What is....?

[lattelady]

I saw, written on another post, something about the "law of consecration."

Would someone be willing to explain what that is?

[Dravin]

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

Basically it is sharing that which you have freely with others, that extends beyond property/money, but time and talents as well as far as the principle goes.

A slightly longer answer concerning how this law was applied in the early Church can be found here: LDS.org - Sunday School Table of Contents - Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I need to point out so it's clearly understood that it was voluntary, the Church wasn't going to seize your property for the greater good, it had to be donated and then the below would take place.

In 1831 the Lord began revealing aspects of the law of consecration, a spiritual and temporal system that, if followed in righteousness, would bless the lives of the impoverished Latter-day Saints. Under this law, members of the Church were asked to consecrate, or deed, all their property to the bishop of the Church. He then granted an inheritance, or stewardship, back to the members. Families administered their stewardships as well as they could. If at the year’s end they had a surplus, this was given to the bishop to use in caring for those in need. Edward Partridge was called by the Lord to serve as the first bishop of the Church.

The law of consecration consists of principles and practices that strengthen members spiritually and bring about relative economic equality, eliminating greed and poverty. Some Saints lived it well, to the blessing of themselves and others, but other members failed to rise above selfish desires, causing the eventual withdrawal of the law from the Church. In 1838 the Lord revealed the law of tithing (see D&C 119), which continues today as the financial law of the Church.

P.S. You are best off including the question in the subject instead of ellipsing it out, you're more likely to get responses that way as people who have an interest in your particular questions are more likely to pop in.

Edited September 23, 2009 by Dravin

[lattelady]

Thanks for the p.s.--that makes total sense. Thanks for taking the time to explain the Law of Consecration to me. I'd never heard of it before.