Webster’s dictionary describes a principle as “a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption; a rule or code of conduct; or habitual devotion to right principles.” It defines correct as “conforming to or agreeing with a known truth”(www.Merriamwebster.com/dictionary/principle, May 5, 2010). Putting these two definitions together, correct principles are the fundamental laws or doctrine, which, if understood, will allow us to live or act according to truth. While easy to find, correct principles may not be easy to live. Elder Richard G. Scott commented:

Joseph Smith’s inspired statement, 'I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves,' still applies (quoted by John Taylor, in Millennial Star, 15 Nov. 1851, p. 339). The Lord uses that pattern with us. You will find correct principles in the teachings of the Savior, His prophets, and the scriptures—especially the Book of Mormon. While easy to find, true principles are not easy to live until they become an established pattern of life. They will require you to dislodge false ideas. They can cause you wrenching battles within the secret chambers of your heart and decisive encounters to overcome temptation, peer pressure, and the false allure of the “easy way out.” Yet, as you resolutely follow correct principles, you will forge strength of character available to you in times of urgent need. Your consistent adherence to principle overcomes the alluring yet false life-styles that surround you. Your faithful compliance to correct principles will generate criticism and ridicule from others, yet the results are so eternally worthwhile that they warrant your every sacrifice (Richard G. Scott, “The Power of Correct Principles,” Ensign, May 1993, 32).

What are those principles we must adhere to whose results are so eternally worthwhile that they warrant our every sacrifice? Let me propose a few “correct principles” that relate to understanding and using wealth wisely.