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...
The knowledge that we are free to choose our actions "cheers our hearts" because it is empowering and gives us ownership of our lives and destinies. As Jacob teaches, "cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved" (2 Nephi 10:23-24).
The other aspect of this verse that is encouraging is that salvation is not entirely up to me, "that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved." We can both choose the life that we want AND count on divine help to achieve it.
The Bible Dictionary explains that "It is through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts."
Here Jacob is also teaching us to focus on the things in our control, and leave the rest to God. I have recently become acquainted with the website/podcast www.boldnewmom.com and have listened to a number of episodes with my wife. In this podcast, Jody Moore outlines a method for understanding what happens to us in life, and how to choose useful thoughts and actions around them. She calls it "the model," which consists of Circumstances, Thoughts, Feelings, Actions, Results:
- Circumstances are objective facts, things that could be proven in a court of law, and are always neutral (e.g. it is raining, I have 4 children, I work in the tech industry)
- Thoughts are the things we consciously or unconsciously tell ourselves about our circumstances (e.g. rain is the worst, I love my kids, my job is so boring)
- Feelings are "vibrations in our bodies" that stem from our thoughts (e.g. tight chest, increased heart rate, sweaty palms, relaxed muscles)
- Actions are the things we do and say, and are motivated by our emotions.
- Results are the outcomes of our actions.
Jody stresses the importance of supervising our thoughts, and leaving to God our circumstance and the actions of others. Throughout the scriptures, we are also reminded that we cannot control the results or outcomes in our lives. Our righteous actions (which we know through modern psychology are predicated on our thoughts and feelings) may increase the likelihood of good results in our lives, but the results are not within our control. As Christ questioned his apostles, "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" (Matthew 6:27, Luke 12:25) Just as we can't grow taller through sheer will-power, our best parenting can't force our kids to behave, hard work can't guarantee a promotion, and buckling up can't ensure we will always be safe.
The outcomes or results of our actions are a gift from God. Using the example of missionary work, Paul explained, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). Even the disappointing and painful experiences of our lives are a sign of His grace; they do not happen to us, the happen for us. The more we turn to God in prayer and rely on his strength, the more benefit even the bad things will hold for us. "But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul" (2 Nephi 32:9) It may not go well, but it will be for your good.
In the middle of trials and challenges it is hard to maintain hope and gratitude. We do not always know the reason why things aren't working out as we planned, but we can choose to trust in the Lord. "Seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea" (2 Nephi 10:20). Taking the experience of Lehi and his family as a metaphor for our own growing experiences, we can take comfort that God is at the helm and choose to remember God, repent, and have hope.
Image Credit: LDS Living
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