Author: Dan Brooks
“And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9 KJV
Cain committed the first murder because his brother was in his way. Cain is saying to God, in this passage, that he is not responsible for Abel. In fact, he sees himself as not responsible for anyone but himself. He is not his brother’s keeper — nor anyone’s keeper, for that matter. In contrast, being our brother’s keeper is not just a nice idea, but an essential celestial principle. Let us examine the most iconic and exemplary City and contrast it with another city that infamously denounced this celestial principle.
The Book of Mormon and the Inspired Version both give a sense of how a city out of many became a City of one.
“And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift. And it came to pass that the thirty and seventh year passed away also, and there still continued to be peace in the land.” 4 Nephi 1 3-4
“And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion.” Moses 7: 18-19
“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.” Acts 4:34
Zion is the rallying cry of the faithful. It is the epitome of all things holy. Because of their obedience to this essential celestial principle, Zion was called the City of God. Beyond that title the one phrase repeated scripture about Zion is that “there were no poor among them”. Many will say about Zion what they say about the Law of Consecration, that it’s different from Communism, that it’s not the same. And it’s not, but it’s also just as different from the system we have now. It is to each according to their need and from each according to their capacity kind of life.
The key to my understanding of both is that phrase “there were no poor among them.” Because, the only way to do away with poverty is to do away with wealth. The two are intrinsically tied together. Poverty is the shadow of wealth. It’s like the way that most people assume that the goal of life is to build up good works and avoid bad works; even if we don’t hold a theological view of works, we are often guilty of thinking in those terms. But that’s not the point at all. The goal is to free yourself from the cycle of good and bad works because that cycle itself never ends. One is only a slave to the eternal ups and downs if we think and act in this way. The goal is to free yourself from it completely; to engage that system in the hopes of winning is itself a form of slavery. Freedom can only be found from escaping the system entirely.
The question then becomes how exactly can that goal be achieved, not merely in scripture but in the real world and in our life time? Not just for ourselves but for our societies and nations? Joseph Smith was given the Law of Consecration but was unable to fully put it into practice successfully in his life time. This doesn’t mean the Law was faulty, just that the people weren’t ready. We must consider that few communities ever have been ready for such an essential celestial principle. Nevertheless, there are few examples in scripture of those successes, such as the Jerusalem Church in Acts 4-5.
With every new generation, we have a new brightness of hope that accomplishing the Law of Consecration may become manifest in fullness. Many of us have thought it will take a savior of sorts – perhaps, “one mighty and strong”? — to create the Zion so many look to for inspiration. But without a good foundation, no building will stand. So, let that foundation be a clear understanding of what City is the ideal and what city is the antithesis of that ideal.
When most people think of the wickedest city mentioned in scripture, they think of Sodom. And they are right, but not for the reasons one first thinks when the Sodom is mentioned by name. Ezekiel lived not too long after the city was destroyed and he was specific about why it was the most sinful.
“Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” – Ezekiel 16:49-50
For all the iniquity found in Sodom, it was the fact that they had abundance and yet refused to be their brother’s keeper. They ignored and scorned those already outcast, the poor and needy. They treasured things rather than people. Jesus spent so much time around the sick, the poor, and sinners of every type that he soiled His reputation with the religious elite, simply because those who had seen such mistreatment and so little love needed His presence the most. In the same way that only the ill require a doctor.
And while we may say that we are better than others because we haven’t committed a certain sin, compared to the example of Jesus Christ, we are not so different than one another. And though some of us may live in conditions better than some others, compared to Zion we are not so different from most cities.
The City of Zion mentioned in 4 Nephi, in Moses 7, and the community in Acts, lived the celestial Law of Consecration. And yes, it may be a Law but if one lives by the spirit of the Law then the latter will naturally follow. While the letter of any Law changes from each generation it is given to, the spirit of it remains eternal, for the Lord’s course is one eternal round. In practical terms, the logistics of applying the Law may change, but the spirit will ever remain the same.
In Acts 2:42-47 we have some inkling of how the Law of Consecration worked for their generation: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The version of the Law of Consecration that Joseph Smith recorded held the same spirit, but only in a different cup because it was for his generation. Therefore, the logistics were different. And in Sunday School, or Relief Society, or in Priesthood when this portion of D&C is taught time is often saved by skipping over some of the text as I’m about to. Political implications are natural but to be avoided if we are to get to the heart of the text and the spirit behind it. Political parties come and go and empires rise and fall, but the ethos of this law remain eternal from antiquity to the present day.
As a final thought, some extracts from D&C 42 30, 31 and 36 for consideration:
“And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken. And inasmuch as ye impart of your substance unto the poor, ye will do it unto me; and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church and his counselors, two of the elders, or high priests, such as he shall appoint or has appointed and set apart for that purpose.”
“That my covenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I shall come to my temple. And this I do for the salvation of my people.”
Knowing where we are and how far we have to go does seem overwhelming. But think of where we have been and how far we have come. And consider this; “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” — Rabbi Tarfon’s commentary on Micah 6:8 in the Talmud, Pirke Avot 2:20.
Maya Angelou said something similar: “Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better.”
To pay it back is good, to pay it forward is better, to do both is best.