2 Nephi 15:8

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 15:8

8 Wo unto them that join house to house, till there can be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!

Quotes for Discussion

“Join house to house”

This woe is pronounced on the wealthy landowners who covet and buy up property, thus depriving the poor of their heritage. Micah 2:1-2.) The law of ancient Israel prescribed that land could not “be sold for ever” (Lev. 25:23; see also 1 Kgs. 21). It was to remain within families as a heritage for posterity. When economical circumstances necessitated the sale of land, it was to be returned to the original owners in the year of jubilee, which occurred every fifty years. (LDS Bible Dictionary, “Jubilee, Year of,” 718).

Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Isaiah Plain and Simple [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], 46

Property acquired for selfish purposes is not a blessing. Greed is never satisfied. Ownership of property is not condemned. The only question is, how did the owner get it, and to what use does he put it?

George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, ed. Philip C. Reynolds, 7 vols. [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Col., 1955-1961], 1:334

The surplus property of this community, as poor as we are, has done more real mischief than everything else besides….A man has no right with property,…[when the property doesn’t] do good to himself and his fellow-man….If the people of this community feel as though they wanted the whole world to themselves…and would hoard up their property, and place it in a situation where it would not benefit either themselves or the community, they are just as guilty as the man who steals my property.

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 1:252, 255

It is frequently astounding to see the dereliction of people in keeping the standards of ordinary fairness and justice….It is sometimes evident in commercial transactions, as well as in private contacts….This unfairness and injustice results principally from one person seeking an advantage or an edge over another. Those who follow such a practice demean themselves greatly. How can those of us who do not practice ordinary fairness and justice have serious claim on the blessings of a just and a fair God? Do some of us seek to justify our taking of shortcuts and advantage of others by indulging in the twin sophistries, “There isn’t any justice” and “Everybody does it”?

James E. Faust, Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 10

Wo is addressed to those who seek after, collect, acquire, or amass wealth; expanding their own personal power at the expense or neglect of all else. This is not a simple condemnation against the acquisition of wealth. It is a warning against the desire for the acquisition of wealth to an extreme degree, motivated by devotion or religious zeal. It is a warning against worshiping the god of this world, materialism.

The mania for acquisition is never quieted or satisfied by the gain. It is an unquenchable thirst or indulgence, and like an uncontrolled passion, indulgence is never sufficiency. The aspiration to acquire power, dominance, or conquest leaves the aspirant surrounded by his gods, earthly materialism, clamoring for constant attention. There is no place to be left alone in quiet solitude of soul.

Loren D. Martin, Isaiah: An Ensign to the Nations [salt Lake City: Valiant Publications, 1982], 124