Consecrate

To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate for a sacred purpose.

Said the apostle Neal A. Maxwell:

We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up, when divinely directed, our material possessions. But ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God. Heart, soul, and mind were the encompassing words of Christ in describing the first commandment, which is constantly, not periodically, operative (see Matthew 22:37). If kept, then our performances will, in turn, be fully consecrated for the lasting welfare of our souls (see 2 Nephi 32:9).

Such totality involves the submissive converging of feelings, thoughts, words, and deeds, the very opposite of estrangement: “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” (Mosiah 5:13).

In striving for ultimate submission, our wills constitute all we really have to give God anyway. The usual gifts and their derivatives we give to Him could be stamped justifiably “Return to Sender,” with a capital S. Even when God receives this one gift in return, the fully faithful will receive “all that [He] hath” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:38).

Said Elder Stephen B. Oveson:

“The law of consecration,” said Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “is that we consecrate our time, our talents, and our money and property to the cause of the Church; such are to be available to the extent they are needed to further the Lord’s interests on earth” (Obedience, Consecration, and Sacrifice,” Ensign, May 1975, 50).

In the 1820s, consecrate was defined as “to make or declare to be sacred, by certain ceremonies or rites; to appropriate to sacred uses; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service and worship of God” (Webster's Dictionary, early 1800's). Members of the Church today, in living the law of consecration, are expected “to appropriate [themselves] to sacred uses.” Doing so requires them to dedicate their time, talents, and possessions to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its purposes. Perhaps we may never be asked to give all, but our willingness to put everything on the altar is a sign between us and God that we submit to His will in all things.

Whenever scriptural reference is made to those who, as a society, have learned to live the law of consecration to the fullest, we read about a pure and peaceful people, devoid of strife and contention—a Zion people. The people of Enoch became such a people. We read in Moses 7:18, “And 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.”

References

Also see Law of Consecration.