Acts 2:44-45 -- On Togetherness and Giving

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need."

Acts 2:44-45

We aren't commanded to live this way now, but it is certainly presented in the scriptures as an ideal, and maybe it is even the natural result of living the commandments and truly loving our neighbors.  I imagine that we'll live this way again as we get closer to being a Zion community.  We learn in Moses 7:18 that "the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them."  I don't see any way of getting to that "no poor" ideal without learning to live these verses, and finding out how to overcome our grabby "mine, mine, mine" inclinations, and learn to share on a deep level--not just with our families and people we like, but as it says above, with "all men," as they have need.

Maybe there are things we can do now to get ready for the Zion ideal.  Being more generous perhaps: simplifying our lives, accumulating less and giving more.  Focusing on the people around us, rather than exclusively on the profit potential.  Finding out how to help the people around us, in whatever ways we can.  Learning to understand and love a wider variety of people, so that giving doesn't feel like an obligation or a duty, but is truly an outpouring of love.  And as we become closer to the ideal, the more we will see God's hand in our lives, blessing our efforts and helping us in our dedication to becoming part of his community.  His on a very real level, because in Zion "the Lord came and dwelt with his people" (Moses 7:16). Today, let's work for that ideal.  Let's love, and serve, and work on someday having a cool enough society that God will feel comfortable moving in to the neighborhood. :)