Self-Reliance

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.


Modern discussions about poverty, inequality, welfare programs, and charitable giving often contain a concept which can come to dominate the conversation - self-reliance, or its religious equivalent provident living.  These terms describe the ability to provide for oneself, to be independent, and self-sufficient.  The goal of self-reliance is central to most government and non-profit programs that provide some sort of aid to people in need, including several of the programs that I work for.

Unlike some elements of the prosperity gospel and related modern ideas which we have talked about, Self-Reliance is not necessarily against the teachings of the Book of Mormon.  Being self-sufficient, both in temporal and spiritual matters, is an important spiritual virtue, sometimes referred to in the book as being "industrious", and helping others to become this way is an act of charity.  And of course, the self-sufficiency of a population is also integral of economic growth in a capitalist society, and in ensuring a small and efficient government.

However, there are times when the idea of self-reliance can be misapplied - leading to misunderstandings about the gospel according to the Book of Mormon, or even direct priestcraft (twisting the gospel to become rich or famous, or to justify inequality).

So let's take a look at how the Book of Mormon complements and contrasts the modern concept of Self-Reliance.

Industriousness

Although 'Self-Reliance' and 'Provident Living' are terms which are common in modern Christianity - especially among Mormons who run a website about the topic - these words do not specifically appear in the Book of Mormon.  One close concept however is the idea that the Lord's people should be 'industrious' - that they should work hard, especially in collaboration with others.

The term 'industrious' occurs only in 2 Nephi 5:17, Mosiah 23:5, Alma 23:18, and Ether 10:22.  In each usage the context is remarkably similar.  They all describe a righteous group of people with a good leader and who are working to begin a society anew.  The word is associated with hard work, collaboration, leadership, and covenant-keeping people.

For me the message is clear, God expects his people to work hard and to work well together.  Hard work and collaboration are part of what it means to be a righteous people; and hard work, and the trade and specialization that comes about because of collaboration, are also qualities that lead to wealth generation.  We looked at this process more closely in the article on Origins of Wealth. 

Being industrious has both a spiritual and temporal component - it relates to spiritual health and maturity, and it also can lead to economic growth.

As a spiritual issue, the passages above make it clear that work ethic and collaboration were certainly a part of the general consciousness of what it means to be a righteous person; however it doesn't seem like this spiritual characteristic has a lot of priority because in all the many sermons addressing wickedness and iniquity, industriousness, hard work, and self-reliance are not mentioned.  Priority instead is clearly placed on iniquities such as persecuting neighbors, economic inequality, priestcrafts, secret combinations, treatment of the poor, keeping the commandments, etc.

As a temporal issue, the passages above make it seem like authors Mormon and Moroni saw the connection between industriousness and wealth gain; however - and I want this to be very clear - never in the entire Book of Mormon is hard work suggested as a cure to poverty and inequality.  Never are the poor told that they simply need to work harder, and be more industrious.  Instead, in all of the dozens of instances and sermons addressing inequality the people are told over and over to put away their iniquities, persecutions, and priestcrafts, and to help those less fortunate.

When civil leaders are involved in addressing inequality and pride cycles, they too focus their efforts on punishing iniquities, fighting against secret combinations and secessionist movements, and establishing laws promoting equity and justice.  All of these items were covered in detail in the section on the historical narrative. 

Dependence and Independence

Another concept in the Book of Mormon that is similar to provident living or self-reliance are the general teachings regarding dependence and independence.

In some situations, the Book of Mormon is critical of individuals who are economically dependent on others.  At times, several groups including the Lamanites, dissenter groups, and the Gadianton Robbers, make their living off of stealing, robbing, and plundering, rather than through hard work and industry.  For example King Laman and his people, one of the iniquitous kings in the early stages of the Book of Mormon:

Mosiah 9:12 Now they were a lazy and an idolatrous people; therefore they were desirous to bring us into bondage, that they might glut themselves with the labors of our hands; yea, that they might feast themselves upon the flocks of our fields.

13 Therefore it came to pass that king Laman began to stir up his people that they should contend with my people; therefore there began to be wars and contentions in the land.

It should be noted however that the above passage was written directly by Zeniff of the Nephites, who was not a fan of the Lamanites.  Describing a whole people as 'lazy' and 'idolatrous' was probably not accurate, and likely a way to justify the hatred and warfare with the Lamanites.

Among God's people, civic and religious leaders were expected to provide for themselves, in addition to their volunteer service.  This included King Benjamin (Mosiah 2), King Mosiah (Mosiah 6), and the priests of Alma the Elder (Mosiah 18, although the priests still relied on the people for their support, they just were not to be paid for their service, but people were to give willingly to them).  They worked so as not to be a burden to their people, highlighting the importance of religious and civil leaders not using their positions to enrich themselves - which would be robbery and priestcraft.

However, this is the extent that the virtue of independence is extolled in the Book of Mormon.  A far more frequently discussed and important virtue is that of dependence.  In spiritual matters, the people of God are to rely on him - all those who rely on their own self are described as 'idolatrous'.  In war, every time a people rely on their own strength, rather than God, they lose badly.

In economic matters, the people are instructed to rely on each other in the church.  This isn't that they are not to rely on God, but that God would provide his assistance through other people.  The gospel and the church are organized in a way to knit hearts together, and to bring about the atonement of Jesus Christ, including economic justice, through collective service.  This is one of the reasons why when poverty is addressed in the Book of Mormon the rich are instructed to give to the poor; and the poor are never told to simply work harder.

We will explore this topic more in the article on The Gospel and the Free Lunch.

King Benjamin explains the importance of dependency best in his Mosiah 2-6 sermon.  Mosiah 4:

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.

17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—

18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent...

19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.

21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.

22 And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.

23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world.

Systematic Inequality

So why don't the Nephites try to cure poverty by helping the poor to be more industrious and independent? 

Economically speaking, helping a population work hard and become self-reliant should be able to raise the standard of living for everyone, and thereby affect those in poverty - but this is never suggested in the book.  The reason is actually the same reason that it is not today.  Inequality ultimately is systematic, and not simply the result of variable hard work; and until the systematic problems are removed hard work will not cure poverty.

Religious and civil leaders in the Book of Mormon correctly identify that their inequality came not because work ethic was unequal, but because of systematic problems.

The entire historical narrative of the Book of Mormon is devoted to pointing out how iniquities (actions which cause inequities) are evil and cause serious social consequences, and therefore the primary focus of religious and civil leaders; that pride and envy leads to justifying inequality, social strife, and persecuting the poor, including not acting to correct poverty and inequality; that Nehor, Korihor, and all of the dissenter groups taught an ideology that justified and perpetuated inequality, referred to as priestcraft; and that dissenters, false priests, and secret combinations were devoted towards enriching themselves by persecuting the poor and robbing the public.

Economic inequality in the Book of Mormon is systemic, and thus require systematic solutions.  Telling the poor to work harder, and to be more independent, is not an ultimate solution because work ethic is not the origin of the inequality.

The Book of Mormon is a very interesting study because we live in a similar world today.  Economic inequality is not rooted in work ethic, it is rooted in systematic problems.  Our next chapter will be devoted to identifying the solutions Book of Mormon religious and civil leaders put forward to address inequality,and thus there will be a potential for a comparison to today.


Provident Living, Self-Reliance, and Priestcraft


Earlier in this article I mentioned the potential of the positive concepts of Provident Living and Self-Reliance being misunderstood and misused, becoming a priestcraft.

As you know from the earlier article on the topic, priestcraft occurs when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is twisted to make oneself become rich and or famous.  It can also refer to an ideology that justifies systematic inequality, because believing that inequality is justified eliminates the spiritual commandment to help the poor, or as Jacob says to "make them rich like unto yourself".  It eliminates the guilt that comes from being unequal, thereby allowing the possibility for one to be rich in a religious society that normally sees the rich as morally corrupt.

In the Book of Mormon, dissenters like the Zoramites, secret combinations, and other groups find ways to twist the Gospel into ideologies which persecute the poor, and allow them to enjoy their wealth without religious influence (or government influence, hence the dissenting part).  Korihor specifically teaches an ideology that people should be able to become rich according to their work and genius - which was a ploy to excuse inequality, remove guilt from withholding resources to the poor, and allow people like him to become rich.


Unfortunately, the concepts of Provident Living and Self-Reliance in the modern day have the potential to be misused to justify withholding resources from the poor, or inequality in general.

To be clear - helping people to become independent and learn the spiritual principle of being industrious is charity.  A society that finds ways to help its members work hard and collaborate is a righteous one, as well as economically wise.

However, to whatever extent these principles are pushed in order for people to be required to contribute less to the poor - or to whatever extent such principles are promoted in order to explain away the poverty of the poor without having to address systemic problems - is priestcraft.

It is priestcraft for the wealthy to use the belief that everyone else should be self-reliant to justify themselves giving less.

It is priestcraft to use the principle of self-reliance to justify cutting programs in order to enable a new tax cut for the wealthy.

It is priestcraft to use self-reliance as a pedestal with which to judge others, justifying that one is better because others have not mastered self-reliance.  Not to mention in complete error, because not being self-reliant is not nearly as spiritually evil as withholding resources from the poor.

The difference between Provident Living, Self-Reliance, and other similar principles being a virtue or a priestcraft is the motivation.

Should religious leaders promote Self-Reliance?  Absolutely.  So long as the motivation is charity, and helping people become spiritually mature.

Should government leaders promote work ethic, industriousness, and independence?  Absolutely - to do so is both economically wise, and requires a smaller more efficient government, which everyone wants.  But if the motivation is to hide the real reasons why inequality existed in the first place - the secret combinations, iniquities, and priestcrafts - then its not so great.

Should independent people be concerned with helping their families, friends, and neighbors to become self-reliant?  Absolutely.  So long as the motivation is not to puff oneself up with pride, to judge other people, to justify their poverty and your riches, or to justify some ideology that will withhold resources from the poor.

When in doubt, remember that the primary focus of the Book of Mormon is tearing down inequality, iniquities, pride, envyings, strifes, priestcrafts, and secret combinations.  Industriousness, independence, and work ethic are secondary priorities.  In other words, not being prideful, judgmental, iniquitous, and supporting ideologies and organizations which cause inequalities and persecute the poor, is far more important than ensuring people work hard.  This is evidenced by an entire book devoted towards the rich overcoming these problems, with never a mention that the poor should work harder.

Not once.

Wealth and the Rich

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.

At the beginning of this chapter, I introduced the pseudo-Christian concept of the 'prosperity gospel' and other related ideas, which assert, among other things, that wealth is a reward for righteous living, and furthermore that wealth is a worthy and righteous pursuit.  The Book of Mormon not only challenges these assertions, but paints a worldview of wealth and the rich which may surprise you (unless you have studied Jesus in the New Testament, then it is not so surprising).

'Wo Unto the Rich'

As this subheading suggests, Book of Mormon teachings are at times not kind to those who are rich - in fact, there is never a time when the rich are shown in a positive light.  Among the clearest examples of this is 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."   ...

"42 And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches - yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them."

So why does Jacob in this chapter say 'wo unto the rich', and that the rich are whom God 'despiseth'?

First, because their hearts are upon their treasures, instead of on God, and obviously not on their fellow human beings around them.

This is a serious sin - specifically an iniquity - in the eyes of a God whose first commandment is to have no other gods before Him.  In this case, the consequence for breaking this first commandment is that the individual no longer trusts the Lord, and so He does not 'open up to them' - in other words He does not give them the things in life that actually have value: knowledge, peace, and joy that comes only from serving others.

The second reason that the rich are despised by God is because it is the rich who come to despise the poor and persecute the meek.

Despising and persecuting the poor come in two main forms in Book of Mormon history, withholding resources from the poor, and attacking their character.

During the pride cycle of Helaman 3 and 4, the wickedness of the people is identified in 4:12:

4:12  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...

 Another example, Alma's address to Zarahemla following the pride cycle of Alma 4:

5:55 Yea, and will you persist in turning your backs upon the poor, and the needy, and in withholding your substance from them?

Persecutions and character attacks on the poor can be found throughout the Book of Mormon, but is best evidenced by the Zoramites of Alma 31-35, who establish a society separate from the Nephites entirely built on attacking and taking advantage of the poor.  Their religion claims that its members were wonderful and elect, but the poor are barred from entering because they are too dirty.  The distinction between the two groups is just religious fabrication - a sin compounded by the fact that it is the poor who had been manipulated into building the very synagogues the priestcrafts are preached in.

And why do the rich come to 'despise the poor'?

Proximately because of pride.  The rich compare themselves to poor, in an attempt to buoy their own self esteem, and in the comparison come to despise them, to see and hate their differences and faults.

Ultimately, though, whether cognizant of this process or not, the rich hate the poor because the Gospel requires the rich to give of their substance to the poor, as Jacob says so that the poor "may be rich like unto you" (Jacob 2:17), and the thought of losing wealth to other people causes the rich to hate the beneficiaries of such a gospel message.  This is the heart of the word envy, which we have dedicated an article towards.

This pride, hate, and envy boil to the point of identifying character flaws, justifying inequality, and finally, twisting the requirements of the gospel so that there is no longer an obligation to economically tend to the poor.  This process is at the heart of everything that is wrong with priestcrafts.

Wealth as Spiritually Precarious 

In addition to critiquing the rich for their iniquities, the Book of Mormon also identifies the source of their wickedness - the wealth itself.  Consider Helaman 12:

"2 Yea, and we may see at the very time when [God] doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art... yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One - yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.

"3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.

"4 O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men..."

Before we discuss the merits of this passage it is useful to point out that this is Mormon speaking, and having seen the complete destruction of his people he is speaking negatively, allegorically, and with some exaggeration.

The Lord does not actually bring terror, and death, and famine to people just because they don't remember him - those things are a natural part of life.  Similarly, the Lord also doesn't "do all things for the welfare and happiness of his people", but it is clear from the rest of the Book of Mormon that we have to do quite a lot for our own welfare - and not everything is provided for us.  Finally, we have already shown in the What is Prosperity and Economics of Wealth that wealth and prosperity is more complicated than simply 'it came from God'.

Instead, the Lord assists his people in making choices that will lead to welfare and happiness.  He comforts those who in tragedy turn to him.  He cares for the welfare of His people, and provides for their needs - but He does so through social means by commanding his people to give, and inspiring leaders to establish laws promoting 'equity and justice', rather than a direct bestowal of wealth.  The passage is an exaggeration to illustrate a point.

And that point is that wealth is dangerous.  Having wealth makes life much easier, and this ease can lead people to turn away from God.  Having turned away from God one also naturally turns away from compassion and humility, leading to the character flaws of the rich described in the first section.

On the other hand, daily challenges and tragedies alike can lead one to turn to God, and thus cultivate compassion and humility, among other traits.  Ultimately, material struggles are often the very conditions which best promote humility and gospel acceptance, like the poor of the Zoramites who were the only ones humble enough to listen to Alma's message.

Would the God of the Book of Mormon curse an individual with the spiritual precariousness of wealth?  To be sure, he is concerned about the economic welfare of his people, but as we previously discussed he addresses the economic welfare of individuals through social wealth and commandments to share resources.  In this way, He can allow wealth, while still cultivating humility and charity.

But would this God directly grant an individual riches, and see His children embody the very petty selfishness and iniquity which He despises most?  No, it does not seem that He would.

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!

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.