Edited sentence: " (President J."Communism and all other similar isms bear no relationship whatever to the United Order."The Church did not own all of the property, and the life under the United Order was not a communal life, as the Prophet Joseph, himself said, (History of the Church, Volume III, p.Because the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been historically opposed to communism and socialism, many statements were made throughout the 20th century in order to distinguish between the Law of Consecration (and the United Order) versus Communism.Communism destroys man's God-given free agency; the United Order glorifies it.Latter-day Saints cannot be true to their faith and lend aid, encouragement, or sympathy to any of these false philosophies ...." ("Message of the First Presidency," 112th Annual Conference, April 6, 1942.Many LDS writers, such as Cleon Skousen, also wrote in detail regarding this great misconception.Many people, including members of the Church, had mistakenly equated these two diametrically opposed practices.Reuben Clark, Jr.Several official statements made by the Church on this subject follow:.The United Order is an individualistic system, not a communal system.They are merely the clumsy counterfeits which Satan always devises of the Gospel plan .... The United Order leaves every man free to choose his own religion as his conscience directs.on The United Order and Communism, 113th Semi-Annual Conference, October 1942)