Doctrine and Covenants 51
Historical Context
Obedient to the Lord’s commandment to “assemble together at the Ohio” (D&C 37:3), the Knight family and other members of the Colesville Branch departed from their homes in mid-April 1831 to gather with the Saints in Kirtland. Led by Newel Knight, the members of the Colesville Branch were delayed for two weeks in Buffalo, New York, because the harbor was frozen over. After the ice thawed, they weathered the stormy journey over Lake Erie on their way to Kirtland. “Our voyage on [the] lake [was] very disagreeable, nearly all the company being seasick,” Newel Knight later wrote. “However, we arrived in safety at our place of destination.”
The arrival of the Colesville Saints and the other Church members from New York proved to be the first test of leadership for Bishop Edward Partridge, who had been called only a few months earlier to look after the temporal needs of the Saints and to implement the law of consecration (D&C 41:9; 42:31–32). At Bishop Partridge’s request, Joseph Smith sought instruction from the Lord and received a revelation providing guidance on how to help the refugees who were arriving from New York.
Orson Pratt was present when this revelation was received. In 1874 he recounted the experience in a discourse given in Brigham City, Utah. An account of Orson’s discourse reads,
Joseph was as calm as the morning sun. But he noticed a change in his countenance that he had never noticed before, when a revelation was given to him. Joseph’s face was exceedingly white, and seemed to shine. The speaker [Orson] had been present many times when he was translating the New Testament, and wondered why he did not use the Urim and Thummim, as in translating the Book of Mormon. While this thought passed through the speaker’s mind, Joseph, as if he read his thoughts, looked up and explained that the Lord gave him the Urim and Thummim when he was inexperienced with the Spirit of inspiration. But now he had advanced so far that he understood the operations of that Spirit, and did not need the assistance of that instrument.
See “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 20 May 1831 [D&C 51].
Verse-by-Verse Commentary
D&C 51:1–8
1 Hearken unto me, saith the Lord your God, and I will speak unto my servant Edward Partridge, and give unto him directions; for it must needs be that he receive directions how to organize this people.
2 For it must needs be that they be organized according to my laws; if otherwise, they will be cut off.
3 Wherefore, let my servant Edward Partridge, and those whom he has chosen, in whom I am well pleased, appoint unto this people their portions, every man equal according to his family, according to his circumstances and his wants and needs.
4 And let my servant Edward Partridge, when he shall appoint a man his portion, give unto him a writing that shall secure unto him his portion, that he shall hold it, even this right and this inheritance in the church, until he transgresses and is not accounted worthy by the voice of the church, according to the laws and covenants of the church, to belong to the church.
5 And if he shall transgress and is not accounted worthy to belong to the church, he shall not have power to claim that portion which he has consecrated unto the bishop for the poor and needy of my church; therefore, he shall not retain the gift, but shall only have claim on that portion that is deeded unto him.
6 And thus all things shall be made sure, according to the laws of the land.
7 And let that which belongs to this people be appointed unto this people.
8 And the money which is left unto this people—let there be an agent appointed unto this people, to take the money to provide food and raiment, according to the wants of this people.
The Lord specifies that as the Church members from New York begin to arrive in the Kirtland area they must be organized according to His laws, a likely reference to the law of consecration and other laws revealed a few months earlier (D&C 42). Throughout the history of the Church, the law of consecration has been a dynamic set of principles designed to be adjusted to fit the current needs of Church members. Consecration was not going to be a one-size-fits-all affair. While it is true that the Lord counseled Bishop Partridge to divide resources on an equal basis, He also directs him to make determinations based on a family’s circumstances, wants, and needs (D&C 51:3).
Rather than an arbitrary function, consecration was set up to be a negotiation in good faith between the bishop and the family in need of assistance. Two years later, as Bishop Partridge was laboring to set up the law of consecration in Missouri, Joseph Smith wrote a letter to explain the roles of the bishop and the church member in determining stewardships. He wrote,
I will tell you that every man must be his own judge how much he should receive, and how much he should suffer to remain in the hands of the Bishop. . . . The matter of consecration must be done by the mutual consent of both parties—For, to give the Bishop power to say how much every man shall have and he be obliged to comply with the Bishops judgment, is giving to the Bishop more power than a King has and upon the other hand, to let every man say how much he needs and the Bishop obliged to comply with his judgment, is to throw Zion into confusion and make a Slave of the Bishop. The fact is, there must be a balance or equilibrium of power between the bishop and the people, and thus harmony and good will may be preserved among you.
D&C 51:9–12
9 And let every man deal honestly, and be alike among this people, and receive alike, that ye may be one, even as I have commanded you.
10 And let that which belongeth to this people not be taken and given unto that of another church.
11 Wherefore, if another church would receive money of this church, let them pay unto this church again according as they shall agree;
12 And this shall be done through the bishop or the agent, which shall be appointed by the voice of the church.
Fundamental to the successful implementation of consecration was honesty on the part of everyone involved. The bishop had to be honest about the available resources. He was also expected to be above reproach in his personal conduct and to model integrity for the people he served. When Edward Partridge was chosen to serve as bishop the Lord had declared that his calling was “because his heart is pure before me, for he is like Nathanael of old, in whom there is no guile” (D&C 41:11).
For consecration to work, honesty was required of Church members as well. Members needed to be clear and honest about their wants and needs. We do not know the particulars about the system of consecration used in the time of Christ, but the book of Acts sternly notes the punishment by death of Ananias and Sapphira when they tried to defraud the leaders of the Church (Acts 5:1–11). Nothing so dramatic happened in the time of the Restoration, but without honesty, jealousy and contention could grow among Church members, and this would be fatal to consecration.
The other churches referred to in these verses (D&C 51:10–12) are other branches of the Church. Consecration asks Church members to maintain a wider perspective and seek after not only the welfare of their own family, or their own Church unit, but the kingdom of God as a whole. Members in more developed congregations and countries sacrifice to assist those in less developed areas. While individual acts of charity are important, the great work is overseen by leaders who see the big picture and can direct the resources of the Church in the most efficient way possible.
D&C 51:13–15
13 And again, let the bishop appoint a storehouse unto this church; and let all things both in money and in meat, which are more than is needful for the wants of this people, be kept in the hands of the bishop.
14 And let him also reserve unto himself for his own wants, and for the wants of his family, as he shall be employed in doing this business.
15 And thus I grant unto this people a privilege of organizing themselves according to my laws.
The establishment of a storehouse operated and administered by the bishop is mentioned in the original instructions given with the law of consecration (D&C 42:34). The frequent use in these verses of the term wants as opposed to needs emphasizes that consecration was meant to provide the means not only for surviving but also for flourishing. Church members who have consecrated themselves to the Lord enjoy access to the fellowship, talents, and resources of a community. The Lord speaks of organizing according to His laws as “a privilege” (D&C 42:34).
We sometimes speak of consecration from this time as a failed experiment. It is true that the Colesville Saints in particular suffered because of those who refused to live the law of consecration, but many Saints who gathered to Kirtland prospered under the law. Emily M. Coburn Austin was among the members of the extended Knight family who joined the Church in Colesville and then gathered to Kirtland. Though Emily eventually left the Church, she looked back on the system of consecration in Kirtland with fond memories. “The church had become numerous within a year or two after we arrived, and we were in a new country,” she recalled of her first impression upon her arrival. She continued,
Probably it is indispensably requisite to say that all the money belong[ed] to the wealthy members of the church treasury; and one man had the entire charge of financial affairs. Had it not been thus, there would have been great suffering among the poor and aged, who were in this way both fed and clothed. Probably this is the true origin of the report that they had all things in common; and this is true. The poor were provided for, as well as those who had put their money in the treasury. They were all satisfied and happy to all appearance, and all seemed to enjoy themselves.
D&C 51:16–20
16 And I consecrate unto them this land for a little season, until I, the Lord, shall provide for them otherwise, and command them to go hence;
17 And the hour and the day is not given unto them, wherefore let them act upon this land as for years, and this shall turn unto them for their good.
18 Behold, this shall be an example unto my servant Edward Partridge, in other places, in all churches.
19 And whoso is found a faithful, a just, and a wise steward shall enter into the joy of his Lord, and shall inherit eternal life.
20 Verily, I say unto you, I am Jesus Christ, who cometh quickly, in an hour you think not. Even so. Amen.
The settlement of the Colesville Saints was planned to be “an example . . . in other places, in all churches” (D&C 51:18). The faithful Saints of this branch were intended to set up a covenant community to be replicated in other locations. President Lorenzo Snow, using the terminology common in his time to describe the law of consecration, taught that consecration “was not confined to any particular locality, but in that revelation [D&C 51] it was told to the Bishop that this should be an example unto him in organizing in all Churches. So that wherever Edward Partridge should find a Church, he would have the privilege of organizing them according to the United Order, the Celestial Law, or the Order of Enoch.”
Unfortunately, the members of the Colesville Branch stayed in Ohio only a short time. Because of transgression, their covenant community was abandoned in its infancy (see commentary for D&C 54). Instead, the Colesville Branch was commanded to move on to Missouri, and these Saints were among the first members of the Church to live the law of consecration in the land of Zion (D&C 54:8). Joined by Bishop Partridge, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and a small band of missionaries, they would be present when the Lord identified the precise location for the New Jerusalem to “be built up upon this land” (Ether 13:6).
Footnotes
