Participation fee: Tithing in NewVistas
A NewVistas community is primarily an economic unit, formed by participants who wish to utilize the unique social-economic infrastructure of NewVistas to succeed socially and economically. Participants are either limited partners or their dependents
Limited partners have invested at least $20,000 in the community and own a successful business – a business that generates enough profit to cater for their needs and wants, including those of their dependents. A dependent must be under the care of a limited partner, who is responsible for all their financial and social obligations – paying rent, fees for community agencies’ services, and the fulfilment of any contracts they enter into.
The NewVistas community’s economic and social infrastructure is inspired by the Plat of the City of Zion and the Plan of the House of the Lord revelations, which were received by Joseph Smith and his companions in 1833. It also draws from other revelations received around this time by early members of the LDS movement, including the Law, revealed in February 1831.
Among others, the main themes in the revelations, and the NewVistas concept, are “no poor among them,” and “all things in common.” With every participant either owning a successful business, or under the care of someone who does, the principle of “no poor among them” is achieved. By having each limited partner invest their net worth in the community, whose agencies then leverage the investment (bank agencies) or offering services to participants at a fee, the community lives the principle of “all things in common.”
When a limited partner invests their net worth in the community, they are entitled to a return on their investment, calculated as a profit share based on how much they have invested. From the return (interest) that they earn, a limited partner pays the community a ‘participation fee” of 10%. This fee’s rationale, and the percentage are founded on LDS original concept of stewardship, consecration of property, and tithing.
While investing, business owners are limited partners – their exposure is limited to the investment they have made in the community – the Capital Bank is the general partner. It has the authority to decide where and how to invest limited partners’ investments within community agencies, as well as with other communities in a NewVista.
Why have a participation fee?
Belonging to a NewVistas community, as each participant finds out before joining or shortly down the road, is an exciting opportunity to live a full, purposeful life. Participants will arguably want the concept to be expanded and sustained, to benefit as many people as possible. Paying a participation fee is therefore a way of affirming their commitment to the NewVistas vision.
Besides being a strong commitment to the community, paying a participation fee shows gratitude for belonging to a prosperous, vibrant community of like-minded people. It is also an undertaking to help the community ensure that it exists by its core ideals.
In this respect, therefore, the NewVistas fee confirms one’s commitment to the community’s aspirations and enables the community to achieve sustainable prosperity for all.
Tithing and “no poor among them”
Scriptural background
The NewVistas economic concept is founded on, among inspirations, a revelation Joseph Smith received on 9th February 1831. The revelation, though much of it is recorded as D&C 42, was extensively revised in the next few years after 1831.
The original verses 30 – 34 read as follows (with editing) “and behold thou shalt consecrate all thy properties that which thou hast unto me with a covenant and Deed which cannot be broken and they shall be laid before the Bishop of my church and two of the Elders such as he shall appoint and set apart for that purpose .
It shall come to pass that the Bishop of my church after that he has received the properties of my church that it cannot be taken from you he shall appoint every man a Steward over his own property or that which he hath received in as much as shall be sufficient for himself and family & the residue shall be kept to administer to him that hath not that every man may receive according as he stands in need.”
The verses highlight the act of consecrating (investing) a participant’s net worth in the community, through the bishop (bank agencies). Elders would assist by setting up a stewardship for those who had consecrated their property, to provide for their needs and wants. In NewVistas, elders form the Village Bureau.
Consecration, then as now, means to set aside for a higher (usually religious) purpose. In the early LDS movement, consecration would have meant not just setting aside for Go, but for the community of the church. Setting aside was however different from donating or giving away, as it would be accompanied by a deed and covenant which cannot be broken, and would show the consecrator’s claim to what they had given the bishop and the elders.
The “residue” would “be kept” (retained) to “him that hath not.” This can be taken to mean that the residue would be taken to assist those whose stewardships had not generated sufficient for the stewards. They would therefore be assisted not by being given money, food, and other direct help, but getting their stewardships back to productivity.
Verse 42 further commands that, “thou shalt not be idle for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garment of the labourer.” Every person in the community is to be a productive member of that society.
The revelation clearly expected that, besides the stewardship producing enough to satisfy the needs and wants of the owner, it would also result in a “surplus” or excess. It was this excess that would be invested and generate return (interest). The tithe would be 10% of this interest.
D&C 97 points out the non-voluntary nature of thing, stating, in verses 10 – 12, that the house that the Lord commands to be built in Zion, according to a pattern he has already given, will be for his people’s tithing and sacrifice, which he ‘…require(s) at their hands, that there may be a house built unto me for the salvation of Zion.
D&C 119, revealed in 1838, offers more clarity on what tithing is, and how it is to be administered. In the first verse, the revelation requires that all saint’s “surplus property to be put into the hands of the bishop of my church in Zion.”
The purpose of this action is “for the building of mine house, and for the laying of the foundation of Zion and for the priesthood…” Verse 4 indicates that the surplus was not being forfeited, since it would earn an interest. On the interest, they would pay a tithe of one-tenth.
The revelation was the culmination of previous attempts to define tithing, as well as consecration of property to the church. Starting in 1831, when the Lord had given the Law, church leaders had tried to adapt revelations to their own understanding and practice of the time. In 1837, for instance, the Missouri bishopric had defined tithe as 2% of a household’s annual worth, after paying all debts.
Edward Partridge had also toyed with the idea of 6% interest, a common rate at the time, on surplus consecrated to the church, on which tithing was to be based. Consecration of surplus property was not to be voluntary, and neither was tithing. Both were to be mandatory for all members of the church.
In formulating tithing guidelines, the saints’ leadership also referred to biblical examples, chief among them Malachi 3:8-10, which, in verses 8 and 9, stresses that tithing is not voluntary, and failure to pay is akin to robbing God. Verse 10 says, “bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Achieving “no poor among them” principle
One of the reasons for tithing was to enable the “building of a house for the salvation of Zion. Salvation was not only spiritual, avoiding hell, but was temporal too. Being saved from the hardship of time would have meant, in the eyes of the early saints who were in many cases impoverished, financial wellbeing as well as a sense of belonging to a community of fellow believers.
D&C 42 warns against idleness, saying they would not have bread or clothes. These basic needs meant that failure to be productive would result in poverty, while those who worked would not be poor. In addition, the “residue from the “surplus that had been given to the bishop and elders would be used to those who “hath not,” presumably to enable them to be productive.
The original wording of D&C 42 and other revelations does not view consecration and tithing as primarily being used to take care of the poor. The church did not originally see itself as setting up an extensive welfare system where people would get a share of other people’s wealth and productivity. Instead, the church would give them the necessary tools and motivation to avoid poverty, by not being idle. Those who were not productive would be assisted to become productive (salvation) through infrastructure maintained by tithing.
The church did not intend ot use tithe money to provide food, clothing, and other consumables. While the revelation was later edited to introduce communalism, and concepts such as “caring for the poor,” the original revelation never intended to create a welfare system. It intended to create a system where all people could have a shot at being productive.
Application in NewVistas
The NewVistas community stresses the mandatory nature of investment into the community and the payment of participation fee for all limited partners, as well as dependents who are currently working to become limited partners in future.
Each limited partner operates checking and savings accounts, which cater for most of their daily needs, including ordinary emergencies. When the accounts have more than a limited partner and their dependents need for their foreseeable expenses, the excess is put in a term deposit, which earns more interest, and cannot be withdrawn without proper notice. However, funds on the term deposit can be used for a large expense, such as a medical operation, expensive vacations in distant places, and similar events.
When a term deposit reaches $20,000, it is transferred from the Community Bank to the Capital Bank, and becomes a unit of partnership interest, or an investment. This is similar to what the early revelations defined as surplus – reasonably, a limited partner would not need this money on a day-to-day basis. It is their net worth, after accounting for all their financial obligations.
By investing in the community, a limited partner is entitled to a profit share: community agencies operate with a profit motive, offering chargeable services to participants. From the profits they make, they pay the Capital Bank a portion of their profits, based on what the bank had invested. The bank in turn pays limited partners based on the investment they have put in.
Before they receive their return on their investment, 10% is deducted and sent to the Human Relations Agency (agency 1). The deduction is known as a “participation fee.” Since the return is paid to limited partners quarterly, they also pay the participation fee every quarter.
The reasons for having a participation fee have been mentioned elsewhere in this paper. It should additionally be pointed out that just like in tithing in the early LDS church, paying a participation fee is mandatory. The fee is not meant to make the community wealthy – this is already provided for by supporting enterprise. Instead, participation fees are actively applied by the Human Relations Agency to build limited partners’ business capacity, enabling them to have surplus that they can then invest in the community.
The community endeavors to pay a superior return to what a limited partner would normally get by investing in other options outside the community. The community guarantees a return of at least 12% per annum. This will make it an attractive investment option, even before the many advantages of belonging to a community are considered.
Participation fee, by being based on the net worth of a participant, rather than a flat fee, means that the fee does not need to be revised regularly as circumstances change, and that those who have more investment pay more. This is not as a punishment, but an appreciation of the benefits that the community has offered the participants. As Luke 12:48 says, “… for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…”
Illustration
Linda runs a successful grocery store on the podium floor of her apartment building. She joined the community when she was a teenager, together with her parents and younger sister.
Initially helping her parents, Linda started a business as a babysitter soon after she joined. She would also be a tutor/instructor assistant to her father, who, besides a business as a statistician, was also an arithmetic tutor/instructor for middle-school level.
Linda’s parents taught her to be a diligent saver. She even took some courses to prepare her not only to manage her business, but her finances. These efforts bore fruit, and by her 17th birthday, she had already saved $20,000.
Having met all other conditions, Linda was admitted to the community as a limited partner. She undertook additional courses to prepare herself for the business, and after a few months, she opened a grocery store which she has been operating since.
Linda is now nearing 35. She has grown the grocery store, and collaborates with contractors to deliver groceries to other participants’ apartments. She has extensively researched her market and signed deals with farmers and manufacturers to enable her stock products which are almost impossible to get elsewhere. For instance, the community has a large Ethiopian diaspora community.
Linda has found that they make a special kind of flatbread, injera, made using flour from a cereal called teff. This flour is currently found in her store and a few others. She has also tried her hand in grinding spices sourced fresh from farmers in the community. Over time, some have become very popular, leading her to focus on them. The best-selling is a mix of several spices used to season red meat, and contains paprika, cloves, pimento, nutmeg, sage, black pepper, and marjoram.
Linda’s success has seen her build up her investment in the community. By the time she was 22, Linda had already added a second unit of partnership interest, totaling $40,000. Towards the end of last year, she added her 38th unit. Her total investment was $760,000.
This year, in March, the interest for the first quarter was paid. Linda received 22,800. After a participation fee of 10% (2,280) was deducted, $20,000 was used to buy an additional unit of partnership interest. The remaining amount ($520) was credited to her checking account.
Subsequent interest and investment payments, as illustrated below, show that she was able to add a unit of partnership interest every quarter, and in the long run, could even add two units in a quarter.
| Gross return | participation fee | Net return | ||
| Partnership interest bf from 2024 (38 units) – 760000 | ||||
| 2025, first quarter | 22,800 | 2,280 | 20,000 | 520 |
| 2025, second quarter | 23,400 | 2,340 | 20,000 | 1,060 |
| 2025, third quarter | 24,000 | 2,400 | 20,000 | 1,600 |
| 2025, fourth quarter | 24,600 | 2,460 | 20,000 | 2,140 |
Summary
| Partnership units (initial 38, plus 4 more during the year) | 42 |
| Investment amount | 840,000 |
| Interest in checking/ savings account | 5,320 |
| Total participation fee paid | 9,480 |