Purpose of Wealth
Purpose of Wealth
“If, by industrious habits and honorable dealings, you obtain thousands or millions, little or much, it is your duty to use all that is put in your possession, as judiciously as you have knowledge, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth”
-Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young p. 235
OBJECTIVES
To teach our families about the proper role of money and wealth in our lives. All we have or will receive comes from our Heavenly Father. No person is greater than another due to material possessions.
WHY
Learning about wealth and its proper role is important because the world is becoming an increasingly materialistic society. This lesson teaches that wealth and money are not inherently bad things, but gifts from our Heavenly Father that we can use for good, if we receive them.Although not everyone will become rich as to material possessions and money, keeping these things in proper perspective helps us to maintain our relationship with our Heavenly Father
Jacob, the brother of Nephi, teaches us the following about wealth:
But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted. (Jacob 2:18-19)
LESSON (10 to 20 minutes)
- Story and Discussion
Bill and Sally have been married for four years. They have a two year old little girl and a one year old little boy. Bill has a good job as a financial analyst in a major manufacturing company and Sally spends her time caring for their children and running errands close to home. They are happy and grateful for their blessings.
One day, Bill came home with great news. He had just been offered a generous promotion at work and he was excited about the prospects of moving up the corporate ladder. In addition, the new job came with an increase in salary and benefits. Bill was excited about finally being able to afford a nicer, more reliable car for the family and maybe getting that plasma flat screen T.V. that he has always wanted.
Sally was excited to hear about her husband’s job opportunities, but she had some wonderful news of her own. She excitedly told her husband that they were now expecting their third child. The couple was very grateful about the coincidence of the two blessings.
However, after Sally heard more about the new job promotion, she was having second thoughts. The new job would require Bill to put in a lot more hours at work and she thought that it might not be good for their family life. She worried that Bill would be too busy to spend time with their two kids and soon to be three. She reasoned that Bill already made enough money to meet their needs, and any additional earnings would be a sacrifice of family time to meet unnecessary wants.
Questions for discussion:
Should Bill take the job promotion and the increased earning potential to support his growing family?
Is it wrong to want nice things for your family?
Under what circumstances would it be better for Bill and Sally to not accept a promotion?
The Book of Mormon seems to come down pretty hard on rich people, especially if they’re not helping the poor. Is it morally wrong to be rich in a world where so many are poor?
- Lesson Material
The following four principles can help us to develop a proper understanding of the purpose of wealth:
Principle 1: Ownership: Everything we have or will have is the Lord’s
The Psalmist wrote: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalms 24:1).
Nothing we have is our own—it is all God’s. As such, there should be no feeling of pride for the things we have or are. These things do not belong to us, but are on loan from a loving Heavenly Father and Son. The things we have now or ever will have are really not ours. The prophet King Benjamin reminds us about this when he states:
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. (Mosiah 4:22)
There should be no feeling of pride for the things we have, who we are, or who we will become. Rather, these blessings should encourage us to greater obedience to God’s commandments as we realize that all we have and are are gifts from a generous Father and Son.
Discussion Question: How would you act differently knowing that everything that you possess really belongs to Heavenly Father?
Principle 2: Stewardship: We are stewards over all the Lord has given to us
The Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, stated:
It is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures. (D&C 104:13)
For it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity. (D&C 72:3)
Being blessed with material things in life should not be seen just as a blessing, but as a responsibility. In the future, we will all have to give an account of our stewardship to the Father and Son.
As wise stewards, it is our responsibility to learn everything we can about our stewardship sothat we can manage our stewardship to the best of our abilities.
Optional Discussion: Read and discuss parable of the talents (Matthew chapter 25)
Principle 3: Agency: The gift of “choice” is one of the greatest gifts of God
The prophet Joshua counseled the people about agency when he said: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve;. . .but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
We were given our agency by a loving Father in Heaven. President Marion G. Romney said:
Agency means the freedom and power to choose and act. Next to life itself, it is man’s most precious inheritance. (Marion G. Romney, Ensign, May 1976, 120)
President David O. McKay wrote:
Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man. . . . Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. (in Conference Report, Apr. 1950, p. 32)
The gift of agency was such an important subject that a war was fought in heaven because Satan sought “to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). We should do everything in our power to thank a loving Father and Son for this wonderful right to choose—and then use that agency as wisely as we can.
Optional Discussion: Read and discuss the following quote from Brigham Young:
“There is any amount of property, and gold and silver in the earth and on the earth, and the Lord gives to this one and that one—the wicked as well as the righteous—to see what they will do with it, but it all belongs to him. He has handed over a goodly portion to this people, and, through our faith, patience and industry, we have made us good, comfortable homes here, and there are many who are tolerably well off. … But it is not ours, and all we have to do is to try and find out what the Lord wants us to do with what we have in our possession, and then go and do it.”
-Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young
Principle 4: Accountability: We shall be held accountable for ours choices
We have been blessed with the gift of choice, but we shall be held accountable for its use. Matthew writes:
“But I say unto you , That every idle work that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:36)
Paul admonished:
But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:10-12)
The Lord counseled the prophet Joseph Smith:
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness. For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. (D&C 58: 27–28)
For it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity. (D&C 72:3)
While the blessing of agency is an unconditional gift of God, how we use that gift shows how much we love Him and His Son. The first three principles I have outlined are God’s gift to us. The fourth principle is our gift to God. We can, through our wise choices, show our Heavenly Father how much we love Him by obeying His commandments and striving to become more like His Son.
Optional Discussion: Read and discuss the following truths derived from the four principles above:
- Wealth is not a sign of righteousness.
- Since God gives us our blessings freely, we should share them freely.
- We have not earned the things we enjoy.
- Wealth is not a necessary qualification for service in the Lord's kingdom.
- Wealth can be a great blessing or a curse depending on our priorities.
- Love of money is the root of all evil.
- Money will not make you happy or solve all your problems.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNGER CHILDREN:
For families with younger children, it might be best to shorten the lesson material to a few key points and spend most of the lesson time sharing a parable from the Bible that teaches these principles. A few parables include the following:
The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke chapter 10)
The parable of the ten talents (Matthew chapter 25)
The story of the rich young man (Mark chapter 10)
ACTIVITY
Choose a simple and quick game that everyone understands (for example: paper-rock-scissors, tic-tac-toe, or flipping a coin).Have some small reward for every time someone wins a game (for example: small candies, coins, or pieces of paper).Have everyone play the selected game many times with everyone else, rewarding the winner with the small prize every time they win.
At the end of the game, ask and discuss the following questions:
Who has the most reward? Who has the least?
Did the person with the most reward work harder than everyone else? Are they a better person?
What if the rewards represented money, and the person with the least amount of reward did not have enough money to buy food, what would you do?
Where did all the rewards come from? In life, where do all the rewards come from?
Is it right to want more than someone else? Is it right to work harder to gain more than someone else?
Possible conclusions:
Nobody is better than anyone else because they have more rewards or possessions.
Everything that we have is from our Heavenly Father.
We should use what we have to help others when they are in need.
ASSIGNMENTS
Make a list of your material possessions. How have you used these possessions to further build the Kingdom of God?
If you were given $100 what would you do with it? As appropriate, have family members write down and/or discuss their answer to this question. Then ask what would the Lord want you to do with the $100? Are you answers different?
Read Jacob 2:18-19. Write down three things that Jacob teaches about wealth.
SUGGESTED SONGS:
Because I Have Been Given Much…………………………….Hymn # 219
We Give Thee But Thine Own…………………………………Hymn # 218
Have I Done Any Good? ………………………………………Hymn # 223
AUTHORS
This lesson was prepared by Cristiano Cinelli, Daniel Daley, Marcus Varner, and William Harty. Much of the material can be found in the Personal Finance Series: Complete College Course Manual by Bryan L. Sudweeks. Other material can be found on the internet at or other sources as referenced.
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