John A. Widstoe

In Working Toward Zion, Widstoe supplies the book’s load-bearing test for the United Order. He framed the Order less as a literal economic blueprint to be reinstituted than as a yardstick: it has, in his words, “a practical value as an ideal by which any proposed economic system may be tested for the degree of its worthiness. The nearer any scheme for economic betterment conforms to the principles of the United Order, the more likely it will be to assist mankind in their efforts to attain material happiness.” His standard — “how well does this put into effect the principles” — is cited as the book’s central evaluative lens, treating the United Order as a measuring stick for prosperity, human welfare, and the development of human lives rather than as a system to be mechanically restored.

Context: John A. Widstoe (1872–1952) was a Norwegian-American agricultural scientist, university president (Utah State and the University of Utah), and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known for writing that bridged science and Latter-day Saint theology.

Where this appears

• Working Toward Zion — supplies the standard by which the United Order is tested (“a practical value as an ideal by which any proposed economic system may be tested”)