Rich vs. Poor

I still need to talk about sacrifice, but I didn't have a ton of time today, so I read section 56. In this verse, a previous mission call is rescinded because one of the companions gets too mixed up in the temporal problems going on (mentioned in Section 54 - Leman Copley is rich and gives his land to the Lord/church. A ton of members from NY move onto the land and make improvements. Then Leman kicks them all out after he quits the church.). So, the Lord gives a new companion to Thomas Marsh and gives a couple other commandments. At the end he addresses wealth:

16Wo unto you ^arich men, that will not ^bgive your substance to the^cpoor, for your ^driches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The ^eharvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!

17Wo unto you ^apoor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men’s goods, whose eyes are full of ^bgreediness, and who will not ^claborwith your own hands!

18But blessed are the ^apoor who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, and whose spirits are ^bcontrite, for they shall see the^ckingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for the fatness of the ^dearth shall be theirs.

The poor and the rich can easily have problems. I was so struck by what the Lord teaches here. It isn't that he likes rich or poor better; each of these groups has their problems. He wants them to be righteous and overcome the challenges they have. I see this as a stark contrast to how much of the world writes about topics. Oftentimes these topics are written with a bias towards one side or the other or are colored by being politically correct. The Lord however teaches with authority and addresses the problems/issues that exist for both groups of people. Very inspired writing.

Reading these verses, especially when I know a little about the context, convinces me that this is definitely God's word.