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?