Wealth and poverty are relative. Many members of the Church live in circumstances and enjoy privileges which would be considered to be prosperous by others who enjoy appreciably less.
It is a great blessing in this day and time to be able to have sufficient for one’s needs. Members of the covenant community have promised to bear the burdens of others, to mourn with those who mourn, and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort (Mosiah 18:8-9).
For one who is prosperous to turn a deaf ear to the pleadings of the hungry or naked or lonely, is to reveal an unconverted soul and a withered sense of values. Only those members of the Church who remember the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, are entitled to the sacred designation of disciples of Christ (see D&C 52:40).
The language of the revelations is clear and direct regarding our duties, as well as regarding the dire consequences which will ultimately come to the selfish: “if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment” (D&C 104:18; cf. Luke 16:23).