Lessons of Freedom and Patriotism
Lesson No. Sixteen

Pride, Materialism, and the Bondage of Debt

The modern cycle of materialism and debt is similar to the Book of Mormon pride cycle - The Lord warned: “And if ye seek the riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto you, ye shall be the richest of all people, for ye shall have the riches of eternity; and it must needs be that the riches of the earth are mine to give; but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old” (D&C 38:39).

Materialism, covertness, and greed are the center of the modern pride, materialism, and debt cycle. This cycle often goes as follows:

Righteousness brings freedom - "For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father..." (3 Nephi 21:4). Since the colonization of this nation a considerable majority of our citizens have been good people who have sought for, received, and enjoyed the blessings of freedom.
Freedom promotes prosperity - There is a direct correlation between freedom and prosperity. The history of how the people of our country have prospered is a prime example.
Prosperity without a righteous purpose often results in pride - Because pride is competitive people often strive to keep up or pass their neighbors in material possessions.
Pride and a focus on material possessions often results in unmanageable debt - Individuals, families, companies, states, and nations are experiencing unmanageable debt which is bankrupting businesses, causing misery in many individual lives. This stresses society at every level.

All debt results in a loss of freedom and unmanageable debt is true bondage - During the recession that followed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks I experienced the stress of unmanageable business debt. We were blessed and the problem finally resolved. Out of this difficult experience I learned a lesson that changed my life. That lesson is that all debt results in a loss of freedom and unmanageable debt is true bondage.

The bondage of unmanageable debt can compel us to be humble and to repent - President Boyd K. Packer in his marvelous sermon The Mediator (Ensign, May 1977, p. 54) described my experience: "Such an experience, however unpleasant, can be, in the eternal scheme of things, very, very, useful....Those who have faced foreclosure know that one looks helplessly around, hoping for someone, anyone, to come to the rescue. This lesson is so valuable because there is a spiritual account, with a balance kept and a settlement due, that not one of us will escape."

Repentance brings blessings and prosperity - This experience was, as President Packer said, "in the eternal scheme of things, very, very, useful" because I was given to understand by the power of the Spirit that the stress of temporal debt is minuscule in comparison to the misery of an unpaid spiritual account. This caused me to repent and turn to the Lord, and "the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and proper those who put their trust in him" (Helaman 12:1). I have been blessed and prospered.

The solution to materialism is tithes and offerings, the temple, and a wise companion – Paying a full tithing and generous offerings enables us to loosen our grip on the things of the world. Temple covenants enable us to put things in an eternal perspective. I tell couples who I seal in eternal marriage that they can do things together that they can't do separately. We can have a family both in this life and the next. We can help each other in many ways, including to be wise in financial matters, by emphasizing an eternal perspective. My companion has done this for me, and much more.