United Order

Part of a series of articles on Christianity
Social Christianity
Major figures
Francis of Assisi Wilhelm E.F. von Ketteler Pope Leo XIII · Adolph Kolping Edward Bellamy Margaret Wedgwood Benn Phillip Berryman · James Hal Cone Dorothy Day · Toni Negri Leo Tolstoy · Óscar Romero Gustavo Gutiérrez · Abraham Kuyper Daniel Berrigan · Philip Berrigan Martin Luther King, Jr. Walter Rauschenbusch Desmond Tutu · Tommy Douglas Joseph Smith, Jr.
Organizations
Confederation of Christian Trade Unions Catholic Worker Movement Christian Socialist Movement United Order
Key concepts
Subsidiarity · Christian anarchism Marxism · Liberation theology Praxis School · Precarity Human dignity · Social market economy Communitarianism · Distributism Catholic social teaching Neo-Calvinism · Neo-Thomism Bishop's storehouse
Key documents
Rerum Novarum (1891) Princeton Stone Lectures (1898) Populorum Progressio (1967) Centesimus Annus (1991) Caritas in Veritate (2009)
Christianity Portal
Latter Day Saint movement, the United Order (also called the United Order of Enoch) was one of several 19th century church collectivist programs. Early versions of the Order beginning in 1831 attempted to implement the Law of Consecration, a form of Christian communism, modeled after the New Testament church which had "all things in common". These early versions ended after a few years. Later versions within Mormonism, primarily in the Utah Territory, implemented less-ambitious cooperative programs, many of which were very successful. The Order's full name invoked the city of Enoch, described in Latter Day Saint scripture as having such a virtuous and undefiled people that God had taken it to heaven.[1] The United Order established egalitarian communities designed to achieve income equality, eliminate poverty, and increase group self-sufficiency. The movement had much in common with other communalist utopian societies formed in the United States and Europe during the Second Great Awakening which sought to govern aspects of people's lives through precepts of faith and community organization. However, the Latter Day Saint United Order was more family and property oriented than the utopian experiments at Brook Farm and the Oneida Community. Membership in the United Order was voluntary, although during a period in the 1830s it was a requirement of continued church membership. Participants would deed (consecrate) all their property to the United Order, which would in turn deed back an "inheritance" (or "stewardship") which allowed members to control the property; private property was not eradicated but was rather a fundamental principle of this system.[2] At the end of each year, any excess that the family produced from their stewardship was voluntarily given back to the Order. The Order in each community was operated by the local Bishop. The United Order is not practiced within mainstream Mormonism today; however, a number of groups of Mormon fundamentalists, such as the Apostolic United Brethren, have revived the practice. The United Order was also practiced by a liberal Mormon sect called the United Order Family of Christ. Under Joseph Smith, Jr. Initial revelations Joseph Smith, Jr. learned of a group of about 50 people known as "the family" living on Isaac Morley's farm near Kirtland, Ohio, who had established a cooperative venture based on statements in the Book of Acts.[3][4] Members of "The Morley family" were originally followers of Sidney Rigdon, a minister associated with the Restoration Movement who later converted to Mormonism. Many of these communalists also joined the new church and several, including Isaac Morley, served in leadership positions. Levi Hancock records an early event wherein a 'family member' stole his pocket watch and sold it, claiming it was "all in the family."[5] Smith was troubled because of the number of members joining the church in poverty in Kirtland, Ohio. Revenue was needed for the church to publish books and tracts. At this time, Smith and Rigdon were both in economic distress. Smith and his wife Emma lived on the Morley farm for a period of time. On February 4, 1831, Smith said he had received a revelation calling Edward Partridge to be the first bishop of the church.[6] Five days later, on February 9. 1831, Smith described a second revelation detailing the Law of Consecration.[7] Stewardships Joseph Smith said he had received a revelation directing the saints to impart of their land and money to the church.[8] Partridge assigned the incoming saints from New York lots according to another revelation.[9] Smith directed Colesville immigrants to settle in Thompson, Ohio, a few miles east of Kirtland, on a farm owned by Leman Copley. Saints from Seneca County were assigned to the Isaac Morley farm. Partridge tried to implement the full law in Thompson. However, disagreements broke out and he was unsuccessful. Shortly after, Smith announced a revelation directing Newel Knight to lead the saints on the Copley farm to settle in Missouri.[10] Dissolution Originally, the United Order was intended to be "an everlasting order for the benefit of my church, and for the salvation of men until I come".[11] In practice, however, the Order was relatively short-lived during the life of Joseph Smith, Jr. Under Brigham Young From 1855 to 1858 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) once again considered living under the United Order. During this period, under the leadership of Brigham Young, church members were instructed to prepare deeds of consecration, but these deeds were never acted upon perhaps due to the community disruption caused by the Utah War. It was not until 1874 that Young initiated the United Order of Enoch, beginning in St. George, Utah on February 9, 1874. There were a number of differences between the United Order of Enoch and United Order communities established years earlier by Joseph Smith. Under Young's leadership, producers would generally deed their property to the Order, and all members of the order would share the cooperative's net income, often divided into shares based on the amount of property originally contributed. Sometimes, the members of the Order would receive wages for their work on the communal property. The cooperative plan was used in at least 200 Mormon communities, most of them in rural areas outlying the central Mormon settlements near the Great Salt Lake. Most of the communities held out for only two or three years before returning to a more standard economic system. One of the last United Order corporations established the new community of Bunkerville, Nevada in 1877. The Bunkerville cooperative dissolved, under pressure from limited water and a lack of individual dedication and initiative, in 1880.[12] Like the United Order established by Joseph Smith, Young's experiment with the United Order was short-lived. By the time of Brigham Young's death in 1877, most of these United Orders had failed. By the end of the 19th century, the Orders were essentially extinct. Historian Andrew Karl Larson pointed out that the failure of these ventures are rooted in the frailties of human nature. The habits of an acquisitive society were too strongly forged to be broken without the utmost devotion and selflessness to the cause, and rugged individualism triumphed over the abortive attempt at communal ownership and communal living here.[13] Some leaders and members of the LDS Church believe that the United Order will be reestablished some time in the future. Many leaders have taught that the church's present system of welfare and humanitarian aid is a predecessor or stepping stone to the renewed practice of the United Order in the future. Kanab Many United Order communities were set up amongst Mormon towns beginning in 1874. One in particular was the United Order of Kanab, which was a communal experiment initiated by Brigham Young. Kanab was established in 1870. That year John R. Young and the local bishop, Levi Stewart, began colonization of this area and twelve families followed to begin this endeavor. However, there was confusion as to who was the leader of this society. LDS Church authorities appointed the bishop and only they could revoke his status. But many wanted to elect John R. Young as president because he was related to the prophet Brigham Young. This conflict of power lasted until January 5, 1875 when Levi Stewart became the president. Eventually Stewart resigned from his position and John Nuttall of Provo took his place.[14] Eventually other families followed that were either unhappy in their own lives or were from other failing colonies. By 1874 there were eighty-one families and about seventeen percent of the men that lived in this community practiced polygamy. The households were simple in structure and were usually two to three bedrooms. There were about three children per mother in every household and polygamous wives lived in the same home as well. Large families in all Mormon communities were regarded as a spiritual practice and the child-woman ratio in Kanab reflected that. The main source of income for the community was by raising livestock. Most of their wealth was in livestock, vehicles, and shares of stock in corporate enterprises. The land and the improvements made up the rest of their wealth. This particular United Order was very wealthy but within the society there were major gaps. Everyone owned property but some pieces of land were better than others. Eventually Brigham Young ordered the community to diminish the financial gap that set them apart from the other communities.[15] Many suffered hardships while living on the frontier and tended to move frequently, around the same area to escape the harsh conditions and find greater opportunities. It also made it easy to migrate since most of the wealth people had was movable. The number of families moving three or more times was below fifty. Only twenty-three families moved four times or more and thirteen moved five times or more. By the year 1880, the United Order at Kanab had greatly decreased. Only thirty-two families were left out of the original eighty-one families that came within the first year of it being established. Many eventually migrated to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Mexico. Also the young men tended to leave home before they were married and started families of their own.[15] Communalism LDS Church leaders stated that under the United Order, private property was not abolished. The sharing of goods, often cited as communalism, was voluntary. Members of the church who chose to participate in the United Order voluntarily deeded their properties to the church, which would then, give all or a portion of it back to the original property owner as a stewardship. The "residue", or property which was over and above what the owner and his family required for themselves, was used by the church to provide to the less fortunate, who would be required to pay it back either monetarily or by labor. The private property owner was not forced to participate in the Order nor was his property forcefully confiscated. Private property owners were free to join or leave the orders and were in control of their stewardship. J. Reuben Clark, First Counselor in the First Presidency explained: "The fundamental principle of this system was the private ownership of property. Each man owned his portion, or inheritance, or stewardship, with an absolute title, which he could alienate, or hypothecate, or otherwise treat as his own. The church did not own all of the property, and the life under the United Order was not a communal life... The United Order is an individualistic system, not a communal system."[2] Lorenzo Snow, 5th President of the church also highlighted the United Order's preservation of individual free will: "In things that pertain to celestial glory there can be no forced operations. We must do according as the spirit of the Lord operates upon our understandings and feelings. We cannot be crowded into matters, however great might be the blessing attending such procedure. We cannot be forced into living a celestial law; we must do this ourselves, of our own free will. And whatever we do in regard to the principle of the United Order, we must do it because we desire to do it..."[16] Communism This United Order was an attempt to eradicate poverty and promote a sense of unity and brotherhood within Latter-day Saint communities.[17] The LDS Church's view is that the doctrine and the various attempts at practicing it should not be seen as part of the 19th century utopian movement in the United States,[18] and is distinct from both communism and capitalism.[19] LDS Church leaders in the 20th century sought to make a clear distinction between communism and the Law of Consecration, teaching that the two practices' differed as related to the topics of free agency, private property and deity.[20][21][22] The Law of Consecration and the United Order can be compared to Christian communism/communalism, presented in the New Testament as practiced by 1st century Christian saints.[3][4] LDS Church leaders have claimed that communism, communalism, and socialism are counterfeits of the Law of Consecration.[20][21] Nevertheless, communal unity and equality are central tenets of the Latter Day Saint doctrine of Zion as described in Moses 7:18, "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." LDS Church leaders, including David O. McKay, Harold B. Lee,[23] Ezra Taft Benson,[20] Marion G. Romney,[21][22][24] and J. Reuben Clark,[2][25][26] spoke of the stark differences between the United Order and communism. An official church statement on this subject stated: "Communism and all other similar isms bear no relationship whatever to the United Order. They are merely the clumsy counterfeits which Satan always devises of the Gospel plan ... The United Order leaves every man free to choose his own religion as his conscience directs. Communism destroys man's God-given free agency; the United Order glorifies it. Latter-day Saints cannot be true to their faith and lend aid, encouragement, or sympathy to any of these false philosophies ..."[26] See also Bishop's storehouse History of the Latter Day Saint movement Mormonism and the national debate over socialism and communism Religious communism Libertarian socialism Communalism (political philosophy) Tithe Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution Notes ^ Brodie 1971, p. 96 ^ a b c Clark, J. Reuben. "The United Order Vs. Communism," Conference Report, October 1942, p. 57; as quoted in "Section 51 - Bishop Edward Partridge and the Law of Consecration", Doctrine and Covenants Institute Student Manual, Church Education System ^ a b Acts 2:44-45 ^ a b Acts 4:32 ^ Church Educational System 2000, p. 95 ^ Doctrine and Covenants 41 ^ Doctrine and Covenants 42:30-39 ^ Doctrine and Covenants 48 ^ Doctrine and Covenants 52 ^ Doctrine and Covenants 54 ^ Doctrine and Covenants 104:1 ^ Edward Bunker 1822-1901 Autobiography, The Edward Bunker Family Association at bunker.org[unreliable source?] ^ Larson 1992, p. 168 ^ Reilly 1974, pp. 145–164 ^ a b May 1976, pp. 169–188 ^ Snow, Lorenzo. Journal of Discourses, Vol. 19, p.346, 349-350 ^ Talmage, James E. (1899). Articles of Faith. pp. 439–440. "A system of unity in temporal matters has been revealed to the Church in this day; such is currently known as the Order of Enoch, or the United Order, and is founded on the law of consecration. As already stated, in the early days of the latter-day Church the people demonstrated their inability to abide this law in its fulness, and, in consequence, the lesser law of tithing was given; but the saints confidently await the day in which they will devote not merely a tithe of their substance but all that they have and all that they are, to the service of their God; a day in which no man will speak of mine and thine, but all things shall be the Lord’s and theirs. In this expectation they indulge no vague dream of communism, encouraging individual irresponsibility and giving the idler an excuse for hoping to live at the expense of the thrifty; but rather, a calm trust that in the promised social order, such as God can approve, every man will be a steward in the full enjoyment of liberty to do as he will with the talents committed to his care; but with the sure knowledge that an account of his stewardship shall be required at his hands."  ^ Nelson, William O. (January 1979). "To Prepare a People". Ensign (LDS Church). http://lds.org/ensign/1979/01/to-prepare-a-people?lang=eng. Retrieved 2001-05-25.  ^ King, Arthur Henry (April 1975). "Atonement: The Only Wholeness". Ensign. http://lds.org/ensign/1975/04/atonement-the-only-wholeness?lang=eng. Retrieved 2001-05-25.  ^ a b c Benson, Ezra Taft (November 1979). "A Witness and a Warning". Ensign. http://lds.org/ensign/1979/11/a-witness-and-a-warning?lang=eng. Retrieved 2001-05-25.  ^ a b c Romney, Marion G. (May 1977). "The Purpose of Church Welfare Services". Ensign. http://lds.org/ensign/1977/05/the-purpose-of-church-welfare-services?lang=eng. Retrieved 2001-05-25.  ^ a b Romney, Marion G. (September 1979). "America’s Promise". Ensign. http://lds.org/ensign/1979/09/americas-promise?lang=eng. Retrieved 2001-05-25.  ^ Lee, Harold B. (January 1973). "Teach the Gospel of Salvation". Ensign. http://lds.org/ensign/1973/01/teach-the-gospel-of-salvation?lang=eng. Retrieved 2001-05-25.  ^ Romney, Marion G. (May 1976). "Church Welfare Services' Basic Principles". Ensign. http://lds.org/ensign/1976/05/church-welfare-services-basic-principles?lang=eng. Retrieved 2001-05-25.  ^ Clark, J. Reuben. Conference Report, April 1938, pp. 106–107 ^ a b Clark, J. Reuben, "Message of the First Presidency," 112th Annual General Conference, 6 April 1942. References Brodie, Fawn M. (1971), No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (2nd ed.), New York: Knopf, ISBN 0-394-46967-4 . Bryson, Phillip J. (1999), "In Defense of Capitalism: Church Leaders on Property, Wealth, and the Economic Order", BYU Studies 38 (3): 89–107, http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,2062  Church Educational System (2000) [1989], Church History in the Fulness of Times: Religion 341-43 (2nd ed.), LDS Church, OCLC 48119681, http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/ChrchHstryInst32502000/start_here.pdf . Israelsen, L. Dwight (1978), "An Economic Analysis of the United Order", BYU Studies 18 (4): 536–562, http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,621 . Larson, Andrew Karl (1992) [1961], "I Was Called to Dixie": The Virgin River Basin: Unique Experiences on Mormon Pioneering, St. George, Utah: Dixie College Foundation, OCLC 58996590 . May, Dean L. (Winter 1976), "People on the Mormon Frontier: Kanab's Families of 1874", Journal of Family History 1 (2): 169–188 . Reilly, P.T. (Spring 1974), "Kanab United Order: The President's Nephew and the Bishop", Utah Historical Quarterly 42 (2): 144–164, http://utah.ptfs.com/awweb/guest.jsp?smd=1&cl=all_lib&lb_document_id=34904 . Further reading Arrington, Leonard J. (2005) [1958]. Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900 (New ed.). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252072833. OCLC 55939621. . Arrington, Leonard J.; May, Dean L.; Fox, Feramorz Y. (1992) [1976]. Building the City of God: Community & Cooperation Among the Mormons. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252018794. OCLC 23940908. . Israelsen, L. Dwight (1992), "United Orders", in Ludlow, Daniel H., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York, NY: Macmillan, pp. 1493–1495, ISBN 0-02-904040-X, OCLC 24502140, http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/EoM&CISOPTR=4391&CISOSHOW=4298&REC=1 . Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат? Iriy Tenet (band) Look at other dictionaries: United Order Family of Christ — The United Order Family of Christ was a schismatic sect of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints (LDS Church), which was founded in 1969 in Denver, Colorado by David Edward Desmond and existed until at least 1973 74.[1] Contents 1 The… …   Wikipedia United Order of American Carpenters — The United Order of American Carpenters and Joiners was a trade union in the United States. It represented carpenters in the New York City area, making it one of the largest carpenters unions in the U.S. in the 1880s. It merged with the… …   Wikipedia United Order of General Labourers — The United Order of General Labourers was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It merged with the Transport and General Workers Union in 1924.ee also* List of trade unions * Transport and General Workers Union * TGWU amalgamations …   Wikipedia United order of tents — The United Order of Tents, one of the oldest lodges for African American women in the country, was founded in Norfolk. It was secretly organized by two slave women, Annetta M. Lane and Harriet R. Taylor; and two abolitionist, Joliffe Union and… …   Wikipedia Order of Friars Minor —     Order of Friars Minor     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Order of Friars Minor     (Also known as FRANCISCANS.) This subject may be conveniently considered under the following heads:     I. General History of the Order;     A. First Period (1209… …   Catholic encyclopedia Order of Saint Lazarus — This article concerns the order of knighthood named after Saint Lazarus. For other uses of the name Lazarus, see Lazarus (name). Cross of the Order of Saint Lazarus The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is an order of… …   Wikipedia United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America — Infobox Union name= UBC country= United States Canada affiliation= Change to Win Coalition, CLC members= 520,000 (2006) full name= The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America native name= founded= 1881 current= head= dissolved… …   Wikipedia UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, country in N. America. This article is arranged according to the following outline: introduction Colonial Era, 1654–1776 Early National Period, 1776–1820 German Jewish Period, 1820–1880 East European Jewish Period,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism Order of the Companions of Honour — Riband and badge of the Companions of Honour Awarded by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms Type Order Motto IN ACTION FAITHFUL AND IN HONOU …   Wikipedia Order of the Garter — Arms of the Order of the Garter Awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”