This is an archived copy of a post written by Conflict Of Justice (conflictofjustice.com). Used with permission: Conflict Of Justice may not agree with any alterations made.
by jonridinger, creative commons license
The ward in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a local congregation that is presided over by a bishop. A group of wards make up the stake, which is frequently considered “similar to a Catholic diocese.” But the origin of these terms speak to their unique nature. The church’s structure of wards and stakes was originally established in the late 1830’s to organize work teams for construction of the temple and to better provide for the temporal needs of the saints. We are organized in a unique way, with a unique purpose that sets us apart and drives the work forward.
On October 5, 1839, a general conference of the church organized three wards on a soggy area of land alongside the Mississippi River which would soon be named “Nauvoo.” They were called the Lower Ward, Middle Ward, and Upper Ward. This historical record does not actually indicate what these wards were for, but we can get an idea from the context. It was normal for large cities to be divided into “wards” with their own administrative councils. The city “ward” was nothing new. But Nauvoo was a tiny and brand new city, and the wards were led by bishops rather than administrative civil councils. It was more than just a planned division of the city. The general conference considered the wards divisions within a “stake.”
Stake – The general conference record states: “It was then unanimously agreed upon that it should be appointed a stake and a place of gathering for the saints.” D&C 82 (recorded in 1832) called a leadership council… “To manage the affairs of the poor, and all things pertaining to the bishopric both in the land of Zion and in the land of Kirtland; For I have consecrated the land of Kirtland in mine own due time for the benefit of the saints of the Most High, and for a stake to Zion. For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.” (D&C 82:12-14)
This evokes an image of a tent being lifted up, where each stake is a structural member. Isaiah 54 calls the structure being lifted by the stakes a “tent” with “curtains of thine habitations.” It is also referred to as garments that covers nakedness. This tent will cause “desolate cities to be inhabited” as it spreads, and will be located at the place where the Lord “will I gather thee.” It will be a place of refuge, where “no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” A stake can therefore be considered a city or general location that is appointed to gather saints, to organize bishops for managing temporal needs, and a means of safety and refuge. The wards were evidently meant to establish this stake.
Focus On Building Temple – Where people are of pure heart and mind, there God dwells also. The saints were intent on constructing a system where pure hearts and minds could dwell, and the temple would be the focus of this effort. They did everything possible to build a temple. If the city was a “stake” for lifting the church up, “wards” were teams of workmen to provide the labor.
Brigham Young declared in 1844: “Let us go to and build the Temple with all our might, that we may build up the kingdom. When established and her cords lengthened, it is a perfect knock down to the devil’s kingdom… It proves the words of the prophet of the latter days the priesthood is filled to every capacity in the world. There are blessings and conditions in that priesthood that suits every man. This will suit the conditions of thousands… We will build up the churches and establish Zion. This is a fire and cannot be put out. It was spread far faster than ever we did before. If you kick us and cuff us, we will turn the world upside down and make the cart draw the horse. We want to build the temple, and have the roof on this fall, in the name of Israel’s God. There are hundreds of elders who will sell to build the temple… Let the branches send teams with provisions to work all the year.” (Minutes and Discourses, 9-9 April 1844)
The temple was a community effort headed by a temple committee, and all church members were asked to contribute resources and labor to construct it. D&C 119 stated that the Lord would “require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church of Zion, for the building of mine house and for the laying of the foundations of Zion.” Work on the temple was considered to be tithing, and was organized by the local bishop, who also handled consecrated resources being received and distributed to the poor. D&C 57 instructed bishops on how they would provide temporally for the building of the temple and for the poor in the church.
It is important to note that although the community provided the resources and labor, they did not provide the design of the temple. In a meeting of the temple council in 1845, Joseph Smith asked “each of the brethren should give his reviews with regard to” the new temple to be built. Joseph Smith found the general views insufficient and declared, “I have a plan of the house of the Lord given by himself, and you will soon see by this difference between our calculations and his idea of things.” This attitude continues today, where wards and stakes are a community effort, but the will of the democratic majority does not overrule the design of God as revealed through priesthood authority. We affirm by common consent, but we do not create policy by common consent.
On August 20, 1842, the Nauvoo high council divided the city into 10 ecclesiastical wards and 2 districts. This was an appropriate division, as the word “tithing” derives from the number ten and work on the temple was considered a tithe. Wards were explicitly under the authority of the temple committee: “Resolved that the City of Nauvoo be divided into ten wards, according to the division made by the ‘Temple Committee’ and that there be a Bishop appointed over each Ward, and, also that other Bishops be appointed over such districts immediately out of the City and adjoining thereto as shall be considered necessary.” (History, 1838–1856, vol. D-1)
Ward Recorder – Another reason for the ward division was to more effectively record the activities of the church. Each ward to this day delivers an annual record to church headquarters detailing activities in the ward–things like mission calls, marriages, and ward activities. This isn’t something that is widely known or talked about in the church, but it is actually very important. Joseph Smith indicated that church members will be judged at judgement day partially based on what is written in these records. Multiple wards were needed so that multiple record-makers could keep records of church activities. This keeps a more local context of sealing judgement and binding covenants in heaven, uniting us with our dead. Joseph Smith advised that all records should be combined into one in the temple and added upon with each succeeding year. “And let us present in his holy Temple, when it is finished, a Book, containing the Records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.”
Wards were also used in 19th century Nauvoo for other practical reasons, such as organizing local militias and petitioning city civic leadership. But the construction of the temple appears to be the main practical function. Perhaps still today a ward’s function is to establish a temple locally, as focus for that stake?
Defending The Temple – Well, what about after the temple is established? The 1828 dictionary definition of “ward” speaks to its refuge and defensive nature. A “ward” is a “guard” or defensive garrison, indicating guardianship and defending Zion. The scriptures tell us that the organization of stakes keeps us safe, but why does no weapon devised against us prosper? Is it because divine intervention stops our enemies, a lightning bolt from the sky? I don’t think so, and that is not what happened in Nauvoo. Violent Antimormons quickly moved into town and vamped up the persecution, eventually expelling all church members. Well, why weren’t they stopped? Antimormons today love to call those declarations of divine protection false prophecy. But I think it’s because this promise depends on each ward member fulfilling his function as a defensive member of the garrison. All it takes is one tent peg to come loose for the entire structure will be swept away in the wind, and in Nauvoo there was widespread apostasy of church members. It ended in the temple’s destruction. The defensive ranks were not there. If we are united as a ward, we are totally unstoppable. This is why our focus must above all else be on unity.
Some people roll their eyes at the boring names for wards. “South Jordan 5th ward.” “Tempe Arizona 2nd ward.” But I actually find this an important policy. No ward ought to be elevated above another in the church, no temple above another temple, and no bishop or stake president above another–or else we will see the same kind of apostasy that happened in the early Christian church. Some cities were considered more authoritative, and the position of bishop turned into a hierarchy. The doctrinal opinions of certain bishops won over others, and pure doctrine was lost and ordinances perverted. The bishop of Alexandria, for example, became a massive political authority who mainstream scholars today look to as an authoritative source. Once they had lost vision of their role as workmen in construction of holy Zion, the early Christian congregations inevitably tried to hoist themselves up above other congregations. In the priesthood, we understand each bishop having equal authority for his respective zone and not for anyone living outside that zone. The general authorities are understood to have their respective authority, and the first presidency authority on behalf of the entire church.
Free Masonry – One main theme in Freemasonry is construction of the Jerusalem temple. They act out the building of the temple; they seem to be obsessed with it. Freemasons considered their group to be derived from the original builders of Solomon’s temple, the original work teams of stone cutters (though many I talk to today say this is just a myth.) Most scholars doubt the legitimacy of this claim, but it is certainly an interesting coincidence that they organized themselves based on work-teams for the temple. It is interesting considering the similarity between Freemason rituals and our temple practices. Church leaders have indicated that Freemasons have some kind of corrupted version of truth in their practices while we have the real thing. It is interesting, then, that our “ward” is the true temple work-group while the Freemason organization is most likely a modern imitation. If you don’t understand why we have wards, if you are confused why it is important to preserve the work-group organization that built the temple, just ask a Freemason.
Does this indicate that our “ward” is actually not a product of the 19th century? Maybe its how the ancient church was organized as well. Maybe this is how the church has always been organized.
Our ward and stake system certainly is peculiar, and I don’t think anyone uses anything quite like it. It is unfortunate that most folks assume it is based on how mainstream Christian churches are organized, like the Catholic church with its diocese and congregations, because that just isn’t true. There are some similarities–which is to be expected considering the Catholic church is a corrupted system derived from the ancient church, much like the Freemasons. But why wouldn’t we just call them dioceses and congregations if they were the same thing? The comparison between the ward/stake and the diocese which we see so frequently made by journalists in mainstream newspapers is incorrect, because the functions are fundamentally different. It is time we start calling them out on it.
Other ideologies and organizations adopt a different method. The closest thing anyone has, like I said, appears to be Freemasons. But many have certainly tried to tackle the same issues. In fact, these are issues that top world leaders have grappled with for thousands of years. How do you unify people in disparate cultures and nations under one church? How do you organize for the temporal and spiritual needs of millions of people? How do you create an egalitarian atmosphere while necessarily being led by a priesthood structure? These are issues that have built and broken empires. I find it interesting to compare the church’s way with the ways of human ideologies. The superior effectiveness of the church’s structure, as established in the swamps of the Mississippi, is undeniable testimony of its divine origins. It provides for temporal and spiritual needs in the best way I think anyone has ever seen. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints retains the original purpose of constructing the house of the Lord and it is this purpose that will spread the church throughout the globe.