Wealth, Poverty, and Righteousness

I read these verses this morning (a couple weeks ago now that I've finished writing this post) in my scripture study:

And in these prosperous circumstances were the people of Nephi in the commencement of the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.And they did prosper exceedingly, and they became exceedingly rich; yea, and they did multiply and wax strong in the land.And thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men; yea, we can behold that his words are verified, even at this time, which he spake unto Lehi, saying:Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.(Alma 50:17-20)

Surely there is something to the idea that God blesses those who keep His commandments with earthly riches. Is this to say then that being poor implies one is not keeping the commandments? Well of course not!

So then what are we to make of this?

Laws
Well, I think it comes down to the three kinds of laws:

1. Mushy laws
2. Natural laws
3. God's laws

Mushy Laws
Mushy laws are those in which a consequence may be set upon violators; whether or not that consequence is applied, however, is based on external factors. For example, have you ever broken a traffic law, e.g. speeding, not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, etc., and not been caught? In such a case, the consequence of a ticket is set, however its application depends on whether or not you get caught and how well versed you might be at negotiating with a police officer.

Mushy laws are man-made laws. When you break a mushy law, you may or may not receive the affixed consequence.

Natural Laws
Natural laws are those which can not be violated. There is no consequence for violation because violation is not available. For example: gravity. I like very much this quote from Leslie Householder's book, Hidden Treasures:

Gravity is a natural law (a law of nature) that is dependable and constant. You don't have to believe in it; you don't have to like it. In fact, you don't even have to understand it. But you are still subject to it. Everything is subject to it. When we seem to "defy" it, it is because we are using other laws which are dependable and constant as well. (p.14, emphasis original)

If a child believes a cape will make him fly and so climbs out onto his roof to try it out, there may be several possible consequences. If a pool or trampoline are directly adjacent, the consequences may be rather fun and benign. If there are rocks below, then the consequences could be rather malignant. Either way, we would call these consequences natural. Why? Because regardless of ignorance, we are all still subjected to the natural law of gravity. Gravity just is.

To quote Leslie again: "You cannot break a [natural] law; you can only break yourself against it." (p. 15, emphasis original) The people of Nephi did this when they tried to find happiness in wickedness (See Mormon 2:13). And so, we can see that "we can use our knowledge of [natural] laws to our advantage [and] ignorance of the laws leaves us limited in our abilities." (p. 15, ibid)

God's Laws
God's laws are those in which a consequence upon violators is conditional upon their having received and understood the law. Wait, what? The consequences of God's laws are conditional? Is He not the most unconditional, constant, never changing, not-a-respecter-of-persons Being to exist?! Absolutely. And through the grace of His Son, the consequences of spiritual law are conditional on two levels.

The first level of conditionality of God's laws is innocence. If a child tries to fly off the roof and falls to his death (sorry to use such a strong example, but it brings out the point very clearly), then shall He be condemned spiritually for suicide? Of course not! Or what of the one-year old girl who takes a toy from her three-year old brother? Her brother may throw a tantrum and even hurt her, but shall she be charged spiritually with breaking the commandment "Thou shalt not steal?" Such would be ridiculous. Note that in both cases, natural laws still take effect; no allowance is made for ignorance. But the spiritual consequences are swallowed up in Christ.

The second level of conditionality of God's laws is repentance. If I steal a candy bar from a store, then I have violated not only a mushy law, but one of God's laws. While I may or may not have any consequence from the mushy law, I am now ineligible to return to live with God, for "no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, [I] must be cast off forever." (1 Nephi 10:21) And so it would be for eternity were there not a Way prepared whereby I might return to Him. The Way, of course, is Christ. The condition of His cleansing atonement is repentance. Thus, through faith in Christ unto repentance, the spiritual consequences of sin are lifted even while mushy and natural consequences remain.

Some Comments on Laws
A couple thoughts about laws before we bring this back to the initial question. First, it might be better to call mushy laws, or man-made laws, rules. Any family or government needs rules, of course, but "they aren't as dependable as the term 'law' would indicate." (p.15 ibid.)

I believe that God could have established our earthly experience however He pleased, and that He did so in the way that would be most beneficial to His children. I do not know what role God had in the establishment of the natural laws that govern our lives. Did He create them? Or does He simply live in perfect understanding and harmony with them? Are they eternal? Or are they a framework for just our mortal experience? Or some of each? I don't know. However, I do believe that God's law is in perfect harmony with natural law and that the more we choose to live in harmony with His laws, the more we will be living in harmony with natural law. (Also see p. 17, ibid)

One final clarification here: just because natural law and God's law are in perfect harmony does not mean one can not use natural laws for wicked ends, e.g. using the law of gravity to commit murder. What it does mean is that following God's laws will never lead you to try to obtain an end using means contrary to the dictates of natural law.


Examples
So back to the question: what are we to make of the idea that God blesses the righteous with financial, earthly prosperity while both rich and poor can be both righteous and evil?

I think it comes down to obeying natural law. That is, the rich are adhering, knowingly or not, to natural laws regarding the generation and maintenance of wealth, while the poor are not. "And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (D&C 130:21)

Let's look at some scenarios to illustrate this.

Amulon and the Lamanites
In Mosiah 24 we read:

And it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of the king of the Lamanites; therefore, the king of the Lamanites granted unto him and his brethren that they should be appointed teachers over his people. . .
And [King Laman] appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land which was possessed by his people; and thus the language of Nephi began to be taught among all the people of the Lamanites.
And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi;
But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another.
And thus the Lamanites began to increase in riches, and began to trade one with another and wax great, and began to be a cunning and a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world, yea, a very cunning people, delighting in all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were among their own brethren.

Was this a righteous people, blessed by the hand of God with wealth? Um, no. This was a wicked people. However, the principles Amulon taught them about riches were in harmony with natural law. They unified their speech, they taught them to keep records, they taught them to trade and have cunning business models, and they avoided plunder among their own. These kinds of actions and probably more led them to be in sufficient harmony with natural law to build worldly wealth. However, they were using these laws while operating on a competitive plane* rather than a creative one.

* Competitive vs creative is another great topic for another day -- suffice it to say that the natural laws of wealth creation are set, but those operating on a competitive plane may be living in harmony with some while trying to cheat others. This causes them to not prosper as much as they could and, be it sooner or later, their competition will get the best of them. It is simply not an indefinitely sustainable model.

In other words, no one said that worshiping money wouldn't get you money; if you live in harmony with the natural laws that govern it, you are bound to get it. However, if you operate in harmony with God's laws as well, you will be operating on a creative plane by which to generate wealth. This will lead you on a much more sustainable and ultimately successful path.

Alma and the Nephites
I love the following scriptural passage because of how well it demonstrates the different types of laws! This is from Alma chapter 1, and the emphasis below is, of course, my own:

And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth.
And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.
And thus they did prosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church.
For those who did not belong to their church did indulge themselves in sorceries, and in idolatry or idleness, and in babblings, and in envyings and strife; wearing costly apparel; being lifted up in the pride of their own eyes; persecuting, lying, thieving, robbing, committing whoredoms, and murdering, and all manner of wickedness; nevertheless, the law was put in force upon all those who did transgress it, inasmuch as it was possible.
And it came to pass that by thus exercising the law upon them, every man suffering according to that which he had done, they became more still, and durst not commit any wickedness if it were known; therefore, there was much peace among the people of Nephi until the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

Aren't these verses interesting?!

(In fairness, yes, there were probably many among them who were not of the church and yet did not commit many of these sins mentioned, but keeping with the tone of the verses, I will compare only the two groups.)

Mushy Laws - The man-made laws here were mushy ones. Notice toward the end how "the law was put in force upon all those who did transgress it, inasmuch as it was possible." Why only as possible? Because man-made laws are enforced by men, and men don't know everything. Note that the wicked would still try to break the law if they could get away with it! They "durst not commit any wickedness if it were known." Wickedness or righteousness is a matter of the heart; actions simply reflect the heart's disposition.

Natural Laws - The exceeding riches of church members were attributed to the steadiness of the church. Discussing what "steadiness of the church" means is a worthy discussion for another time. In this case, I would only point out that said steadiness was a natural consequence of natural law.

We are also offered a contrast of this natural law living with those who "did indulge themselves," who "[wore] costly apparel," and were "lifted up in. . .pride." They stole and murdered, and all this led them to be less wealthy than members of the church.

Now here's what I love about this as well! They did not here say that the wicked were not rich. Rather only that those of the church did "become far more wealthy than those who did not." The members of the church were operating on a creative plane while those who were not were operating on a competitive plane. They were living in harmony with some natural laws, but trying to subvert others, and it wasn't working for them.

God's Laws - God's laws are not drawn out here specifically like the others. However, the verses do not seem to hide in any way that the actions of those outside the church were opposed to God's laws and the actions of those within the church were aligned with God's laws. What I see illustrated here is how God's laws are aligned with natural law.

Victor Frankl
What the what?! Victor Frankl? Where does he come in to this?

Sometimes our abilities to live certain laws, or at the very least the degree to which we can live them, can be limited due to the actions of other men. Victor Frankl did not have much liberty while a prisoner in a concentration camp. He wasn't exactly in a position to have great financial means, i.e. he was restricted from leveraging the natural laws that would generate wealth. He may have desired to use them, but the liberty to do so was stripped from him.

Nonetheless, this quote, perhaps the most oft-quoted of his, is relevant and insightful here:

The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
(Man's Search for Meaning, p.65-66)

We can see from these examples that, while their liberty was nearly completely suppressed, natural law and agency was still at play. Yes, our circumstances may indeed limit the extent we can leverage our knowledge of natural law, but we can still live according to the highest application of natural laws available to us; we can still have God's laws in our hearts.


Obtaining Knowledge
Jacob taught, "after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them." Seeking them, in my opinion, implies gaining an understanding of and an ability to apply the natural laws that govern such riches.

I do not believe that learning and understanding all natural laws while here on earth are requisite for salvation. At the same time, I do believe it is important and potentially relevant to our salvation that we learn as much as we can. Joseph Smith Jr. taught:

A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge. . . .
Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

Is seeking understanding regarding the laws of wealth creation worth our time? I believe so, at least for me. Does applying them make me righteous? Well no, not on their own. By living in increased harmony with some few natural laws my actions may be in greater harmony with God's law, but does that make me more righteous? Not on its own -- remember the example above about Amulon and his people? Righteousness is a matter of the heart.


Conclusion
So what is the correlation between righteousness and wealth? Are the poor wicked? Are the rich righteous? Certainly no such blanket statement could be applied!

Essentially, there are four potential black and white combinations here (and life isn't this black and white, but the contrast provides clarity in explanation):

1. One may have a heart set upon idols while living in ignorance of and/or out of harmony with the natural laws of wealth creation.
2. One may have developed a righteous heart while living in ignorance of and/or out of harmony with the natural laws of wealth creation.
3. One may have a heart set upon idols while understanding and living in harmony with the natural laws of wealth creation.
4. One may have developed a righteous heart while understanding and living in harmony with the natural laws of wealth creation.

I am aware of no commandment wherein we are commanded to seek riches; it is always placed as a permissible pursuit after (both in chronological and priority order) seeking the kingdom of God. This is not to say that there are no laws that God has put forth about wealth! The law of tithing is one and it's not lonely! I believe that God would have us learn the laws of stewardship and wealth creation just as He would have us learn a great many things.

Is it folly, then, to express gratitude to Him in the form of attributing riches to Divine blessing? Again, I believe it's a matter of heart; the same action can be performed with prideful or humble heart. Is it truly done not as a brag of greater worthiness nor a condemnation of those with less, but as an expression of simple, genuine gratitude? Perhaps then it is recognizing, as Elder Holland quoted: "when I see the want among so many, I do know that 'there but for the grace of God go I.'"

UPDATE 10-Jan-2015:
I realized I left out something important that I would like to clarify.

I do not wish to give the impression here that all earthly wealth is gained by "the management of the creature." (Alma 30:17) I believe God can and does intercede on behalf of righteous people in harmony with the natural laws they live, and maybe not in ways obvious to direct observation.

Consider Helaman 12:1-2 (emphasis added):

...We can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.

Yea,. . .he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people;"

I perceive these emphasized portions as action statements. God is intervening here. When our hearts are righteous, He will prosper us as much as possible given the natural laws we abide -- if there were no fields or flocks to increase, God would not have increased them. I don't know if any one person there might have pointed and said, "see, that was God's doing -- it wouldn't have turned out that way if He hadn't intervened," yet each would do well to express gratitude for the blessings.

Sometimes God may have other purposes, e.g. a frost and lost crop forced Joseph Smith Sr.'s family to move further west, eventually putting them near the Hill Cumorah.

We are best served when:
1) We seek first His kingdom (a righteous heart)
2) We trust and express our gratitude to Him
3) We strive to understand and live according to natural and divine law (and mushy one's too -- you know, the whole 12th article of faith thing).