In the New Testament book of Acts chapter 4 is described an ideal community, "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 in common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." It has been noted by many that this is similar to Karl Marx's idea of an ideal system which we now call socialism. There are some major differences between the Lord's system of consecration-and-stewardship, and the world's concept of socialism.
First of all, the one in charge of each is VERY different! Mortals are definitely less than perfect. In the words of the Lord (through Joseph Smith), "We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion." (D&C 121:39) So even if the plan is for everybody to share equally, the one(s) in charge inevitably ends up getting a larger share. Anyone who has lived under socialism will witness that all things are NOT equal for everybody. On the other hand, God and Jesus Christ don't need our riches. They can just make more if they want anything. That's only a lame joke because they don't care at all about gold, silver, mansions, limousines, gourmet food, or designer clothes. They care about us- you and me. They care about truth and peace and justice and mercy. So they are going to be infallible in giving direction for the dispersal of anything.
Second of all, socialism is not a choice by all the people encompassed by it. Citizens of socialist countries are required to obey whatever laws there are, or suffer consequences. I guess in a way you could say that of consecration to the Lord. His "punishment" is to say, "Okay, if you don't want to live this way you can go somewhere else and live according to what you decide you want." But those who covenant to live the law of consecration give all they "own" to be re-distributed, by their own choice. Acts 5 relates what happens when mortals try to claim they want to live together in peaceful sharing but harbor lust in their heart for worldly treasures, "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles's feet." Peter, having the advantage of what you might call "inside information" through the Holy Ghost, knew what they were doing. He chastised them ".....Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou has not lied unto men but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things." Later his wife, unaware of what happened, came before Peter and ended up with the same result. Before you feel too sorry for this man and his wife, remember, death is NOT the worst thing that can happen. When you depart from mortality, you simply go on without your physical body until the resurrection when you will be reunited then judged according to the thoughts and intents of your heart. This life is only a small part of our existence. Most of the things in the scriptures are there for OUR benefit. Miracles are teaching moments. God wanted those who professed to follow the Savior to know that He knows even the hidden thoughts and intents of your heart. It's really important to know that because we will each be held accountable for it some day. It won't do any good to go around impressing others with our generosity, honesty, willingness, or hard work if we are trying to hide what we really feel inside. Some day we will realize we have only been fooling ourselves. So, in socialism, the citizens are all normal, greedy mortals. Under the law of consecration, the ideal is for us to have risen above our worldly lusts and share anything we happen to have and be grateful for the use of any "thing" to bring about some good purpose- NOT to make us wealthier than someone else.
Just as the Lord had to send Moses back with a reduced list of laws for the children of Israel because they couldn't handle the more advanced requirements to be His people, the law of consecration was introduced by Joseph Smith around 1830. D&C 49:20, "But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin." God created the Earth and everything on it. We dig up the silver and make jewelry out of it then claim it as our own. We build houses out of wood or stone from the Earth and claim it belongs to us. Then we compete as we try to have a finer house/car/wardrobe or whatever than the next guy. God did not send us down with the intent that we would fight each other for the biggest share. That is our own lustful goal. Because the early Saints were not yet perfected, they could not bear the law of consecration and stewardship so we no live the lesser law of tithing, which means we give one-tenth of our increase back to the Lord to be used as He sees fit. With that relatively small part of what we claim to be our own, the Lord dots the Earth with chapels, temples, and other buildings. It pays for books, programs, and supplies so we can learn more about Him and how to be like Him.
Some day, when we have tired of all our "toys", we will be able to recognize how unimportant they are. A mansion will not bring you love. A Ferrarri will not make you a better person. A diamond ring will not make you wiser. All these things are treasures where "moth and rust doth corrupt" and mean nothing eternally. Some day, our Heavenly Father will teach us how to make the raw materials for all those things but we won't be cheering because we can have lots of treasures of our own, we'll be cheering because we are entrusted with authority and opportunity because we have the wisdom, self-control, and integrity that our Father has. It's pointless to argue over what form of earthly government is superior because none of them will work. They will all fail because as mortals WE fail. When we get closer to being like our Father in Heaven, we won't even worry about government or laws. We'll know what is right and true and good and CHOOSE those things because that's what we want.
No comments:
Post a Comment