Not Your Usual Message on Gratitude

What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality? Series

The Book of Mormon contains some surprising insights concerning socioeconomic inequality.  This series explores several topics addressed by the LDS scripture and its insights for today.


I have been working on the next two chapters of this series, and will hopefully publish them soon.  In the meantime, in honor of Thanksgiving I thought I would write about a message on gratitude from the Book of Mormon - one that is not your usual message on gratitude.

Heresy of the Zoramites

Alma 31 - 35 contains one of the more important stories from the Book of Mormon, the heresy of the Zoramites, depicted in the picture above.

As we covered in the articles on Priestcraft and Dissension and War, the Zoramites are Nephites who have separated themselves from Nephite government, religion, and society in order to more easily commit iniquity.  Their iniquity is in the form of systematically robbing and persecuting a poor class of people among them.  They are able to justify rejecting the law of Moses, the inequality among them, and their horrible treatment of the poor through their twisted new religion - hence their inequality, in addition to being iniquity, is also a priestcraft (or a process of using religion to make oneself rich).

The only aspect of the Zoramite religion that is in the form of anything that could be considered virtuous is their gratitude.  Once a week the wealthy Zoramites gather together and one by one stand atop a tower and declare their thanks to God.  The Zoramites had manipulated the poor into building the very tower and synagogues which the wealthy used, but the poor were religiously barred from entering and worshiping themselves.

Of course, their "gratitude" is not actually genuine, humble, or anything at all virtuous.  This is what they say in Alma 31:

"16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren... but we believe that thou has elected us to be thy holy children... ...

"18 And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen."

After their prayer, they go about their week without any thought to their God or their fellow man - only to themselves.

There are several errors which the Zoramites make in these chapters.

First, their religion is not genuine, it is only designed to enrich themselves.  Genuine religion of the Nephites recognized inequality as 'iniquity and abomination' (Jacob 2), and that a primary tenet of religion is to assist the poor, not persecute them and rob from them.  By twisting the gospel to teach that they were chosen and exalted above others it became easier to accept and perpetuate inequality.

Second, they thank the Lord that they are chosen and better than their fellow men, but the only difference between them and the poor in their camp is their wealth - wealth which was created by robbing the poor, and certainly was not bestowed by God.  Their gratitude, without a correct recognition of where their "blessings" and "chosen" state came from is iniquity.

In the end, this iniquity of the Zoramites is unforgivable.  They reject the message of Alma and his missionaries, and throughout the rest of the book of Alma they are destroyed.

Avoiding the Errors of the Zoramites

I think there are some lessons we could learn from the allegory of the Zoramites.  Unfortunately, Thanksgiving has some similarities to the Zoramites - we gather once a year in ostentatious displays of our wealth in the form of decorations and food, and then we give thanks for our many blessings.  Afterwards we go out the next day and buy, buy, buy!

Gratitude, if done correctly, can invite a sense of humility and a desire to share prosperity with those less fortunate.  But gratitude to God, as with the Zoramites, can also fan pride, and create a sense of 'chosen-ness'; at worse, it can perpetuate the illusion that the distribution of blessings in the world is justified, as if God willed it to be so.

But inequality is not the will of God.  In the next chapter of this series we will cover what the Book of Mormon teaches about prosperity - or why some people are wealthy and others poor.  In short, just like in the story of the Zoramites, God does not create inequality, it naturally occurs, or is created by humans.  It is our privilege and responsibility to use our blessings to raise up all those less fortunate, and by keeping this commandment we prosper as a people.

Thanking God for blessings is appropriate, but it must be combined with a humility forged from recognizing the source of economic inequality in the world today.  God does not create or justify inequality, and in fact condemns it. 

So in this Thanksgiving season I would invite you to consider these things:

• What does your gratitude inspire you to do?  
• Does it inspire you to give to others?  
• Or Do you feel envy and anger at the charity and other social assistance which others receive?  Or feel threatened by those who are needy - the poor, homeless, refugees, etc? 

• If you believe that you are blessed and/or a chosen people by God, what does this belief inspire you to do or be?  
• Do you utilize your wealth and other blessings to lift others?
• Or do you see others as undeserving of receiving the same blessings that you have enjoyed?

• If you believe that God has blessed you and others - which I and many others do - how do you juxtapose this idea with unjust inequality in the world today? (the next chapter in this series will cover this question via the Book of Mormon in detail)
• Do you recognize to what extent your social and economic opportunities and ease have come from your privileges - the country that you live in, the wealth and education of your family, the wealth and safety of your community, and your race?
• Do you recognize the many millions of people in the U.S. and worldwide who work at poverty wages to facilitate low prices, low prices which ultimately increase the value of our wealth?

•  How will you dedicate yourself this Thanksgiving and Christmas season to ensuring that the blessings and gratitude you have felt can be experienced by all?

I am thankful for all that I am blessed with this Thanksgiving holiday.  I also recognize that I was privileged to receive these blessings because I was born in America, because I am white, and because I grew up in a wealthy and educated family and community.  I recognize the contributions of all those millions who do not share my blessings.

I will show my gratitude to God by using my blessings and privileges to dedicate my life to ensuring that others can feel the gratitude which I feel.  I would invite you all to do the same.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and travel in safety!

Systematic Inequality in the Book of Mormon and Today

What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality? Series

The Book of Mormon contains some surprising insights concerning economic inequality.  This series explores several topics addressed by the LDS scripture and its insights for today.
Table of Contents

The historical narrative of the Book of Mormon contains a powerful message about the dangers of economic inequality, and also has many similarities to patterns of inequality today.  This article will be focused on the ideologies and organizations of the book and today that orchestrate and create inequality, and a comparison of the two can offer new ways of looking at the present.

This article will apply principles from these previous articles:
Priestcraft
Secret Combinations
Secret Combinations - Gadianton Robbers
Dissension and War

Also, in Beginning to Apply the Historical Narrative I offer a short note on my philosophy in making applications of the Book of Mormon which may be helpful.

Priestcraft - Ideologies Which Create and Sustain Inequality

In the Book of Mormon, it is priestcrafts that serve as the ideological underpinnings of inequality.

In practice, priestcrafts are methods for a few to become rich, famous, and/or powerful by deceiving and stealing from the masses through taking advantage of, or manipulating, Gospel principles.  This is done directly by deceiving people into giving money to practitioners of priestcraft, and indirectly by convincing the people that there was nothing wrong with inequality, and that the poor deserved their fate, thereby eliminating the need of the wealthy to meet the needs of the poor.

The religion of the Book of Mormon counteracts priestcrafts by preaching an ethic of equality; the government of the book counteracts priestcrafts by creating laws against deceiving people, stealing, etc., although they maintained laws which protected the freedom of belief.

There are many similarities between Book of Mormon priestcraft, and ideologies and strategies today.  What do you think of using this Book of Mormon terminology to describe these ideologies and practices today?

• Today many religious practitioners have turned their churches into effective money-making schemes, sometimes called "mega churches", and other times just called schemes.  These schemes are priestcraft because they inequality by massively redistributing money from the masses, to a megalomaniac few, and use the Gospel of Jesus Christ to do so.  I think that most would agree this is priestcraft at its finest.

• It is a common practice among politicians today to flaunt their religiosity in an attempt to be voted into office, and thereby profiting directly from the Gospel.  Some politicians appear to be genuine, but a frightening number come under criminal investigation for their business practices, or "iniquities", while others in is revealed that their purported "family values" only apply outside of their own family, as they come to apologize for their affairs, drug use, etc.  Regardless of whether the politicians religiosity is genuine or not, this practice falls under the category of priestcraft; the revelation that the religiosity was not genuine simply adds an extra level of egregiousness.  

• In the Book of Mormon, all cultural beliefs fell under the umbrella of religion - there appears to be nothing similar to our modern concept of a division between religious and secular knowledge.  With this in mind, perhaps priestcraft can also apply to taking advantage of cultural beliefs, that may or may not be religious in nature.  What do you think about these potential priestcrafts?
• Politicians who capitalize on common beliefs, or popular rhetoric, in order to become elected, when the rhetoric is known to be untrue, or when the politician has no intention of acting according to the rhetoric
• Business practices which capitalize on existing cultural attitudes of what is good, right, or desirable, in order to increase sales, especially if there is a measure of deceit involved.  For example, taking advantage of body image, holidays, desire for education, family values, etc.  I suggest that deceit is a requirement to be a priestcraft, but do you think there is an argument for any profiting off of cultural ideas being considered a form of priestcraft?  Why and why not?
• Deceitful business schemes, especially pyramid schemes (particularly those which employ religious or moral messages to encourage their workers)

•  In addition to directly causing inequality, priestcrafts are popular among the rich because they are designed to eliminate the requirement to help the poor; this is done by justifying inequality and vilifying the poor.  Consider these modern examples of the same process, and let me know what you think of calling them 'priestcraft':
• Economic philosophies which claim that inequality is necessary and good; or that claim greed is a good thing.  "Trickle-down" economics (which could be included in the schemes above), or any philosophy that sees widening economic inequality as natural, normal, or a necessary method for economic growth.
• The exaggeration of the sins which the poor are more likely to commit, while de-emphasizing the sins which the rich are more likely to commit.  For example, having high punishments for drug use, but no punishment for white-collar crimes, ie iniquities. 
• Pointing out the sins of the poor, but obscuring the same sins in others; and demanding a higher level of morality from the poor than others for them to be deemed worthy of economic assistance.  For example, many religious charities will require their beneficiaries to prove some measure of self-reliance, or to work for their benefits, while their is no expectation for wealthy church members to demonstrate qualities of self-reliance.
• The Prosperity Gospel - a modern Christian concept which claims that God rewards people with wealth according to their righteousness, concluding that the poor are in their poverty because of their degenerate natures.  Connected with this thought process is the idea that inequality is merit based, and one can pull oneself out of poverty simply by working harder, or being a better person.  (we will cover this very non-Book of Mormon prosperity theology in detail in the next sub-series)
• Philosophies and attitudes which suggest an injustice has occurred when assistance is given to those in need when such assistance was not given to everyone.  Read the article on envy if you haven't already for more on this.
• Any philosophy which attempts to erode the moral, religious, and civil necessity to assist the poor by suggesting that the poor have deserved their fate

Secret Combinations, Dissension, and War

As was mentioned above, at times the inequality in the Book of Mormon is orchestrated by groups of people driven by greed; these groups are referred to as secret combinations.

Secret Combinations steal (direct taking of resources) and rob (indirect withholding of resources), murder, deceive and manipulate, and commit all manner of other iniquities in order to enrich their own members.  Their primary foe is the government and laws of the people, which stands as a bulwark against iniquities and inequality.

When the government fails to stop the largest secret combination, the Gadianton Robbers, the robbers take control of the government with their money and murders.  They then persecute the poor, dissolve any equity in justice, convince even the righteous with their priestcrafts that their iniquities are not evil, and eliminate governmental regulations and laws which limit iniquities.  All of these things cause economic inequality to skyrocket.

When secret combinations fail to alter the laws and minds of the people, they dissent from the religion and government of the Nephites.  They then convince the Lamanites to go to war with the Nephites in order to destroy the government and religion which punished their iniquities, and limited their wealth.  Most of the wars in the Book of Mormon then are between those who want the freedom to commit iniquities and become rich, and those who have constructed as society to limit those very freedoms.

With these paragraphs in mind, let's consider similar items today:

• Today, economic and cultural theories alike all vary on their explanation of why inequality occurs.  Like the Book of Mormon, many of these theories are priestcrafts designed to misdirect the populace from the real culprits of inequality - powerful, and often secret, interest groups who exert their economic and political power to ensure that their few members benefit over the rest of the populace.

• In the Book of Mormon, it is secret combinations and dissenters - the bad guys - who are anti-government, anti-laws, and anti-regulations, and who persecute the poor.  There is a lot of praise in our culture for anti government and anti regulation philosophies, especially in my home state of Utah.  If we were to compare history today to the Book of Mormon, then the anti-government rhetoric would be priestcrafts designed by secret combinations.

• "Secret Combination" is a general term used to describe any group unified by greed, although the strategies and characteristics of each group differ throughout the book.  What do you think of the following list being considered modern secret combinations?
• Special interest groups, corporations, political groups, etc. who are willing and able to pay millions of dollars to ensure that public policies are enacted which economically benefit them over the rest of the populace
• Criminal, drug, and terrorist organizations - the mafia, drug cartels, ISIS, dictatorships and their cronies, etc.
• Corporations, businesses, and any 'for profit' organization which steals, robs, and withholds resources from their customers in an attempt to enrich their shareholders.  Which "commit secret murders" by knowingly allowing products and biproducts damage public health, or by robbing people of needed life-sustaining resources.

•  Although there are religious elements in the wars of the Book of Mormon, it is clear that the cause of war in the book is money, iniquity, and greed, with the conflict ultimately divided between those who wish to freely commit iniquities on one side, and equality, morality, and laws on the other.  Modern warfare is similar - it is caused by greed and economics, by a few attempting to wrest economic power from the many.

So what do you think of these possible examples of priestcrafts and secret combinations?

Beginning to Apply the Historical Narrative

What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality? Series

The Book of Mormon contains some surprising insights concerning economic inequality.  This series explores several topics addressed by the LDS scripture and its insights for today.
Table of Contents

The historical narrative of the Book of Mormon contains a powerful message about the dangers of economic inequality, and also has many similarities to patterns of inequality today.  This article will be focused on the general message the book has about inequality, and how the book offers new ways of looking at the present.

This article will apply material in the Book of Mormon from these previous articles:
Understanding Inequality in the Book of Mormon Pt. I
Understanding Inequality in the Book of Mormon Pt. II
The Pride Cycle Pt. I
The Pride Cycle Pt. II
Twilight of the Nephites and Conclusions

Some Notes on Applying the Book of Mormon

Most of the articles which I would like to write about applying the Book of Mormon message about inequality will require the full material of this series.  However, I think it would be helpful and interesting to introduce some potential applications now, using a few of the articles that have already been posted.

Before I do so, let me share the philosophy which I will use in applying this book.

Book of Mormon as a Scriptural Allegory

The Book of Mormon is an allegory - or a complex story from which one can derive hidden and applicable meaning.

Allegories are stories with settings that can differ wildly from the setting of the application.  It is understood that most of the details in an allegory are supportive, while only some of the details have similarities to the present, and thus can be used to create meaning and applications. 

The meaning that is derived from allegories is up to the interpreter.  There is generally no right or wrong way to apply allegories - their interpretations are founded by the creativity and persuasiveness of the interpreter.

Since allegories do not often produce one unified official message, they can be frustrating.  Complex allegories, can even be used to create and defend completely opposite conclusions, with the right creativity.  The only way to really create a 'right' or unified interpretation of an allegory is to simply convince everyone that an application is correct.

In addition to being an allegory, the Book of Mormon is also scripture, which complicates the application process a little. There can be a zeal with scriptural allegories to assume that every aspect of the scripture must be applied, because the scripture is true.  I think this is an error, and will not be my philosophy in applying the Book of Mormon content on inequality.

For example, in Alma 51 Captain Moroni executes everyone who refuses to take up arms to defend their country.  I think we can all agree that this detail should not be emulated in the present.

But there are many details in the Book of Mormon about inequality that do deserve discussion, and perhaps emulation.  But we will approach applying the Book of Mormon as an allegory with many potential applications, rather than an authoritative treatise on economics.  This means that every application that I will write are potential applications, and open of course to any of your own interpretations and insights.  If you see me write an application which you believe is economically wrong, religiously heretical, or logically flawed, then share your thoughts.

You may remember from the introduction to this series that I stated that I believe political opinions about economics and social life should be founded on facts and observations that everyone can share, and not only on religious belief.   I stand by that.  We should not initiate some new progressive policy only because that policy was used in the Book of Mormon.

But the Book of Mormon is a powerful allegory that can be used to see the world in a different way, or to illustrate a topic that can also be founded outside of the scripture.  Economics and inequality are topics which, as concerned citizens, we should have political opinions on, and are also topics which are addressed powerfully in the Book of Mormon allegory.

The Book of Mormon on General Inequality

With the above thoughts in mind, let's dig right in to some potential applications.  Let me know your thoughts on these.

The Evils and "Abomination" of Iniquity and Inequality

As we discussed in Understanding Inequality in the Book of Mormon Pt. I and Pt. II, the God of the Book of Mormon is most often concerned with immoral actions that affect social, and especially economic, justice and life.  This kind of immorality even has its own word, 'iniquity', which is used far more often than any other word describing wickedness.  This God views iniquity, and the economic inequality such actions cause, as 'abomination'.

Throughout the history of the Book of Mormon, the people frequently fall into patterns of inequality, leading to all sorts of social and economic problems.  Because of this, the God in this book instructs his prophets, priests, and all good people to act against inequality, and to address the needs and wants of the poor as a necessary part of his Gospel.

Considering these aspects, what do you think of these questions and statements?

• Why does the God of mainstream Christianity differ so much from the God of the Book of Mormon?  Why does iniquity, social injustice, and inequality rank so low in sins which are talked about in modern Christian discourse, or even just modern cultural discourse? This needs to change, and the Book of Mormon provides a lot of content which can be discussed.

• Religion played a major role in confronting iniquity, injustice, and inequality in the Book of Mormon.  American religion today, with some exceptions, has either shied away from opinions on economics and inequality because the topics are too political, or has embraced inequality, injustice, and even iniquity as necessary, unavoidable, or righteous.  This is in error, and could even be considered a priestcraft.

• Using the Book of Mormon, I would argue that the most socially destructive type of wickedness is iniquity - or social injustices which create inequities.  As concerned citizens, and as moral people, our concern about iniquities today should rank higher than our concern for sexual immoralities on the social stage, including the high profile, low utility, debate on homosexual marriage.  By obsessing with sexual sins we are missing much more dangerous economic sins.
• Consider Robert Reich's similar argument
 

Cycles of Inequality

The people in the Book of Mormon experienced many cycles of wealth inequality.  This inequality led to pride, the persecution of the poor, serious social problems, and the creation of inequities in education and justice.  The church of God, and the government of the people, were created in large part to combat economic inequities, and actively pursued this cause.

At times, inequality was orchestrated by a greedy few - ideologically orchestrated in the form of priestcrafts, and criminally orchestrated in the form of secret combinations and dissenters.  Their activities created severe inequities in wealth, political power, and justice, in addition to eventual economic recession.

When economic inequalities were eliminated in 4 Nephi, the social problems and inequities which had existed before were also eliminated.  In addition, other types of immorality, which had festered in times of economic inequality, were also eliminated.  Once economic inequities returned, so to do many social problems and immorality, as well as the devastating effects of organized inequality.

With these insights in mind, consider these items:

• The cycles of inequality described in the Book of Mormon have many similarities to cycles of inequality today.

In the U.S., economic inequality today has many similarities to the "gilded age" of America's late 19th and early 20th centuries.  During the gilded age and today, the consequences of inequality were and are serious social problems, money and power concentrated in the hands of a (often secret) few, ideologies that justify inequality and vilify the poor, inequities in education and justice, and economic recession (especially the "great depression" and the "great recession"). 

Does this sound a little like the patterns in the Book of Mormon?

• In the Book of Mormon, the poor were persecuted because the rich became prideful, came to hate the poor, envy them, and to believe in ideologies which vilified the poor, while exonerating the rich.  This process also created strife, contentions, and malice among the people.  These same terms and process can and should be used to describe today in religious discourse.  Furthermore, like in the Book of Mormon, the social, political, criminal, and racial contentions of today also have roots in economic inequality. 

• The people of the Book of Mormon use their church and their government together to combat inequality (we will cover more details how they did this in a later sub-series), and doing so was a primary focus of both organizations.  Many today argue that the government has no business correcting economic inequalities and social injustices.  I believe this is opposite of the Book of Mormon message.

What are your thoughts?

A Note on Envy

What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality? Series 

The Book of Mormon contains some surprising insights concerning economic inequality.  This series explores several topics addressed by the LDS scripture and its insights for today.


The dark emotion of 'envy' is mention several times in the Book of Mormon associated with intense periods of inequality, or pride cycles.  In the second article on pride I mentioned that envy is difficult to understand in the Book of Mormon because there are few details associated with the word.  Furthermore, I suggested that if we use modern nuances to the word 'envy' we could misunderstand the Book of Mormon message.  Let's take a look at what clues are offered for this word.

What is Envy?  And What Does it Have to do With Inequality?

It is easy to use the logic of today and conclude that the 'envy' or 'envyings' referred to during periods of inequality is describing the envy of the poor for the material wealth of the rich.   However, there is no evidence to suggest that this is the case.  For example, the poor are never described as the ones who are envious.  In fact, there is only one time when a specific example of envy is given in the Book of Mormon.

In 2 Nephi 26 and 28, Nephi prophesies that our day will be full of many churches which will "grind upon the face of the poor" (26:20), will "cause envyings, strifes, and malice" (26:21), and will "rob the poor" (28:13).  These prophesies are referring to organizations in our time that will promote priestcrafts - or religiously-based ideologies which justify inequality and vilify the poor, and thus "grind upon" their faces, and "rob" them of resources which should be given to them.

At the end of the Book of Mormon, a prophet named Mormon is reflecting on these earlier prophesies predicting a day of wealthy church leaders persecuting the poor, and then offers his own insights about churches and priestcraft in our day:

Mormon 8:28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who belong to their churches.

This is not an envying of poor to the rich - it is quite the opposite.  This is describing wealthy practitioners of priestcraft who rob the poor, and "grind" their faces, even those who belong to their churches, only to then envy them.

Why would people do that?  Why would someone envy people who have nothing, particularly if they have nothing because of your own craft?  It is an illogical emotion - but one that has modern examples.

Have you ever seen someone, who has had their school tuition paid for by their wealthy parents, then complain about the scholarships and grants given to students of poor and/or minority families?

Have you ever seen a wealthy individual - who has been privileged to never be poor their entire life - complaining about the meager aid given by governments and charities to the poor?  And then demand that such aid be accompanied with work and merit, or else be rescinded?

Have you heard people who have paid their way through school when it was easier to do so express outrage that other people could receive free tuition in the future?

Have you ever felt annoyance at the thought of any advantage another person has received which you haven't, even though you are doing fine yourself?

This is envy.

In each of these examples, the advantaged individuals perceive an injustice being done to them because they have not received the same treatment, when in reality the aid granted to the disadvantaged are designed to make things just.   Justice and equity are not brought about by equal treatment, because everyone's conditions are not equal. 

For the Nephites, a society which administered relief to the poor according not only to needs but also wants, it may have been very tempting for the advantaged to feel envious at the aid which others received, even if that aid was simply designed to facilitate life, righteousness, justice, and equity.  This envy may have led the people to quickly believe and support priestcrafts, which justified inequality and vilified the poor, because it is easier to believe that your wealth is warranted over others, and to believe that the poor have caused their own torment, then to watch others receive benefits which you have not received.

Again, there are few details in the Book of Mormon about what 'envyings, strifes, and malice' means, but considering how the rich are almost always the audience of such lectures then this is the type of envying that I imagine.

Racial Inequality among the Nephites

What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality? Series

The Book of Mormon contains some surprising insights concerning economic inequality.  This series explores several topics addressed by the LDS scripture and its insights for today.

Skin Color and Racism in the Book of Mormon?

No conversation about the Book of Mormon and racial inequality can escape several controversial passages concerning skin color within the book - so we will address those here before moving on to what I feel is the real message the Book of Mormon history leaves us.

The Nephite civilization was begins with two families who travel to the Americas at the beginning of the book.  Once they arrive in the Americas there was a split between the righteous siblings led by Nephi, and the unrighteous members led by Laman - hence the Nephites and Lamanites.  The Lamanites were cursed, apparently to look different from the Nephites, 2 Nephi 5:21:

And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

The language in this verse and others is very offensive by today's standards, and I believe that if it were translated today this verse would be translated differently to reflect that.  I do not have the expertise and understanding to offer an extensive analysis of these verses here, but I will make two points which I think will help explain what is going on here.

1) I don't think that there was an actual skin color change between the Nephites and Lamanites - but that this change was spiritual and cultural.  With the possible exception of the fact that the Lamanites are culturally described as wild men wearing few clothes and may have actually been darker simply from sun exposure.

2) While the Nephites seem to discriminate against the culture of the Lamanites (for example Enos 1:20), there is no evidence that the Nephites discriminate based on skin color.  When the Lamanites join the church and economic system of the Nephites they are embraced whole-heartily - as in Alma 27, 53, 56; Helaman 6, 13-16; 3 Nephi 2; and 4 Nephi 1.  Thereafter, there does not seem to be any sort of lingering contention between people of Nephite and Lamanite heritage.

3) The implication in the language of some verses which seems to denote a positive value with light skin, and a negative value in dark skin, are not reflected in the history of the Nephites.  The wording is unfortunate, and I do not believe are an intended discussion on race.

Racial Inequality in the Book of Mormon

While the people in the Book of Mormon did not have racial inequalities and discrimination based on skin color, there are racial discriminations based on family line.  The type of racism that matters to ancient Israelites isn't based in the way someone looks, but their blood, and if they come through the correct family line.  Ancient Israel was divided between at least twelve different family lines derived from Jacob's twelve sons in Genesis.  The tribes squabbled and competed, and really only mainly agreed on their discrimination against non-Israelites.

The peoples of the Book of Mormon were comprised of Lehi's family, from the tribe of Manasseh, Ishmael's family from the tribe of Ephraim, the Mulekites - another family who traveled to the Americas - from the tribe of Judah, and leftover Jaredites and other peoples inhabiting the Americas who were non-Israelites.

The Book of Mormon authors make it sound like the Jaredites were completely destroyed, as in every last individual, but this is unlikely since Jaredite names show up among the Nephites long after their recorded destruction.  What the Book of Mormon likely records is the destruction of all the notable Jaredites.  To an ancient Israelite, the only notable non-Israelites are kings and generals, while the rest are not even worth mentioning in the Bible. 

So, if these non-Israelites are not even worth mentioning by presumably righteous prophet-historians, then how were they treated by the Nephites?  Did this affect their economic equality and opportunities?  Were Nephites required in their religion to give their resources to poor non-Israelites?  Did these inequities lead some non-Israelites to war against the Nephites, and is that why Lamanite generals often have Jaredite names?

These questions are difficult to answer without any record of discrimination or inequities along racial lines. However, I should note that if the Nephites strictly followed the Law of Moses, which in many instances says that they did, then non-israelites would not be a part of the economy of the society, and there would be no requirement to aid the poor or other economic requirements we discussed in the article on the Law of Moses.

Then there are racial attitudes between the Israelite tribes - of which there is more evidence for than above.

Back in Israel, the tribe of Judah contained the line of kings governing Israel, while Manasseh and Ephraim had no such benefits.  In the Americas, however, it is always a Nephite that ruled, even after the Mulekites and Nephites combine, with the Mulekites far outnumbering the Nephites.  Even after kings are abolished, the Chief Judges and religious High Priests again seem to be part of Nephi's descendents, and therefore probably part of the tribe of Manasseh, and not Judah.

The envy and malice that may have developed out of this inequity may be part of the envy, malice, and contention mentioned as consequences of inequality and pride cycles.  

It may also be part of the emotion that led to the many Nephite dissensions, especially Amalikiah and the King-men discussed in the post on Dissension and War.  These dissenters desired to have a king, and their leaders are described as "high birth" - which may mean they were from the tribe of Judah (Alma 51:8).  In the Kingdom of Judah, where the characters are from, the tribe of Judah had the right to rule over all of the other tribe members in the kingdom.

Racial inequities may have also played a role in the dissension of the Zoramites, who felt that they were more pure chosen people of God.  Could their feelings of purity have a racial component?  Did they use the racial attitudes to convince poor people to join them in their dissension and remain with them, even though these poor were exploited (Alma 31-35)?

The struggle between Judah and Ephraim/Manasseh may also be what is referred to in Giddianhi's letter to Lachoneus when he says that the conflict between the Gadianton Robbers and the Nephites is so that his people can "recover their rights and government, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government" (3 Nephi 3:10).  Were these dissenters from Judah and upset that they were not kings over the people?

To be sure, the central drive behind the dissensions of Amalikiah, the King-men, the Zoramites, and the Gadianton Robbers was so that a few could become rich by destroying the economically limiting laws of the Nephites - the Book of Mormon makes that clear.  However, I wonder if envy from racial inequities made it easier for a few wicked people to deceive many into dissenting, especially considering that the economic benefits from dissenting really only benefited the few.

In other words, I am saying that perhaps a few iniquitous people used racial feelings developed from some very real racial inequities and behaviors, probably as well as some imaginary or exaggerated ones, to deceive the people into supporting secret combinations, priestcrafts, and dissensions, in the end only make a few people rich, and not to actually resolve any racial issue.


What do you all think?


What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality - Table of Contents

The Pride Cycle

What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality? Series

The Book of Mormon contains some surprising insights concerning economic inequality.  This series explores several topics addressed by the LDS scripture and its insights for today.

The Classic Pride Cycle

Anyone who has studied the Book of Mormon can attest to the oft repeated cycle of God's people, the 'Nephites', who are righteous for a time, become prideful and wicked, and then are punished by God until they become righteous again.  As pride is an oft repeated theme in every circumstance, the pattern is often referred to as the "Pride Cycle", and is frequently used to warn against the dangers of pride in church talks and lessons.

In those lessons this kind of graphic is often used:

This graphic is organized in such a way as to make it easy to apply to one's personal life.  It warns that prosperity - or having things easy in life - can lead one to forget God, and feelings of entitlement to the actually unnatural flow of blessings.  The antidote is humility which allows oneself to reconnect with God, and root out damaging pride from one's heart.

As applicable as this graphic and lesson are to modern life, it is not an accurate portrayal of events in the Book of Mormon narrative.  So let's look at what the narrative really describes.

Inequality, not Prosperity, initiates 'Pride Cycles'

Pride and entitlement can certainly form with an easy life, but what triggers the Nephites' problems is not prosperity, but inequality.  In every reported instance of 'pride', and its consequences among the Nephites what first occurs is a sharp divide between the rich and poor.  Some people may indeed be prospering, but the prosperity is not equally distributed.

Once inequality begins it is then that "pride" is identified as the sin of the Nephites.  But is this the same "pride" that we use today?  Is it hubris, a feeling of self-importance, comparing oneself to others in order to illustrate superiority?  Yes it is referring to these things, but in a very specific context.

Pride in the Book of Mormon refers to  the feeling among the rich during times of economic inequality that they should be richer than those around them.  It is living in an unequal world, not acting to correct it, and then swelling with emotional justification for the iniquity that you commit.

Pride is happily living in inequality, and it is among the most hated iniquities by God mentioned in the Book of Mormon.

Pride is Manifested through the Persecution of the Poor

Pride becomes significant in the Book of Mormon narrative when there are outward and social manifestations of that pride.  Most often this happens with the rich no longer giving resources to the poor, and also developing a disdain and harassing the poor - all of which are described as 'persecuting' the the poor.

In future articles you will see that the persecution of the poor expands beyond simple disdain and withholding resources, to individuals who twist the religion, cultural beliefs, and laws of the land to ensure that the poor receive less and less, while a minority receives more and more.  This process is called priestcraft, and it is organized by secret combinations.

All these persecutions happen in part because of the hubris of personal pride, but also because the rich are no longer emotionally and spiritually connected to those around them, and can no longer empathize with the poor.  Deep down they know that their religion requires them to assist the poor, but they do not want to part with their resources because they have "set their hearts upon them", and so they come to hate the poor.

2 Nephi 9:30 - 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.

Examples of Inequality and Persecution

In short, pride is not really the central feature or central sin of the 'Pride Cycle', its simply a consequence - the important features are the inequality an its concomitant persecution of the poor.  Furthermore, as you will see it is 'iniquity' and 'abomination' to the Nephites that there be wealth inequality among them without any action to correct the inequality; and it is an even greater iniquity to persecute the poor.

Alma 4

In this chapter, the society has been wealthy and unequal for six years, but have managed to be so without persecuting the poor - a feat that we will touch on further in a future article.  Unfortunately, the conditions leading to the magnanimity of the people do not last beyond the six years:

6 And it came to pass in the eight year... that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches...

The High Priest Alma and his teachers see the wickedness of the people.

8 For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure.  
...
12 Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst. ...

15 .... and [Alma] seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.

The next twelve chapters include Alma's work among the Nephite people from city to city by preaching the gospel.  He preaches that they should humble themselves, and remove pride from their hearts - but more importantly he works to correct inequalities by preaching that the wealthy should share their resources.

Jacob 2

In this chapter Jacob is lecturing the first generation of Nephites concerning their wickedness:

13 And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that 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 ye suppose that ye are better than they.

14 And now, my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in this thing?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay.  But he condemeth you, and if ye persist in these things his judgments must speedily come unto you.   ...

17 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.   ...

20 And now, my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride; and those of you which have afflicted your neighbor, and persecuted him because ye were proud in your hearts, of the things which God hath given you, what say ye of it?

21 Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who created all flesh?  And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other...

Helaman 4

At the end of Helaman 3, the commentator Mormon notes that the Nephites become very wealthy and prideful.  Then, at the beginning of chapter 4 this wealth leads to contentions among the people, so much that dissenters leave the Nephites and join their sworn enemies the Lamanites and cause a war and terrible bloodshed:

11 Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter which was among them, would not have happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was among those also who professed to belong to the church of God.

12 And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek...   

Mormon then lists a wave of additional wickedness that came as a result of inequality and oppression of the poor, including lying, stealing, murdering, adultery, etc.  But their main 'wickedness and abomination' was their pride, manifested in their oppression of the poor.

Conclusions

Alma 4, Jacob 2, and Helaman 4 are three of many chapters which include some iteration of this pride cycle.  A full study reveals that, as a society, the Nephites' primary wickedness is economic inequality, and the pride, persecutions, and other wickedness accompanying with it.  Inequality is a central theme in every instance of pride and destruction, and there is never a time when inequality exists for any significant period of time which does not also lead to other wickedness and destruction.

In the end, the Nephite people fall because they are unequal, they do not act to correct it, and eventually in their inequality they persecute the poor and humble.  This is their pride.

As you will see, as the Nephite version of pride is so entwined with inequality that humility alone is insufficient as a remedy.  The Nephites learn that in order to resolve their problems they need to address more than just the pride - they learn to address the inequality.

In the next article we will continue to discuss the details of the pride cycles, including its consequences.  I will also include a list of all the chapters containing some iteration of the pride cycle.

Chapters Containing the Some Iteration of the Pride Cycle

Jacob 2
Mosiah 11 
Mosiah 24
Alma 1
Alma 4
Alma 45
Alma 62 
Helaman 3-4
Helaman 6-7
Helaman 13
3 Nephi 6
4 Nephi
Ether 10


What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality - Table of Contents