march 9-15 — jacob 1-4 — be reconciled unto God through the Atonement of Christ

First of all, I feel terrible for not making this an Atonement verse, aaah, however, the young women’s lesson going with these chapters is about the Atonement so you’ll be able to see some content on the blog/Instagram for that then. So onto this verse that I really do love! 

Is money really even that bad? I’ve always wondered about strong statements we find about dough in the scriptures. Some include 1 Timothy 6:10, for example, in which it says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” All evil? Everything bad? 

And after the Savior spoke to the rich young ruler, there came these words in Matthew 19. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

That seems a little harsh. And confusing. The prophet was a doctor. His counselors were businessmen and lawyers. They probably made a lot of money. Are they bad? 

This is why I am grateful for this straightforward verse. Being successful is okay, but it is all about our priorities. And of course, this isn’t just tied to finance. 

2 Nephi 9 talked about education with the famous “But to be ​​​learned​ is good if they ​​​hearken​ unto the ​​​counsels​ of God.” 

And there is no going around this verse: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” from Exodus 20.

And here we derive the true and simple meaning of the verse. This isn’t an invitation to look around at everyone in our ward, the money they seem to have, the cars they buy, the vacations they post about on Instagram. This isn’t an order to judge, judge, judge, find rich people and point fingers. It’s an invitation to think about what we lack, what we can improve on, what path we are going on.  

I doubt any of us are secretly burning incense in the name of Baal in our garage, but there are plenty of other cases for us to examine in which any worldly item or priority - riches, learning, fame - becomes a “god.” 

In this case, it is all about you. Not you serving you but you conducting a humble examination of your days while giving yourself grace. What will you seek this week? 

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