Economics of Wealth

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.

This article part of a chapter on the teachings of the Book of Mormon concerning inequality, organized in order to deconstruct the prosperity gospel and other modern bad ideas.  If you haven't already, take a look at the introduction to this chapter which explains what I mean by 'prosperity gospel', otherwise enjoy and feel free to join in the discussion.

As we discussed previously, the Book of Mormon does not advocate the 'prosperity gospel' - a foolish belief that suggests that God is the origin of all wealth, and therefore any discussion on economic and social solutions to inequality is irrelevant because God ultimately willed the inequality.

This article will look closely at how the Nephites become wealthy in the Book of Mormon, and what role that God and personal righteousness played in that process.

There is no evidence in the Book of Mormon of wealth being distributed in any way other than through the rules of economics.  The book reveals that the when the Nephites are righteous, then in general they are blessed with wealth, but it is not a direct godly bestowal, but a more or less an indirect consequence of being righteous, because sometimes being righteous causes economic growth.

Not all types of righteousness generates wealth - only righteousness which naturally leads to wealth.  For example, some righteous, and also economically productive, qualities include 'industriousness' (hard work), fellowship and trade with other people, family (and therefore population) expansion, sharing resources with the poor, and a society which shuns iniquity and inequality through culture, laws, and government which ensure justice and equity. 

This history lesson from the Nephite society mainly applies to the society as a whole, and not necessarily the individual.  Just because the Nephites become wealthy through certain types of righteousness (or wickedness for that matter) does not mean that every righteous individual also become wealthy, or that economic gains are distributed according to the degree of righteousness.  Whenever the people became wealthy in the Book of Mormon there are always still poor to take care of.

Furthermore, there is never a time in the book when the narrator points out inequality between the rich and the poor and explains that the rich were the more righteous individuals of the people.  Nor is there a time when a wealthy individual is pointed out, and his righteousness praised. 

Lets take a look at what I mean by certain types of righteousness leading to wealth:

Equality and Justice through Culture, Laws, and Religion

The most potent form of righteousness which leads to wealth in the Book of Mormon, and the one to receive the most detail, is a society which enshrines equity and justice.

The best example of this is Alma 1, where in the beginning of the chapter the people are met with a wicked man named Nehor who seeks to become rich and popular by establishing his own church through lies, false doctrines, and even murder - a process referred to as priestcraft.  Nehor is punished for his crimes, and laws are established to limit those who would become rich through deceiving the people.  Freedom of belief remains protected by the law, so long as those beliefs do not lead to iniquity, like deceiving the people with priestcrafts, or robbing and plundering - these are still punished, even if they are inspired by religion.

In addition to establishing laws, the priests and teachers of Alma 1 combat the Order of Nehor through preaching a doctrine of humility and equality, and teach the gospel without price and without esteeming themselves above their hearers.  At the center of the Gospel they share is a strong ethic to assist the poor and needy.

With these qualities in mind, consider the next verses in Alma 1:

29 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...

 30 And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry... 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.

31 And thus they did prosper and become far more wealthy than those who did not belong to their church.

Yes the people of the church were righteous and became very wealthy, but the type of righteousness which led to this generation of wealth was equality - in law and in moral discourse.  It was treating others equally and sharing resources long before they became wealthy, and continuing afterwards.  Equity pays with economic growth.

When the church in general became wealthy there were still members of the church who were righteous and also in poverty, which is why the church still had poor to take care of even when they became wealthy.  Six years later in Alma 4 personal righteousness and great amounts of wealth did not eliminate poverty, and there were poor within and without the church.

Public wealth generation through equity and justice also has the added benefit of not leading to immediate pride.  The people of the Book of Mormon frequently became wealthy and unequal, because even when everyone is righteous there are still some that end up rich and poor, because wealth is not distributed according to righteousness. Notwithstanding the inequality, the people of Alma 1 still maintain their humility and care for the poor.

Unfortunately, the peace and humility only lasts for six years; a tragedy, but it is six years longer than any other period of wealth inequality.  Their full story is in the article on the Pride Cycle.


There are other instances in the Book of Mormon where good laws, good political leaders, and a strong civil society is linked to wealth generation.  Consider 3 Nephi 6 and Helaman 3.

In the chapters previous to 3 Nephi 6, the Gadianton Robbers nearly destroy the righteous, but the righteous overcome by coming together, sharing resources, and waiting out the siege on their city.  Gadianton is defeated through a morality of equality.

Then, in chapter 6, good political and military leaders establish peace in the land by forming laws "according to equity and justice" (v. 4); the same leaders also oversee the rebuilding of economic infrastructure, or the old cities and highways.  It works, and the people become very wealthy.

In Helaman 3, good leaders similarly are said to establish laws "according to equity and justice", which also leads to wealth.  Laws which promote equity and justice are requisite for a society to be considered righteous in the Book of Mormon.

More on these laws promoting 'equity and justice' in the future when we discuss solutions to inequality.

Another example is the entire book of Ether, with forever tug-a-wars between iniquitous kings who used their positions to steal wealth from the people.  During the few times that righteous kings reigned, and the people were not burdened by iniquity, the people prospered.   See Ether 6:28; 7:19; 9:16; and chapter 10.

One final example is 4 Nephi.  This chapter covers the nearly 300 span of history after the coming of Jesus Christ to the Nephites.  When he came he instituted an economic system where people have "all things in common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift" (3).  Because the people are economically one, they are also socially and spiritually one, without any strife, contention, or sin among them (v. 15-18). 

The people keep this economic system, rebuild their cities and roads, and then prosper greatly, and share in their prosperity for 200 years.  Then, tragically they stop sharing their resources and immediately the pride cycle begins again.

More details to 4 Nephi are addressed in Twilight of the Nephites.

Trade, Specialization, Industriousness, and Population Growth

Let's take a look at other times the Book of Mormon points out qualities which led to wealth generation.

Industriousness - 2 Nephi 5:7, Mosiah 23:5, Alma 23:18, Ether 10:22

Industriousness, hard work, and provident living - which I have written an article dedicated towards - are some of many characteristics of a righteous people, and they also happen to create wealth.   Not every time the people are described as righteous in the book does it also say they were industrious; not every time the book says the people are industrious does it also say that they became wealthy, but the two are frequently connected.

Remember though that these are qualities of a society - in other words when the people as a whole are industrious then wealth is generated, but that does not mean that every individual needed to be industrious to become wealthy, or that when wealth came to the society that it was distributed among the more industrious.

Positive wealth in the Book of Mormon is exclusively social wealth, as I covered in the article on What is Prosperity?

We also return to this concept of industriousness later in the article on Self-Reliance.

Trade, Specialization, Population Growth, and Infrastructure - 2 Nephi 5:11-13, Mosiah 9:9; 10:4-5; 23:5; 21:16; 24:7 (trade, but not righteousness); 27:5-7; Alma 23:18; 50:18; Helaman 6:7-13; 11:20; 12:2; Ether 9:12; 4 Nephi 1:45-46 (trade, but not righteousness) 

Trade, specialization, population growth, and infrastructure investments are probably not the first attributes people would consider under the mantle of a "righteous" society, but more or less morally neutral qualities.  And yet, as the list above attests, these are frequent reasons that the people became wealthy or rich.

And that is because these qualities naturally lead to economic growth.  God didn't bestow wealth on people in these circumstances as some reward for righteousness, it just happened.

In the case of Mosiah 24:7 and 4 Nephi 1:45-46 the people doing the trading, and raking in the riches, are decidedly wicked.  So much for the prosperity gospel - why would God reward riches to the wicked?

It is also important to note that when the people become wealthy through these morally neutral means they are more quick to abandon the poor, justify inequality, and to commit other iniquities - making this wealth a quick initiator of pride cycles.

What Does this Mean for the Prosperity Gospel?

Let's just reiterate that the Book of Mormon does not teach the prosperity gospel.  While in the book God does prosper righteous societies, it is not a direct bestowal of riches, and certainly not a distribution of wealth according to the degree of righteousness, but more of a natural reward as some righteous qualities which also create economic growth.

Qualities which are both considered righteous and promote economic growth include: laws and culture promoting economic justice and equity, assisting the poor, and being industrious.  Qualities which are generally considered morally neutral can also promote economic growth including: building and expanding economic infrastructure, and trade, specialization, and population expansion.

Sometimes the wicked societies can become the rich ones, but often the righteous ones do.  But this is a description of a society, and has little bearing on individual wealth gain.

The benefits from wealth generation are not distributed according to righteousness.  An individual may be righteous, and indeed exemplify the vary same qualities that make Nephite society rich, but may or may not become wealthy themselves.

And there is no expectation in the Book of Mormon that every righteous individual will become wealthy, which is why changing the behavior of the poor is never a solution any moral leader in the book proposes.  Instead, it is religiously, socially, and at times legally expected that wealth in prosperous times - both individual and public wealth - should be used to meet the needs and wants of those who have less. 

When these needs are not met in the book, thereby exasperating inequality, the people are described as prideful and persecuting the poor - discussed more closely in pride cycles.