Rule of the Congregation

The Rule of the Congregation

This is the rule for all the congregation of Israel in the last days, when they gather to walk according to the judgment of the sons of Zadok the priests and the men of their covenant, who turned from walking in the way of the people. These are the men of his counsel who kept his covenant in the midst of wickedness, to make atonement for the land.

When they come, they shall assemble them all — the little children and the women also — and read in their hearing all the statutes of the covenant, and instruct them in all their ordinances, that they may not stray.

This is the rule for all the hosts of the congregation, for every native of Israel. From his youth they shall teach him the book of meditation, and according to his age instruct him in the statutes of the covenant; for ten years he shall be counted among the children. At twenty years he shall pass among those who are numbered, to take his place among his family in the holy congregation. He shall not approach a woman until he is fully twenty years of age, when he knows good and evil. At twenty-five he may take his stand to serve in the duties of the congregation; at thirty he may step forward in disputes and judgments, and take his place among the heads of the thousands, the hundreds, the fifties, and the tens, as officers and judges. As a man advances in years, so shall his duty be laid upon him in the service of the congregation; and each shall be honored according to his understanding and the perfection of his way.

No man defiled by any of the uncleannesses of a man shall enter the assembly, nor any stricken in his flesh — lamed or blind, lame, deaf, or dumb, or with a visible blemish — for the holy angels are in their congregation. If any of these has something to say to the council of holiness, let them inquire of him apart; but he shall not enter into the midst of the congregation, for he is stricken.

[The session of the council, and the meal of the last days]

This is the order of the session of the men of renown, called to the assembly of the council of the community, when God brings forth the Anointed One among them. The priest shall come at the head of all the congregation of Israel, and all the heads of the houses shall sit before him, each according to his honor. Then the Anointed One of Israel shall come, and the heads of the thousands of Israel shall sit before him, each according to his honor, by his standing in the camps and on the march.

When they gather at the table to eat, or to drink the new wine, and the common table is set and the new wine poured, let no one stretch out his hand to the first portion of the bread or the wine before the priest; for he shall bless the first portion of the bread and the wine, and stretch out his hand to the bread first. Afterward the Anointed One of Israel shall stretch out his hands to the bread; and then all the congregation of the community shall give blessing, each according to his honor. According to this statute they shall do at every meal where at least ten men are gathered.