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Friday, September 20, 2013

The United Order and Covenant

In recent posts, I've been critical of the role that the LDS Church has played in imposing the Health Exchanges. I've noticed that prominent LDS politicians have played leading roles in the current health care fiasco.

Harry Reid (not Obama) was the primary architect of PPACA (ObamaCare). PPACA was based on a plan by Mitt Romney.  In Utah, Governors Mike Leavitt, Jon Huntsman and Gary Herbert all support the same basic health plan. There's a myriad of local Mormon politicians behind the Health Exchanges in Utah. Governor Mike Leavitt is directly benefiting by the imposition exchanges.

These people actively suppress debate about alternatives. I spent five years trying to find a group interested in studying alternative approaches to financing health care. To be turned back at every step.

Earlier this week, Glenn Beck hosted an infotainment event in Kansas called "Covenant America." This show pushes an idea called Covenant Theory. This theory holds that the US Revolution was staged by the Heavenly Father and that the Constitution was revealed specifically to create the conditions necessary for the restoration of the Church.

The Constitution created a limited government so that there could be an unlimited church.

The first step in the restoration came with revelation of the Book of Mormon.

This revelation was followed in 1833 by the revelation of the Book of Commandments. Chapter 44 (page 92) reads as follows:

You can find photocopy of the plate on The Institution for Religious Research.

25 Thou knowest my laws, they are given in my scriptures, he that sinneth and repenth not, shall be cast out.

26 If thou lovest me, thou shat serve me and keep all of my commandments; and behold, thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou hast unto me, wih a covenant and deed which cannot be broken; and they shall be laid before the bishop of my church, and two of the elders, such as he shall appoint and set apart for that purpose.

27 And it shall come to pass, that the bishop of my church, after that he has received the properties of my church, that it can not be taken from the church, he shall appoint every man a steward over his own property, or that which he has received, in as much as is sufficient for himself and family:

28 And the residue shall be kept to administer to him who has not, that every man may receive according as he stands in need:

29 And the residue shall be kept in my storehouse, to administer the poor and needy, as shall be appointed to the elders of the church and the bishop; and for the purpose of purchasing lands, and the building up of the New Jerusalem, which is hereafter to be revealed; that my covenant people may be gathered in one, in the day that I shall come to my temple.


This revelation created the United Order of Enoch. In the United Order, private property becomes church property and people are reduced from property owners to stewards of what they once owned. They would be allowed that which was sufficient for their families.

The church would confiscate the land and any residue (capital gains). Control would be handed to bishops appointed by the church. These bishops would take from those who are productive. This "residue" would be used to build The New Jerusalem and so "that every man may receive according as he stands in need:"

Evil gentiles try to frame this as socialism. It is not Marxian. Joseph Smith actually preceded Marx. For that matter, Marx studied the United Order of Enoch and drew on the experience. Marx thought the failure the United Order was the use of religion. Marx followed Feuerbach in building on radical anti-religion.

On publishing this revelation, Joseph Smith found himself facing a mob (of his own followers) who were not all that keen on giving every thing they own to the church. Two years later Joseph Smith a new and improved revelation called "The Doctrine and the Covenants." The new teachings are: (D&C Section 42).


28 Thou knowest my laws concerning these things are given in my scriptures; he that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out.

29 If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments.

30 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.

31 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.

32 And it shall come to pass, that after they are laid before the bishop of my church, and after that he has received these testimonies concerning the consecration of the properties of my church, that they cannot be taken from the church, agreeable to my commandments, every man shall be made accountable unto me, a steward over his own property, or that which he has received by consecration, as much as is sufficient for himself and family.

33 And again, if there shall be properties in the hands of the church, or any individuals of it, more than is necessary for their support after this first consecration, which is a residue to be consecrated unto the bishop, it shall be kept to administer to those who have not, from time to time, that every man who has need may be amply supplied and receive according to his wants.

34 Therefore, the residue shall be kept in my storehouse, to administer to the poor and the needy, as shall be appointed by the high council of the church, and the bishop and his council;

35 And for the purpose of purchasing lands for the public benefit of the church, and building houses of worship, and building up of the New Jerusalem which is hereafter to be revealed—

36 That my covenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I shall come to my temple. And this I do for the salvation of my people.

37 And it shall come to pass, that he that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out of the church, and shall not receive again that which he has consecrated unto the poor and the needy of my church, or in other words, unto me—

I highlighted the words "shall be cast out" to emphasize that people who are not LDS are not welcome in the health care debate.

The LDS continued with multiple experiments in collective ownership. Members of some Fundamentalists sects continue to practice the principles of the United Order of Enoch. Property is church owned, adherents get what is deemed necessary to sustain the families.

One of the biggest experiments in collective ownership was the Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution. Adherents were admonished from doing business with non-Mormons and instructed to buy their goods at the church run store. The bulk buying power of ZCMI gave the store an upper hand on producers.


Back the present. Political leaders of the LDS Church have played an active role in ObamaCare. Notably, Harry Reid was the chief architect of the plan. It was based on Mitt Romney's Massachusetts' plan. Governor Mike Leavitt owns an insurance company that provides resources for the exchanges. Governor Jon Huntsman supported the direction of PPACA in his presidential campaign.

I live in Utah. I am opposed to PPACA. I see pretty much all of the local political forces aligned to bringing the vision of the health exchanges to fruition.

I admit, I reject Glenn Beck's premise that the Constitution was revealed by the Heavenly Father to bring forth The True Church.

If Glenn Beck is wrong and the US Revolution was not run by the Heavenly Father for the specific goal of establishing a new church in the Latter Days, then what we have here is a blatant attempt to capture the American Experiment in Self Rule.

2 comments:

  1. Glad to see your discernment on this matter. I studied false religions in the 80's. What's happening today is a repeat and now I know why I went through 3 church splits. False doctrine mixed with a little truth is a favorite tool of the enemies. Those that do not STUDY the Word of God will be deceived. The Mormon Church is just another false religion.

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  2. I really hate calling anyone "false." Personally, I believe that we can find truth from many different perspectives.

    The way Mormons argue really compels one to use the word false.

    At the MTC, adherents are taught to rush in the room claiming they are the sole bearers of truth and all others are servants of Satan.

    Making claims to truth before listening to others is usually a sign of falsehood. It is a sign of classic projection.

    The page I presented is from the "Book of Commandments." In the theory preached by Glenn Beck, this page is the LDS equivalent of the Ten Commandments.

    I see these statements fundamentally at odds with traditional Christianity, the US Constitution and the goals of the US Founders.

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