Temporal Consecration

Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved! D&C 56:16

The early Saints failed to live the United Order. Some think that our covenant to consecrate our time, talents, and energies is a dormant promise awaiting the activating request of a priesthood leader: a lower law to prepare us to be able to live the United Order in the future. Such couldn’t be further from the truth. The community-centric United Order has been replaced by the individual-centric policy we live today. Instead of giving all of our means to the Bishop, and explicitly receiving in return what we need for survival and to increase our ability to produce, we are to use our to decide how to best use our expected agency means for the building of the kingdom.

The United Order was not a fullness of the law of consecration, but was the lesser law of Moses to preparate us for living the fullness. Under the United Order, a selfless and spiritual Bishop was needed to be steward over the temporal avairs of the

Saints. Today, each Saint is expected to be selfless and spiritual. We are each our own personal United Order Bishops. We are the ones who the Lord entrusts to decide on the disposition of ninety percent of our finances. We are the ones who the Lord entrusts to decide on the disposition of our time outside of church meetings and explicit priesthood assignments. We are the ones who the Lord entrusts to decide how to magnify our gifts and talents, and how to best use them for the building of the kingdom. If you have never considered this before, your life should be forever changed. The duty that rests on each of us is immense.

The center of the United Order was temporal consecration— but seeking for riches has a bad connotation. Should temporal concerns be the focus of our contemporary consecration?

The scriptures teach that the love of money is the root of all evil.¹ Yet, without money, the service we can give is quite limited. Though it is quite true that there are many ways of serving that don’t cost anything, it would be quite a challenge to a resource that does not either time or find require money to obtain or And time and are one and the dispense. money same. Goods require money. Skills require time. Service can require both. Your temporal decisions factor into your service abilities, as your temporal surpluses and skills (or lack thereof) will dictate what services you can avord to give.

Temporal consecration is the pecuniary application of the consecration formula. First, you obtain enough money to meet your own needs. Then, enough for your family. After the needs of your family are met, you can focus on the needs of others. This noble intent is artfully put by Nephi: “The laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.”²

You can seek money while still laboring for Zion, but your end and means will diver from those who labor for money only. Those who labor for money, who are many in the Church, are described by Brigham Young in this manner: "The Latter-day Saints, in their conduct and acts with regard to financial matters, are like the rest of the world. The course pursued by men of business in the world has a tendency to make a few rich, and to sink the masses of the people in poverty and degradation. Too of the Elders of Israel take this course. No matter what many comes they are for gain—for gathering around them riches; and when they get rich, how are those riches used? Spent on the lusts³

How do we seek riches righteously? What are the needs of our family? How much of our riches are we entitled to? We can certainly go too far.⁴ Surely we should be justified in spending some of them on creature comforts for ourselves. But where should we draw the line? Brigham Young said, “We may foster the idea that we have nothing more than we need; but such a notion is entirely erroneous, for our real wants are very limited. What do we absolutely need? I possess everything on the face of the earth that I need, as I appear before you on this stand."⁵ Carnegie suggested that:

the man of wealth [ought to] set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent upon him; and, after doing so, to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, [to be used] to produce the most beneficial results for the community. (Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth”)

On another occasion, he said,

We are met here with the difficulty of determining...what is modest, unostentatious living; what is the test of extravagance....The rule in regard to good taste in dress of men or women applies here. Whatever makes one conspicuous ovends the canon. (Andrew Carnegie, ”The Gospel of Wealth”)

In Carnegie’s opinion, if you live better than the general population, you are spending too much on yourself. Cowper penned it this way,

He that holds the golden mean And lives contentedly between

The little and the great,

Feels not the wants that pinch the poor,

Nor the plagues that haunt the rich man’s door. (William Cowper, “Golden Nuggets of Thought,” Vol III, Ezra L. Marler, Bookcraft, SL, 1958, 129)

Two verses give us a juxtaposition of both righteous prosperity, and sinful prosperity. In Alma 1:29-30 we read of a group that, despite their “exceeding riches,” they did not “set their hearts upon” them. Not setting their hearts upon them is explained as

not send[ing] away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished...therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.

Contrast this to the group in Alma 4:6, who experienced the same prosperity via industry as the former group, but without

that to others. God does not us an projecting prosperity give abundance for our own comfort. He gives us an abundance to bless others. The Lord said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God,”⁶ but was he suggesting that no one should seek to be rich, or rather was he suggesting that the purpose of riches are not to exalt the owner, but to impart to the needy? I would contend that those who have the opportunity to acquire riches (in order to use them for good), and do not magnify that ability are “idl[ing] away th[eir] time” and “burying th[eir] talent that it may not be known.”⁷ They waste the gifts God has given them, which is not only slothful, but wicked.⁸ Brigham Young said, “Preserve all you can, that you may have abundance to bless your friends and your enemies.”⁹ What President Kimball preached years ago is, I believe, just as applicable today. He was quite worried about the temptation to accumulate wealth for our own comfort and not for the benefit of others.

The Lord has blessed us as a people with a prosperity unequaled in times past. The resources that have been placed in our power are good, and necessary to do our work here on the earth. But I am afraid that us many of have been surfeited with flocks and herds and acres and barns and wealth and have begun to worship them as false gods, and they have power over us.

Do we have more of these good things than our faith can stand? Many people spend most of their time working in the service of a self-image that includes sufficient money, stocks, bonds, investment portfolios, property, credit cards, furnishings, automobiles, and the like to guarantee carnal security throughout, they hope a long and happy life.

Forgotten is the fact that our assignment is to use these many resources in our families and quorums to build up the kingdom of God—to further the missionary evort and the genealogical and temple work; to raise our children up as fruitful servants unto the Lord; to bless others in every way, that they may also be fruitful.

Instead, we expend these blessings on our own desires, and as Moroni said, ‘Ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suver the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the aIicted to pass by you, and notice them not.’ (Morm. 8:39.)” (Spencer W. Kimball, “The False Gods We Worship,” Tambuli, Aug 1977, 1, paragraphs modified)

Avocado trees are an interesting plant. As saplings, their sensitive bark cannot bear the full force of the sun. They must be grown in the partial shade of a taller tree until they are mature. The baby avocado tree does not care how much taller the taller tree is, only that it has more height than it does. The role of the larger tree is analogous to the role that Beecher claims belongs to those with surplus money. “If any man is rich and powerful, he comes under the laws of God by which the higher branches must take the burning of the sun, and shade those that are lower; which the tall trees must the weak beneath by protect plants them.”¹⁰ I would take Mr. Beecher’s point and change it just a little. If a man has any means, he comes under the law of God to shade any who have less than he does. I remember the unflinching example of my grandfather who for years operated a small construction business. Even in the worst of times, he was always charging poor customers less than market rates, many times spending more money on materials and labor than he would make on the job, because the customer was worse of than

he was.

The more wealth we have, the more wealth we can use to bless others. To seek riches for the building of the kingdom is to seek riches so that you can do more for more people than you currently can. God may or may not bless you with opportunities, but you can make the most of whatever comes your way.

Riches, along with the other qualities which can be consecrated, are diweren't from Church positions in that our ability, and not our assignment, determines our stewardship.

The more we are blessed with means, the more we are blessed with responsibility; the more we are blessed with wisdom and ability, the more we are placed under the necessity of using that wisdom and ability in the spread of righteousness, the subjugation of sin and misery, and the amelioration of the condition of mankind. The man that has only one talent and the man that has five talents have responsibility accordingly. If we have a world of means, we have a world of responsibility. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 9:172)

Sacrifice is a law of heaven, and by sacrifice we can do much good in the kingdom. But consecration is a higher law. The difference? To sacrifice is to give away; to consecrate is to make holy. When you are seeking to accumulate wealth, the more you sacrifice, or do without, the more wealth you can use to consecrate, or use for holy purposes. Temporal consecration is not just about sacrifice. Use your riches not to build bigger barns to store them in, but live modestly and view the wealth as it really is—a stewardship given to you in trust from God, given you to administrate and bless others with, much better than they could have blessed themselves. If you find yourself with money, and don’t see a clear way you can use it to build the kingdom, give it away. Brigham Young said, “If I have wealth and cannot

use it to the glory of God and the building up of his Kingdom, I ask the Lord to take it from me.”¹¹ Give it to the Church; to the missionary program or the humanitarian aid program or the perpetual education program. If you do it, you will still be counted as a just steward, because the Church will double the Lord’s talent, whereas if you use it to build an unnecessarily large house, or an unnecessarily fancy car, or an unnecessary boat, etc., you will be counted as an unjust steward, who made no usury on the talent given, and even what you have will be taken away. The more money you have, the stronger the pull will be to spend more than you need.

In preparing for others, we can either adopt the passive approach or the proactive one. If we choose the first, it is likely that we will much of our means for our own com- squander fort, waiting for the Bishop to ask to use something of ours for church business. If we choose the latter, we will prepare for unseen emergencies not only for ourselves, but for those around us, starting with our family. In the absence of such emergencies, we use our surplus money to create situations whereby the poor are given opportunities to improve themselves. In recent times, many people who have mortgages have abandoned their homes for inability to make the payments. I wonder how many of these homeowners could have saved their dignity and honored their loan if they had prepared for a rainy day; If they had purchased the smallest, humblest home that met their needs; If they had lived within their means; If they had family members who saved what could in the event that someone need extra they might cash. Don’t live beyond your means, expecting the Church or the government to bail you out if you run into an unexpected loss of income or emergency expenses. When you do, you put an

unnecessary burden on your responsible family and friends, who might be living a lower standard of living just to be equipped to help you in time of need.

While on a mission, I noticed that some Elders would let their bills go unpaid. New Elders who moved in after them were expected to pay on the previous tenants’ bills. We received a very humble allotment for food, transportation, and utilities. It was scarcely enough to buy the necessities of life, and frequently we would have to walk for hours to reach our appointments because we didn’t have enough money for transportation. Nevertheless, I found that if I ate Spartan meals, such as boiled barley or oat bran with powdered milk, I could save money to prepare for the other Elders’ fiscal mistakes. I found myself in several situations where I was faced with enormous utility bills that I would not have been able to pay without my preparation. This attitude also allowed me to support a fellow missionary for a month when he was robbed and had no for food. At the end of the money mission, I had saved a small amount of money that I no longer needed, and I turned it into the mission oHce.

I have followed this same pattern in normal life. I have adopted a simple standard of living. Whenever I am blessed with more money than I need to maintain my financial obligations, I put the money aside. I have encountered a few times when I needed money unexpectedly, and many more times when I have had an opportunity to help a family member or friend in need.

I have a relative who me a lesson. He lived on taught great a humble fixed income and lived in modest accommodations. I went to visit him once, and in our conversations we arrived on the topic of giving. I said that I would be glad once my college loans were paid on, because then I would be able to help others. He said, “You can give a dollar. I don’t think I’ve ever been so

hard on that I can’t give a dollar.” I’ll never forget the lesson. You see, sometimes we put on helping others because we judge their needs as less important than our wants, and this makes it seem that we have nothing to give. In fact, if the tables were turned, I’m sure it would be easier to separate our needs from our wants, and, perhaps more importantly, to value the needs of another over our wants.

Remember the words of King Benjamin? “And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give.”¹² There is a difference between having not and having little. The mission example is valid. Perhaps some would say it was extreme for me to eat such meager meals. But was it not better for me to eat less, if it prevented the missionary who was robbed from having nothing? Can you see how that lesson applies to everyday life? We ought to control our desires in preparation for the needs of others.

In our search for wealth, we must keep the proper perspective. If we fail to remember the Lord, we will fall into the sin of ingratitude. With ingratitude comes increased temptation to abandon the law of the gospel in our financial decisions, leading us to make unjust business deals or break the Sabbath, for instance. The of all is the of eternal greatest blessing blessing life, and no financial choice is worth jeopardizing this supernal gift. Take care not to trade the kingdom for a mess of pottage.¹³ Remember the Lord in plenty as as well as in little. Remember what the Lord said to the Israelites, who he had freed from

bondage and brought to the land of promise:

When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;

And when they herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of the flint;

Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:10-18)

The Lord warned the Israelites that comfort impedes spirituality. It is good to have sufficient means to give you time and disposition to work on spiritual things, but the more wealth you have, the harder it is to keep your devotions on the Lord, and not on your money. Perhaps that is one reason why the Lord said, “That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of

heaven.”¹⁴ The Book of Mormon contains many instances of the people growing rich, then forgetting God. “But they grew proud, being lifted up in their hearts, because of their exceedingly great riches; therefore they grew rich in their own eyes, and would not...walk uprightly before God.”¹⁵ The secret to staying righteous amid riches is realizing that they are not your own, and they are given for the purpose of building the kingdom of God.

Perhaps the best step towards enabling yourself to live consecrated is to live within means. This means financially your that the necessities of survival and simplicity should be stronger voices in your spending and saving than the latest style and the status quo. Take, for example, a positive example from the Book of Mormon. “And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the aIicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely.”¹⁶ By wearing humble clothing they had more money to help others. Their happiness was not av ected by their clothes. Happiness is not determined by what you get, but what you give. Happiness is not the result of external circumstances. If you cannot have what you want, perhaps you can limit what you want to what you have.

How many of us, in times of plenty, will maintain a standard of living that permits a financial surplus to be saved or invested? “To be prudent and saving, and to use the elements in our possession for our benefit and the benefit of our fellow beings is wise and righteous; but to be slothful, wasteful, lazy and indolent, to spend our time and means for naught, is unrighteous.”¹⁷ It would help to remember our higher purpose in life.

We are organized for the express purpose of controlling the elements, of organizing and disorganizing, of ruling over kingdoms, principalities, and powers, and yet our affections are often too highly placed upon paltry, perishable objects. We love houses, gold, silver, and various kinds of property, and all who unduly prize any object there is beneath the celestial world are idolators. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 2:257)

Some would justify their selfishness by declaring that they are entitled to the good things in the earth. There is nothing wrong with the ox eating some of the corn that he treads out,¹⁸ but generally we are too quick to reward ourselves for all our hard work. In reality, it was God’s providence that has blessed us with what we have, always to see what we would do with it. Instead of considering the situation of suverers worldwide, we go and buy something we don’t need. This is seeking riches to quench our lust for mammon. Like any carnal desire, it is not quenched but stoked every time we gratify it, like tossing another log onto a dying fire.

Whether you are rich or poor, your economic eHciency is paramount. To the wealthy who waste their earning potential on frivolous pursuits and creature comforts goes the same judgment as to the poor who waste table scraps. Unfortunately, our decisions on the appropriateness of our expenditures are usually based on either how much or how little we earn, always to the extreme. For example, the poor man says, “I am going to splurge on my credit cards for a vacation, because I work so hard and never have any money.” The well-paid woman says, “Since I make so much in a I can make what I need to day, finance my lifestyle in 11 months and spend a month on vacation.” In the first example, the poor man spends money he does not have on

a vacation he should not take. If he is going to go into debt, he should use it for something which will magnify his earning potential. As it stands, his extra debt will increase his need to stay exactly where he is, since he is now even further in the red and an even greater sacrifice is needed to avord the training which will improve his earning potential. In the latter example, the woman completely ignores the fact that her earning potential is a stewardship from God. It has been given, not for her to indulge in the greatest level of comfort possible, but to see how she will use it to help others. In this example, she fails openly. Working just one extra day of her planned vacation will allow for quite some surplus income, which can be used to help those in need. Of course, everyone needs a break, but as explained elsewhere in this book, the break should never be larger than it needs to be.

Wealth does not necessarily go to the righteous, as riches will be distributed as God deigns to distribute, but you can make the most of the stewardship you obtain. Remember the parable of the talents. In your search for honest wealth, you should remember our motives. Jacob said,

But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the aIicted. (Jacob 2:18-19)

Helaman’s son Nephi explains that the unrighteous road to wealth is to forget God and “get gain, to be praised of men, and that ye might get gold and sliver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world.” Those who are seeking riches for the wrong reasons are willing to “murder, and plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against [their] neighbor,

and do all manner of iniquity”¹⁹ in order to get them.

Get all the wealth can and use it to do you righteously get, good.