When I read this, I think of the importance of temples. When the impoverished saints in Kirtland were asked to:
“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;” (Doctrine & Covenants 109:8);
They did so. The correlation between righteousness and prosperity is a no-brainer. In my book “Values Investing” I reveal the research decisions and extraordinary performance of the Virtue Fund (VRTUE) and how it was the only mutual fund that survived the collapse of the U.S. economy. All three events: book release, fund IPO, and economy collapse have yet to happen, but really should really soon.
Back to the subject at hand. Modern thinking is finally beginning to comprehend this correlation. It is only since 1996 that the World Bank has tried to quantify the relationship between governance and prosperity. My people have acted upon and been prospered by this principle since 1835. There is nothing like being 80 years ahead of the curve.
The high correlation between incomes and property value in relation to the Rule of Law Index is undeniable. It is worth noting that Census data identifies per household wealth principle down to the tract. My current district has one of the highest the concentrations of these types of wealth in the world. However, there is a big difference between correlation and causation. Now ask yourself this, what do NY, LA, Israel, and SLC have in common (besides having the highest per capita wealth globally)? Got it yet? If anyone reads this and can’t figure it out, they must post a comment on my blog before I’ll answer.
Here is an excerpt of a similar (though less comprehensive) principle as drafted by John Adams for the constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in defense of the principle of separation of powers: In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative department shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers or either of them: the executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers, or either of them: the judicial shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them: to the end it may be a government of laws and not of men.— Massachusetts Constitution, Part The First, art. XXX (1780). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law.
Here is a picture of my oldest boy (he was 3 at the time) overlooking the only building in the valley that will survive through the millennium.
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