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United Order, A Complaint


EllenMaksoud

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In my reading, I have found reference to United Order, and if I understand it properly the first families of the church participated in it in Kirtland, Ohio. And the term or its practice seems to surface from time to time right up to the present day.

 

It angers me that the government at all levels seems to have persecuted the Mormons for it at every opportunity. :(  And at times the prosecution and persecution seem so blatantly illegal that I wonder how those that did it got away with it?

 

I was living in a loose communal relationship in Ohio when I first met the Lds in Kirtland, and continued to do so for another two or so years. Living here in Portland, I know of lots of people, not LDS, using that sort of arrangement who are in the <30 age range. Many of these households are on a cash basis and they use a great deal of unrecorded income.

 

From first hand experience, I can say that communal living has its up sides and its downsides, having experienced both joy and tears in it.  Unless I am particularly dense, Mormons seem to scrupulously eschew that way now. This is a shame to me.

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We'll get there, eventually. If you are paying an honest tithe, a generous fast offering, and donating to missionary/humanitarian/??? funds as your circumstances allow, and looking after your neighbors, members of the church or not, you are probably closer to living the United Order than a lot of those Saints were back then. 

BTW, Ellen, did you know that there were small scale efforts to live the Order after the Saints moved to Utah? If you ever get down to southern Utah, there are towns that practiced communal living into the 1870's. Orderville and New Harmony still exist today, though their residents no longer live like that. It's an interesting chapter in church history. Too bad our human imperfections keep getting in the way. 

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From first hand experience, I can say that communal living has its up sides and its downsides, having experienced both joy and tears in it.  Unless I am particularly dense, Mormons seem to scrupulously eschew that way now. This is a shame to me.

The problem isn't with communal living. I am guessing you might refer to certain parts that "all things are in common". The issue today is that some mormon's think that because it was taught in the past that having it implimented right now with our current laws and leaders is a good idea. That is were many of us have an issue with it. I don't see anything like the UO working until Christ returns. And often times what looks like the UO is just communism or socialism or some other ism that has been show to just not work. Of course I am not really interested in debating if it worked or not. Just my opinion.

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Too bad our human imperfections keep getting in the way. 

That would be the biggest reason why it would be a bad idea to go to it now. Most people are not ready to live it in a general sense. I mean I am even including non members.

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From my own experiences, it is not a perfect way. We used to have weekly meetings where someone would likely need to have their performance brought into line. For us, it seemed to usually revolve around getting males to clean up after themselves, as to the women, we are perfect. :)

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The problem isn't with communal living. I am guessing you might refer to certain parts that "all things are in common". The issue today is that some mormon's think that because it was taught in the past that having it implimented right now with our current laws and leaders is a good idea. That is were many of us have an issue with it. I don't see anything like the UO working until Christ returns. And often times what looks like the UO is just communism or socialism or some other ism that has been show to just not work. Of course I am not really interested in debating if it worked or not. Just my opinion.

As I think of it again, I had developed Ocular Migraine headaches. Six months later, not living there, they are gone. Perhaps it did not work out very well?

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It will be a beautiful thing when it works. I want it now. Every commandment of God is calculated to bring happiness (immediately or eventually) and the Lord made it clear in the D&C that it is the only acceptable way for the Saints to live. God does not seem to care much that we consider it practical.

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In my reading, I have found reference to United Order, and if I understand it properly the first families of the church participated in it in Kirtland, Ohio. And the term or its practice seems to surface from time to time right up to the present day.

 

It angers me that the government at all levels seems to have persecuted the Mormons for it at every opportunity. :sad:  And at times the prosecution and persecution seem so blatantly illegal that I wonder how those that did it got away with it?

 

I was living in a loose communal relationship in Ohio when I first met the Lds in Kirtland, and continued to do so for another two or so years. Living here in Portland, I know of lots of people, not LDS, using that sort of arrangement who are in the <30 age range. Many of these households are on a cash basis and they use a great deal of unrecorded income.

 

From first hand experience, I can say that communal living has its up sides and its downsides, having experienced both joy and tears in it.  Unless I am particularly dense, Mormons seem to scrupulously eschew that way now. This is a shame to me.

 

 

Attempts to live the Law of Consecration and United Order failed because of human nature, not because of the "government".

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A wise man once said that -

 

Telestial - Tithing (give 10% of our limited resources)

Terrestrial - Consecration/United Order (give 100% of our limited resources and manage a stewardship)

Celestial - Creation (give 100% of our time & talents using unlimited resources to provide for our stewardship - our children)

 

God doesn't need 10% of our money.  He doesn't need us to sacrifice and turn all our belongings over to him either.

He does need us to change our entire perspective to supporting & building up our fellow man instead of supporting & building up ourselves.

When we leave this existence there will be unlimited resources so Tithing/Consecraton/United Order are designed to bring us up to a specific level that we can then move beyond to live as God.
 

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As I think of it again, I had developed Ocular Migraine headaches. Six months later, not living there, they are gone. Perhaps it did not work out very well?

Did you change cities as well as homes?  It may have been weather related or something chemical in the environment.

 

Ocular migraines...even the name sounds painful and if they are what they sound like, I've had a few...not nice.

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Did you change cities as well as homes?  It may have been weather related or something chemical in the environment.

 

Ocular migraines...even the name sounds painful and if they are what they sound like, I've had a few...not nice.

Actually, I only moved about 10 blocks.   I was exposed to Marijuana smoke, the house had black mold in it, and there was a lot of tension. Ocular Migraines are easily found on Google or Youtube, and are sometimes confused with TIA's or mini strokes. They are characterized by confusion, and partial loss of vision in one eye. I had what resembled a backward "C" that was illuminated with blackness around it. This was accompanied by a severe headache. They usually resolved in less than an hour.

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In my reading, I have found reference to United Order, and if I understand it properly the first families of the church participated in it in Kirtland, Ohio. And the term or its practice seems to surface from time to time right up to the present day.

 

From what I know, the law of consecration was rescinded

when the early Latter-day Saints failed to obey it. Tithing

was then instituted in its place.

 

Gail

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