Riches

Jacob 2:18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.

This is such an interesting statement!  Most of us have mixed feelings about riches.  We feel that they're probably evil, while wishing we had more of them.   Some of our suspicions about money stem from Paul's statement in 1 Timothy 6 which is often quoted as money is the root of all evil.  But that's not what Paul said.  See what President Hinckley had to say:

Gordon B. Hinckley

“Continuing with the words of Paul, ‘For the love of money is the root of all evil’ (1 Tim 6:10). It is the love of money and the love of those things which money can buy which destroys us. We all need money to supply our needs. But it is the love of it which hurts us, which warps our values, which leads us away from spiritual things and fosters selfishness and greed.” (Ensign, May 1997, p. 49 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 175)

Jacob tells us in verse 19 what the qualifications are for righteously obtaining riches:

And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.

gospeldoctrine.com says this:

"The pursuit of wealth must be done with qualifications, 1) one must first seek the kingdom of God, 2) one must have obtained a hope in Christ, and 3) the riches are to be sought for the benefit of others. If a rich individual meets these qualifications and is not lifted up in pride, he or she is justified before the Lord. Otherwise, wealth, or more accurately, the love of money, is a vice which destroys the soul. As the Savior said, a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:24)."  

There are a couple of additional things I'd like to say about riches.

1. We don't believe it, but we actually are already wealthy.  If you've been in a developing country or a 3rd world country, you've seen poverty.  People who live with many people to a small apartment, or who don't have indoor bathrooms, or no air conditioning, not enough food to eat, who can't provide for their families can tell you that Americans are all rich.  Sure, when we compare ourselves to our neighbors, or the people with big expensive houses, we feel poor, but we're really, really not.
2. When we have the Gospel, we're rich, no matter our possessions or our income.  When we can feast upon the Spirit, when we know our Savior, when we can study the scriptures and listen to the words of the prophets, we are rich indeed.

 D&C6:7 Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.