The Lord’s people have always been a covenant people. Covenants, by their nature, eschew that which is self-centered while creating an interdependency between the covenant parties. Their salvation is to be found in the grace of Christ and the unity of the Saints. When attention is shifted from the covenant to “get[ting] gain,” obtaining the “praise of men,” and acquiring “gold and silver,” of necessity the covenant is sacrificed upon the altar of vanity, and the god of this world becomes the object of worship.
Whereas previously the surrendering of self in the honoring of the covenant constantly brought a renewal of strength, now the insatiable appetite for self-aggrandizement not only robs the covenant breaker of strength but also destroys both his character and his soul. Such had become the plight of many within the nation of the Nephites.