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
Lehi prophesied about the restoration of Christ's
church in modern times, The Book of Mormon, and the role of Joseph Smith.
For much of my youth as a member of
the church, my attitude toward Joseph Smith was indifferent or dismissive.
While I had clear and powerful feelings about the reality and divinity of Jesus
Christ, my attitude toward Joseph Smith, the prophet who restored His church,
was ambivalent. Sure I accepted that Joseph was called of God to re-establish
the church, but I deliberately de-emphasized the importance of his role. I saw
him as just another prophet among prophets. De-emphasizing Joseph Smith helped
me to downplay some of the weird aspects of Mormonism, and avoid the historical
complexity of the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. I was also hyper-vigilant to avoid any hero-worship of Joseph Smith,
and was sensitive to criticisms of the church that would label it as
non-Christian.
As a missionary in Taiwan, however, I needed a
deliberate opinion of Joseph Smith. I needed to be certain that he saw and did
the things he claimed. If I was going to teach and testify on a daily basis
that Joseph Smith received direction and authority from God to translate the
Book of Mormon and restore the church (and ask people to change their lives and
join it) I needed to know for sure. Through numerous subtle impressions I came
to understand that my relationship with Christ hinged on things that Joseph
Smith had restored, like scriptures and priesthood ordinances. More
importantly, I learned that the way the majority of God's children--past and
present--will know and accept Christ is through the work of His church restored
in modern times through Joseph Smith.
He Obtained a Promise of the Lord
Lehi explained how another prophet--Joseph who
was sold into Egypt--also saw a vision of Christ's church restored through
Joseph Smith. "Wherefore, Joseph [of Egypt] truly saw our day. And he
obtained a promise of the Lord..." (2 Nephi 3:5) While the promise
that Joseph obtained was that his posterity would eventually believe in Christ
and be a righteous people,
the phrase, "he obtained a
promise of the Lord" caused me to reflect on the other promises that I have
obtained from the Lord. Everything that
God asks us to do comes with an attached promise. We "obtain" these
promises through obedience to His commandments. "There is a law,
irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which
all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by
obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" D&C 130:20-21.
I have enjoyed untold blessings by trying to
follow God's instructions for my life. I have also left many blessings
unclaimed because I have not yet done my part. While the realization of
specific blessings depends on the Lord's timeline, the only limiting factor on
obtaining God's promises is our obedience. In Hebrews we learn that many
heroes of the Old Testament like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sara "all
died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews
11:13). When we have obtained the promises of the Lord, they give us
confidence and drive our behavior, even before the blessing is in hand. What
blessings have you been promised that are currently unclaimed? What could you
do to "obtain" them?
A Seer Shall the Lord My God Raise Up
"For Joseph [of Egypt] truly testified,
saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto
the fruit of my loins" (2 Nephi 3:6).
Lehi recounts the Lord's promise to Joseph of
Egypt that "there shall rise up one mighty among them [Joseph of Egypt's
posterity], who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an
instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders,
and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to
pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy
brethren" (2 Nephi 3:24). Whenever I have read this scripture in the past,
I understood it in vague terms and
glossed over that the chosen seer, Joseph Smith, was not only called to
restore the Church of Jesus Christ, he was called to "bring to pass much
restoration unto the house of Israel"
The restoration or gathering of the House of
Israel is a literal gathering of the descendants of Jacob, but it is also a
spiritual gathering. It is about bringing God's children--past, present and
future--to a knowledge of Jesus Christ, helping them live His teaching, and
enabling them to receive saving ordinances. All of these things are only
possible through the knowledge and priesthood authority that was restored
through Joseph Smith. Specifically, "he shall do a work for the fruit of
thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing
of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers"
(2 Nephi 3:7)
The Bible and The Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith's work to restore the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints was not only intended to introduce new
things, but to affirm what God had already revealed to His children. Lehi
explains that the translation of the Book of Mormon, specifically, was
"not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing
them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them" (2 Nephi
3:11)
The Book of Mormon has an important mission to
reinforce and affirm The Bible and convincing Joseph of Egypt's descendants of
the divinity of Christ, The Lord told
Joseph of Egypt "Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write [The Book
of Mormon]; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write [The Bible]; and
[they] shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying
down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and
bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to
the knowledge of my covenants" (2 Nephi 3:12).
I generally focus on the conflict that sometimes
exists between Mormons and other Christian sects regarding the Book of Mormon,
but this scripture leads me to wonder how the publication of The Book of Mormon
has "reduced contention," and "established peace" not only
within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but among all people.
Perhaps this is prophesy is still outstanding. At a minimum, the Book of Mormon
has helped me come to know Christ, and better follow His example to walk
peaceably and act in harmony with all I meet.
Image Credit: josephsmith.net
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