neal a. maxwell

Orson Scott Card’s Short Story on the Law of Consecration

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Orson Scott Card, 16 February 2008. Photo from Nihonjoe.

Orson Scott Card, 16 February 2008. Photo from Nihonjoe.

I don’t know how I missed this until now. Orson Scott Card published a fantastic short story/essay on the law of consecration back in 1993 entitled “Consecration: A Law We Can Live With.” In it he eloquently writes a parable of a man who envisions some scriptures as a Book of Mormon figure might have written them if they had lived in our day, together with the man’s own life experiences in consecrating. It is a well written, unique and profound piece, one that gets to the heart of what consecration should mean to us today.

Too often I perceive we think that once our 10% of tithing is paid, and perhaps some token offerings, the rest is ours to keep. We’ve done our duty. Indeed, we can personally take in our millions, as long as 10% is skimmed off the top like cream off milk. What’s left, however, is a fat-free diet of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which doesn’t nourish the soul, nor feed the spirit. Ten percent is a far cry from consecration, of any amount. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught:

God seeks to have us become more consecrated by giving everything. Then, when we come home to Him, He will generously give us ‘all that [He] hath’ (D&C 84:38). (“Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father,” emphasis added.)

Of course we can, and should, consecrate much more than our monetary means. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland echoed Elder Maxwell’s thoughts:

We must be willing to place all that we have—not just our possessions (they may be the easiest things of all to give up), but also our ambition and pride and stubbornness and vanity—we must place it all on the altar of God, kneel there in silent submission, and willingly walk away. (“The Will of the Father in All Things,” emphasis added.)

And Hugh Nibley was never at a loss of words on this topic:

There is quite a difference between consecrating 10 percent of your net gain to the building up of the kingdom and consecrating your time, talents, and everything you have been blessed with up to this time to the building up of the kingdom of God. (“Law of Consecration,” emphasis added.)

Are We Required to Live the Law of Consecration, Now?

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I hear this a lot from members of the Church.  In fact just two days ago, I had someone ask me this very question after reading some of the quotes from Nibley in Approaching Zion:

 “So then are we required to live the law of concecration now?“

To that question I would pose a counter question, that might help us arrive at an appropriate answer.  When God reveals a law to man, is it required of man to live it if he wishes to return to live with God?  When viewed from this perspective, I think the answer can be none other than an unequivocal “Yes!” [Read more…]

Buy the Complete Set of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley

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The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley

The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley

A reader asks, “Do you know if it is possible to buy the complete writings, books, etc., of Bro. Nibley in one volume or perhaps on a CD Disc? (surely there must be a demand for this).”

It’s not possible to include all of Nibley’s writings in one volume, as the binding would be several feet thick – now that would be one big book! I also don’t know of a single CD that includes all his writings. Most of Hugh Nibley’s writings are now contained in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, which has become a 19 volume series of books compiled and published by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU.  [Read more…]

Living the Law of Consecration – Part 2: The Law & The United Order

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(Continued from Part 1)

One of the common misconceptions concerning the law of consecration is that it is often conflated with the United Order.  When we think that these two are one and the same thing we run into difficulties understanding them.  When we don’t properly understand the law, we can’t live it.  When we don’t properly understand the United Order, we can’t learn from it.  The law of consecration is not the United Order.  The United Order was an economic and administrative method of living the law of consecration, but even as such is commonly misunderstood and blended with the law of consecration.  President Benson explained:  [Read more…]

Living the Law of Consecration – Part 1: The Mythic “Folk Memory”

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“Some day we will live the law of consecration again, but until then we must be ‘willing’ to live it.”

“It is Church doctrine that the full Law of Consecration was suspended by the Lord through the Prophet in 1834.”

“My belief is that things will get progressively worse until the actual Second Coming when Christ will institute the law of consecration.”

Have you ever heard these types of statements before?  Each one comes from active, church-going, temple-attending, members of the Church.  Each of them was said to me in conversation over the past two weeks.  Each one is also, unfortunately, untrue.  [Read more…]