In November 1833, church members were driven out of their new homes in Jackson County, Missouri. A month later, Joseph Smith received a revelation with instructions for these displaced individuals and families. The following assessment of their spiritual state must have been hard for them to hear:
I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.
Doctrine and Covenants 101:6
The phrase “they polluted their inheritance” appears to be inspired by Isaiah 47:6, in which the Lord explains the Babylonian Captivity by saying, “I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance.” In that passage, the Lord is “polluting” His own “inheritance” — His covenant people — by allowing them to be taken captive. But in the 1833 revelation, it’s the people who polluted their inheritance by allowing unholy attitudes and behaviors to grow among them
Two months later, the Lord used the phrase again as He promised to restore them to their homes, contingent on improved behavior:
This is the blessing which I have promised after your tribulations, … even their restoration to the land of Zion, to be established, no more to be thrown down.
Nevertheless, if they pollute their inheritances they shall be thrown down; for I will not spare them if they pollute their inheritances.
Doctrine and Covenants 103:13-14
What does it mean to “pollute your inheritance,” and how can we avoid it?
To pollute something is to contaminate it, to introduce impurities which render it unusable or at least unhealthy. The term can refer to both physical and spiritual impurities.
The Bible warns us not to pollute the altar of God (Exodus 20:25; Malachi 1:7, 12), the land (Numbers 35:33; Psalm 106:37-38; Jeremiah 3:1-2), the temple (2 Chronicles 36:14; Jeremiah 7:30; Ezekiel 44:7; Zephaniah 3:4), God’s name (Isaiah 48:11; Jeremiah 34:16; Ezekiel 39:7), the sabbath (Ezekiel 20:13, 21, 24), or ourselves (Ezra 2:62; Nehemiah 7:64; Lamentations 4:14; Ezekiel 14:11).
In the Book of Mormon, Ammon testified that he and his brothers had been redeemed by Jesus Christ from a “sinful and polluted state” (Alma 26:17; compare Mosiah 25:11). Moroni warns us not to pollute the church by our pride and insensitivity to those in need (Mormon 8:36, 38).
An inheritance is something you didn’t earn, something given to you with the expectation that you will care for it and use it wisely. If you pollute it, either through malevolence or neglect, you disrespect your benefactor, showing a lack of appreciation and fidelity to their intent.
Which leads me to the question: What have I inherited, and how can I treat those gifts, those stewardships, with the respect and dignity they deserve? Here is a partial list:
- My physical body
- My cognitive abilities
- Good parents, who taught me well
- Education and mentoring
- A house that I didn’t build
- A knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s plan of salvation
- A patriarchal blessing
- My children (see Psalm 127:3)
The list could be much longer, but even this list of eight things is a useful reminder that most of the blessings I enjoy were unearned, the product of other people’s efforts and God’s grace. I owe it to them to treat these gifts with reverence and to avoid corrupting influences like “contentions,” “envyings,” or “covetous desires,” which might inhibit my full and appropriate enjoyment of them.
Today, I will honor those who have given me so much, including my parents and my God, by using the gifts they have given me wisely, humbly, and respectfully
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