The Lord explained that the reason the Saints in Joseph’s day failed to attain Zion was because of their institutional neglect of the poor.
Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now. But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them. (D&C 105:23.)
Notice how the Lord was explicitly saying this was not a problem with individuals, but with the church organization itself.
When the institution is failing to care for the poor, who is at fault? Certainly not individual members, who are donating substantial sums to the organization every year. The Lord said:
If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments. 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. (D&C 42:29-31.)
It is the leaders' responsibility to distribute the offerings given from the people to the poor. Ironically, the oft-quoted passage from Malachi used to chide poor members into paying 10% of their gross income to the church is actually directed towards the very priests who quote it. It is they who are robbing God by refusing to spend tithing and offerings on the poor.
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:8-10.)
The church leaders are commanded today to
...remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple. (D&C 52:40.)
Are they? How can we be the Lord's church if he wouldn’t even call us his disciples? Jesus said that “a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven....It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24.) If a rich man can’t get into the Celestial Kingdom, can a rich church ever become Celestial? Can a rich church ever bring forth Zion?
We are told in the Book of Mormon that if we do not care for the poor, God will not hear our prayers:
And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith. Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men. (Alma 34:28-29.)
Perhaps this is one reason there is a drought of the word of God among the leadership of the church. Isaiah instructs us how we can again begin to receive institutional revelation. He notes how we pray to the Lord consistently and observe the rituals of our religion, as if we were doing the things we are meant to do. Yet, the Lord does not speak to us:
Proclaim it aloud without restraint; raise your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their transgressions, to the house of Jacob its sins. Yet they importune me daily, eager to learn my ways, like a nation practicing righteousness and not forsaking the precepts of its God. They inquire of me concerning correct ordinances, desiring to draw nearer to God: Why, when we fast, do you not notice? We afflict our bodies and you remain indifferent! It is because on your fast day you pursue your own ends and constrain all who toil for you. You fast amid strife and contention, striking out savagely with the fist. Your present fasts are not such as to make your voice heard on high. (Isaiah 58:1-4, Gileadi Translation.)
And he won’t, until we repent and care for the poor:
Is not this the fast I require: To release from wrongful bondage, to untie the harness of the yoke, to set the oppressed at liberty and abolish all forms of subjection? Is it not to share your food with the hungry, to bring home the wretchedly poor, and when you see men underclad to clothe them, and not to neglect your own kin? Then shall your light break through like the dawn and your healing speedily appear; your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of Jehovah will be your rearguard. Then, should you call, Jehovah will respond; should you cry, he will say, I am here. Indeed, if you will banish servitude from among you, and the pointing finger and offensive speech, if you will give of your own to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then shall your light dawn amid darkness and your twilight become as the noonday. Jehovah will direct you continually; he will satisfy your needs in the dearth and bring vigor to your limbs. (Isaiah 58:6-11, Gileadi Translation.)
The Lord expects the church to take care of the poor, but he does not find that happening. As Isaiah prophesied,
The vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts is the house of Israel and the people of Judah his cherished grove. He expected justice, but there was injustice; he expected righteousness, but there was an outcry. (Isaiah 5:7, Gileadi Translation.)
Today, as an institution, we commit the same sins for which Sodom was destroyed.
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.)
Do you expect the Lord to deal with us any differently than he did Sodom?
In General Conference of April 2011, the Presiding Bishop said,
The commitment of church leaders to relieve human suffering was as certain as it was irrevocable. President Grant wanted ‘a system that would... reach out and take care of the people no matter what the cost.’ He said he would even go so far as to ‘close seminaries, shut down missionary work for a period of time, or even close temples, but they would not let the people go hungry.
If true, how far the church has fallen in only 100 years.
Of course, we can still repent. How would the Lord have us repent? He has already told us: “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Will the church do this, or will it go “away sorrowful: for [it] had great possessions”? (Matthew 19:21.)
When Zion does come, it will come to the same type of people it always has: those with all things in common.
And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another. 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. (4 Nephi 1:2-3.)
That people will not oppress the poor by manipulating tithing to take the little they have. That people will not treat members from the developing world differently than first world members by providing them second rate education programs and withholding the welfare program from them. That people will not pay their leaders to preach the word. That people will not engage in extensive for-profit business to get gain. That people will not be lying as they sing, “We've shared our bread with those in need, Relieved the suffring poor. The stranger we have welcomed in—Wilt thou impart thy store?” (“Bless Our Fast, We Pray,” Hymn 138.)
That people will be Zion.