The Book of Mormon is replete with cautions as to what happens to a people who, because of good fortune or their own diligence, become affluent. It seems to be human nature that once we become wealthy or suppose we have more than others, our nature begins to change. We tend to evolve from the humble, a common characteristic of poor or less affluent, to a people that are proud and haughty. It is an apparent and common cyclical process found throughout the scriptures.
The scriptural cycle begins when a humble people are blessed with crops, herds, land, gold and fine apparel, etc. Their wealth causes them to think that they are self sufficient and they become prideful and then they forget the Lord and cease calling upon Him. They become wicked and carnal in nature, so the Lord then curses them with wars and/or natural disasters to humble them. When they are sufficiently humbled, they begin to call upon the Lord for relief. Once humbled, the Lord then blesses them, they work hard and become prosperous again, and once prosperous, they again become prideful. Around and around we go!
An excellent example in our day is the plight of the Seminole Indians from Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. There are only approximately 3,300 of them, and because of their right to build casinos on their reservation lands, they have become very wealthy. Each member of the tribe is given, on average, $120,000 each year plus health and education benefits . Now they are being plagued with a lack of interest in education, in learning a trade and even in finding a job. They are becoming involved in drug abuse and crime. There is no motivation to achieve or to learn. Why go to school? Why work? They have everything they could want without using their heads or their hands. These are descendants of the ancient Book of Mormon peoples and they are, today, falling into the same cycle as their ancestors. Their wealth is leading them to prideful and carnal behavior.
Humility draws us closer to God and is more often associated with less affluence.
Throughout the scriptures we are warned that we are less likely to listen to His counsel or the counsel of His servants once our “ Hearts are set…upon the things of this world, and (we) aspire to the honors of men.” (D&C 121:35) When we are puffed up from wealth we may then feel that we no longer need our God.
In our society, we get mixed signals about success (wealth). Youth are advised to prepare for life by getting an education and working hard so that they can provide for their families and be ‘successful.’ Too, the scriptures tell us to be faithful and the Lord will then, “open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” It appears that our goals are often to seek success or blessings that lead to material wealth. Once we become successful, then we must fight the temptation of becoming prideful. A battle that is frequently and historically lost!
The cycle described above can more easily be seen on an individual bases but scripturally were most commonly applied to groups of people. Some might see a parallel between our country and the Seminole Indians. Are we, as a country, in that portion of the cycle which follows wealth and pride, the part where we, generally, have turned our backs on God, having become prideful, and carnal? Might we be forced to our knees and humbled that we can, again, be blessed of the Lord?
We are advised to live within our means, to stay out of debt and to save for emergencies.
At the same time we are being told that the way out of a recession is to spend more money. The more manufactured goods purchased, the more people will be employed, and in turn, the economy grows. We are then blessed with affluence and here we go again.
I believe the answer for those of us who want to be able to remain faithful is to follow the admonition of the Lord’s servants, “to use moderation in all things.” Regardless of our success and/or wealth we must learn to remain humble and grateful to the Lord for all that we have been blessed with. We must ever be ready to listen to the Lord and His servants, “Hearken, O ye people of my church…” Humility has ears, whereas pride is deaf.