The Law of Moses

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 historical narrative of the Book of Mormon covers a purported 1000 year history of a branch of the House of Israel who migrated from the middle east to somewhere in the Americas.  As Israelites, the people in the book follow the Law of Moses up until the coming of Jesus.  This is a significant detail because the Law of Moses in its original form sets limits on the possible extent of economic inequality in an obedient society.

However, although the book frequently mentions the fact that the people followed the Law of Moses, it does not provide many details on how they followed it, and it only provides clues as to how the tenets of the law affected economic inequality.  Similarly, after the book of Leviticus, the Old Testament also does not provide many details about how the law was being followed in the society.

This article is dedicated to providing a social context for the rest of this chapter by exploring the economic elements of the Law of Moses, and considering the likely ways the law shapes the story of the Book of Mormon - especially pertaining to economic inequality.

Economic Elements of the Law of Moses - Leviticus 25-27

When most people familiar with the New Testament hear of the Law of Moses they will think of the long list of silly rules the Pharisees and other groups in the Bible had to govern behavior - for example what could and could not be done on the Sabbath.  Unfortunately, this has led to a low opinion of the Law of Moses, highlighting the importance in Christian doctrine that it was done away with in the coming of Jesus. 

Actually though, the law in its original form contains some neat ideas on how to regulate a society - for example the year of Jubilee required debts to be forgiven and land returned to original owners every fifty years - but it is clear by New Testament times that these were were not being followed in lieu of silly rules that just served to cement the power of the ruling elite.


As the people of the Book of Mormon split away from Jewish society 600 years before New Testament times, the New Testament picture of the law is an inappropriate model for the Book of Mormon.  As the book has few details on how the law was practiced, our best bet is to look at the original law.

Like other law systems of the time, the Law of Moses was originally written as a social law with both religious and practical elements - rather than simply being rules governing a religious society.  There was no separation of church and state, in social practice or in concept - the law was the law.  As a social law, the Law of Moses focuses on items relating to public morality and conduct - how to treat your neighbor and family members, managing social contracts, rules in the marketplace, etc.  Even rules regarding religious cleanliness or kosher eating ultimately were aimed and limiting the spread of disease to yourself and your neighbors; or rules which would be considered entirely religious in nature today, like rules limiting idolatry or adultery, are also aimed at addressing social problems, like the worship of money which leads to iniquity, or the breaking of the family structure through adultery.

Of particular note in the law for the purposes of this study are the teachings on the Sabbath day, and its extension the year of Jubilee.

The original laws of the Sabbath day contain no allotment of steps which could be made, or any other Pharisaical nonsense.  The law was simple - on the seventh day rest.  Have six periods of labor, and on the seventh day rest from your labors, and ensure that anyone that works for you also rests.  Although work was not to be done on the seventh day, people still needed to eat - so food, wages, or whatever form of compensation were still to be provided for dependents - family, servants, workers, etc - its just that no one was to profit from such service during the seventh day.

This is important because no one in Israelite society was to be overworked - everyone was to have periods of rest after their periods of work.  Furthermore, it fostered a sense of community because there were periods of time when work was not being accomplished, so preparations had to be made beforehand, and resources shared during the rest.

The model of the Sabbath day was also extended into the Sabbath year.  Every seventh year fields were to lie fallow; all those whose livelihood was dependent on growing food were not to work during this year.  The level of community, preparation, collaboration, and charity that were necessary to make a Sabbath day without work possible was expanded in preparation and during the Sabbath year.

Finally, the year after seven Sabbatical years, or on the 50th year, Jubilee was declared.  During this celebration, the land was to rest again, but also so much more happened because Liberty was proclaimed. 

All debts were forgiven. 

All possessions and property that had been sold in desperation were to be returned to their original owners. 

All servants and employees were to be freed from their obligations and given a just wage.  Furthermore, the owners of the farms, or probably any means of production, were to use his own reserves - cattle, food, savings - to provide the needs for his workers, his family, his neighbors, and any strangers that resided in their midst.

In order to assist those who fasted from growing crops for the Sabbath years and for Jubilee, prices for goods were not set according to a market price, but were set according to how many years before the next Jubilee, allowing farmers time and resources to prepare.  To push for prices outside what was set according to the law was considered oppression.

So why did the ancient Israelites follow this law?  Why would people give up their opportunity to earn more money every seventh day and seventh year?  Why would debtors give up their cash cows and forgive debts?  Why would people return items and possessions which they justly purchased?

Because they did not think like we do today.  All property - lands, possessions, everything - in their minds belonged to the Lord.  Property was a tool to provide for the needs of your family, community, and the occasional stranger - not as a means to become rich.  The driving feature of their economy was collaboration, not competition. 

Under these tenets of the Law, serious economic inequality was impossible.  Every seventh day and every seventh year resources were to be shared with those around you, meaning that well off community members were constantly reminded of the needs of those around them, and required to aid them.  Those who owned means of production - farms, debtors, etc - filled a purpose in society, and were justly rewarded, but they were unable to become that much richer than those around them because they were to forgive debts, return possessions and property to original owners, and to release the obligations of their employees, while also taking care of their needs, every fifty years; not to mention the interruption in production, and requisite sharing, every Sabbath day, Sabbath year, and the year of Jubilee.  There could be no generational wealth gain, and no extended inequality, under the Law.

Such a system probably could not work in a global economy - or at least not all of it - but there are nevertheless interested aspects of the Law that deserve to be considered in a discussion about modern day inequality, and certainly in a discussion on inequality and the Book of Mormon.

The Law of Moses in the Book of Mormon - Context for the Rest of this Chapter

As I said earlier, the people in the Book of Mormon are said to follow the Law of Moses - and strictly in several instances - yet there are few details about what this entails.  At the first of Nephite society, in 2 Nephi 5:2 and Jarom 1:5, the people strictly follow the Law of Moses and it leads to prosperity.  This prosperity is a self-fulfilled prophecy, as the equitable economic practices of the Law of Moses, and the lack of inequality it can create, is the very definition of 'prosperity', which we will look at more closely in chapter 2. 

The Law of Moses, or at least economic laws similar to them, are the focus of King Benjamin, King Mosiah, Alma, and Nephihah's religious and civil work; and breaking away from these rules is likely what leads to frequent cycles of inequality from the book of Alma to 3 Nephi.  We we explore these themes more closely in Iniquitous Kings and The Pride Cycle.

When the Book of Mormon mentions a people who do not follow the Law of Moses, there is evidence of high inequality and economic disaster. 

The priests of wicked King Noah in Mosiah 12 set up a religion and government among the people which taxes the people in order to fund their lavish lifestyles, making a horrible unequal society which we cover in more detail in Iniquitous Kings.  When confronted by Abinadi, they are told that they are not following the Law of Moses.  When pressed why, Abinadi tells them that they are not following the Sabbath Day among other laws, and that they had 'set their hearts upon riches', an emotion which is incompatible with the Law.

The Zoramites and the Gadianton Robbers are also specifically mentioned to have broken away from the Law of Moses, and are also specifically mentioned to persecute the poor.  We look at each of them more closely in Dissension and War and Gadianton Robbers. 

And that about sums up all of the references to the Law of Moses in the Book of Mormon.  It is unfortunate that there are not more details about how the people followed the Sabbath years and Jubilee in the book, and how this interacted with the frequent cycles of socioeconomic inequality, but I believe there are enough clues and context to say that it was the struggle to follow the economic tenets of the Law of Moses, or at least the spirit of the Law, behind all of the trouble in the narrative of the book.  

What do you think?