The problem is not necessarily in HAVING wealth – but in what we become willing to do or neglect in order to OBTAIN. (Diggin Deeper pg. 55)
Brigham Young
“The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my greater fear…is that they cannot stand wealth.” - Ensign May. 1991 p. 11
Robert Eaton
“When I was a BYU student, a professor whom I greatly respected was once talking with a group of students in his home about issues of Wealth. As he spoke about the need to use our means to help those less fortunate than us, I noticed that he had a piano in his home. It was modest but sill must have cost well over a thousand dollars. Being more impudent than insightful, I asked him about the propriety of owning a piano when there were so many people in the world who couldn’t afford to eat.
"Treating me with more respect than I deserved, he replied, in effect, “That’s a good question. I can’t tell you for sure that we made the right decision in doing that, but I can tell you that we thought about it and even prayed about whether the Lord would have us make that purchase. For our family, we felt like it was the right thing to do.
"His humility and thoughtfulness taught me an important lesson. His family’s motive in purchasing the piano was not to impress others or make themselves feel better than others. Instead, it was to enable their children to learn about music and to bring music into their home. The family did not boast about their piano or seem preoccupied with it, nor did the purchase appear to stretch them beyond their financial limits. Finally, this professor and his wife had prayed about whether the Lord approved that particular major acquisition at that time in their lives. Given his attitude, I believe he and his family would have forgone the purchase and even given the funds to others in greater need had the Lord so prompted him.”
Because of differences in our abilities, our future circumstances, and even our current circumstances, Heavenly Father may prompt individuals who seem to be in the same financial situation to make VERY different decisions about what things to buy or what jobs to take.
A. One family with excess funds might be prompted to add to their savings account as a stay against future economic difficulties.
B. Another family might be prompted to buy a boat because it will be the only thing that keeps a teenage child close to them during a rebellious period.
C. Yet another family might be prompted to dramatically increase their contributions to the Perpetual Education Fund.
Book of Mormon does not give us LICENSE to Judge. It does give us guidelines on how to use our own earthly riches.
1. Don’t let worldly success give us an inflated view of ourselves.
2. We must avoid setting our hearts on riches – whether rich or hoping to be rich.
3. Share Liberally – remember the source of our abundance.
(Exerpts taken from - "Diggin Deaper" by Robert Eaton - pgs 62-63.)