Law of Consecration

1. Law of Consecration www.kevinhinckley.com

3. Doctrine and CovenantsSection 42- History Question How would you describe the Law of Consecration, as lived by the early Saints, to someone investigating the church? February 9, 1831, after the Church had removed to Kirtland and had been augmented by many converts from among the Disciples, or followers of the Campbells and Sidney Rigdon, who were living in Kirtland and its vicinity, the Lord gave to the Church this revelation (Sec. 42) as a law. In this revelation many commandments given from the very beginning and reiterated in the days of Moses were again proclaimed as being in force for the government of the Church in these latter days. By grave and solemn proclamation the members of the Church were commanded to observe all these laws and others which were yet future but would be given for the establishment of the City of Zion—New Jerusalem—which was to be built by the law of consecration and obedience to the fulness of the Gospel.“ (Joseph Fielding Smith in Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:168) How is that different from: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” (Karl Marx)

4. Prophet Joseph Smith "The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith186).

5. D&C 133:7 (Read) Zion Babylon Travel Towards Palmyra, harmony, Fayette Kirtland Travel Towards The Ohio Zion (Missouri) Travel Towards Modern Babylon ?? Travel Towards

6. Question What is the difference between being “a steward” as opposed to being “an owner” of the Lord’s resources?

7. Elder Neal A. Maxwell "The many other things we 'give' … are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us.  However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!" (Ensign, Nov 1995, p24)

8. Elder D. Todd ChristoffersonOctober Conference At the end of July this year, young single adults from several countries in eastern Europe gathered outside Budapest, Hungary, for a conference. Among this group were 20 young men and women from Moldova who had spent days obtaining passports and visas and over 30 hours traveling by bus to get there. The conference program included some 15 workshops. Each person needed to select the two or three that he or she most wanted to attend. Rather than focus exclusively on their own interests, these Moldovan young adults got together and made plans so that at least one of their group would be in each class and take copious notes. Then they would share what they had learned with each other and later with the young adults in Moldova who could not attend. In its simplest form, this exemplifies the unity and love for one another that, multiplied thousands of times in different ways, will "bring again Zion"

9. Elder John H. Groberg (This note was included with a check for $1000 to the presiding Bishop from Elder Groberg) “Recently, while visiting one of the far distant islands that is very difficult to get to, I went late in the day to the home of one of the good widow sisters there. “When I first approached her hut the sun was still quite bright and I could not help but notice the stark poverty of her surroundings. It had been raining earlier. The mud and decay and the ever-present smell of drying fish were at first repulsive. But the warmth of meeting with a fellow Church member—especially after years of separation—together with tears of appreciation for the long-awaited visit, soon pushed the unpleasantness of the surroundings temporarily into the background. “As we conversed in her fluid native tongue and she told of her love for and faith in the Church and of all the blessings she had received, I could not help but think about her apparently miserable circumstances. … All sorts of ideas went through my mind, and I must have let my thoughts wander as I suddenly became aware that somewhere between phrases about blessings and poverty and service she had gone to her hut and was now returning with a small knotted rag.

10. Threepence “Suddenly my mind seemed to fill with light, and the words ‘fast offerings’ flooded in. I was so excited with the idea that had come so suddenly and so clearly, that you can imagine my utter amazement and unpreparedness when she took a threepence (a coin worth about 3¢) from her rag and said softly, ‘Here is my fast offering … to help the poor.’ “I wanted to explain that fast offering was to help her, not for her to help others. The explanation never came, for as I looked through misty eyes, first at the threepence then back at the good sister, the whole scene changed. “The hut was a glowing mansion and the mud was gold. … The world seemed to stand still for a moment. All of nature seemed to stop and listen as from the heavens the whole universe seemed filled with the reassuring words: ‘Blessed are the poor … for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “As the setting sun signaled the end of the day, so it also told of the approaching end of her beautiful life of service. “I took the threepence, and as I write this check the whole experience once again fills my mind and I wonder, ‘How many threepences to make a thousand dollars?’