Jacob's Teachings on Riches

One of the themes we see in the words of Jacob in the Book of Mormon is the danger of riches. He warned, “But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.” Those who are rich, who despise the poor and set their hearts upon their wealth, are in spiritual danger. He further taught, “And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them” (2 Nephi 9:30, 42). Again, riches combined with pride puts us in danger. This turns us into enemies with God unless we can humble ourselves before Him. Jacob further warned against this when, after Nephi’s death, he found that his people “began to search much gold and silver, and began to be lifted up somewhat in pride” (Jacob 1:16). He told them, “And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ores, in the which this land…. You have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they…. O that ye would listen unto the word of his commands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!” (Jacob 2:12-13, 16). Jacob knew the spiritual danger of letting riches fill our heart with pride, and he was determined to do all he could to warn his people and keep them humble before God.

                 Jacob also taught us how to stay humble and use what riches the Lord may give us appropriately. He invited, “Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy” (2 Nephi 9:50-51). Even if we have riches, we should not spend it on things which are ultimately a waste and cannot satisfy. Instead, we should spend it on that which will satisfy the most: “Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you. But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted” (Jacob 2:17-19). That which will be most satisfying to us is not to spend money on ourselves for that which is of no worth, but rather to use it to bless the lives of those in need. It is fairly common knowledge that winning the lottery usually ruins the lives of those who win it; this article describes the awful curse of suddenly being given a huge amount of money and suggests that 70% of lottery winners are broke in seven years. It recounts one story of a man who won $31 million in 1997. As his spending eventually spiraled out of control, he split with his wife and told his financial advisor before taking his own life: “Winning the lottery is the worst thing that ever happened to me.” Riches will never bring us happiness except in how they will enable us to help others. True joy—“that happiness which is prepared for the saints”—will only come as we “come unto the Lord, the Holy One” and “come down in the depths of humility” before Him (2 Nephi 9:42-43).