Choosing Consecration: How Much Is Enough? And Who Decides?

True story, Word of Honor

Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer

now dead,

And I were at a party given by a billionaire

on Shelter Island. 

I said “Joe, how does it make you feel

to know that our host only yesterday

may have made more money

than your novel ‘Catch-22’

has earned in its entire history?”

And Joe said, “I’ve got something he can never have.”

And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?”

And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”

Not bad!  Rest in Peace!

Kurt Vonnegut, author

The knowledge that you have enough truly is a rare and valuable thing, and most people, no matter how much wealth they accumulate, never attain it.  Determining what enough is can bring peace to your life and is a necessary first step in being a wise steward of temporal blessings and incorporating principles of consecration into your life.  It is also an elusive concept that goes against human nature and requires great faith and sacrifice.    

Who Decides? Consecration and Agency

So who decides how much is enough?  Should agency be honored or should it be imposed upon you?  In 1838 the Church was gathering funds to build a temple in Far West, Missouri.  Brigham Young reported:

“The brethren wished me to go among the Churches, and find out what surplus property the people had, with which to forward the building of the Temple we were commencing at Far West. I accordingly went from place to place through the country. Before I started, I asked brother Joseph, ‘Who shall be the judge of what is surplus property?’ Said he, ‘Let them be the judges themselves. …’”

Consecration should always be a voluntary act that allows us to choose to use our agency over temporal blessings to build the Kingdom of God and serve others.  It should never be compulsory in any way.

Brigham Young’s experience gathering surplus property for the Far West Temple also illustrates how difficult recognizing when you have enough really is, even for the faithful.  Brother Brigham continued:

“Then I replied, ‘I will go and ask them for their surplus property;’ and I did so; I found the people said they were willing to do about as they were counselled, but, upon asking them about their surplus property, most of the men who owned land and cattle would say, ‘I have got so many hundred acres of land, and I have got so many boys, and I want each one of them to have eighty acres, therefore this is not surplus property.’ Again, ‘I have got so many girls, and I do not believe I shall be able to give them more than forty acres each.’ ‘Well, you have got two or three hundred acres left.’ ‘Yes, but I have a brother-in-law coming on, and he will depend on me for a living; my wife’s nephew is also coming on, he is poor, and I shall have to furnish him a farm after he arrives here.’ I would go on to the next one, and he would have more land and cattle than he could make use of to advantage. It is a laughable idea, but is nevertheless true, men would tell me they were young and beginning [in] the world, and would say, ‘We have no children, but our prospects are good, and we think we shall have a family of children, and if we do, we want to give them eighty acres of land each; we have no surplus property.’ ‘How many cattle have you?’ ‘So many.’ ‘How many horses, etc?’ ‘So many, but I have made provisions for all these, and I have use for every thing I have got.’”

Brother Brigham concluded, perhaps exaggerating a bit to make his point.

“Some were disposed to do right with their surplus property, and once in a while you would find a man who had a cow which he considered surplus, but generally she was of the class that would kick a person’s hat off, or eyes out. … You would once in a while find a man who had a horse that he considered surplus, but at the same time he had the ringbone, was broken-winded, spavined in both legs, and had the pole evil at one end of the neck and a fistula at the other, and both knees sprung.” (In Journal of Discourses, 2:306–7.)”

Recognizing when you have enough is not a new problem.  It has been around forever and appears to be part of the fallen nature of mankind.    

How Much Is Enough?

Deciding how much is enough is a personal decision between you and the Lord.  However, the scriptures provide some counsel.  Doctrine and Covenants 82:16-19 instructs:

16 Behold, here is wisdom also in me for your good. 

17 And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just— 

18 And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church— 

19 Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.

The Lord does not want His children to live in poverty, so any definition of enough would certainly include adequate means to meet our basic needs including comfortable housing, sufficient food, and reliable transportation. 

I find verse 17 interesting, where, in addition to needs, the Lord also mentions wants, with the stipulation, “inasmuch as his wants are just.”  While this leaves a lot of leeway for interpretation – and justification – it is clear that enough can also include some wants. 

I also find verse 18 interesting where the Lord talks about using temporal means to “improve upon [our] talent,” and to “gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse…”  One of the purposes of developing our talents appears to be to help us provide better for our families and perhaps even have surplus to help others.  To me this means that providing educational opportunities for our families is well within the definition of enough. 

Providing for needs and just wants is useful guidance but leaves a lot of room for discretion.  Deciding if a want is just or not can be difficult.  As you deliberate keep in mind the danger of pride. 

The Book of Mormon often notes that when people became prideful they started wearing “fine-twined linen” to distinguish themselves from others and draw attention to themselves.  What is your “fine-twined linen?”  If the purpose of your spending is to draw attention to yourself or place yourself above others than you are approaching dangerous territory.  

Have you thought about what enough means for you, and what it would include?  Have you put a dollar amount on it?  Have you thought about the difference between just and unjust wants?  These questions are worth serious consideration.    

Whatever you decide, the principles of consecration require that at some point it is necessary to stop increasing your standard of living and start focusing on your standard of giving.  Doing so can bring you peace of mind and add purpose to your life.  The knowledge that you have enough truly is a rare and valuable thing and something we all should be striving to attain.