions. I myself have watched its growth in our own country and observed it in operation in many other lands. But I have yet to see or hear of its freeing the hearts of men of selfishness and greed or of its bringing peace, plenty, or freedom. These things it will never bring, nor will it do away with idleness and promote "industry, thrift and self-respect," for it is founded, in theory and in practice, on force, the principle of the evil one.

As to the fruits of the United Order, I suggest you read Moses 7:16-18 and 4 Nephi 1:2-3, 15-16. If we had time we could review the history, what little we know, of Zion in the days of Enoch and about what happened among the Nephites under those principles of the United Order in the first two centuries following the time of the Savior.

Now what can we do about it?

As I recently reminded my wife of the moratorium on the United Order, which the Lord placed in 1834 (D&C 105:34), that socialism is taking over in the nations and that its expressed aims will surely fail, she spiritedly put to me the question: "Well, then, what would you suggest, that we just sit on our hands in despair and do nothing?" Perhaps similar questions have occurred to you. The answer is, "No, by no means!" We have much to do, and fortunately for us the Lord has definitely prescribed the course we should follow with respect to socialism and the United Order.

He has told us that in preparation for the restoration of the gospel, he himself established the Constitution of the United States, and he has plainly told us why he established it. I hope I can get this point over to you. He said he established the Constitution to preserve to men their free agency, because the whole gospel of Jesus Christ presupposes man s untrammeled exercise of free agency. Man is in the earth to be tested. The issue as to whether he succeeds or fails will be determined by how he used his agency. His whole future, through all eternity, is at stake. Abridge man s agency, and the whole purpose of his mortality is thwarted. Without it, the Lord says, there is not existence. (See D&C 93:30.) The Lord so valued our agency that he designed and dictated "the laws and constitution" required to guarantee it. This he explained in the revelation in which he instructed the Prophet Joseph Smith to appeal for help.

"According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;

"That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.

"And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose...." (D&C 101:77-78, 80.)

Previously he had said:

"And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them.

"And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.

"Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land [the test of its constitutionality in the words of the Lord here is whether it preserves man s agency--notes by M. G. Romney],

"And as pertaining to law of men, whatsoever is more or less of this, cometh of evil.

"I, the Lord God, make you free, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law [that is, constitutional law--notes by M. G. Romney] also maketh you free.

"Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn.

"Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil." (D&C 98:4-10.)

These scriptures declare the Constitution to be a divine document. They tell us that "according to just and holy principles," the Constitution and the law of the land which supports the "principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before" God; that, "as pertaining to [the] law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil." They remind us that the Lord has made us free and that laws that are constitutional will also make us free.

Right at this point, almost as if he were warning us against what is happening today, the Lord said: "Nevertheless, when the wicked rule the people mourn." Then, that we might know with certainty what we should do about it, he concluded: "Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold...."

In its context this instruction, according to my interpretation, can only mean that we should seek diligently for and support men to represent us in government who are "wise" enough to understand freedom--as provided for in the Constitution and as implemented in the United Order--and who are honest enough and good enough to fight to preserve it.

"... under no other government in the world could the Church has been established," said President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and he continued:

"... if we are to live as a Church, and progress, and have the right to worship as we are worshipping here today, we must have the great guarantees that are set up by our Constitution. There is no other way in which we can secure these guarantees." (Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 58-59.)

Now, not forgetting our duty to eschew socialism and support the just and holy principles of the Constitution, as directed by the Lord, I shall conclude these remarks with a few comments concerning what we should do about the United Order.

The final words of the Lord in suspending the Order were: "And let those commandments which I have given concerning Zion and her law be executed and fulfilled, after her redemption." (D&C 105:34.)

Further implementation of the order must therefore await the redemption of Zion. Here Zion means Jackson County, Missouri. When Zion is redeemed, as it most certainly shall be, it will be redeemed under a government and by a people strictly observing those "just and holy principles" of the Constitution that accord to men their God-given moral agency, including the right to private property. If, in the meantime, socialism takes over in America, it will have to be displaced, if need be, by the power of God, because the United Order can never function under socialism or the "welfare state," for the good and sufficient reason that the principles upon which socialism and the United Order are conceived and operated are inimical.

In the meantime, while we await the redemption of Zion and the earth and the establishment of the United Order, we as bearers of the priesthood should live strictly by the principles of the United Order insofar as they are embodied in the present church practices, such as the fast offering, tithing, and the welfare activities. Through these practices we could as individuals, if we were of a mind to do so, implement in our own lives all the basic principles of the United Order.

As you will recall, the principles underlying the United Order are consecration and stewardships and then the contribution of surpluses into the bishop's storehouse. When the law of tithing was instituted four years after the United Order experiment was suspended, the Lord required the people to put "all their surplus property ... into the hands of the bishop" (D&C 119:1); thereafter they were to "pay one-tenth of all their interest annually...." (D&C 119:4.) This law, still in force, implements to a degree at least the United Order principle of stewardships, for it leaves in the hands of each person the ownership and management of the property from which he produces the needs of himself and family. Furthermore, to use again the words of President Clark:

"... in lieu of residues and surpluses which were accumulated and built up under the United Order, we, today, have our fast offerings, our Welfare donations, and our tithing, all of which may be devoted to the care of the poor, as well as for the carrying on of the activities and business of the Church."

What prohibits us from giving as much in fast offerings as we would have given in surpluses under the United Order? Nothing but our own limitations.

Furthermore, we had under the United Order a bishop s storehouse in which were collected the materials from which to supply the needs and the wants of the poor. We have a bishop s storehouse under the Welfare Plan, used for the same purpose ...

"We have now under the Welfare Plan all over the Church,... land projects ... farmed for the benefits of the poor....

"Thus ... in many of its great essentials, we have, [in] the Welfare Plan ... the broad essentials of the United Order. Furthermore, having in mind the assistance which is being given from time to time ... to help set people up in business or in farming, we have a plan which is not essentially unlike that which was in the United Order when the poor were given portions from the common fund."

It is thus apparent that when the principles of tithing and the fast are properly observed and the Welfare Plan gets fully developed and wholly into operation, "we should not be so very far from carrying out the great fundamentals of the United Order." (Conference Report, October 1942, pp. 57-58.)

The only limitation on you and me is within ourselves.

And now in line with these remarks, for three things I pray:

(1) That the Lord will somehow quicken our understanding of the differences between socialism and the United Order and give us a vivid awareness of the awful portent of those differences.

(2) That we will develop the understanding, the desire, and the courage, born of the Spirit, to eschew socialism and to support and sustain, in the manner revealed and as interpreted by the Lord, those just and holy principles embodied in the Constitution of the United States for the protection of all flesh, in the exercise of their God-given agency.

(3) That through faithful observance of the principles of tithing, the fast, and the welfare program, we will prepare ourselves to redeem Zion and ultimately live the United Order, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. {Conference Report, April 1966, pp. 95c101.}

Law of Consecration

Masterful Discourses & Writings of Orson Pratt (SLC: Bookcraft, 1962), p. 625-649.

The command to "be one" [D&C 38:27] embraces all other commands. There is no law, statute, ordinance, covenant, or blessing, but what was instituted to make the Saints one. This is the ultimate end and aim of the great plan of salvation. For this, Jesus suffered and died; for this, his servants have toiled and labored day and night in our fallen world; for this, all the powers of heaven will be exerted, until Satan shall be overcome, and the earth be redeemed, and all the glorified inhabitants thereof become one.

As the grand and ultimate object of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, is to take their own children who have made themselves imperfect, and restore them to perfection, and make them one like themselves, let us examine the plan by which this great work is accomplished. First, God has revealed a plan of adoption, by which these imperfect beings may be made members of His own family. Secondly, He has revealed laws for the government of His family; and lastly, He has ordained authorities to teach His laws and minister in all things to make the Saints one. Through faith, repentance, baptism, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, the imperfect sons and daughters of Adam become the sons and daughters of God; and being born of God, and all baptized with the same spirit into the same body, they begin to feel alike, think alike, and act alike, in many things; this is a first approximation towards a one-ness; but being weak, and only having obeyed the first principles of the celestial law, they are tempted by the devil; divisions of feeling arise; each one sees the faults and imperfections on his brothers or sisters; and instead of trying to reclaim them in the spirit of meekness from their faults, he whispers them to others; prejudice arises; their love towards them begins to grow cold; this coldness is felt by others, and begets the same feeling in them. And thus the seeds of division are sown, and begin to sprout, and grow, and, if not checked, they speedily bring forth nauseous and bitter fruit, which, when ripened, contains the poison of death.

To counteract these divisions strict laws are given, and authorities ordained to strengthen and succor the weak; to root out all evil-speaking; and to check every sinful thing on its first appearance. Those who give diligent heed will become habituated to keep the law of God, and will understand their duties, and perform them with cheerfulness and delight. Such will become more and more assimilated in their feelings; their love towards each other, and towards God, and His word, will grow stronger and stronger; and thus by habit they learn obedience to the law of oneness, until they are ready and willing to do anything which that law requires. While those, on the other hand, who do not give heed, find themselves more and more tempted, and their, and their love growing colder and colder, and the faults and imperfections of their brethren and sisters still more magnified in their eyes; and at last, they become destitute of the spirit -- destitute of good desires -- destitute of the meekness and humility of the Gospel; and the devil takes possession of them, and leads them captive at his own will and pleasure. These do not abide a celestial law, therefore they cannot be made one.

The Saints are not only one in doctrine, but they are to be made one in temporal things, without which they cannot be made equal in spiritual things. For many centuries past mankind have sought to accumulate riches, and to aggrandize themselves one above another; and this covetous spirit has prevailed even among those who have professed to be the followers of Jesus and his Apostles; hence, we find rich and poor, all belonging to the same Church, and all expecting to go to the same heaven; one rolling in luxury and wealth, and another ground down in poverty and affliction. Was this the way that the Church was built up in the days of the Apostles? Did they not sell their houses and lands and lay the avails [benefits] thereof at the Apostles feet? Did they not have all their property in common? Did not the poor rejoice in that he was exalted, and the rich in that he was made low? Were they not all considered equal and one in temporal riches? Yes; they consecrated all they had to the Lord; and holy men were appointed to minister these temporal things to others, according to their wants, without partiality; and this they did in the fear of the Lord; and no part or portion of the great common stock fund was considered as belonging to some individuals to the exclusion of others; but it belonged to the Lord, and to them all equally, and the officers who were appointed to supply the wants of the Saints had no more title to it than the least member of the Church. And thus they were all equal in temporal things.

This same oneness in temporal things existed in the Christian Church among the ancient Nephites, so long as they continued in righteousness; for each one had equal claims upon the whole. The same order of things existed in the Zion of Enoch: there were no poor among them. [Moses 7:18.] And the same order of things must exist in Zion of the Latter-day Saints, or else the inhabitants thereof never will be one. Anything short of a perfect equality in temporal things is a sin; hence, the Lord says, "It is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore, the world lieth in sin." [D&C 49:20.]

Is this law now enforced upon the Saints? Do they have all things common? Do they all possess the same? No; they have not become righteous enough to obey this law. Covetousness has taken such deep root in their hearts, through the wicked tradition of their Gentile fathers, that this law remains unheeded. And had it been enforced in all its strictness, but few would have continued in the Church. The Lord, in order that He might be just, granted His Saints the privilege of living up to this law, when He first began to gather them on the land where the Zion of God is to be built. But the Saints soon manifested their Gentile covetousness and would not obey the law; and the rich refused to gather because the law required them to consecrate all their property, and place it in the general storehouse of the Lord, and henceforth become stewards over such portions of the Lord s property as he saw fit to bestow upon them or place under their charge. This was too holy a law for their covetous dispositions; they could not endure it. The Lord, therefore, concluded that if they would not endure His holy law, they should not remain on His holy land to pollute and corrupt it. He, therefore, suffered them to be smitten and driven by their enemies, and to be expelled from His goodly land. But He did not wholly cast them off; because He knew that their covetousness was instilled into their minds by their wicked fathers; and He knew that they were very weak, and lacked experience, and that in the main they were inclined to do right; He therefore gave them another law more suited to their weakness. This latter law only required them to consecrate all their surplus property, and afterwards pay one-tenth of all their annual income. [D&C 119.] This left them with all the property which was not surplus, as their own. The first law required them to consecrate all their property, instead of the surplus portion, and afterwards to become stewards. The last law permitted them to keep a certain portion, not called surplus. The first law required them to consecrate annually all the income of their stewardships, except what they needed for their immediate support; the second law required them to pay annual tithes of only one-tenth of their income. Thus we see the great difference between the perfect law of oneness by which the latter day Zion is to be built up, and the law given to the children of Zion in their scattered and persecuted condition.

But the Saints are not perfect enough to give heed even to this last law. When they gather to Utah, instead of consecrating all their surplus property as the revelation requires, they only give one-tenth to begin with, and afterwards pay one-tenth of their annual income; consequently, they are transgressors, and do not abide the lesser law, only in a degree. The children of Zion, while scattered from their inheritances, could not obey the perfect law of the Lord in all respects, as they could if they were dwelling on the consecrated land; hence the Lord said, "Let those commandments which I have given, concerning Zion and her law, be executed and fulfilled after her redemption." [See D&C 105:34.] In the meantime, the Saints are under preparatory laws given because of the hardness of our hearts, and the blindness of our minds, and our covetousness; not that the celestial law has been wholly taken from us; for we are under an inferior law only in some temporal matters, adapted to our present conditions, during the days of our correction and chastisements, that we may learn by degrees how to subdue our covetousness. And when we have fully learned by the things we suffer, how to wean ourselves from the god of this world, the Lord will again restore us to the privileges of the celestial law of consecration; and we shall once more be permitted to consecrate houses and lands, flocks and herds, gold and silver, jewels and precious things. We shall then have the glorious privilege of giving everything to the Lord, and of receiving from him in return whatever He in His boundless liberality shall see proper to return or bestow upon us.

We are in hopes that the time will soon come, when the inferior law of consecration, which we are now under, will be kept to the very letter. We want to see the time come, that when the Saints arrive in Utah, all their surplus property shall be consecrated, instead of one-tenth; and that when a Saint arrives with one hundred thousand dollars, instead of giving ten thousand and keeping ninety thousand himself, he shall give all except what the bishop may judge sufficient for his immediate necessities in procuring house, and home, and other comforts in the same proportion that the rest of his brethren enjoy. After that, let him earn himself a living in whatever business he may be engaged, and give annually one-tenth of all his income, be it little or much. And if he by accident, or misfortune, or sickness, comes in want, let him be liberally supplied out of the Lord s storehouse, and let the Lord s bishops judge concerning the wants and necessities of all His people. And when the Saints have learned to keep this inferior law of consecration, it will prepare them to keep the more perfect one, when they shall return to build up Zion according to the celestial order; when all the riches and wealth of Zion shall be common property, and each of the Saints inherit his portion as steward. Then, and not till then, will they be equal in temporal things; and the least member of Zion will be as rich as the highest apostle or prophet. This will be a oneness in earthly things which will prepare them for a oneness in heavenly things; for the equality in heavenly things is to be brought about and established upon the same principles as the equality in earthly ones; the one being a type of the other. [See D&C 70:14; 78:5-7.]

The Lord, in a revelation given in 1832, speaks of an "everlasting establishment and order," into which the Church must be organized, that they "may be equal in the bands of heavenly things; yea, and earthly things also, for the obtaining of heavenly things; for if ye are not equal in earthly things, ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly things." [D&C 78:5-6.] Nothing is more certain, than that the Saints must eventually become perfect enough to consent to the great principles of equality in regard to property. And if they cannot abide such an order of things in this life, they never can attain to the fulness of the glory of the celestial kingdom. Heavenly riches and earthly riches are of the same nature; only one is glorified and made immortal, and the other is in a fallen, unglorified state. If we are not willing to be governed by the law of equality in regard to that which is of least value, who shall entrust us with all the riches of eternity? If we seek to grasp more than our brother has of this world s treasures, will not the same spirit of selfishness govern and control us in regard to the more valuable treasures of the world to come? He that will not conform to the law in earthly things cannot be entrusted with the more sacred things of heaven.

Where property is all invested in one common fund, there will be one common interest among the Saints in increasing that fund. We see this illustrated in well-regulated families, where the husband and wife, sons and daughters, all seem to be engaged with equal interest to add to or increase the family property; for each receives a support from that property; and each feels anxious to contribute his portion to the fountain; and the father or head directs each one in regard to his particular branch of business, not only for his own good, but for the mutual good of the whole. When prosperity attends them, they all rejoice together; when adversity overtakes them, and their common fund is diminished, they all suffer together; and thus they bear each other's burdens; and as Paul says, when one member suffers, they all suffer; when one rejoices in affluent circumstances, and has an abundance of the luxuries of life, they all participate in the same, and rejoice with him. In such a family, under a wholesome discipline, there is an equality in the enjoyment of temporal things; there is a union and oneness of interest and feeling. By this union of action and interest, they are able to accomplish more, unitedly, than they could accomplish individually with separate interests. Indeed, in many circumstances, certain objects could be accomplished with a united exertion which never could be brought about by separate individual action. ["The greatest temporal and spiritual blessings which always come from faithfulness and concerted effort, never attended individual exertion or enterprise." Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 183--added by compiler.]

What is applicable to small families is also applicable to larger ones; and the same great heavenly principle is applicable to a union of any number of families; or to the whole body of the Saints; yes, more; it is applicable to the union of all the glorified inhabitants of all celestial worlds; they can accomplish great and wonderful works by union, which they could not accomplish as individuals.

In this life all Saints have not an equal degree of knowledge and wisdom to manage property, yet such may be equally faithful to all the commands of God. Now, is it right for these faithful ones to suffer for the good things of this life because circumstances, or the want of experience, has prevented them from accumulating property? No. They are just as much entitled to the good things which the Lord has made, and which He owns, as those whom circumstances have favored. And for one part of the Saints to retain these blessings from another part equally faithful, is sin, and not according to the celestial law which requires them to be one. If, then, all are to share alike, it is proper that the property of the whole Church should be placed under the management of those who have wisdom, and who are ordained of God to manage temporal things; for this purpose, God has appointed bishops, whose duty it is to appoint every family their stewardships, and to receive the avails of these stewardships, not to aggrandize themselves, but as the agents of the Church, and the Lord s agents, to regulate the temporal affairs of the Saints, by the revelations of the Holy Ghost, and the counsels and voice of the presidency of the Church. We are now speaking of what ought to be, and what must be when Zion is built up according to the celestial law. The First Presidency, and the Twelve, and other authorities, are doing all that they can, under present circumstances, to prepare the people for this more perfect law of conescration, which we know must, sooner or later, be brought into full force and operation.

Is a bishop any more honorable, or any better, in the sight of God, because he is called to direct in temporal things, than the humble, private citizen who conescrates the avails of his stewardship into his hands? No. If they are equally faithful, they are equally beloved of the Lord; and they are equally entitled to food and raiment, and to the good things of the earth. And the bishop has no more claim upon the Lord s storehouse than the least member of the Church, only as his time may be more occupied in public matters, which may prevent him from cultivating the earth or engaging in other business avocations. And the same is true in regard to the Twelve or the First Presidency. The highest officers and the lowest are all one in Christ -- children of the same great family; God is their father, and He looks upon His children without partiality; if they serve Him equally, He loves them equally, and He will make them equal; or, in other words, joint owners of all the property and riches which He thinks proper, in this life, to confer upon them.

An inequality in riches lays a foundation for pride, and many other evils. A family who is rich can build comfortable houses, purchase inheritances and fine carriages, clothe themselves in splendid attire, and educate their children in every branch of useful learning; while those who are poor, labor and toil from morning until evening to procure a scanty subsistence; their families are coarsely clad, their children are not so highly educated. These opposite circumstances produce distinctions; the rich family does not feel to associate with the same degree of familiarity with the poor as they do with the rich; the sons and daughters of the rich seek for companions among those that are wealthy, the poor feel themselves slighted, and feel envious, because they are not rich. Besides the great inequalities in regard to the actual comforts of life, it produces great inequality in education, in the social circle, in marriage associations, and in almost every other respect. Hence, an inequality in property is the root and foundation of innumerable evils; it tends to division, and to keep asunder the social feelings that should exist among the people of God. It is the great barrier erected by the devil to prevent that unity and oneness which the Gospel requires; it is a principle originated in hell; it is the root of all evil.

Riches are not a curse, they are a great blessing; it is inequality in riches that is a great curse. God has made all the riches of the earth, and the riches of all worlds. He made the gold, and the silver, and the precious metals; He formed the flocks and herds, and all useful animals. He has made the earth exceedingly rich; and He has given man dominion over all these things; the more His people enjoy of these things the better he is pleased; it is impossible for His people to become too rich; if the whole world, with all the treasures thereof, were in the hands of the Saints, the Lord would still be delighted for them to have more. But these blessings have become a great curse to man, because they have been unequally possessed. We again repeat the word of the Lord to this Church: "It is not given that one man should possess that which is above another; wherefore the world lieth in sin." [D&C 49:20.] Unequal possessions of that which God has made for the benefit of all His children is sin. All nations, kindreds, and people, are in sin because of this inequality. The Saints are still in sin so far as they approve of this unequal possession; and we shall remain in sin until we make exertions to put this inequality away from us. We must be one, not only one in heavenly riches, but one in earthly riches.

But how are we to be made one and equal in the inheritance of temporal things? If the riches of the earth were equally divided among all the children of God, circumstances would soon render them unequal; accidents, misfortunes, unwise calculations, sickness, and many other calamities would reduce some to poverty; while through experience and favorable circumstances, others would greatly add to their property; and in many instances, increase the same ten, fifty, or a hundredfold. Hence, it is supposed by some, that under such changing and fluctuating circumstances, equality could not be maintained, even though it should be established. They argue that if they were all made equal today, circumstances would render them unequal tomorrow. To such, we reply, that God s plan of making His Saints equal in property is not subject to any fluctuating circumstances; it is a perfect plan; it is not brought about by an equal division of property, nor by any division at all. Division of property, like a division in doctrine, is a plan of the devil, followed by Gentiles. Equality among the Saints is not to be introduced by an equal division of property, but by a union of property. Let all the property of the Church be united instead of divided; and then let each person in the Church possess the whole; and let this joint possession be under strict and impartial laws; and let each individual and family have their stewardship; some in one branch of business and some in another; some having more capital under their charge, and some less, according to the nature of their callings and business; and let each one give an account of his stewardship to those whom God has appointed as judges in Israel; and let each family receive a sufficient portion of the avails of their stewardship to supply their proper wants and necessities, according to the magnitude of the joint fund, and the population to be supplied from it. In this way a perfect equality could be maintained; for if each inherited all things remained, no circumstances could render them unequal. Then no one could say to his neighbor, I own more than you, or you own more than I. No one would shun his neighbor because he was more poor, or because his children had not the same advantages of education as his own. No envying could exist, because of wealth and riches. No chance for one to sit in idleness, and feast himself upon the luxuries earned by the hard labors and toils of others. Whatever a man earned in his stewardship, whether little or much, would go into the Lord s storehouse, except what was needed for his immediate necessities; and thus there would be no chance for one to become rich and another poor. And, if any family were sick and unfortunate in their stewardship, so that they did not accumulate enough to supply their wants, they would have claim upon the Lord s storehouse. The widow and the fatherless, as well as those of old age, or who are lame, or blind, or afflicted in any way, are just as rich as the others. The great common stock fund is all theirs, to be dealt out by those whom the Lord appoints by the voice of his people. The poor emigrant also who escapes from Babylon, and arrives in Zion weary, hungry, and naked, becomes as rich as any of his brethren. This order of things is not now established, but it surely will be established as a permanent and everlasting order, to remain, not in time only, but in eternity. For "he that is a faithful and wise steward shall inherit all things," [D&C 78:22] in eternity as well as time; "all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs, and they are Christ s and Christ is God's." [D&C 76:59.] Each one becomes the "possessor of all things in heaven and upon the earth," [see D&C 50:28] whether they are the heavenly worlds at present existing, or the heavenly worlds that are yet to come. All the fulness of the riches thereof is his. He is a joint inheritor t a joint heir -- perfectly equal with all the rest "in dominion," in power, in glory, being, as modern revelation says, made equal with Jesus, who is also equal with the Father; being one, as he and the Father are one; and their glory will be one, even as the glory of the sun is one.

Some, perhaps, may object to this perfect order of equality, on the supposition that it will lay the foundation for idleness among certain individuals who will claim a support, whether they labor much or little, or none at all. But this objection is effectually destroyed by the following items of revelation:

"Every man shall be made accountable unto me, a steward over his own property, or that which he has received by consecration, inasmuch as is sufficient for himself and family." [D&C 42:32.]

"It is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity. For he who is faithful and wise is accounted worthy to inherit the mansions prepared for them of my Father." [D&C 72:3-4.]

Every steward must render an account of his stewardship in time as well as in eternity. The individuals whom the Lord has ordained to judge those accounts and keep records of the same, are the bishops whom the Lord has appointed to be judges in Israel. These judges, with their counselors, are required to judge according to the law of the Lord. Now what law has God given concerning idlers?

"Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer." [D&C 42:42.]

"And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord. Now, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them." [D&C 68:30-31.]

"Let every man be diligent in all things. And the idler shall not have place in the Church, except he repents, and mends his ways." [D&C 75:29.]

The idler, when he stands forth before the judgment seat of the bishop, will find that there are strict laws in regard to his case; he will find that it is not for him to eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer. He will find himself cast out, and entitled to no place among the people of God. Therefore, the Lord s plan of equality is effectually guarded against idlers. We would remind such to study the parable of the talents. The steward that buries his talent in the earth, or is idle, and does not improve his stewardship, will have that which is committed to his charge taken from him, and given to other stewards who have labored faithfully, while the unfaithful steward will be cast out of the vineyard of the Lord, and be counted unworthy to have place among those that are faithful.

The benefits derived from this order of things are infinitely superior to the Gentile order; for it is not only impartial in conferring temporal blessings upon the Saints, but it prevents an immense amount of suffering, which would naturally attend any other order. Where individuals are wholly dependent upon their own resources, sickness, fires, and other calamities may reduce them to great poverty and sufferings, but when these losses are sustained by the whole people, instead of one individual, the burden becomes light, or is scarcely felt. And thus much suffering is prevented.

This method is also the surest way of becoming rich and wealthy as a people. Much poverty is frequently the result of mismanagement; but where there are wise men ordained of God to manage temporal things, to whom the Lord s stewards must seek for counsel, and to whom they must render an account, the various departments of the Lord s vineyard will be managed by the wisdom of the Spirit; economy will characterize the movements of the whole people; the farmer, the mechanic, the manufacturer, and the merchant will flourish and greatly prosper in their business. Riches will flow in abundance through all these channels into the great common reservoir. If there is any great enterprise to be undertaken, requiring a vast amount of capital, that capital is on hand, being furnished by the whole people, instead of a few individuals. If any great public works, such as railroads, canals, electric telegraphs, temples, state houses, universities, forts, fortifications, walls, etc., are required for the good of the people, the union of the whole property and strength of the people have many-fold more power to accomplish these great undertakings, than the exertions of a few individuals. Where idleness is considered a sin, and not permitted to exist among a people, and where industry universally prevails, and is directed in the proper channels, there wealth will rapidly increase, and unbounded prosperity will necessarily crown their united exertions.

But it may, perhaps, be asked: What benefit is to be derived from becoming exceedingly rich as a people? We answer, that God designs to restore to civilization and Christianity, the American Indians who are a remnant of the tribe of Joseph of the house of Israel. These Indians number many millions and they are generally poor; and being unaccustomed to the arts and sciences, and the labors of civilization, they will require a vast amount of assistance, preparatory to their being in a condition to support themselves. The riches and wealth accumulated by the Saints will be of incalculable benefit towards alleviating their wants, in preparing food, raiment, habitations, farms, farming utensils and other necessities, to succor and sustain them while they are learning to take care of themselves. And in doing this work, we shall be fulfilling the word of the Lord, which says, "I will conescrate of the riches of those who embrace my gospel among the Gentiles, unto the poor of my people who are of the house of Israel." [D&C 42:39.] Riches will also be needed to build up the city of the New Jerusalem, which, we are informed, is to be constructed of the most costly materials, and in the most magnificent style; and it will require immense wealth to procure the precious stones, the gold, and other costly ornaments with which it must be adorned. Riches will also be needful to gather home hundreds of thousands of poor Saints, who will embrace the gospel in foreign lands. For instance, to gather only one million Saints at the low rate of one hundred dollars per head, would cost about two hundred tons of gold. Many great enterprises the Saints will be obliged to engage in, which will require all the means that they can accumulate by their united energy and industry.

The object of riches is to alleviate the sufferings of mankind, and place them in a prosperous, happy condition. And when this can be accomplished upon just and equitable principles; when all can be made equally happy and comfortable, then the end is attained for which riches are given. Riches are not given to gratify the pride and ambition of man; they are not given to exalt one man in extravagance and grandeur above another; they are not given to make kings and princes of some and beggars and slaves of others; they are not given to encourage man in idleness and in vain and unprofitable pursuits but they are given to ameliorate his condition; to satisfy the wants of his physical nature; to beautify and adorn his habitations, his gardens, his vineyards, his inheritances; to supply him abundantly with wholesome food, with comfortable raiment, and with all the luxuries that can be righteously desired to please the eye, the taste, or the smell, to furnish him with useful or entertaining books, or with musical instruments to delight the ear or gladden the heart with melodious sounds; that with music and with cheerful songs and hymns of praise, the full hearts of the Saints may flow with joy and thanksgiving to Him who is the Author of riches and from whom all blessings flow. For all these, and many other great and good purposes, riches are given, not to be enjoyed by some, to the exclusion of others equally worthy; for this is sin, but to be equally enjoyed by the whole family of God, that they may be one. Otherwise, there will ever be envying, fault finding, dissatisfaction, pride, extravagance, oppression, murmuring, complaining, continual divisions, unjust speculations, defrauding, and every other evil work, all rising from separate interests and inequalities in temporal things.

If the riches of the Saints were all conescrated to the Lord, and they occupied the same as accountable stewards, being required to annually consecrate all the income of their stewardships, except what was sufficient to supply their wants, they would have no desire to speculate one out of another; for if one-half of the Saints should, by close bargains and business transactions, spec-ulate with the other half, and take away their stewardships, or any part of them, nothing would be gained at the end of the year; for all that the speculators had gained out of their brethren would have to be consecrated, and would still belong to the whole Church; the property would not be increased by merely changing hands from one family to another. Speculation, therefore, out of each other could not exist with the least degree of advantage to the common fund. The general fund could only be increased by a surplus of that which was actually manufactured or raised in flocks or herds, or from the ground, or obtained from some foreign source. If one-half should turn thieves, and steal millions of property from the other half, when the stolen property was consecrated it would not increase the general fund in the least; for if it had remained in the hands of the rightful owners, or other stewards, they would have consecrated it; therefore, there would be no object for stealing one from another; neither wold there be any object in cheating or defrauding one another; for none of these evil acts wold increase the great capital. Therefore, this order of equality would effectually do away with speculating, defrauding, cheating, or stealing from one another. Each one owning the whole, no one would feel any interest in stealing his own property, or in defrauding his right hand for the sake of his left. It is true, where each one receives his stewardship, there would still be buying and selling, trading and exchanging property with one another as well as with the world; for no one would be permitted to take that which was in the charge of another, without paying for the same. And in this way each could render a proper account of his stewardship. On the other hand, if each one had a right to take property wherever he found it, without paying an equivalent for the same, all would be confusion; no one would be able to account satisfactorily for his gains or losses. Hence, the Lord says, "Thou shalt stand in the place of thy stewardship; thou shalt not take thy brother s garment; thou shalt pay for that which thou shalt receive of thy brother; and if thou obtainest more than that which would be for thy support, thou shalt give it into my storehouse, that all things may be done according to that which I have said." [D&C 42:53-55.]

It will easily be seen, from what we have said, how the Saints are made equal and one in earthly things; it is not by dividing the properties of the Church equally among them all, but it is by a union of the same for the good of each; wherein each becomes the possessor of the whole, under certain restrictions and laws. But will there not be a difference in regard to the amount of the stewardships distributed among the Saints? Yes; there will be a great difference. Some stewards will be entrusted with a hundredfold more than others, and have a hundredfold greater responsibility resting upon them. There are many useful branches of industry which could not be successfully carried on, without ten, fifty, a hundred, or even a thousandfold more capital, than others; consequently, stewardships must necessarily vary in amount and value, according to the nature of the business, callings, capacities, and circumstances of the several stewards; but as all of the profits, arising from these unequal stewardships must go into the general fund, they are all equally enriched by them.

As in temporal things, so in spiritual; each faithful member here in this life is made a partaker of all spiritual blessings granted to the Church; each one inherits the benefits of all the gifts. There are a great variety of spiritual gifts given; but none of these gifts are given for the exclusive benefit of the individual possessing them; for instance, God has given to some to hold the keys of revelation, and knowledge, and wisdom; they become stewards over these gifts; they use these keys to unlock the sacred treasures of eternity, and become acquainted with hidden stores of knowledge; deep mysteries are made plain; secret things are manifested; wonders are exhibited; and the mind, richly laden with the choice treasures of the heavenly worlds, and the wonderful works of God, feasts upon the delicious food; the soul is filled with joy unspeakable; the heart swells with the love of God; and the bosom yearns with compassion towards all mankind, and especially towards all who are pure in heart. They long to pour out the knowledge which they have received, into the hearts of others who are equally worthy with themselves; the impartation of knowledge to others who are pure in heart, diffuses in each and all the same joy and happiness that they themselves have; indeed, their own joy is increased by imparting their knowledge to others; and if they impart all the knowledge they have to the pure in heart, then all become equal in knowledge, so far as it is revealed; this makes them one so far as the revealed knowledge is concerned. Now the whole body of the Saints who are thus made equal in knowledge are not revelators; the keys were not entrusted to them all, but the keys of this rich stewardship were entrusted to some for the benefit of all. Now it matters not, through what source this knowledge is first communicated, whether to one or to all, if the pure in heart are all equally benefited by it.

There is not a division in knowledge; that is, it is not divided into equal shares, and one portion given to one, and another to another; this is not God s plan of making His Saints one and equal in knowledge; but each becomes the possessor of the whole revealed; they are joint heirs, joint owners of the whole, the same as in temporal things, which are they types of heavenly ones. There is this difference, however, between temporal riches and knowledge; when each Saint obtains the fulness of all the knowledge revealed, instead of being made an accountable steward over a small portion of the joint fund, he is accountable for the whole; for each is made a steward of the whole which could not conveniently exist in relation to temporal things.

Each is required to improve upon his stewardship, and obey every law connected with the additional knowledge imparted, in order that he may be prepared for more, through the keys that are ordained; and thus knowledge is multiplied upon knowledge, and the light grows brighter and brighter until the perfect day, the whole body being perfected in knowledge, light, and truth, through the choice gifts of revelation given to some.

To some it is given to teach the word of wisdom, that the whole Church may be equally wise, inasmuch as they give diligent heed. The Saints may have great knowledge revealed to them, and still be exceedingly unwise in the use of that knowledge. Therefore, God has appointed some to be filled with great wisdom as well as knowledge; not for their own benefit alone, but for the benefit of the whole body. God is altogether in favor of the common stock principle in wisdom and knowledge, as well as in property. He, therefore, is not willing that the stewards over these rich treasures should hoard them up for their own exclusive use, when there are others equally worthy of enjoying the same. They are commanded to give, not a part, but the whole, to the pure in heart, that all may be equal in the enjoyment of these precious gifts.

So likewise the gifts of prophecy, visions, the discerning of spirits, or the beholding of angels and ministering spirits, the gifts of healing, miracles, tongues, interpretations, etc., are distributed among the Saints; each to be exercised for the benefit of all, being common stock blessings belonging to the whole body, though ministered through many channels. These gifts are given to perfect the whole Church, that it may become the tabernacle of God -- His habitation -- His temple, becoming sanctified, purified, glorified, and finally, perfected; being filled with the fulness of Him who is in all things -- who knoweth all things, who maketh them equal, even one with himself. Then, and not till then, most of these gifts will be done away; having subserved the purposes for which they were given. Healings will then cease, for the Saints will then all be immortal, and will have no need of healing; tongues and interpretations will then fail, for from thenceforth they will all use one perfect pure language, viz., the language of the Holy Ghost; prophesying will cease, for all things in the future will be known by all; knowledge in part will be done away, for the Saints will know all things; the gift of revelation will cease, for the Saints no longer know in part, but already know as they are known, and as they are seen. While knowledge in part continues, revelations and prophesying will continue; but when all things are known, these gifts necessarily cease. But charity never faileth; it is a gift that will abide forever. The fulness of knowledge and wisdom, light and truth, will also remain for ever; the gift of immortality and eternal life will continue and have no end. All things that are perfected will be everlasting; but most of the instruments or gifts used to bring about this perfection will cease, being adapted to imperfect beings only, and like the scaffolding to a building, wholly unnecessary when the edifice is finished.

It is in this glorified perfect state that the most indissoluble ties will exist; being perfected in wisdom and knowledge, light and truth, justice and mercy, goodness and love, no one can nor will do anything but what will be the will of the whole. Each one in all the greatness and infinity of his works will be doing the perfect will of the whole. As the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are united in all their works, and never do the least thing contrary to each other s will, so all this infinitude of celestial beings, inhabiting all glorified worlds, will possess the same perfect oneness, acting in this same perfect union. This oneness will be as undeviating and as unchangeable as truth itself, and will continue throughout all eternity, and have no end.

Although an equality of knowledge is intended for the Saints, yet there are some who do not prepare themselves to receive it; therefore, it is withheld from them. Some are permitted, because of their righteousness and faith to receive knowledge that is not lawful to be uttered to others. This inequality arises, not from any imperfection of those who profess to receive the plan. God desires them to have all the knowledge that He has; but he desires that they should obtain it in the way that he has appointed. If any fail of obtaining the knowledge which others have received, and which they are not permitted to utter, the fault is wholly in themselves; it is free to all upon the same principles; and God is better pleased with those who attain to it, than He is with those who do not. It is true, here in this life, there is a great inequality of circumstances surrounding individuals which may prevent them from obtaining a perfect equality in the knowledge of God. The improvement of the capacities or intellects of some may differ in consequence of some physical organization, or some injury which the body may have sustained, or which they may have inherited from their ancestors. All these things arise in consequence of the imperfections introduced into our world by the fall of man. And, furthermore, there is no doubt but the spirits of man in their antecedent state vary, not in capacities, but in the improvement of them; some spirits being reckoned among the noble and great ones, because of their attainments. All these circumstances combined prevent some from obtaining knowledge with the same ease as others. Yet, when all these shall be fully redeemed from all opposing causes, and all shall be blessed with immortal bodies, perfect in their organization, nothing will hinder them from understanding all things, discerning them by the Spirit of God. This will make them equal and one.

In what manner, it may be asked, will this fulness of truth be imparted? Will it be by the long and tedious process of study? Or will it be by the immediate light of the Spirit which is in us? We will answer these questions by a quotation from the word of the Lord spoken unto Moses, given to Joseph the Seer, in June, 1830, the Lord said unto Moses: "Look and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands, but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease. Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh.... And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, he cast his eyes, and beheld the earth, yea, even all the face of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God; and he beheld also the inhabitants thereof; and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the seashore. And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants upon the face thereof." [Moses 1:4, 27 29.]

From this, we perceive, that Moses beheld the whole earth, not merely its general outlines, or the surface, consisting of land and water, islands and continents, rivers, lakes, and oceans, but the interior portions also; "and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold." All the inhabitants thereof were also beheld; not one soul escaped his vision. The great telescope, by which the whole was rendered visible, was not formed by human art; it was no less than the all wise, all-powerful Spirit of God. If this all powerful telescope had been pointed to the sun, moon, planets, or comets, it would have rendered every particle of each distinctly visible; Moses could have looked upon each with the same ease that he looked upon those of the earth. It was a telescope not limited in its field of vision; its capacities were such that the astonished beholder could see in all directions at the same instant. And if prepared with an immortal body, so as not to be overpowered with the dazzling glory, and magnificence, and omnipotence of the scenery, eternity itself, with all its boundless contents, and infinitude of worlds, would be present before the eyes; every particle in endless space could be seen through the same medium that Moses beheld every particle of the earth. But no man can have the aid of this most wonderful telescope, to show him all the works of God which include all His glory, till he is prepared with an immortal and celestial body; for the glory of the infinitely extended view would consume his mortal body in a moment.

Another wonder is connected with this telescope; it not only shows things as they now exist, but as they have existed, and as they will exist. That great and renowned philosopher, the brother of Jared, by calling upon the Lord, obtained the use of this magnificent telescope for a short time, by which he was enabled to look upon the Lord, and saw the body of His Spirit, and beheld his glorious face, and conversed with Him as a man converses with his friend; and not satisfied with beholding things present, he looked upon things past, and upon things present, he looked upon things past, and upon things to come; and the Lord showed unto him "all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and He withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth." [Ether 3:25.] What a wonderful instrument! It enables one to look not only in all directions at the same time, but to look into the past, present and future, at the same moment.

Lord Ross has constructed a telescope that will enable us to see millions of worlds so distant that their light by which they are now rendered visible must have left them hundreds of thousands of years before our earth was made; this enables us to see, not the present existence of these worlds, but their past existence. But with all his ingenuity, neither he, nor any other man can form a telescope that will show us the present existence of those distant bodies; neither can they invent instruments that will show the future existence of bodies that are to be created and made. Neither will his telescope, nor any other instrument of man s invention, enable us to look at every particle that enters into the composition of worlds. Hence, the Lord s plan of assisting the vision is infinitely superior to all others. We can readily perceive that the means by which man discerns knowledge in the heavenly worlds are not by reasoning nor studying as here; it will be by a sudden process; for if the Holy Ghost when resting upon mortal men, can in a moment show them such wonderful things, what an infinitude of knowledge it will pour into he mind of an immortal being upon whom it rests, not in measure, but in fulness. Can anything, past, present, or to come, be hidden from them? Will there be bounds set to circumscribe their vision? Or is the field so extensive that the power of the telescope will not reach it?

It is upon this same principle that God the Father can behold all things or, as He says in the prophecy of Enoch: "I can stretch forth mine hands, and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also" [Moses 7:36]; or as our Savior says: "Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made; the same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes. [D&C 38:1-2.]

Enoch informs us that if every particle of this earth was numbered, and millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of worlds which that Being had made whom he was addressing, and yet that God informs him that He could pierce all these creations with His eye. Jesus also says: "All things are present before mine eyes"; and this he gives as a reason why he knows all things. It is very evident, therefore, that all these beings discern things through the same medium; that is, by the Spirit; and though the works of God are infinite, yet there are none beyond the reach of His all-powerful vision. And because they all behold and discern by the Spirit without any opposing obstacles, they all have an opportunity of seeing alike, and understanding alike, and knowing the same things; they are made perfect in one, and enjoy the same glory.

Oh, ye Saints of the latter days, do not forget the high destiny that awaits you. An eternity is before you, which has no end; a boundless space surrounds you, filled with an infinitude of worlds. The kingdoms, principalities, and heavenly powers that fill all the vast expanse are yours; the heights and depths, the lengths and breadths, the riches and honors, the wisdom and excellency, the knowledge and power, the glory of all things, and the fulness of all things, are yours for ever and ever. Blessed is he that overcometh, for he shall inherit all things. (The Seer, pp. 289-300, July 1854.)

Preparing for the United Order

Delivered by President George Q. Cannon, at the General Conference of the Church, held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, April 8, 1894. Collected Discourses, vol. 4. (Short excerpt in Roy W. Doxey, Latter-day Prophets & the Doctrine and Covenants 4 vols., paperback edition [SLC: Deseret Book Company, 1978] 3:52-52; starting with "Edward Partridge as the Bishop of the Church ..."

This is an immense congregation, and in order to edify those assembled it will require the presence and assistance of the Spirit of God. I would seem presumptuous for any man to arise to address such an audience of intelligent human beings if he were depending upon himself for that which he should say. I sincerely trust that in the remarks I shall make I may be assisted by the faith and prayers of those who are present.

I look upon this as one of the most interesting conferences that have been held for a long time. It must be gratifying to the Latter-day Saints to receive, as they do, the continued evidences that God is with the people, that He has not forgotten His promises, and that He has the oversight of the affairs of His Church, and regulates and conducts those affairs according to the counsel of His own will. I never attend a meeting where the Spirit of God is manifested in power without feeling profoundly grateful in the reflection that God is with us, and that He condescends to honor us and to testify to the people by giving His Holy Spirit. This, also, brethren and sisters, is a consolation and a comfort that no human tongue can describe: to know by testimony from the Lord that we are in the path that He has marked out for our salvation; to know that we have a standing among the people whom He acknowledges to be His, and that through His condescension we have the communion of the Holy Spirit. It is a consolation to know, when light is needed, when questions arise which require more than human wisdom for their solution, that we have access unto our Great Creator, and that through the spirit of revelation which He has promised to bestow, we can know and understand for ourselves. What mighty importance attaches to that which was explained to us this morning by President Woodruff! How wide-spread and far-reaching is the ordinance to which allusion was made, by which children will be sealed to their parents, one generation connected with another, and the whole human family be brought within the family of God, to be his recognized and acknowledged sons and daughters, bound together by the power of the everlasting Priesthood and in the new and everlasting covenant which he has given to man. What a glorious system of salvation spreads out before us in the contemplation of that which the Lord has revealed! What a feeling of tenderness and love wells up in our hearts in thinking that we are the children of God, and that we are and shall be bound together by ties that never can be broken! How this draws us together and makes us feel interested in one another! How it causes our souls to expand as wide as eternity; not confining our hopes and our labors to any individual, or to any one family, but embracing in our feelings the entire brotherhood of man.

Certainly the Latter-day Saints should be the most thankful of any people upon the face of the earth. You travel throughout the earth and ask the wisest and the most learned what object our Creator had in placing man on the earth, in surrounding him with the circumstances with which he is environed, and what He has in view for him in the future, and who could answer you? I know that religious denominations have their explanations concerning the future; but how unsatisfactory they are! How little there is in them to comfort and cheer, to create hopes and anticipations that are bright! Even the Indian, when he talks about his happy hunting grounds, probably expresses a more cheerful view. In the sectarian world there is vagueness. In the pictures they present as to the future life there is nothing that is really satisfactory. Very few of them believe that these ties which make our human lives so delightful will be perpetuated in the eternity to come. The great majority believe that husbands and wives, parents and children will be nothing to each other in the eternal world; that is, their relations to each other within the family circle will be no more close or definite than their relations to beings without these holy ties. Now, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us that ties are formed here which are eternal in their character; that family associations are created that never can be dissolved; that men and women are bound together for eternity; that man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord; that they have their children; and that the greatest blessing they can enjoy is to have confirmed unto them for ever the privileges which they possess in this life. There is something grand in the contemplation of this glorious principle. It gives certainty unto every man and woman who will seek for it. The woman is not lost, the man is not lost. However obscure and insignificant we may be, we cannot be lost sight of. We will be felt after and brought out, unless we have committed unpardonable sins, and somebody will take interest in us. There is no one in the whole family that will be so insignificant as to be forgotten. This creates peculiar feelings in our hearts, and it ought to make the Latter-day Saints a broad and expansive people in their minds, and I have no doubt it will have that effect.

I look for the communication that was made to-day by our President to have a great effect upon this people. It will stimulate our love for our families. At the same time it will check any feeling of building up anything like tribes among us. It will attach us to our own kindred and race. It will promote the love of race in our hearts, and it will give our children something to live for; for when a man comes of a family that is an honorable family, there is something that appeals to his pride to do nothing that will bring discredit or disgrace upon his name. Our lineage is not known to all of us. We may not know our origin; but this we may be assured of: that we who have received the truth are choice spirits. The Latter-day Saints have shown their integrity, their valor, and their independence of character in the midst of contumely [arrogance] and reproach, of persecution and hatred, and the threatened loss, in many instances, of employment, property and life. They have come out from the world and have been indifferent to its popularity. They have espoused the principles of truth and righteousness, and valued them more than any other earthly consideration. Where do you think this nobility of character has come from? It has come from ancestors who obtained promises from God, through their faithfulness, in regard to their posterity. Our ancestors may have come through poverty and obscure channels; and some of them may not have possessed any noted characteristics; but when our ancestry is known it will be found that the noblest men and women of God have been the progenitors of this people. God has chosen us for a great purpose. He has brought us out of the world, has shaped our lives and the lives of our parents, and has thrown around them His providences, for the purpose of bringing a people forward in the last days that would help lay the foundation of His kingdom and be willing to bear every persecution and trial connected with it. Of this I feel assured. I can testify of it, and know it to be so. As was said this morning, the communication which the Lord has designed to give to us through His servant enables us to see how we can honor the ancestry through which we have come, and also prevent the breaking of the ties that should connect us with them, and avoid confusion and disorder in regard to these matters.

There are many things that the Lord will give us revelations about from time to time. He has done this in a marvelous manner thus far. There has been nothing that we have needed for the progress of the Church that has not been given. We have built these temples, and we are doing a very important work connected with them; and it is necessary that that which we do should be done aright. It is necessary that adoptions should be correctly made. Think how important this is! It affects the whole human family. How important it is that we should know the plan that the Lord wants carried out, and not the plan that man wants! And there will be many things revealed from time to time. You will see difficulties probably in carrying this out, and it will require the wisdom of heaven and the word of the Lord to settle points connected with it; but the Lord is able to give the necessary light. His hand will be manifest, and we shall see how good and kind He is to us in making communications upon every point that is necessary for the progress of His work.

There are other matters that I would like to mention this afternoon, if I can get the Spirit to do so. We have heard from President Joseph F. Smith a little concerning secret organizations. I do not know any subject that needs to be spoken upon with greater plainness to the Latter-day Saints than this.

Of course, there are many other things that we need to be warned about. We need to be warned about these false spirits that are going abroad. I do not suppose there ever was a time when there were so many delusive spirits going abroad among the people as at the present time--false Christs, false prophets, and all sorts of things to lead away the people of God. Everything, it is said, will be shaken that can be shaken. God is going to have a pure people. Those who commit sin and persist in it will lose the Spirit of God and be removed from among the peo-ple of God. We may expect that sinners will leave us, and that we shall have men and women falling into the dark because of transgression; but it is our duty, as watchmen upon the walls of Zion, and as the shepherds of the flock of Christ, to lift up our voices and warn the people of the dangers there are around them, and to point out the path of safety, that they may not stray away from the flock and be devoured. We therefore feel to warn the Latter-day Saints in regard to these delusive spirits. We warn you to be on your guard, to watch carefully, to pray earnestly, to live in purity, so that you shall have constantly the light of the Spirit of God to be with you. Do not be carried away by every wind of doctrine, nor by deceivers; but listen to the voice of the Spirit of God, which bears testi-mony to you in your hearts concerning the truths which you hear. You ought to be able to tell the voice of the true Shepherd from all other voices, so that no one assuming sheep's clothing and professing to be what he is not can deceive you. It is your privilege to recognize the voice of the true Shepherd, and to know by the testimony of Jesus whether that which you are taught is true or not.

There are now many societies being formed that make great professions. They claim to be benevolent societies and to do great good to the people. I have not the least objection to this. I would not say one word to cast any reproach upon any organization, by whatever name it may be called, that has objects of this character in view. It is not my purpose to decry them. It is not my purpose to belittle philanthropic efforts by individuals or by societies for the welfare of their fellow creatures. The Lord forbid that I should ever do anything of this kind! It is not in that spirit that I allude to these things. But I want to say to the Latter-day Saints that the Lord has organized a system which is perfect in all its details. There is no need to have it supplemented by anything of man's device. It is that thought which I desire to impress upon the Latter-day Saints. God has founded Zion, and the poor of His people will put their trust in it. There is nothing lacking in this organization. There is no benevolent society that exists, or that can be formed by human beings, that will reach the wants of the children of men as effectively as the organization which the Lord has given to us, and of which we now are a part. I know that there are men who have very plausible and attractive ideas concerning the evils that exist in society and the manner of correcting them. Attempts to correct them have been made for years and years; but they have not resulted successfully. I can state, without the least fear of successful contradiction, that the Latter-day Saints have done more as an organized society towards redeeming the people and correcting the evils that exist in society, and under which society groans, than any other organization on the face of the earth. I make that statement with a full understanding on my part of its meaning and extent. And that which we have done is only the beginning of that which we propose to do in the Lord's good time. The Lord has not left us in ignorance concerning these matters. This doctrine of equality that the anarchists, nihilists, socialists and such people dwell upon (some of them are resorting to the most dreadful violence to carry out their schemes), is understood by us, for the Lord has revealed to us how and to what extent it shall be fulfilled. He has given us the law with a great deal of plainness. But we are not prepared to carry it out. The leaders of the people are doing their best in teaching the people the primary principles of equality; but it will take time, it will take the power of God, it will take circumstances that will almost compel us to adopt that which God has revealed, in order to carry out that which He has laid before us as a duty that we must perform. I want to say to you that the day will come -- and it will be brought about by the Latter-day Saints -- when there will be such an equality in all things among us that there will be no want, no deficiency of any element necessary for man's happiness, no monopoly; when one man will not have more than he can use and another man be destitute. We are aiming at that, my brethren and sisters, and we are the only people, I am free to say, that can entertain the least hope that they will ever accomplish it. These secret organizations may throw down thrones; they may destroy dynasties; they may cause blood to flow in torrents; but they will never accomplish this reform that we shall achieve, and that, too, by peaceful methods -- by the operation of the laws which God has made plain, so plain that, as the Bible says, a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein.

The Lord has given enough to the earth to make all its inhabitants happy. There is no element that is not in sufficient abundance for all. And it is contrary to the will of God, so He has revealed to us, that one man shall possess so much above another -- one wallow in luxury while his neighbor goes destitute. He has taught us the way by which this shall be corrected. This being the case, shall we turn our eyes from the Zion of God in this or in the other direction, looking for something better? If we do, we despise the wisdom and counsel of God; we throw aside that which He has revealed in the greatest plainness, and we turn our backs upon the history and experience of this people.

Let me say to you that it is in vain for men to endeavor to patch up systems to remedy the existing evils. They have not the wisdom to do it. You can see the condition of the world in consequence of man's wisdom being exercised. On every hand there is confusion, turmoil, strife. There is poverty and misery on one hand and luxury and a superabundance on the other hand. This is not right, and it will be corrected. How? Well, the Lord attempted it in the early days of this Church; but the people did not have faith. He is now schooling us. We shall have faith sooner or later, and we shall be chastened probably till we do it. I do not want to prophesy any evil concerning Zion. I do not want to threaten. I have none of the spirit of gloom about me connected with Zion. I feel to prophesy good always about Zion. But the Lord will bring us through circumstances that will open our eyes, and cause us to see the value of the counsel that He has given to us. We should teach it to our children. We must unlearn the traditions that we have received from our fathers. Those traditions teach us that it is the duty of each one to look out for himself and to care but little for his neighbor. We have got to unlearn that lesson. We have got to live for the benefit of all. But, like all benefactors, in doing so we shall very likely be misjudged. Did you ever see a man that was a benefactor, from the Lord Jesus down, that was not loaded with opprobrium and misunderstood? Jesus set us the example of self-sacrifice. What a life His was! The Redeemer of the world, coming down from the mansions of glory, taking upon himself mortality, living in humility, and doing all that He could for man's redemption; yet He was hung upon the cross, crucified between two thieves! So it has been, to a greater or less extent, with every man that has attempted to benefit his fellowman. He must expect to be misunderstood, to be misrepresented, and to have his motives traduced. He must not expect to have the love of those he is trying to save. He may have a little of it; but men are so ungrateful by nature that they do not recognize their true benefactors. It requires the Spirit of God to enlighten the mind. You Bishops who have labored incessantly; you Presidents of Stakes, you Apostles, and all who have labored among the people, you know by experience that your labors are not appreciated as they ought to be, that your motives are frequently misunderstood and traduced, and you have to labor with the expectation of getting reward from the Lord and with the satisfaction of having the approval of your conscience. So it is in relation to this whole people. We are the benefactors of mankind; but we do not get credit for that which we are doing. We need not expect to get the praise of the world, or even ordinary credit. Nevertheless, the labor devolves upon us. We shall, doubtless, see evidences of selfishness in carrying it out, and advantage will be taken by one and another before this system can be fairly introduced among the children of men.

In these remarks I refer to what is known among us as the United Order. I know that many have thought that this has passed off; that it is a phantasy, an idea that cannot be carried out; that it is impossible, as human nature is constituted, to make it practical. Probably many among us entertain that idea. But I can assure you that this is not the case. It is the plan that God has devised, and I want to hold it up before you if I can, so that you will see it and understand that God has devised a plan that is far superior to that which men have concocted. And it can be and will be carried out. By what means has Satan power to-day over the hearts of the children of men? It is by the misuse of this world's goods. Would there be any thieving if men did not have property as it is now? Here is what the Lord said sixty years ago:--

It is wisdom in me; therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall organize yourselves and appoint every man his stewardship,

That every man may give an account unto me of his stewardship which is appointed unto him;
For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as stewards over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.

I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth as a very handy work, and all things therein are mine:

And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine;

But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low;

For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment. [D&C 104:11-18.]

He will go with the rich man under whose table Lazarus would pick the crumbs that fell, and whose dogs licked the sores of the poor man. Lazarus went to Abraham's bosom; but the rich man, as this says, lifted up his eyes in torment, being in hell.

In another part of the revelation the Lord says:--

And again, a commandment I give unto you concerning your stewardship which I have appointed unto you.

Behold, all these properties are mine, or else your faith is vain, and ye are found hypocrites, and the covenants which ye have made unto me are broken;

And if the properties are mine, then ye are stewards, otherwise ye are not stewards.

But, verily I say unto you, I have appointed unto you to be stewards over mine house, even stewards indeed;

And all moneys that you receive in your stewardships, by improving upon the properties which I have appointed unto you, in houses, or in lands, or in cattle, or in all things save it be the holy and sacred writings, which I have reserved unto myself for holy and sacred purposes, shall be cast into the treasury as fast as you receive moneys, by hundreds, or by fifties, or by twenties, or by tens, or by fives;

Or in other words, if any man among you obtain five talents (dollars), let him cast them into the treasury; or if he obtain ten, or twenty, or fifty, or an hundred let him do likewise;

And let not any man among you say that it is his own, for it shall not be called his, nor any part of it;

And there shall not any part of it be used, or taken out of the treasury, only by the voice and common consent of the order,

And this shall be the voice and common consent of the order; that any man among you say unto the treasurer, I have need of this to help me in my stewardship;

If it be five talents (dollars), or if it be ten talents (dollars), or twenty, or fifty, or an hundred, the treasurer shall give unto him the sum which he requires, to help him in his stewardship.

Until he be found a transgressor, and it is manifest before the council of the order plainly, that he is an unfaithful and an unwise steward;

But so long as he is in full fellowship, and is faithful, and wise in his stewardship, this shall be his token unto the treasurer, that the treasurer shall not withhold. [D&C 104:54-75.]

This is the plan that the Lord has devised. Will this be abused? Some men say, "Yes; the men that are wise and prudent, and good managers will work for the rest, and the idle man and the poor manager will derive the benefit." That is the argument used. But the Lord who has devised this plan will be able to provide means to carry it out successfully. On what principle can you make men equal in earthly things, in order that they may be equal in heavenly things, unless it is upon some such principle as this? Here are men who have labored their entire life for the benefit of this people. Are they any poorer for it? Here is the oldest man among us, the people's leader, the longest in the service of God -- Wilford Woodruff -- who for years and years worked in his Apostleship and never drew a dollar to support himself or his family. Here is Lorenzo Snow, eighty years of age who did likewise. Ask these two veterans in the cause of God if they have not worked incessantly and without thought about themselves for the work of God, supporting their families as best they could; and ask them if God has not blessed them abundantly for all they have done. Do they begrudge the labor they have bestowed upon this people? And when I allude to them I also allude to their predecessors, from Joseph down, who labored night and day, in season and out of season, for the benefit of the people. Have they lost anything by it? No, they have not. God has been with them, and has rewarded them. So it will be whenever we carry out this Order. There will be men, doubtless, that will labor harder and to greater profit than others; but God will reward them, because they are carrying out His purposes and seeking to elevate their fellow-beings, laboring with an eye single to the glory of God and the salvation of the human family.

I do not know that you understand how this will be done. Suppose that we have our stewardships appointed to us, each according to his family. That was the order. Edward Partridge as the Bishop of the Church, was instructed in very early days to assign to the people property, each according to his family. Now, a man takes his stewardship. He has his land, his cattle, his horses, or whatever his vocation requires. It is assigned to him. He manages it, and makes a profit on it. Is that profit his? No; that goes into the treasury, for the benefit of others who may need. But suppose he is a wise steward. He manages his affairs in a way to bring profit. He wants more capital. When this is brought before the council of the Order, and it is allowed to him, if the circumstances are such as to admit of it, he makes increase with that also. But he does not build himself up. He does not take all the profits of that business and consume it upon his own family. He does not take it and build fine houses, or spend it on horses and carriages, or on elaborate furnishings. He does not do this, only so far as will be compatible with the general weal. All will be built up together. But will all, under these circumstances, have the same? If this Order were established, would every man have the same sized house, the same sized garden or field, the same number of fruit trees, or the same number of cows? Why, no. That is not the equality that the Lord means. The Lord will give to us according to our circumstances and our wants. Some families will be larger than others. Some men will need more cows than others.

Some men s business will require more horses than other men s business will. In this way there will be differences. Then there will also be diversified circumstances. Every man will have the opportunity of exercising all his talents. There will be no restriction. He will have the opportunity for the exercise of the most commanding talents. The field will be before him, and he will have means to carry out His purposes and plans, if they be wise and such as his brethren will think prudent and judicious. Thus the poor will have their wants supplied, and there will be no want in the land. The equality which the Lord teaches us to look for is this:

And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just;

And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord's storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church. [D&C 82:17-18.]

So that each man in his stewardship will not be laboring for himself; he will be laboring for the whole, every man and woman being looked after, having a common interest, through inheritance, from our Great Creator, who created this earth for us. He did not create it for a few, not for a class, not for an aristocracy, not for monopolists; but for every one of us, each of us having an equal claim on the elements, and all laboring for the whole human family. Every want supplied, every proper desire of the heart gratified, until misery will flee from the face of this fair earth, until want will be unknown, until the cry of the widow and the fatherless and the distressed will not be heard in the land. The heavens will not be pierced with the cries of suffering humanity, and neither man nor beast will be destitute of that which is good for him. This is the plan which God has devised. It may require what many trained as we have been under the old and existing conditions may look upon as sacrifices to bring it about; but it will come; for God has devised it, and it is the only plan by which we can ever get into the celestial kingdom and become joint heirs with Jesus Christ. He has set us the example of deserting all things in the heavens, leaving His power and high estate to come down here and suffer for his brethren and sisters. We must look to Him and follow Him.

The lesson that I would like to impress upon our hearts -- for in speaking to you I speak to myself -- is, let us teach our children these principles; let us teach them that they are in the earth, not to labor for their own gratification, and to accumulate wealth for themselves, but to benefit humanity, to be a blessing to their race, to fill the earth as far as they can with gladness by their presence, that we may raise an unselfish race of men, men that will have higher aspirations and aims than the mere gratification of their personal wants, passions and appetites. Teach the children self-denial. It is a thing that is much needed among us. Brethren and sisters, I want to say to you that as sure as God lives this Order will be brought about; and it will be with us as it was with the children of Israel who came out of Egypttif we do not do it we will be removed, and a generation will be raised up that will do it; for God is going to carry out His purposes, and no power can prevent it. Remember the condition of the children of Israel and what befell them. Their carcasses fell by the roadside in the wilderness, because they would not come up to the standard that God had revealed. They not only perished, but the Melchizedek Priesthood was taken from their midst, and everyone over twenty years of age that came out of Egypt, except two, of all the hosts of Israel, laid down his life in the wilderness. We do not want to be in this condition. We want to live, and our children to live, and to be the heirs of all the ages. We want to lay the foundation of this great work in this manner; for it is the great reform that cries aloud to be carried out among mankind at the present time.

Our circumstances at present do not admit of our entering upon these things. There are many changes that will have to occur in order to make that which I have said unto you practical. Laws perhaps will have to be changed, because they might interfere with this now; and it might not be wisdom for us under the present circumstances. I do not speak of this because I think it ought to be carried out immediately. I do not want you to go away from this Conference with the idea that I, as one of the First Presidency, am giving counsel to you to carry out the United Order. What I have desired to do is to draw your attention to the fact that God has revealed a plan, and that you need not go after every will-o-the wisp, every false guide, every deceptive light that may appear, and think, "Oh! if I join this, we shall have the millennium right off." I speak on this to warn you; to put you on your guard; to show you that the Lord's plan is broad enough to cover the whole subject and to furnish all the relief that could ever be desired by human beings. I trust that we will be a stable people. We have the credit in the world for being united; and I would say to you, do not act unwisely and foolishly. When you hear any new doctrines, political as well as religious, do not be deluded by them and run after them; but maintain your steadfastness. You have divided on party lines. Do not split up into fragments because you have done this. Do not think you are manifesting your independence by cutting loose from everything; but be a stable and a conservative people, and act up to your convictions. Maintain the influence that God has given you, and by your wise course cause it to increase in the land, so that men from all parts of our nation will look towards this community and say, "There in the Rocky Mountains the Mormon people live; they are a reliable people; they mind their own business, pay their debts, are punctual in their engagements, are an honest people, are not all the time running after office, but are content to maintain good government." Let us get a character of this kind. We have it to some extent, and let us maintain it. I want to say that whenever you see men aspiring for office and planning to get office, do not encourage them. Let the office seek the man, and let us not be plotting and resorting to all sorts of dodges to secure success to our party, in order that some of us may get into office. Such arts are despicable. They are the arts of the low politician. We want to stand on a higher plane, and look at these things as men who have been enlightened by the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and try to maintain our credit; for I say to you, that the people in Washington or in Kane County in the south, or in Cache or Rich County in the north, or anywhere else in the Territory, cannot be guilty of folly without its reflecting on the entire people of God. We are a part of a great whole in that respect; and the Saints in Idaho or Arizona can do foolish things and entail a great deal of trouble upon the Church in this country because of their want of wisdom. Therefore, be wise. Why do I say this? If you get into trouble, to whom do you come? You know how it has been in our troubles that commenced nine years ago. We looked all around and where could we see friends? To whom could we appeal? Why, the eyes of this people turned to the men who were their leaders, who had planted these settlements in these mountains, and who had made everything successful that they had put their hands to. The people appealed to them to know what they should do. So it will be always when there is trouble. Therefore, it is the duty of leading men to counsel the people in wisdom -- not to take away the people's agency -- to avoid snares and to pursue a course that will avert trouble, so that we will not have burdens to bear. I do not say this because of any desire to interfere in the least with political matters, but to give you a little counsel on these points.

I pray God to bless you and to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and to help you to remember the excellent instructions you have heard during this Conference, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Zion vs Family

Joseph Grant Stevenson, The Life of Edward Stevenson, BYU Thesis, 1955, p. 43, which gives the following source: Edward Stephenson, Autobiography; unpublished record on microfilm in the Church Historian's Office, SLC, 1893, pp. 40­41. (See Hugh Nibley, "What Is Zion? A Distant View," What Is Zion? Joseph Smith Lecture Series, 1972­73, BYU, pp. 7­8; also Hugh Nibley, "Our Glory or Our Condemnation," BYU Last Lecture, 1971­72, p. 13.)

Subsequently in Far West I heard the Prophet Joseph say in a frame schoolhouse not yet finished:
Brethren, we are gathering to this beautiful land to build up Zion; Zion, which is the pure in heart. But since I have been here I perceive the spirit of selfishness. Covetousness exists in the hearts of the Saints which is not becoming those who receive the spirit of the gospel.

Here are those who begin to spread out buying up all the land they are able to [get] to the exclusion of the poorer ones who are not so much blessed with this world's goods, think to lay foundations for themselves, only looking to their own individual families and those who are to follow them.

Now I want to tell you that Zion cannot be built up in any such way.

We are called out from this world to learn God's ways, to become one, looking each to his brother's interest and welfare, the widow, the fatherless, and poor without distinction. I see signs put out, beer signs, speculative schemes are being introduced. This is the way of the world, Babylon indeed, and I tell you in the name of the God of Israel, if there is not repentance with this people and a turning from such ungodliness, covetousness, and self-will, you will be broken up and scattered from this choice land to the four winds of heaven. For the Lord will have a people who will serve him and keep his commandments humbly, each one seeking his neighbor's welfare, to preach the gospel, gather in the poor, and aid them, and build up a holy city to our God.

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol.1, pp.252­253, June 5, 1853.

A man has no right with property, which, according to the laws of the land, legally belongs to him, if he does not want to use it; he ought to possess no more than he can put to usury, and cause to do good to himself and his fellow-man. When will a man accumulate money enough to justify him in salting it down, or, in other words, laying it away in the chest, to lock it up, there to lie, doing no manner of good either to himself or his neighbor. It is impossible for a man ever to do it. No man should keep money or property by him that he cannot put to usury for the advancement of that property in value or amount, and for the good of the community in which he lives; if he does, it becomes a dead weight upon him, it will rust, canker, and gnaw his soul, and finally work his destruction, for his heart is set upon it. Every man who has got cattle, money, or wealth of any description, bone and sinew, should put it out to usury. If a man has the arm, body, head, the component parts of a system to constitute him a laboring man, and has nothing in the world to depend upon but his hands, let him put them to usury. Never hide up anything in a napkin, but put it forth to bring an increase. If you have got property of any kind that you do not know what to do with, lay it out in making a farm, or building a saw mill or a woolen factory, and go to with your mights to put all your property to usury.

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:216.

I am sorry that this people are worldly-minded. Their affections are upon their farms, upon their property, their houses and possessions, and in the same ratio that this is the case, the Holy Spirit of God--the spirit of their calling--forsakes them, and they are overcome by the Evil One.

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 11:102.

If this people neglect their duty, turn away from the holy commandments which God has given us, seek for their own individual wealth, and neglect the interests of the kingdom of God, we may expect to be here quite a while--perhaps a period that will be far longer than we anticipated.

"Proper Role of Government"

Ezra Taft Benson,Conference Report, October 1968, pp. 17­22.

My brethren and sisters: Humbly and gratefully I stand before you.

I am truly thankful that the Church is led by a prophet of God, who, as chief watchman on the towers of Zion, has the courage and inspiration to speak out against current evils as he has done again today. Thank God for David O. McKay, our Prophet-leader!

I am humbly grateful to God for the blessings we all enjoy as citizens of these great United States of America. I am grateful for our Founding Fathers who were raised up with the courage to give their lives, with the unselfishness to give their fortunes, and the vision to pledge their sacred honor in order to establish a new kind of government of their own choosing where men might be free. I am additionally grateful that these Founding Fathers had the faith and humility to accept the divine inspiration so necessary in setting forth the Constitution as the foundation for their new republic. The Lord said he raised up these founders and called them "wise men." [D&C 101:80.]

Men are often asked to express an opinion on a myriad of government proposals and projects. All too often, answers seem to be based not upon solid principle, but upon the popularity of the specific government program in question. Seldom are men willing to oppose a popular program if they themselves wish to be popular--especially if they seek public office.

Such an approach to vital political questions of the day can only lead to public confusion and legislative chaos. Decisions of this nature should be based upon and measured against certain basic principles regarding the proper role of government. If principles are correct, then they can be applied to any specific proposal with confidence.

Unlike the political opportunist, the true statesman values principle above popularity and works to create popularity for those political principles which are wise and just.

It is generally agreed that the most important single function of government is to secure the rights and freedoms of individual citizens. But, what are those rights? And what is their source? Until these questions are answered, there is little likelihood that we can correctly determine how government can best secure them.

Let us first consider the origin of those freedoms we have come to know as human rights. Rights are either God-given as part of the divine plan or they are granted by government as part of the political plan. Reason, necessity, tradition, and religious conviction all lead me to accept the divine origin of these rights. If we accept the premise that human rights are granted by government, then we must be willing to accept the corollary that they can be denied by government.

I support the doctrine of separation of church and state as traditionally interpreted to prohibit the establishment of an official national religion. But this does not mean that we should divorce government from any formal recognition of God. To do so strikes a potentially fatal blow at the concept of the divine origin of our rights and unlocks the door for an easy entry of future tyranny. If Americans should ever come to believe that their rights and freedoms are instituted among men by politicians and bureaucrats, then they will no longer carry the proud inheritance of their forefathers, but will grovel before their masters seeking favors and dispensations, a throwback to the feudal system of the Dark Ages.

Since God created man with certain inalienable rights, and man, in turn, created government to help secure and safeguard those rights, it follows that man is superior to the creature which he created. Man is superior to government and should remain master over it, not the other way around. Even the nonbeliever can appreciate the logic of this relationship.

A government is nothing more or less than a relatively small group of citizens who have been hired, in a sense, by the rest of us to perform certain functions and discharge certain responsibilities which have been authorized. The government itself has no innate power or privilege to do anything. Its only source of authority and power is from the people who created it.

Keep in mind that the people who have created their government can give to that government only such powers as they themselves have. They cannot give that which they do no possess.

In a primitive state, there is no doubt that each man would be justified in using force, if necessary, to defend himself against physical harm, against theft of the fruits of his labor, and against enslavement by another.

Indeed, the early pioneers found that a great deal of their time and energy was being spent defending themselves, their property, and the liberty. For man to prosper, he cannot afford to spend his time constantly guarding his family, his fields, and his property against attack and theft. When he joins together with his neighbors and hires a sheriff, government is born. The individual citizens delegate to the sheriff their unquestionable right to protect themselves. The sheriff now does for them only that which they had a right to do for themselves--nothing more.

But suppose pioneer "A" wants another horse for his wagon. He doesn't have the money to buy one, but since pioneer "B" has an extra horse, he decides that he is entitled to share in his neighbor's good fortune. Is he entitled to take his neighbor's horse? Obviously not! If his neighbor wishes to give it or lend it, that is another question. But so long as pioneer "B" wishes to keep his property, pioneer "A" has no just claim to it.

If "A" has no proper power to take "B's" property, can he delegate any such power to the sheriff? No. Even if everyone in the community desires that "B" give his extra horse to "A," they have no right individually or collectively to force him to do it. They cannot delegate a power they themselves do not have.

The proper function of government is limited only to those spheres of activity within which the individual citizen has the right to act. By deriving its just powers from the governed, government becomes primarily a mechanism for defense against bodily harm, theft, and involuntary servitude. It cannot claim the power to redistribute the wealth or force reluctant citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Government is crated by man. No man can delegate a power that he does not possess. The creature cannot exceed the creator.

In general terms, therefore, the proper role of government includes such defensive activities as maintaining national military and local police forces for protection against loss of life, loss of property, and loss of liberty at the hands of either foreign despots or domestic criminals.

It also includes those powers necessarily incidental to the protective function.

We should recognize that government is no plaything. It is an instrument of force; and unless our conscience is clear that we would not hesitate to put a man to death, put him in jail, or forcibly deprive him of his property for failing to obey a given law, we should oppose that law.

The Constitution of the United States, an inspired document, is a solemn agreement between the citizens of this nation that every officer of government is under a sacred duty to obey.

The Constitution provides that the great bulk of the legitimate activities of government are to be carried out at the state or local level. This is the only way in which the principle of self-government can be made effective.

The smallest or lowest level that can possibly undertake the task is the one that should do so. The smaller the governmental unit and the closer it is to the people, the easier it is to guide it, to correct it, to keep it solvent, and to keep our freedom.

Remember that the people of the states of this republic created the federal government. The federal government did not create the states.

A category of government activity that not only requires the closest scrutiny but that also poses a grave danger to our continued freedom is the activity not within the proper sphere of government. No one has the authority to grant such powers as welfare programs, schemes for redistributing the wealth, and activities that coerce people into acting in accordance with a prescribed code of social planning. There is one simple test. Do I as an individual have a right to use force upon my neighbor to accomplish this goal? If I do, then I may delegate that power to my government to exercise it in my behalf. If I do not have that right, I cannot delegate it.

If we permit government to manufacture its own authority and to create self-proclaimed powers not delegated to it by the people, then the creature exceeds the creator and becomes master. Who is to say "this far, but no farther"? What clear principle will stay the hand of government from reaching farther and farther into our daily lives? Grover Cleveland said that "though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people."

Once government steps over this clear line between the protective or negative role into the aggressive role of redistributing the wealth through taxation and providing so-called "benefits" for some of its citizens, it becomes a means for legalized plunder. It becomes a lever of unlimited power that is the sought-after prize of unscrupulous individuals and pressure groups, each seeking to control the machine to fatten his own pockets or to benefit his favorite charity, all with the other fellow's money, of course. Each class or special interest group competes with the others to throw the lever of governmental power in its favor, or at least to immunize itself against the effects of a previous thrust. Labor gets a minimum wage. Agriculture gets a price support. Some consumers demand price controls. In the end, no one is much further ahead, and everyone suffers the burdens of a gigantic bureaucracy and a loss of personal freedom. With each group out to get its share of the spoils, such governments historically have mushroomed into total welfare states. Once the process begins, once the principle of the protective function of government gives way to the aggressive or redistributive function, then forces are set in motion that drive the nation toward totalitarianism.

No government in the history of mankind has ever created any wealth. People who work create wealth.

The free creative energy of this choice nation "created more than 50 percent of all the world's products and possessions in the short span of 160 years. The only imperfections in the system is the imperfections in man himself." (James R. Evans, The Glorious Quest [Chicago: Charles Hallberg and Company].)

According to Marxist doctrine, a human being is primarily an economic creature. His material well-being is all important: his privacy and his freedom are secondary. The Soviet constitution reflects this philosophy in its emphasis on security: food, clothing, housing, medical care--the same things that might be considered in a jail. The basic concept is that the government has full responsibility for the welfare of the people and, in order to discharge that responsibility, must assume control of all their activities. It is significant that in actuality the Russian people have few of the rights supposedly "guaranteed" to them in their constitution, while the American people have them in abundance even though they are not guaranteed. The reason is that material gain and economic prosperity and security simply cannot be guaranteed by any government. They are the result and reward of hard work and industrious production. Unless the people bake one loaf of bread for each citizen, the government cannot guarantee that each will have one loaf to eat. Constitutions can be written, laws can be passed, and imperial decrees can be issued, but unless the bread is produced, it can never be distributed.

Why, then, do Americans bake more bread, manufacture more shoes, and assemble more TV sets than Russians do? They do so precisely because our government does not guarantee these things. If it did, there would be so many accompanying taxes, controls, regulations, and political manipulations that the productive genius that is America's would soon be reduced to the floundering level of waste and inefficiency now found behind the Iron Curtain.

Any attempt through governmental intervention to redistribute the material rewards of labor can only result in the eventual destruction of the productive base of society, without which real abundance and security for more than the ruling elite is quite impossible.

What happens to a nation that ignores these basic principles? Former FBI agent Dan Smoot succinctly points this out:

"England was killed by an idea; the idea that the weak, indolent, and profligate must be supported by the strong, industrious, and frugal--to the degree that tax consumers will have a living standard comparable to that of taxpayers; the idea that government exists for the purpose of plundering those who work to give the product of their labor to those who do not work.

"The economic and social cannibalism produced by this communist-socialist idea will destroy any society which adopts it and clings to it as a basic principle--any society."

This may sound heartless and insensitive to the needs of those less fortunate individuals who are found in any society, no matter how affluent, "What about the lame, the sick and the destitute?" is an often-voiced question. Most other countries have attempted to use the power of government to meet this need. Yet, in every case, the improvement has been marginal at best and has, in the long run, created more misery, more poverty, and certainly less freedom than when government first stepped in.

As Henry Grady Weaver wrote:

"Most of the major ills of the world have been caused by well-meaning people who ignored the principle of individual freedom, except as applied to themselves, and who were obsessed with fanatical zeal to improve the lot of mankind-in-the-mass through some pet formula of their own.... The harm done by ordinary criminals, murderers, gangsters, and thieves is negligible in comparison with the agony inflicted upon human beings by the professional 'do-gooders,' who attempt to set themselves up as gods on earth and who would ruthlessly force their views on all others--with the abiding assurance that the end justifies the means." (The Mainspring of Human Progress.)

America has traditionally followed Jefferson's advice of relying on the profit motive, individual action, and charity. The United States has fewer cases of genuine hardship per capita than any other country in the world now or throughout all history. Even during the depression of the 1930s, Americans ate and lived better than most people in other countries do today.

History proves that the growth of the welfare state is difficult to check before it comes to its full flower of dictatorship. But let us hope that this time around, the trend can be reversed. If not, then we will see the inevitability of complete socialism-probably within our lifetime.

Three factors may make a difference: (1) sufficient historical knowledge of the failures of socialism in contrast to the proven success of free enterprise; (2) modern means of rapid communications to transmit this information to a large literate population; (3) a growing number of dedicated men and women actively working to promote a wider appreciation of these basic concepts. The timely joining together of these three factors may make it entirely possible for us to reverse the trend.

How is it possible to cut out the various welfare-state features of our government that have already fastened themselves like cancer cells onto the body politic? Can drastic surgery be performed without endangering the patient? Drastic measures are called for. No compromise actions will suffice. Like all surgery, it will not be without discomfort and perhaps even some scar tissue for a long time to come. But it must be done if the patient is to be saved--and it can be done without undue risk.

Not all welfare-state programs currently in force can be dropped simultaneously without causing tremendous economic and social upheaval. The first step toward restoring the limited concept of government should be to freeze all welfare-state programs at their present levels, making sure that no new ones are added. The next step would be to allow all present programs to run out their term with absolutely no renewal. The third step would involve the gradual phasing-out of those programs which are indefinite in their term. The bulk of the transition could be accomplished, I believe, within a ten-year period and virtually completed within 20 years.

We must return to basic concepts and principles, to eternal verities in this choice land. There is no other way. The storm signals are up. They are clear and ominous.

We are building up a generation of lazy, government-dole-consuming weaklings. If this Communist-planned program of deception is not stopped, it will destroy our nation.

As Americans--citizens of the greatest nation under heaven--we face difficult days. Never since the days of the Civil War--100 years ago--has this choice nation faced such a crisis.

I have faith in the American people. I pray that we will refrain from doing anything further that will jeopardize in any manner, our priceless heritage. This is a choice land. If we live and work so as to enjoy the approbation of a Divine Providence, we cannot fail. Without that help, we cannot long endure.

As Americans, let us put our courage to the test--to be firm in the conviction that our cause is just, to reaffirm our faith in all things for which true Americans have always stood in years past.

Let all Americans arouse themselves and stay aroused. We must stop and then reverse the concessions we have made to socialistic Communism at home and abroad. We should oppose these evil forces from our position of strength, for we are not weak.

There is much work to be done. The time is short. Let us begin in earnest--now--and may God bless our efforts, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. {Conference Report, October 1968, pp. 17-22.}

"The Ideal Society"

David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 5­8.

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?

"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." (Psa 8:4, 5.)

Since the dawn of civilization, leaders in organized society have sought the answer to the age-old question: "What is the chief end of man?" Carlyle answered it by saying, "To glorify God and enjoy him forever."

The Prophet Joseph Smith gave through revelation from the Lord the following: "That mine everlasting covenant might be established;

"That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world," (D&C 1:22, 23.)

He further brought to light the great truth that God's work and glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.)

Throughout the centuries there have been leaders and socially minded men who have desired the better way of living than that which was theirs. The good life, so important to man's happiness, has been the quest of the ages. To sense the need of reform has been easy, but to achieve it has been difficult and well night impossible. Ideas suggested by the wisest of men have often been impractical, sometimes fantastic, yet in many cases the world in general has been made better by the dissemination of new ideas even though the experiments proved failures at the time.

In this respect the first half of the nine-teenth century was particularly marked by the feeling of social unrest, and many observing people became dissatisfied with social and economic conditions, and thinking men sought for remedial changes. In France, for example, the fanciful theories of Francois Marie Charles Fourier were circulated. He attempted to outline the future history of our globe and of the human race for eighty thousand years. Today, his books are seldom, if ever, read.

Later, Robert Owen, a man of exceptional ability and insight, when about nineteen years of age, became dissatisfied with the churches of his day. He decried their departure from the simple teachings of Jesus and was disturbed also by economic conditions. With a fortune back of him, and with the confidence of the Duke of Kent, Queen Victoria's father, Owen came to the New World in America about 1823. He purchased twenty-thousand acres of land in what later became New Harmony, Indiana. He established what he hoped to be an ideal society. Within three years he lost two hundred thousand dollars of his fortune, and his experiment failed.

A few years later, George Ripley, a Unitarian minister, conceived a plan of plain living and high thinking. He and his associates became the founders of what is known now as "The Great Experiment." He had as his associates such able men as Nathaniel Hawthorn and Charles A. Dana, who afterwards became Assistant Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President of the United States. This "Great Experiment" came to an end in 1846.

I believe with others that government, institutions, and organizations exist primarily for the purpose of securing to the individual his rights, his happiness, and proper development of his character. When organizations fail to accomplish this purpose, their usefulness ends. "So act," says Kant, "as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, in every case as an end, never as a means only."

In all ages of the world men have been prone to ignore the personality of others, to disregard men's rights by closing against them the opportunity to develop. The worth of man is a good measuring rob by which we may judge the rightfulness or the wrongfulness of a policy or principle, whether in government, in business, or in social activities.

Theories and ideologies exploited during the last half century present challenges more critical and dangerous than mankind has ever before faced.

This present world conflict, affecting the minds and souls of men today, is set forth by a prominent statesman of our country in the following succinct summary:

"On one side are those who, believing in the dignity and worth of the individual, proclaim his right to be free to achieve his full destiny--spiritually, intellectually, and materially. And--on the other side--there are arrayed those who, denying and disdaining the worth of the individual, subject him to the will of an authoritarian state, the dictates of a rigid ideology, and ruthless disciplines of a party apparatus.

"The basic conflict--so deeply dividing the world--comes at a time when the surge of other changes and upheavals staggers the mind and senses. Whole nations are trying to vault from the Stone Age to the twentieth century." (The Future of Federalism, pp. 60­61.)

Thus, today, brethren, we are in danger of actually surrendering our personal and property rights. This development, if it does occur in full form, will be a sad tragedy for our people. We must recognize that property rights are essential to human liberty.

Former United States Supreme Court Justice George Sutherland, from our own state [Utah], carefully stated as follows: "It is not the right of property which is protected, but the right to property. Property, per se, has no rights; but the individual--the man--has three great rights, equally sacred from arbitrary interference: the right to his life, the right to his liberty, and the right to his property. The three rights are so bound together as to be essentially one right. To give a man his life, but deny him his liberty, is to take from him all that makes life worth living. To give him liberty, but take from him the property which is the fruit and badge of his liberty, is to still leave him a slave." (From George Sutherland's speech before the New York State Bar Association, Jan-uary 21, 1921.)

The bond of our secular covenant is the principle of constitutional government. That principle is, in itself, eternal and everlasting, despite the pretensions of temporary tyrannies. The principle of tyranny maintains that human beings are incurably selfish and therefore cannot govern themselves. This concept flies in the face of the wonderful declaration of the Prophet Joseph Smith that the people are to be taught correct principles, and then they are to govern themselves. Dictatorship, however, argues that the people should be governed by the individual or a clique who can seize power through subversion or outright bloodshed. Further, the people are declared to be without guarantees or rights, and the regime is claimed to exist beholden only to the plans and whims of the ruling tyrant.

Our founding fathers, despite some natural fears, clearly regarded the promulgation of the Constitution of the United States as their greatest triumph.

On June 12, 1955, Sir Percy Spender, Australian Ambassador to the United States, delivered a speech at the Union University at Schenectady, New York, at the time they conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Laws upon him. I agree with what he said in that speech, relating to present-day efforts, and I quote part of it as follows:

"Today, freedom--political, economic, and individual freedom--lies destroyed or is in the course of being destroyed over great areas of the globe. And it has been destroyed and is being destroyed in the name of freedom. A vast struggle for the mind of man is now being waged--a struggle in which I hope each of you with all your heart will take part. In this struggle truth is distorted by those who have not the slightest regard for truth. All the words which mean so much to us--like Liberty, Freedom, Democracy--are being despoiled and prostituted by the enemies of Liberty, Freedom, and Democracy. A ruthless dialectical battle is being waged against the Christian way of life, against political liberty, against individual freedom, and it is being waged in the name of Freedom. Black becomes White; Tyranny becomes Freedom; The Forced Labor Camp stands for Liberty; The Slave State is represented as Democracy. This is the deadly challenge of Communism. And in this challenge those who put their emphasis upon man as an economic being--and there are plenty in every so-called free country in the world today who do just that--those who explain man in terms of scientific and chemical facts and the accident of circumstance, those who treat human beings as so many 'bodies,' those who deny man's spiritual and individual existence--each of them aids and hastens the destruction of the political institutions on which our free society rests, and whether he knows it or not, supports the dialectics and the aims of International Communism."

Jesus always sought the welfare of the individual; and individuals, grouped and laboring for the mutual welfare of the whole in conformity with the principles of the gospel, constitute the kingdom of God. Many of the choicest truths of the gospel were given in conversations with individuals when Jesus was on the earth. It was while Jesus talked with Nicodemas that he gave us the message relative to baptism and of being "born again." From the conversation with the woman of Samaria, we have disclosed the truth that they who worship God must worship him "in spirit and in truth." From Jesus' conversation with Mary and Martha, we hear the divine declaration, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" (Jn 11:25.)

Jesus' regard for the personality was supreme!

To the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the worth of the individual has special meaning. Quorums, auxiliaries, wards, stakes, even the Church itself, are all organized to further the welfare of man. All are but a means to an end, and that end is the happiness and eternal value of every child of God.

With wards, quorums, organizations, and auxiliaries in mind, I suggest three major means of winning souls to Christ. These three conditions are: one--enrollment in the Church of every individual; two--personal contact; three--group service.

These three plans, or conditions, are already operating in the Church, but unless they function, they will be ineffective in accomplishing the purposes for which they have been established.

It is the duty of each of these organizations to enroll every individual who belongs to it, not only to enroll, but to know by personal contact the conditions under which each person lives. It is not enough to know, and it is not sufficient to visit, for no person can become enthusiastic with the principles and doctrines of the gospel unless he or she lives them. "If ye will do the will, ye shall know" is a fundamental law of spiritual growth. (See Jn 7:17.)

If each of the thousands of officers and teachers in the ward, stake, and auxiliary organizations; if each of the many thousands of priesthood members were to influence for better living one individual, and should labor all his days "and bring save it be but one soul unto me," says the Lord, "how great shall be his joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" (See D&C 18:15.)

Today, many nations have lost their independence; man, defeated, have been compelled to labor for their conquerors, property has been seized without recompense, and millions of people have surrendered all guarantees of personal liberty.

Force and compulsion will never establish the ideal society. This can come only by a transformation within the individual soul--a life redeemed from sin and brought in harmony with the divine will. Instead of selfishness, men must be willing to dedicate their ability, their possessions, their lives, if necessary, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for the alleviation of the ills of mankind. Hate must be supplanted by sympathy and forbearance. Peace and true prosperity can come only by conforming our lives to the law of love, the law of the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A mere appreciation of the social ethics of Jesus is not sufficient--men's hearts must be changed!

In these days of uncertainty and unrest, liberty-loving people's greatest responsibility and paramount duty is to preserve and proclaim the freedom of the individual, his relationship to Deity, and the necessity of obedience to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only thus will mankind find peace and happiness.

We find ourselves now immersed in a great political campaign in America for the purpose of selecting candidates for the office in local, state, and national positions. We urge you as citizens to participate in this great democratic process, in accordance with your honest political convictions.

However, above all else, strive to sup-port good and conscientious candidates of either party who are aware of the great dangers inherent in communism, and who are truly dedicated to the Constitution in the tradition of our founding fathers. They should also pledge their sincere fealty to our way of liberty--a liberty which aims at the preservation of both personal and property rights. Study the issues, analyze the candidates on these grounds, and then exercise your franchise as free men and women. Never be found guilty of exchanging your birthright for a mess of pottage!

God enlighten our minds to comprehend our responsibility, to proclaim the truth and maintain freedom throughout the world, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. {Conference Report, October 1962, pp. 5­8.}

John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, Volume 18: 142-143.

“After praying for years that God would inspire his servant Brigham with the Spirit of revelation, that he might be able to lead forth Israel in the path in which they should go, he tells us to be one, as Jesus told his disciples; he tells us to enter into a united order, that God has revealed it, that we are to be one in spiritual things, and one in temporal things, to be united together in all principles, as the Saints of God have been wherever they have existed. But our Elders can't see it, and many of our Bishop's can't see it, and many High Priests and Seventies can't see it. Why? Because the Bridegroom has tarried, and we have all [both wise and foolish?] slumbered and slept, and in many instances we have sinned against God, and our lamps have gone out, that is the matter, and we have lost the light, and intelligence, and revelation, and quickening influence of the living God. If we were living our religion and keeping the commandments of God, we should feel and act differently; we should then know of the doctrine. Jesus said—‘If any man does my will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself’.”