The Poor (and the Rich) Shall Be Exalted

In 1834, as the Lord introduced some changes to the temporal administrative processes in the Church, He reiterated some unchanging principles of resource management:

It is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.

For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

Doctrine and Covenants 104:15-17

I see four principles here:

1. Everything belongs to God.
2. Resources are deliberately distributed unevenly, so that we learn to share with each other.
3. There is plenty to meet everyone’s needs.
4. God has given us agency; we have to take initiative to distribute resources to those in need.

These principles apply to so many aspects of life. We are all blessed with different gifts. We are all “rich” in some ways and “poor” in others. We all have something to share, and as King Benjamin pointed out to his people, we are all beggars too (Mosiah 4:19). Therefore, we all benefit when we are more generous with each other.

Benjamin explained that our charitable giving is not limited to money. It includes, “feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants” (Mosiah 4:26).

At about the same time, in the land of Nephi, Alma gave essentially the same instruction as he organized the church at the waters of Mormon. He urged church members to:

impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given.

And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul.

And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.

Mosiah 18:27-29

The poor being “exalted” while the rich are “made low” might be an apt description for the equalization inherent in distributing resources to those who need it most, but the reality is that the “rich” are also blessed by their giving. As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught:

The process of caring for others allows both rich and poor a way toward refining their characters and leads them both toward exaltation.

“God Among Us,” April 2021 general conference, footnote 18

Today, I will strive to be both a good giver and a good receiver. I will remember that God has allocated resources unevenly so that we can exercise our agency to bless one another, and that both giving and receiving bring us closer to Him.