Huram’s efforts were not prompted by a desire to render his highest service to God. He served the God of this world—Mammon. The very fibers of his being had been inwrought with principles of selfishness, which were revealed in his grasping for the highest wages. And gradually these wrong principles came to be cherished by his associates. As they labored with him day after day, and yielded to the inclination to compare his wages with their own, they began to lose sight of the holy character of their work, and to dwell upon the difference between their wages and his. Gradually they lost their spirit of self-denial, and fostered a spirit of covetousness. The result was a demand for higher wages, which was granted them. {2BC 1027.7}

Hiram blev ikke tilskyndet af et ønske om at yde sin bedste tjeneste for Gud. Han tjente denne verdens gud - Mammon. Selve fibrene i hans væsen var blevet indpakket i selviskhedens principper som kom til syne ved at han tragtede (1028) efter de højeste lønninger. Gradvis blev disse fejlagtige principper arvet af hans medhjælpere. Medens de arbejdede sammen med ham dag efter dag og gav efter for tilbøjeligheden til at sammenligne hans løn med deres egen, begyndte de at tabe deres arbejdes hellige karakter af syne og de blev optaget af forskellen mellem deres løn og hans. Lidt efter lidt mistede de selvfornedrelsens ånd og nærede en begærlighedens ånd. Følgen blev et krav om højere løn, noget de også fik.