The Book of Mormon Verse That Changed How I Think About Money

Imagine me, living in my parents basement 9 years ago.

I'm 24 years old, and a typical day looks like running to my morning classes for my final semester at BYU, and then driving home as fast as I could to pick up my one year old son so that i could snuggle him and blow raspberries at him while I fed him mango and green bean purees.

(Side note, sometimes I was *that* girl and even took Grant with me to campus for some of my classes. What a time.)

My husband Nate is also in his last semester of his degree and works long shifts at work, so we don't see him until 7pm most nights. 

Imagine me lacing on my sawdusty shoes after we put Grant to bed to walk out to my parents icy cold garage to chop 8 foot skinny chunks of wood down to 24 inches so I can sand them, paint them, and wrap them up in bubble wrap and ship them to my Etsy customers so they can have beautiful wooden baby gym for their little ones' nurseries.

I'm burning the candle at both ends, and the middle of the candle is starting to get a little melty too. 

All I want is to own our own home.

(My parents were wonderful to live with, but it's just one of those things, you know?)

I'm thinking our future house every day. I'm driving through my favorite neighborhoods and wondering if we'll ever be able to afford a home with a yard.

My business is 50% creative outlet and 50% pipe dream that this could actually make some money that would bless my little family. 

There's a verse in the Book of Mormon that I TOTALLY misunderstood that capped my financial dreams. 

(And I fear that a lot of members of the church misread it too) 

Anytime I heard the verse "But before ye seek for riches, see ye for the kingdom of God" (Jacob 2:18) 

I used to feel a little pit of guilt in my stomach. 

I used to think "I'm totally on board with seeking for the kingdom of God. But if I'm also technically seeking for riches... is that a bad thing?"

"Is my desire to make more money a sign that I'm prideful?"

"Does running a business mean I'm putting too much emphasis on worldly/temporal things?"

"Am I a terrible person if I desire to make more money?"

I can still remember a morning

when I was reading the Book of Mormon and hit Jacob 2 and that same tiny, dreaded question hit my stomach. 

"Is it okay with God if I want to make money from my business?" 

But this time, instead of stopping after verse 18, I kept reading.

The very next sentence COMPLETELY changes the context of that verse. 

It says:

And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them (Jacob 2:19)

My brain: "Hold on! Why aren't they quoting THAT verse in Relief Society??!?!?"

Here's the full verse.

Really stop and read this. 

This promise is absolutely beautiful. 

"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."

Here's what I think Jacob wants us to know about money. 

God wants us to prosper. He wants us to be taken care of. 2 of my favorite hymns are Consider The Lilies and His Eye is on the Sparrow. He loves to provide care for His creations. 

AND. 

I don't think He really cares that much about the money. 

What He cares about is our relationship with Him. 

He gave us point blank promise that we will obtain riches if we seek them to do good.

And I don't think he's only talking about helping strangers.  

I think this also includes seeking money to take care of my kids. 

To clothe them. Feed them. Take them to the doctor when they're sick. 

To help my neighbor boys with their soccer fundraiser. 

To help the adorable old woman who sells cinnamon rolls door to door every week in our neighborhood.

To take a meal to a friend across town who's had a hard week. 

To donate generously. 

I believe God supports our efforts to create wealth

as long as wealth remains "the means" instead of "the end" 

as long as we value people over things

as long as we hold our earthly belongings loosely knowing they're temporary. 

For God, it's not where the money is. It's about where our hearts are.

All of the money is his in the first place. 

AND. 

We can help Him take of His children. 

There is an "order to the operations." 

1. Love God. Love His children. 

2. Obtain a "hope in Christ."

3. Seek riches for the purpose of doing good.

What we know as the "pride cycle" could also be called the "prosperity cycle"

And the difference between the 2 is giving, and gratitude. 

Is the rest of the Jacob 2 full of STRONG warning from Jacob? Yes. 

But did Jacob also just give us the secret to success? I think so.