contrast this with Matt. 22:9-14; Alma 5:14,19; refer in this text to Alma 1:6
“Our society may well be as guilty as the wealthy Zoramites of using fashion as ‘the science of appearances, inspiring us with the desire to seem rather than to be’ (Edwin Hubbell Chapin). In our day the costly apparel syndrome may be identified as one aspect of the modern-day term ‘conspicuous consumption.’ The word conspicuous alludes to the visual side of vanity—the need to be seen, to be recognized. Consumption refers to that which we take in or that which we consume. Conspicuous consumption may be defined as that which we take to ourselves in order to be recognized and approved by others. By its very definition, the person trapped in conspicuous consumption, especially as it applies to ‘costly apparel,’ must be focused on the opinions of others, because what is ‘in’ today may be ‘out’ tomorrow. Vanity then becomes its own punishment, because there is never time to be satisfied—the eyes and opinions of others can turn so quickly to embrace someone else. For us, the disease that afflicted the Zoramites encompasses more than clothing. It can include cars, houses, boats, diplomas, and anything else that has a foundation where the need for the approval of man carries more weight than the need to be accepted by God.” (K. Douglas Bassett, Doctrines of the Book of Mormon, 1991 Sperry Symposium, pp. 18-19)