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The Laws of Consecration, Stewardship, and Tithing

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1286 Sperry Treasury live 7/28/04 6:05 PM Page 155 CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE LAWS OF CONSECRATION, STEWARDSHIP, AND TITHING CRAIG J. OSTLER The Lord requires His people to consecrate their lives and temporal possessions for the building of His kingdom and to pr ovide for the poor. In the early days of the Restoration, the Lor d revealed specific laws concerning consecration of earthly property, receiving steward- ships, and payment of tithes to the Church of Jesus Christ. The Lord emphasized that the Saints must lear n to obey these laws to r eceive an inheritance in the celestial kingdom (see D&C 105:1Ð5; 119:1Ð7). Possibly due to misunderstanding of the revelations governing these principles, there has been some confusion regardingtheselaws— especially their relationship to each other and our r esponsibility to abide by them today. One sister in the Church was heard to lament, “InmysituationIcanhar dly make ends meet. Ever y month it is a struggle to pay tithing. How will I ever be able to live the law of con- secration?”Abriefexaminationofr evelations in the Doctrine and Covenants regarding the laws of consecration, stewardship, and tithing within their historical context can illuminate our under- standings of the principles underlying their purposes.1 THE LAWS OF CONSECRATION AND STEWARDSHIP REVEALED (D&C 42) True principles governing the laws of consecration and stewar d- ship evidence the Lord’s wisdom in providing for His Saints. At a con- ference of the Church held in Fayette, New York, in January 1831, Craig J. Ostler is an associate professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. 155 1286 Sperry Treasury live 7/28/04 6:05 PM Page 156 156 Craig J. Ostler the LordcommandedtheSaintstogoto“theOhio”where He would give them His law and wher e they would be endowed with power from on high (D&C 38:32). In this same r evelation the Lord twice commandedtheSaints,“letever y man esteem his br other as him- self”(D&C38:24–25),whichinessenceisthespiritofthelawofcon- secration. In February, after the ProphetJosephSmith’s arrival in Ohio, the r evelation,knownas“thelawoftheChur ch,”was received. This revelation clarified principles governing consecration of property to the Lord and receiving stewardships to oversee conse- crated land and material goods. Some of those baptized in Kir tland, Ohio, had pr eviously attempted to live what they believed was the law of having all things in common as found in the New Testament. That is, all property was held jointly by the community, and they referredtoitas“common stock.”JohnWhitmer, early historian for the Church, explained, “Thediscipleshadallthingscommon,andwere going to destruction very fast as to temporal things; for they considered from reading the scripture that what belonged to a br other, belonged to any of the brethren. Thereforetheywouldtakeeachother’ s clothes and other property and use it without leave which br ought on confusion and disappointments, for they did not understand the scripture.”2 In place of the misguided attempts of the early Saints to live according to their private interpretations of New Testament passages, the Lord revealed that the Saints were to consecrate their properties to Him. The foundational principle upon which this law rests is recognition that the Lord is the Creator of the earth and therefore all propertyisHis.“Behold,theLord hath created the earth that it shouldbeinhabited”Nephiexplained;“andhehathcreated his chil- drenthattheyshouldpossessit”(1Nephi17:36).Allworldlywealth, whether it be lands or gold, is providedforthebenefitofGod’s chil- dren during their mortal sojourn. In commanding His Saints to con- secrate their temporal, earthly goods to the building up of His king - dom, the Lord is not interested in real estate, precious ores, jewels, or houses. Rather, consecration is a godly activity, and those who devote their property, time, and talents to blessing others become more godlike. The Lord directed the means by which pr operty was to be conse- crated within His law. Basically, to consecrate property is to set it 1286 Sperry Treasury live 7/28/04 6:05 PM Page 157 The Laws of Consecration, Stewardship, and Tithing 157 apart for sacred purposes. The Lord indicated that properties were to be consecrated or set apart“withacovenantandadeedwhichcan - not be broken”(D&C42:30).Thecovenantwasasacr ed promise made with God to dedicate temporal pr operty to the Church. The deed was a legally binding document, written and signed by both the member consecrating his property and by the bishop who r eceived the property as the Lord’s authorized agent (see D&C 42:31). Thus, the covenant was binding according to both the laws of God and the laws of the land. After deeding all of his property to the Lord’s Church through his bishop,theconsecratingmemberwasappointed“asteward over his own property”(D&C42:32).Thatis,afterconsecratinghispr oper- ties the member received another legal, signed document fr om the bishop listing the lands, furniture, tools, and so forth that were being leased to him by deed as his stewardship. This property was held as a stewardship for the Master, Jesus Christ, Lord of the earth. This arrangement recognized that we are but stewards for the Lord and are accountable to Him for the use of our talents to bless the lives of oth- ers. The Lord clarified that the steward was to receive“asmuchasis sufficientforhimselfandfamily”(D&C42:32).Inotherwor ds, the stewardship property deeded to the member was to be adequate to enable him to provide for his family according to the number of chil- dren and other dependents in the household. Such a law anticipated that some Saints would have mor e prop- erty to consecrate than would be necessary to be deeded back to them as a stewardship. In addition, it was hoped that those who received a stewardship would produce more than they needed and could regularly consecrate the surplus. To this end the Lord explained that“theresidue shall be kept in my storehouse”(D&C42:34).Inso doing the Lord restored the principle of keeping of the Lor d’s store- house, as was done anciently to pr ovide for the poor (see Malachi 3:10). One of the most sacr ed trusts that areplacedinthebishop’s hands is that of providing for the poor and needy. In this law the bishop uses the property or goods that are surplus to provide for the needs of the members. In addition, this law also anticipated the time of building the city of the New Jerusalem. The Lord indicated that another use for the surplus generated in the law of consecration and stewar dship was 1286 Sperry Treasury live 7/28/04 6:05 PM Page 158 158 Craig J. Ostler “forthepurposeofpurchasing lands for the public benefit of the church, and building houses of worship, and building up of the New Jerusalem which is her eafter to be r evealed—thatmycovenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I shall come to my temple”(D&C42:35–36).Thus,there was no thought that Zion would be built up by a single individual; rather, the law of consecra- tion was to be the law of the Lord’s covenant people as a community. IMPLEMENTING THE LAWS OF CONSECRATION AND STEWARDSHIP (D&C 51) Often there is a gap between theory and practice in living the principles of the gospel. Such was the case with implementing the newly restored laws of consecration and stewardship. The Saints desired to obey the Lor d, but the time had ar rived to learn how to obey Him. By May 1831, in r esponse to the Lord’s earlier command for the Church to move to Ohio, approximately two hundred Saints living in New York sold their properties and made the move west. Their arrival called attention to the need for fur ther instructions to implement the laws of consecration and stewar dship as previously revealed. In preparation, an earlier revelation directed the Saints to purchase lands in the r egion near Kir tland (see D&C 48:3). In Thompson, Ohio, a new convert named Leman Copley owned a large tract of land, some 759 acres, which he consecrated for the settlement of the newly arrived Saints. Bishop Edward Partridge was responsible for dividing this pr operty among the Saints. Consequently, he requested the Prophet Joseph Smith to inquir e of the Lord for direction on the matter. The Lord revealed that stewardships were to be given by the bishop according to the laws previously revealed and clarified that in appointing each their portions,“every man [was to be] equal accord- ing to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs”(D&C51:3).Suchinstructions take into consideration that no two families have exactly the same needs. In the division of pr oper- ties, the number of children in a family, as well as the ages and abil- ities of the children, is taken into consideration. A farmer would receive farm land as his stewardship, a printer a printing office, a tan- ner a tannery, and a businessman a mercantile establishment (see D&C57:8,11;104:19–42).“Andallofthis”r eads a later revelation, 1286 Sperry Treasury live 7/28/04 6:05 PM Page 159 The Laws of Consecration, Stewardship, and Tithing 159 “forthebenefitofthechurch of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that everymanmaygainothertalents” (D&C 82:18). In this manner the needs of the poor were provided for and they were placed in a position in which they could supply their own wants and aid others in doing the same. The principles governing who determined what was needed by each individual and family in their particular circumstances posed a challenge.
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