Jacob 1 - That We Might Persuade Them to Come Unto Christ I'm taking an online economics class right now, which prompted me to think of the definition of economics in the context of the scriptures. Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. In the case of Nephi and his successor Jacob, the plates upon which they engraved their record was a scarce resource. They were costly to make and difficult to engrave, and instilling a tradition of passing them through generations was surely cumbersome. Recognizing the great importance of spiritual things and the challenge of maintaining records, Nephi instructed Jacob to prioritize religious instruction saying, " if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people" (Jacob 1:4). This priority was not only reflecte...
We've all answered the cliche get-to-know-you question "If your house was on fire and you could only save one thing, what would it be." After Lehi and his family had departed into the wilderness--with the destruction of Jerusalem at hand--the Lord command that they return to get the record of their genealogy and the scriptures, which was called the brass plates.
Nephi explains why and articulates the importance of the scriptures:
"And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, that we may preserve unto our children the language of our fathers; And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time" (1 Nephi 3:19-20).
God's wisdom would have them retain their language (which could be interpreted broadly to include history and culture), and have access to the teachings of the prophets. I'm struck by the immense value the God places on both of the things, and the price He was willing to ask of Nephi and his brothers to return and retrieve the plates.
What is it about knowing where we came from (i.e. our ancestors and cultural background), and understanding God's interaction with his children on earth over the arc of human history that is so important?
The theme of remembering God's mercy toward his children runs throughout the Book of Mormon. In fact, it is encoded in the closing promise for Moroni, the last prophet of the Book of Mormon. He explains that one of the keys to gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon is to ponder in your heart "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things" (Moroni 10:3). (Missionaries, like Ammon, also "began from the creation of Adam" when teaching King Lamoni the gospel (Alma 18:36, Alma 22:12).)
"And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, that we may preserve unto our children the language of our fathers; And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time" (1 Nephi 3:19-20).
God's wisdom would have them retain their language (which could be interpreted broadly to include history and culture), and have access to the teachings of the prophets. I'm struck by the immense value the God places on both of the things, and the price He was willing to ask of Nephi and his brothers to return and retrieve the plates.
What is it about knowing where we came from (i.e. our ancestors and cultural background), and understanding God's interaction with his children on earth over the arc of human history that is so important?
The theme of remembering God's mercy toward his children runs throughout the Book of Mormon. In fact, it is encoded in the closing promise for Moroni, the last prophet of the Book of Mormon. He explains that one of the keys to gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon is to ponder in your heart "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things" (Moroni 10:3). (Missionaries, like Ammon, also "began from the creation of Adam" when teaching King Lamoni the gospel (Alma 18:36, Alma 22:12).)
5 And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord.
7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord.
31 And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?
1 Nephi 4:1-2
1 And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?
2 Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea.
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