08) UNITED ORDER: What has been revealed about the United Order? What is it, and what is the history behind it?

Commentary

Prophetic Statements

Harold B. Lee

The Lord established the united order; then after the people had shown that they were not righteous enough to live the law, He withdrew it until after the redemption of Zion, as you find in D&C 105 . So the Lord will do with principles and practices which He has set up when the people are no longer able to abide them, because it would seem that it is better we should lose the blessings of obedience than that we should incur the penalties of disobedience. After any such withdrawal, the Lord Himself, through His appointed mouthpiece, will declare the restoration at the proper time. ^[1]

Ezra Taft Benson

The vehicle for implementing the law of consecration is the united order. The basic principle underlying the united order is that everything we have belongs to the Lord; and, therefore, the Lord may call upon us for any and all of our property, because it belongs to Him. The united order was entered by “a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken” ^[2]. Under the united order, idleness has no place, and greed, selfishness, and covetousness are condemned. The united order may therefore operate only with a righteous people. ^[3]

When Zion is fully redeemed it will be “by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom,” or in other words the living of the united order ^[4]. The principles which underlie the united order are consecration and stewardship and the contribution of one’s surpluses into the bishop’s storehouse. ^[5]

The law of consecration is a law for an inheritance in the celestial kingdom. God, the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and all holy beings abide by this law. It is an eternal law. It is a revelation by God to His Church in this dispensation. Though not in full operation today, it will be mandatory for all Saints to live the law in its fulness to receive celestial inheritance. You young people today abide a portion of this higher law as you tithe, pay a generous fast offering, go on missions, and make other contributions of money, service, and time. ^[6]

Two separate groups of Saints have fully implemented this divine law. The first was the united order under Enoch, wherein the Lord designated this people Zion, “because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” ^[7]. A second instance was the Nephite civilization following the visit of the Savior to the Western Hemisphere after His resurrection ^[8]. The failure of the early Saints in this dispensation to live according to the fulness of the law is explained by the Lord in revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants ^[9]. ^[10]

Opposing Statements

Scripture

Supporting Statements

1. ↑ Harold B. Lee, The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, p. 318
2. ↑ D&C 42:30
3. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 122; “A Vision and a Hope for the Youth of Zion,” in 1977 Devotional Speeches of the Year [Provo, Utah: BYU, 1978], p. 74
4. ↑ D&C 105:5
5. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 123; Logan, Utah, 6 December 1975
6. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 123; “A Vision and a Hope for the Youth of Zion,” in 1977 Devotional Speeches of the Year [Provo, Utah: BYU, 1978], p. 75
7. ↑ Moses 7:18
8. ↑ 4 Nephi 3
9. ↑ D&C 101;105
10. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 121; “A Vision and a Hope for the Youth of Zion,” in 1977 Devotional Speeches of the Year [Provo, Utah: BYU, 1978], p. 74