NOM

I've been busy with family stuff, but I finally made it back to my ward for Easter Sunday. Gospel Doctrine was about the "Law of Consecration". It started with D&C 42 where Joseph Smith reveals the law of consecration, which must have had some similarity to what Issac Morley had been doing with the commune on his farm which he and Lyman Wight had instituted under Sidney Rigdon's encouragement almost a year before. (See Richard Van Wagoner's book: "Sidney Rigdon.") The teacher talked about the law on consecration, and how we are not under commandment to live it any more. But, because of our temple covenants, we should still be living it spiritually.
I was tempted to mention a significant change in D&C 42:39 about the riches of the Gentiles being consecrated to the "House of Israel." (Mormons) The original in the Times and Seasons/Book of Commandments seems to suggest that the Mormons would get to "spoil' the Gentiles, just like the Children of Israel "spoiled the Egyptians in Exodus 12:36. It caused some problems in Missouri, so little wonder that Joseph changed it in 1835.
One person brought up the recent homeless debacle in Salt Lake County, and how we should help the poor more, but mostly it was "Pay your tithing and do your church assignments" and the like.

It's interesting to think about how unoriginal communal living was at that time and place. Samuel Underhill and the Owenites made the secular communal economic model quite popular in Ohio. According to Mark staker the beehive symbol on the Utah flag originates from the Owenites (who also used that same shape of beehive for their symbol). Rigdon and Morley wanted to do the same thing but using the new testament concept of all things in common, and Rigdon differed doctrinally with Alexander Campbell over it. Symonds Ryder, contrary to the church narrative, left over Joseph's version of it being leaked to him ahead of it being introduced to the general membership (his name was mispelled all over the place long before the famous revelatory mishap, with none of it seeming to bother him). Even though today it is considered the higher law, it seems that it is more monetarily generous (surplus) to those living it than gross tithing.

The Orderville experiment in Southern Utah failed, and the UEP (united effort plan) in the FLDS seems to be based on consecrating ones foodstamps illegally.