(Isa. 2:7–18; Deut. 17:17; Doctrines of the Book of Mormon, ed. Bruce A. Van Orden and Brent L. Top [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992], 16–28; refer in this text to 2 Ne. 15:14–15, 21)
Taken too literally, one might wonder what the Lord has against trees, ships, and so on; but the underlying principle appears in verses 11–12, 17. The Lord is speaking of haughty men who are lifted up in pride. Not only shall they be brought low, but so shall their “lofty looks.” Contributing to their lofty looks are the status symbols of the day—the splendor, glory, and strength of the cedars used in major buildings; the often rare commodity of oaks from Palestine, acquired by the most wealthy; the high mountains and hills of false worship and apostate religion; the man-made defenses of towers and walls; the wonder of the ships of Tarshish (ancient Spain), noted for distance, capacity, and strength as war vessels; and the pleasant pictures, or perhaps beautiful crafts or pleasure ships of the day. In other words, the haughty and proud will fall, and their materialistic castles, which were built with wealth, pride, and power, shall crumble away in the presence of the Lord’s coming (S. Brent Farley, CES Symposium, Aug. 1983, 63).
As surprising as the traits Isaiah despises are those which he prizes. Not drive, initiative, industry, enterprise, hard work, thrift, piety—none of the Zoramite virtues, though they are truly virtues when they are not … [initiated by] selfish motives or a morbid obsession with routine. And let me observe in passing that work is after all not a busy running back and forth in established grooves, though that is the essence of our modern business and academic life, but the supreme energy and disciplined curiosity required to cut new grooves. In Isaiah’s book the quality which God demands of men are such as our society looks down on with mildly patronizing contempt. Isaiah promises the greatest blessings and glory to the meek, the lowly, the poor, the oppressed, the afflicted, and the needy… . In Zion, we are promised there will be no poor. That is because Satan will not be present there with his clever arrangement of things… .
If we believe Isaiah, the son of Man himself was “despised and r ejected …” From which one concludes that to be highly successful in this life is hardly the ultimate stamp of virtue. For Satan’s golden question “Have you any money?” has a paralyzing and intriguing effect that enlists all but the noblest spirits in the great conspiracy… . Whoever refuses to put up with this sort of thing … must expect to take a beating… . Everybody is cheating and God does not like it at all. “Behold the world lieth in sin at this time, and none doeth good, no not one… and mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the earth to visit them according to this ungodliness.” Such were the opening words of the Lord in this dispensation spoken to the Prophet Joseph in the grove (BYU Studies 9, spring 1969, 280f). The words “the world lieth in sin,” call for a more particular statement in the manner of Isaiah, and we find the same expression explained in D&C 49:20: “… it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, WHEREFORE the world lieth in sin.” Mammon is a jealous God; you cannot serve him and any other master. To escape the powerful appeal of the things of this world and the deadly threat that hangs over all who do not possess them takes a meek and humble soul indeed—and a courageous one.
(Hugh W. Nibley, “Great Are the Words of Isaiah,” in Sidney B. Sperry Symposium [Provo, Utah: Religious Instruction, BYU, January 28, 1978], 204–205.)
The majority are discontented with their lot, … being preoccupied with their material needs, and under the obsession of cares for the morrow… . One must [only] go to the homes of those who have begun to enjoy a little prosperity, to learn how much the satisfaction with what they have is troubled by regret for that which they lack… . The more goods a man has the more he thinks he needs… .
All this has resulted, [in] … a state of mind … which can … be compared to the humor [of] spoiled children, … overwhelmed with gifts and still discontented… .
The man who gives himself up entirely to the service of his appetites makes them grow and multiply so rapidly that they become stronger than he… . Moral life consists in the government of one’s self. Immorality consists in the government of ourselves by our … [wants] and our passions… . [The world declares the worth of a man is] estimated …[by his] selling price, … [which is measured by] the profit [he has]… made… . [He who] brings nothing is worth nothing, and he who has nothing is nothing.
What is a good lamp? It is not the one most ornamented, the best carved or that which is made of the most precious metal. A good lamp is the one that gives good light. And so, also, we are … [valued] not by the number of goods or pleasures that we procure for ourselves, … but by the solidity of our moral fibre.
(Charles Wagner, The Simple Life [New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1904], 13–21.)