In rendering to Caesar what was Caesar’s (cf. Matthew 22:21 [Matt. 10:20]), the early Christian was not recognizing divine sovereignty but buying his way out; a sharp distinction was made between paying Caesar tax-money that was his (and there is no question of excessive taxation since what Caesar owns is nothing less than the orbis terrarum itself), and giving him the homage of a pinch of incense. The latter act was an acknowledgment of divinity, and a good Christian died sooner than make the concession, while the former was merely a recognition of ownership.
The early Christians were urged to “make . . . friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” (Luke 16:9 [Luke 9:17]) as the best way to be rid of him, paying quickly and gladly whatever fees the masters of the earth imposed on them. Then they went their way, resolutely refusing to own lands or houses of their own which, they felt, would encumber them with worldly obligations and vitiate their status as strangers and pilgrims.
The Unjust Steward; the Rich Man & Lazarus
A manager about to be sacked cooks his master’s books to buy himself friends, and is commended for it: the most uncomfortable commendation in the Gospels. What follows is a run of hard sayings about money and fidelity, and then the Pharisees, who are listening and who love money, laugh at him. The laughter is where this chapter turns.
Note. In the Joseph Smith Translation the Pharisees do not merely deride him: they tell him to his face that they will not receive him as their ruler. Everything after that is an answer to them: the law and the prophets testify of me; you take the children of the kingdom by force; and the rich man in fine linen, with the beggar at his gate, is you.
? How to read this edition
The reading is the Joseph Smith Translation, in the text of the Covenant Christian Edition, carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the CCE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.
1And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you may be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? For my lord takes away from me the stewardship. I cannot dig; to beg, I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much do you owe unto my lord? 6And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take your bill and sit down quickly and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much do you owe? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take your bill and write eighty. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.
9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10He who is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in the least is also unjust in much. 11If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give unto you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
14And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things and they derided him. 15And he said unto them, You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16And they said unto him, We have the law and the prophets, but as for this man, we will not receive him to be our ruler, for he makes himself to be a judge over us.
The law and the prophets were until John: since Then said Jesus unto them, The law and the prophets testify of me, yea, and all the prophets who have written, even until John, have foretold of these days. Since that time, the kingdom of God is preached, and every man who seeks truth presses into it. 17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than for one tittle of the law to fail. And why do you teach the law, and deny that which is written, and condemn him whom the Father has sent to fulfill the law, that you might all be redeemed? O fools, for you have said in your hearts, There is no God. And you pervert the right way, and the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence of you, and you persecute the meek, and in your violence you seek to destroy the kingdom, and you take the children of the kingdom by force. 18Woe unto you, you adulterers. And they reviled him again, being angry for the saying that they were adulterers. But he continued, saying, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.
19Truly I say unto you, I will liken you unto the rich man. For there was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus who was laid at his gate, full of sores 21and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. 22And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried of the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. 24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. 25But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and likewise, Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that they who would pass from here to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from there. 27Then he said, I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment. 29Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. 30And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one should rise from the dead.
Friends in the Hour of Distress, and an Hour on One Verse
Make unto Yourselves Friends with the Mammon of Unrighteousness
D&C 82:22–24 (CCE T&C 78:5) · April 26, 1832 · scriptures.info ↗Given at Independence, Missouri, to the men bound together in the firm that managed the church’s business. The Lord gives verse 9 to his own people as counsel for living among enemies, and sets it beside leaving judgment with him. Nine years later Joseph put the same two things side by side at the Nauvoo Lyceum, and the Joseph Smith Papers annotate his words to this revelation.
And now truly I say unto you, and this is wisdom, make unto yourselves friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, and they will not destroy you. Leave judgment alone with me, for it is mine and I will repay. Peace be with you, my blessings continue with you. For even yet the kingdom is yours, and shall be for ever if you fall not from your steadfastness. Even so, Amen.
Of the Mamon of Unrighteousness
At a meeting of the Nauvoo Lyceum in early March 1841, after a talk on true friendship, Joseph Smith spoke on the mammon of unrighteousness of verse 9. William McIntire’s minutes are brief, and one word is illegible (the Joseph Smith Papers suggest “oprist,” that is, oppressed), but the reading is plain: be generous to everyone around you, and some of those your kindness has made rich will be the friends who stand by you in affliction. The Joseph Smith Papers annotate the phrase to Luke 16:9–11.
Account of Meeting and Discourse, circa 2 March 1841, Nauvoo, Illinois · William McIntire, minute book, p. 13 · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Joseph said there was a diferance Between the veng[e]ance that Belongeth to the Lord, & a man Defending himself or friend— of the Mamon of unrighteousness Joseph said the majority of man king [mankind] was ◊◊ist & true a must Lavish his Goods on all around him & out of them he will find freinds in the hour of Distress for those that have been made Ritch By the Benevalance of their Rich friend of them there will be some that will do you Good in affliction—
They Are Their Own Accusers
Joseph Smith is not expounding this parable here and does not name it. The passage is shown because it states the doctrine the parable’s second half pictures: the righteous and the wicked in one world of spirits, where those who come short see the glory others enjoy and are their own accusers. Richard C. Galbraith’s Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith keys it to Luke 16:19–31. The reading is the History’s text; switch to “Scribal accounts” for the three reporters, of whom only Willard Richards kept the “accusers” sentence.
Discourse, 11 June 1843, Temple Stand, Nauvoo, Illinois · History, 1838–1856, volume D-1, p. 1574 (History of the Church 5:425; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 310–11) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Hades, Shaole, Paradise, Spirits in prison, are all one, it is a world of Spirits. The righteous and the wicked all go to the same world of Spirits until the resurrection. I do not think so says one. If you will go to my house anytime I will take my Lexicon and prove it to you. The great misery of departed Spirits in the world of Spirits where they go after death, is to know that they come short of the glory that others enjoy, and that they might have enjoyed themselves. and they are their own accusers, but says one I believe in one universal heaven and hell where all go and are all alike and equally miserable or equally happy. What? where all are huddled together, the honorable, virtuous, and murderers and whoremongers, when it is written that they shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body?
An Hour and Twenty-Five Minutes on One Verse
On Sunday afternoon, July 23, 1843, Joseph Smith announced Luke 16:16 as his text and preached on it for an hour and twenty-five minutes. Levi Richards timed it. What he does with the verse is trace the priesthood from Sinai to Aaron to Zacharias to John, and argue that John was the only man on earth with the authority to baptize when Jesus came to him. Notice the last move: he re-translates the violence clause, and he does not read it the way his own revision of this chapter reads it. Both are his.
Discourse, 23 July 1843, Nauvoo, Illinois · Joseph Smith Diary, kept by Willard Richards (the base text behind History of the Church 5:516–18 and Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 314–17) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Also recorded in Words of Joseph Smith, 23 July 1843 (Sunday afternoon).
Law and prophets were until John &c 16 luke. 16 v— Joseph prea[c]hed— introduction— It has gone ab[r]oad that I was no longer a prophet.— I said it Ironically. I supposd you would all understand. I was not that I would renounce the idea of being a prophet. but that I would renou[n]ce the idea of procla[i]ming myself such. and saying. that I bear the testimony of Jesus. …
… frie[n]dship is the grand fundamental prin[c]iple of Mormonism. to revolutin [revolutionize?] civilize the world.— pour forth love. fredship [friendship] like Bro Tulys [Theodore Turley’s] Blacksmith shop.— I do not dwell upon you[r] faults. you shall not upon mine— after you have covered up all the faults among you— the prettyest thing is have no faults at all— meek. qui[e]t. &c— Presbyteri[a]n any truth. emb[ra]ce that. Baptist. Methodist. &c— get all the good in the world. come out a pure mormon. …
… Law & prop[h]ets. &c— suffereth violenc[e] & the viol[e]nt taketh it by force— heavens and earth shall pass away. &c says christ. he was the rock &c—— gave the law 30 Ex. 30.31.— and thou shalt anoint A[a]ron &c. last chap Ex 15.— and thou shalt anoint. them &c.— a tittle of law which must be fulfilled.— provend hereditary.— fixed on the head of aron— down to Zachariahe— the father of John.—— Zachariah had no child— had not god gave him a son? sent his angel to declare a son henc[e] John. with the keys.—— John king and— lawgiver
The Kingdom of heavn suffereth volenc [violence] &— The kingdm of heavn continuith in auth[o]rity. until John. the authority taketh it by absolute power. John having the power— took the kingdom by authority.— How do you know all this g[rea]t knowledge—? by the gift of the H.G. [Holy Ghost] arrested the kingdom fr[o]m the Jews of these stony Gentil[e]s these dogs to raise up childrn unto Abraham
John I must be baptized by you. why to answer my decreess.— John refusees— Jesus had no legal admin[is]trator before John. No Salvation between the two lids of the bible without a legal administrator … Jesus was then the legal administrator.— & ordaind his apostles. I will resume the subject at some futur[e] time.——
The inline reading is the Joseph Smith Diary kept by Willard Richards, as he wrote it, with the Joseph Smith Papers’ bracketed expansions; the words he struck out are left out, and “…” marks the passages on other subjects. When the History was compiled from these notes, the part on Luke 16:16 was copied in and then canceled. Switch to “Scribal accounts” for the three independent records: James Burgess took down the fullest exposition of the verse, and Franklin D. Richards caught the re-translation in a single sentence.
Paying Quickly and Gladly, to Be Rid of Him
Nibley takes verse 9 as a piece of practical advice the earliest Christians actually followed. Rendering to Caesar was not homage; it was the price of being left alone. The distinction he draws, between paying a tax and burning a pinch of incense, is the whole difference between a receipt and an act of worship.