United for Zion: Principles for uniting the Saints to eliminate poverty

by Warner Woodworth, Joseph Grenny, Todd Manwaring

United for Zion

Genres: Religion

160 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jamon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly written, but had great principles on law of consecreation and United order.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an entertaining call for LDS people to live the principles of the United Order; to play an active role in abolishing poverty at home and abroad. The authors condemned the glut and senseless wealth of so many members of the Church in the developed world. Look to Alpine and ask yourself if a $1m home is really necessary or a 3rd SUV for your teenagers. Maybe diverting some of that wealth to people in need could teach us to be content with enough instead of the “best” while also radically changing the lives of others.

The authors provide an interesting framework for evaluating the efficacy of an organization too. Both for organizations as well as our political and economic systems, the authors direct us with this quote from John Widstoe: “...the ideal by which any proposed economic system may be tested [is that the] nearer any scheme for economic betterment conforms to the principles of the United Order, the more likely it will be to assist mankind.” Some of the guiding principles of this framework are as follows:

Does the strategy or organization...
Contribute to the spiritual growth of all participants (employees, donors, volunteers, and recipients?
Cooperate with other groups seeking to improve the lot of the poor? (e.g., by sharing ideas, resources, and information)
Point participants to the significant resources within their communities that can be used in solving their own problems before bringing in outside resources?
Practice complete transparency with all information on the efficiency of its operations?
Hold individual participants accountable for their work and character-even to the point of removing them if needed?
Publish "results data" (not just activity data) demonstrating an increase in per capita income of participants for the resources used?
Av0id client/patron relationships, instead of fostering equal relationships between participants?
Give all participants opportunity for ownership in their means of work?

I found this quote especially entertaining as I would have just as easily believed it was from Karl Marx, rather than Apostle Erasmus Snow of the early Church. “...[the United Order] embraces labor as well as capital, and it designs to make the interests of capital and labor identical.” It’s interesting to see just how far we’ve strayed from our communalist roots to the bizarre Wasatch Front Prosperity Gospel preached today.