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
Nephi explains his intent in keeping a record of his people is to preserve and share sacred things. He also offers an important caveat about his writings, and the writings of other prophets before him: "Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself" (1 Nephi 19:6).
Nephi implies that he would make mistakes, and that prophets before him had also made errors. This runs counter to most of our thinking about prophets and scriptures. I know that God speaks his will through divinely appointed prophets who have authority to teach the truth about God and his plan for us. Following the council of living prophets and the teachings of the scriptures is one of the most important things we can do for our own happiness and eternal salvation. So how should we interpret Nephi's caveat about revealed truth?
God works through his children--broken and imperfect instruments--to fulfill his plan. While he is omniscient and reveals pure truth to his called servants, they/we receive it imperfectly. Prophets use imperfect language (which has been translated imperfectly) to record theses revelations, which we then read and understand imperfectly. At each point of transmission, there is opportunity for loss in clarity, nuance, and accuracy of the truth that has been revealed.
I make this point not to undermine confidence in revealed truth, but to caution that if we do not maintain a level of flexibility and openness, our faith can shatter in the face seemingly irreconcilable differences between the teachings we have received and the world we experience each day. We should have a sense of humility about our understanding of God's will and not presume that the Gospel (and the world) as we currently know and understand it is exactly as God intended it. God gave a similar warning to those who would not receive the Book of Mormon: "Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible... Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word?" (2 Nephi 29:6,8).
There are a number of examples in the scriptures that illustrate God's effort to work with his children in a fallen and imperfect world--to nudge them incrementally toward a higher way of living. In the New Testament, Paul instructs slave in Ephesus: "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ...And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him." (Ephesians 6:6,9). Obviously slavery is a practice that is totally incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet the apostle Paul give specific instructions to slaves and owners on how to treat one another in a fundamentally flawed social arrangement. Why didn't Paul instruct the Ephesians and all others who would listen to incite revolution and immediately overthrow this practice? Paul is not sanctioning slavery, but providing a divinely revealed stopgap until a time when in the long arc of human history the world is prepared to totally abandon slavery.
God is patient; he reveals truth and facilitates personal and societal transformation at the pace we are willing to receive it. He knows that individually and collectively we are not capable of the rapid and radical change required to bring us in total harmony with His will. This pace can feel too slow for victims of a fallen world caught in oppressive and unjust circumstances, and I have heard criticism that the Church in particular should be at the bleeding edge of our most pressing social issues. "Wait on the world to change" doesn't really feel like a plan. As individuals, as a church, as nations, as humans, we have inherited societal and political conditions that are deeply flawed. It is my personal believe that we have responsibility to vigorously and persistently challenge the things that are broken around us. This change can and will come at the pace of our personal and collective righteousness.
Image Credit: Infinit Datum
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