und "...order, unity, and community." These values were viewed as supreme in the prophet's ideal society, and these same values were at odds with values that were characteristic of many cities and towns already existing in America at that time. It is said that his aim was to realize the Christian commonwealth that had been the ideal of John Winthrop in Puritan New England. According to one account, Winthrop at one time had said to the colonists, "Wee must be knit together in this work as one man." This one statement seems to provide the basis of Smith's convictions when he set out to form new towns in hopes of turning people on to his religion.
             The Law of Consecration and Stewardship was outlined by Joseph Smith in 1831, and marked the beginning of Mormon 'communitarianism.' This law "...was a prescription for transforming the highly individualistic economic order of Jacksonian America into a system characterized by economic equality, socialization of surplus incomes, freedom of enterprise, and group economic self-sufficiency." Basically, what this meant was that all members of the church and hereafter, the community, would deed all of his/her property to the bishop of the church. On top of this, the community was to farm and cultivate the land together and share equally the crops. In turn, the bishop would appropriate these assets out based on the need of an individual or family residing within the community. Doctrines of the church such as these held a paralleled relationship to the planning of the towns.
             By early 1831, Joseph Smith and his following had moved west to Kirtland, Ohio. Kirtland was an ideal spot for Americans seeking prosperity given its ripe location for trade as well as agriculture. The land in Ohio had richer soil than that found along the Atlantic coast, and the climate was much milder. A good reason for this can be attributed to Ohi...