This statement must be viewed in a proper context. “Seek not for riches but for wisdom,” the Lord explained to the Latter-day Saints, “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 6:7.)
The Lord later counseled his Saints: “If ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old” (D&C 38:39; italics added).
Surely, not all those who have received a hope in Christ, who are true and faithful to every trust, and who, further, seek for riches, will be prospered, at least according to the puny standards of this world. Latter-day Saints must never succumb to the temptation (so prevalent in a success-oriented and materialistic world) to equate financial success with personal righteousness.
Too many righteous men and women, persons who have known true success in life, have lived and died in horrible circumstances for us to suppose some type of causal relationship between nobility of soul and monetary affluence.