In
MormonismMormonism comprises the religious, institutional, and cultural elements of the early Latter Day Saint movement and its modern denominations deriving from the leadership of Brigham Young...
, the
United Order was one of several 19th century church programs established to manage and administer the
Law of ConsecrationIn the Latter Day Saint movement , the term law of consecration was first used in 1831 by Joseph Smith , it was a doctrine of covenanted Christian socialism...
(a voluntary practice with some similarities to Christian communism/
communalismIn many parts of the world, communalism is a modern term that describes a broad range of social movements and social theories which are in some way centered upon the community. Communalism can take the form of communal living or communal property, among others...
). The United Order established egalitarian communities designed to achieve income equality, eliminate poverty, increase group self-sufficiency, and to ultimately create an ideal
utopiaUtopia is a name for an ideal community or society, that is taken from Of the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island Utopia, a book written in 1516 by Sir Thomas More describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system...
n society Mormons referred to as
ZionWithin the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a utopian association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were...
.
In
MormonismMormonism comprises the religious, institutional, and cultural elements of the early Latter Day Saint movement and its modern denominations deriving from the leadership of Brigham Young...
, the
United Order was one of several 19th century church programs established to manage and administer the
Law of ConsecrationIn the Latter Day Saint movement , the term law of consecration was first used in 1831 by Joseph Smith , it was a doctrine of covenanted Christian socialism...
(a voluntary practice with some similarities to Christian communism/
communalismIn many parts of the world, communalism is a modern term that describes a broad range of social movements and social theories which are in some way centered upon the community. Communalism can take the form of communal living or communal property, among others...
). The United Order established egalitarian communities designed to achieve income equality, eliminate poverty, increase group self-sufficiency, and to ultimately create an ideal
utopiaUtopia is a name for an ideal community or society, that is taken from Of the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island Utopia, a book written in 1516 by Sir Thomas More describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system...
n society Mormons referred to as
ZionWithin the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote a utopian association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members maintained an acceptable quality of life, class distinctions were...
. The movement had much in common with other utopian societies formed in the United States and Europe during the
Second Great AwakeningThe Second Great Awakening was a period of great religious revival that extended into the antebellum period of the United States, with widespread Christian evangelism and conversions. It was named for the Great Awakening, a similar period which had transpired about half a century beforehand...
which sought to govern aspects of people's lives through precepts of faith and community organization. However, the Latter Day Saint United Order was more family and property oriented than the utopian experiments at
Brook FarmBrook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education, was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s...
and the Oneida Community.
Members who voluntarily chose to enter the United Order community would
deedA deed is a signed and usually sealed legal instrument in writing used to grant a right. Deeds have historically been part of the broader category of instruments under seal, requiring only the affixing of a common seal to render them valid. Today, however, deeds are instruments in solemn form...
(
consecrateConsecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups.A synonym for consecration is to...
) all their property to the United Order, which would in turn deed back an "inheritance" (or "stewardship") which allowed members to control the property; private property was not eradicated but was rather a fundamental principle of this system. At the end of each year, any excess that the family produced from their stewardship was voluntarily given back to the Order. The Order in each community was operated by the local
BishopBishop is the highest priesthood office of the Aaronic priesthood in the Latter Day Saint movement. A bishop is usually the leader of a local congregation of church members. The Latter Day Saint concept of the office differs significantly from the role of bishops in other Christian denominations,...
.
The United Order is not practiced within mainstream
MormonismMormonism comprises the religious, institutional, and cultural elements of the early Latter Day Saint movement and its modern denominations deriving from the leadership of Brigham Young...
today; however, a number of groups of Mormon fundamentalists, such as the
Apostolic United BrethrenThe Apostolic United Brethren is a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist church within the Latter Day Saint movement. The sect is not affiliated with the mainstream The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
, have revived the practice. The United Order was also practiced by a
Latter Day SaintA Latter Day Saint is an adherent of the Latter Day Saint movement, a group of denominations tracing their heritage to the teachings of Joseph Smith, Jr. and the Church of Christ he organized in 1830...
church called the
United Order Family of ChristIn 1966, in Denver, Colorado, 26 year old David-Edward Desmond founded a Latter Day Saint church called the United Order Family of Christ that was a break-off from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
.
Initial Revelations
Latter Day Saint President
Joseph Smith, Jr.Joseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s...
learned of a group of about 50 people known as "the family" living on
Isaac MorleyIsaac Morley was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and a contemporary of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. He was one of the first converts to Smith's Church of Christ...
's farm near
Kirtland, OhioKirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Geography:Kirtland is located at ....
. They had established a cooperative venture based on statements in the Book of Acts (
See ; )
Members of "The Morley family" were originally followers of
Sidney RigdonSidney Rigdon was an important figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Rigdon's influence over the early years of the movement is considered by many historians to have been nearly as strong as that of church founder Joseph Smith Jr.-Baptist background:Sidney Rigdon was born...
, a
CampbelliteCampbellite refers to any of the religious groups historically descended from the Restoration Movement, a religious reform movement in the early 19th century in the United States...
/Restorationist minister, who later converted to Mormonism. Many of these communalists also joined the new church and several, including Isaac Morley, served in leadership positions. Levi Hancock records an early event wherein a 'family member' stole his pocketwatch and sold it, claiming it was "all in the family."
Smith was troubled because of the number of members joining the church in poverty in
Kirtland, OhioKirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Geography:Kirtland is located at ....
. Revenue was needed for the church to publish books and tracts. At this time, Smith and Rigdon were both in economic distress. Smith and his wife Emma lived on the Morley farm for a period of time.
On February 4, 1831, Smith claimed to have received a revelation calling
Edward PartridgeEdward Partridge was the grandson of Massachusetts Congressman Oliver Partridge, Esq., and a member of a family noted for commercial, social, political, and military leadership in Western Massachusetts. An early convert to the Latter Day Saint movement, he was the first person to hold the...
to be the first
bishopBishop is the highest priesthood office of the Aaronic priesthood in the Latter Day Saint movement. A bishop is usually the leader of a local congregation of church members. The Latter Day Saint concept of the office differs significantly from the role of bishops in other Christian denominations,...
of the church. (See ) Five days later, on February 9. 1831, Smith claimed a second revelation detailing the Law of Consecration. (See )
Land Purchases and Stewardships
Joseph Smith claimed to have received a revelation directing the saints to impart of their land and money to the church. Bishop Partridge assigned the incoming saints from New York lots according to another revelation. Smith directed Colesville immigrants to settle in
Thompson, OhioThompson, Ohio can refer to:*Thompson Township, Delaware County, Ohio*Thompson Township, Geauga County, Ohio, also the location of the community of Thompson*Thompson Township, Seneca County, Ohio...
, a few miles east of Kirtland, on a farm owned by
Leman CopleyLeman Copley was an early convert to Mormonism. Prior to his conversion, Copley was a Shaker.In March 1831, Copley was by Joseph Smith, Jr. to preach the gospel to the Shakers along with Sidney Rigdon and Parley P. Pratt....
. Saints from Seneca County were assigned to the
Isaac MorleyIsaac Morley was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement and a contemporary of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. He was one of the first converts to Smith's Church of Christ...
farm.
First Inauguration
Bishop Partridge tried to implement the full law in Thompson. However, disagreements broke out and he was unsuccessful. Shortly after, Smith announced a revelation directing Newell Knight to lead the saints on the Copley farm to settle in Missouri.
Dissolution of the United Order
Originally, the United Order was intended to be "an everlasting order for the benefit of my church, and for the salvation of men until I come" . In practice, however, the Order was relatively short-lived during the life of Joseph Smith, Jr.
The United Order as practiced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
From 1855 to 1858, under political and financial pressure from the United States government, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once again considered living under the United Order. During this period, under the leadership of
Brigham YoungBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the western United States. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death and was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory,...
, church members were instructed to prepare
deedA deed is a signed and usually sealed legal instrument in writing used to grant a right. Deeds have historically been part of the broader category of instruments under seal, requiring only the affixing of a common seal to render them valid. Today, however, deeds are instruments in solemn form...
s of
consecrationConsecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups.A synonym for consecration is to...
, but these deeds were never acted upon perhaps due to the community disruption caused by the
Utah WarThe Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed dispute between Latter-day Saint settlers in Utah Territory and the United States federal government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
.
It was not until 1874 that Young initiated the
United Order of Enoch, beginning in
St. George, UtahSt. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
on February 9, 1874. There were a number of differences between the United Order of Enoch and United Order communities established years earlier by Joseph Smith. Under Young's leadership, producers would generally deed their property to the Order, and all members of the order would share the cooperative's net income, often divided into shares based on the amount of property originally contributed. Sometimes, the members of the Order would receive wages for their work on the communal property.
The cooperative plan was used in at least 200 Mormon communities, most of them in rural areas outlying the central Mormon settlements near the
Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates...
. Most of the communities held out for only two or three years before returning to a more standard economic system. One of the last United Order corporations established the new community of
Bunkerville, NevadaBunkerville is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 1,014 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bunkerville is located at ....
in 1877. The Bunkerville cooperative dissolved, under pressure from limited water and a lack of individual dedication and initiative, in 1880.
Like the United Order established by Joseph Smith, Young's experiment with the United Order was short-lived. By the time of Brigham Young's death in 1877, most of these United Orders had failed. By the end of the 19th century, the Orders were essentially extinct. Historian Andrew Karl Larson pointed out that the failure of these ventures are rooted in the frailties of human nature.
- The habits of an acquisitive society were too strongly forged to be broken without the unmost devotion and selflessness to the cause, and rugged individualism triumphed over the abortive attempt at communal ownership and communal living here. (Larson, p. 168)
Some leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that the United Order will be reestablished some time in the future. Many leaders have taught that the Church's present system of
welfareA bishop's storehouse in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints usually refers to a commodity resource center that is used by bishops of the church to provide goods to needy individuals. The storehouses stock basic foods and essential household items...
and humanitarian aid is a predecessor or stepping stone to the renewed practice of the United Order in the future.
Private Property, Communalism, and the United Order
Under the United Order, private property was never abolished. The sharing of goods, often cited as
communalismIn many parts of the world, communalism is a modern term that describes a broad range of social movements and social theories which are in some way centered upon the community. Communalism can take the form of communal living or communal property, among others...
, was completely voluntarily. Members of the Church who chose to participate in the United Order voluntarily deeded their properties to the Church, which would then, deed all or a portion of it back to the original property owner. The "residue", or property which was over and above what the owner and his family required for themselves, was used by the Church to provide to the less fortunate, who would be required to pay it back either monetarily or by labor. The private property owner was never forced to participate in the Order nor was his property forcefully confiscated. Private property owners were free to join or leave the orders and were in total control of their deeded properties. J. Reuben Clark Jr., First Counselor in the First Presidency explained:
"The fundamental principle of this system was the private ownership of property. Each man owned his portion, or inheritance, or stewardship, with an absolute title, which he could alienate, or hypothecate, or otherwise treat as his own. The Church did not own all of the property, and the life under the United Order was not a communal life, as the Prophet Joseph, himself said, (History of the Church, Volume III, p. 28). The United Order is an individualistic system, not a communal system." (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. on The United Order and Communism, 113th Semi-Annual Conference, October 1942)
Lorenzo SnowLorenzo Snow was the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1898 to his death...
, 5th President of the Church also highlighted the United Order's preservation of individual free will:
"In things that pertain to celestial glory there can be no forced operations. We must do according as the spirit of the Lord operates upon our understandings and feelings. We cannot be crowded into matters, however great might be the blessing attending such procedure. We cannot be forced into living a celestial law; we must do this ourselves, of our own free will. And whatever we do in regard to the principle of the United Order, we must do it because we desire to do it..."(Lorenzo Snow, Journal of Discourses. Vol. 19, p.346, 349-350))
Kanab United Order
Many
United OrderIn Mormonism, the United Order was one of several 19th century church programs established to manage and administer the Law of Consecration...
communities were set up amongst
Mormon