In his temple discourse on pride and riches, the prophet Jacob taught this vital doctrine: what do you seek first? or, what are your priorities? Whatever they are, they determine your destiny. Your first priority should always be to build the kingdom of God (JST, Matthew 6:38). Then, if you want riches, you can have them. But you will want them to do good and help others, especially your own family. It seems like the greatest help any of us can give to others will always, in some way, point to the quest for eternal life. In this dispensation the Lord says: “Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich” (D&C 11:7).
Jacob listed four proper uses of money:
1. To clothe the naked (first your family, then your relatives, then your ward, and then those lacking clothes elsewhere).
2. To feed the hungry (first your family, then your relatives, then your ward, and then those lacking food elsewhere).
3. To liberate the captive, not necessarily serving in the Church’s meetinghouse in a local prison but helping to liberate those who are emotionally and spiritually captive, such as to sin or addiction.
4. To administer relief to the sick and the afflicted (in your family and among your ward members and neighbors).
King Benjamin gave a similar list of what to do with the resources with which you have been blessed (Mosiah 4:26). Wealth itself is not condemned. It is neutral. It is our attitude toward it that matters. Everything we ever get belongs to God in the first place. We must be willing to share all we have with others. That is consecration.
A superb illustration of compliance to the doctrine in Jacob 2:17–19 is the story of Rubén Álvarez, who in the late 1990s served as the stake president in Puerto Montt, Chile. He was a missionary from Viña del Mar who was assigned to the Osorno Mission some years before. After his mission, he studied at the university in Antofagasta and became an engineer in water agriculture in order to work in the salmon industry in Chile. When he went for an interview with one of the big salmon companies, he was one of fifty-four applicants for the job. After initial interviews he was one of four called back for another interview in Santiago. He got the job and moved to southern Chile with his bride. Before accepting the job, though, he told the managers, “I’ll give you every day, even nights, except one—the Sabbath.” They liked his honesty and character. The closest church was seventeen kilometers away from Rubén’s home. He and his wife walked to church and back every week, even through heavy rains, because they were committed to following God. After seven months they were transferred to Chiloe, another city in the south, where he was made the branch president. They prospered financially. People told him he had good luck. He told them it was not luck; it was obedience to God’s laws: faithful observance of the Sabbath and faithful payment of tithing.
One stormy night, he got a call that a four-hundred-pound sea lion had broken into the salmon cages submerged off the coast (the giant cages were worth about two million dollars each). He grabbed his big shotgun and headed to the beach. He and his crew got into their boats and made for the cages. The laws prohibited Rubén from killing any sea lion, so every time it came up for air, he shot into the water as close to it as he dared. But the shots had no effect. The company stood to lose huge sums of money; a four-hundred-pound sea lion can eat a lot of salmon.
Rubén put down his gun and walked away from the others to pray. With tears streaming down his face, he reminded the Lord that he had been faithful in all his duties as a true disciple: “I’ve paid my tithing; I’ve kept the Sabbath.” He pleaded with the Lord to help him. As he got up from his knees, he felt an incredible warmth blanketing him. He walked back, and his workers grabbed him excitedly to tell him that the sea lion had left. When the scuba divers checked the damaged cages, they found them full of salmon.
Malachi 3:11 records the Lord’s promise to those who are loyal to the law of tithes and offerings: “I will rebuke the devourer for your sake.”