The Law of Zion The Book of Mormon Lecture 16 by Hyrum Andrus

Hyrum L Andrus All rights reserved August 10-12, 1989 Lecture – 16 THE LAW OF ZION -- CONSECRATION -- ELIAS, ELIJAH, MESSIAH In this session we want to discuss the law of Zion. We've talked about the atonement and its dual role, in relation to Gethsemane and the forgiveness of sins, and in relation to Calvary and the payment of Adam's sin or transgression--transgression being a more appropriate term. We have talked about becoming sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, and we have talked about the new life which is in Christ, as revealed in the Book of Mormon. And we've talked about the doctrines of justification and sanctification and enduring to the end and all that kind of thing. Today we will deal with some of the more sophisticated doctrines. The Holy Order is one of these. The law of Zion is another. We need to see things on the foundation of what we've discussed, in relation to the more elaborate or sophisticated program of the kingdom. It is necessary to build Zion in order to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. A lot of us want to see the Lord come, and we wonder how long the corruption is going to go on. Let me tell you this, the Lord will never come until we're living the Law of Consecration. He might make an appearance to his Prophet, and that kind of thing, time to time, but he will never come to dwell with his people until we have built Mount Zion. And he will never come to fulfill the great events of the latter-days until Zion has been established. Here, for example, in Section 105--this is the great revelation in which the Lord, as it were, canceled out the practice of the Law of Consecration in the original effort of the Saints to teach and apply it. The revelation was given at Fishing River, in Missouri, when the Prophet had taken Zion's Camp on that thousand-mile march to Missouri with the intent, hopefully, of re-establishing the Saints on their inheritances in Jackson County. When he got there, Governor Dunklin of the State of Missouri, backed off and got cold feet and said, "I can't support you in your effort." He had promised to do so, but now refused. Without such support Zion's Camp was disbanded, and the Lord gave a revelation at Fishing River in which he said, verse 1: "Verily I say unto you who have assembled yourselves together that you may learn my will concerning the redemption of mine afflicted people-- Behold, I say unto you, were it not for the transgressions of my people, speaking concerning the church and not individuals, they might have been redeemed even now." The Lord explained: "But behold, they have not learned to be obedient to the things which I required at their hands, but are full of all manner of evil, and do not impart of their substance as becometh saints, to the poor and afflicted among them; And are not united according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom." That "union" is a spiritual union, in Christ and under the Holy Priesthood. It was also an economic union in and by and through the Law of Consecration. And this is not collectivism, by the way, it is an order of Christian Free Enterprise, with a union which is ideal in individualism, with individual stewards rather than collective machinery. The Lord then declared, and note this in verse 5: "And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself." Now, can never be fully received by the Lord until we live this divine program. And that point applies in various different ways. First, Christ will never come and receive his people unto himself on earth until we have applied the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom. Second, we will never become heirs of God and joint-heirs through Christ in eternity unless it is done on the same basis. If we haven't learned the principle of consecration and to applied it, we cannot be exalted! We cannot obtain these things unless we come up to that standard. They are absolutely necessary. Here is how President George Q. Cannon explained it. He was the J. Reuben Clark of his day. He was a counselor in the First Presidency to more than one President, and he was not only a great mind theologically, one of the greats of this dispensation, but he was also a prominent political figure among the Saints, a man of great understanding who knew the Prophet Joseph personally and who had an avid love for him and understood his doctrines and his teachings and the whole concept of Zion--one of the really mature minds of this dispensation, George Q. Cannon. He said: "As a people we are expecting the day to come when Jesus will descend in the clouds of Heaven. But before this day, we must be prepared to receive him. The organization of society … Get the full transcription from www.hyrumandrus.com!