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...
God has given us the ability to choose whatever we want. In life we exchange our time and energy and resources for the things that are most valuable to us. When we die, this self-determination continues, and we choose how and with whom we want to spend eternity. God's judgement is not about tallying the good and evil things we have done, but a self-assessment of the person we have become. Jacob teaches we will have a perfect knowledge of ourselves: "Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness" (2 Nephi 9:14). This knowledge of who have have become will not only determine where we will choose to spend the afterlife, it is the reward (or punishment) we will receive. "Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day" (2 Nephi 9:33).
Another Book of Mormon prophet, King Benjamin, explained further, "and if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment ... and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever" (Mosiah 3:25, 27). The punishment for unrighteousness is not literal fire and brimstone, but mental and emotional anguish stemming from our just feelings of guilt. In other words, "to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal" (2 Nephi 9:39).
This is why it is so important that our time on earth is a transformative experience. While God has outline certain necessary steps that all of His children need to take to return to him (baptism, for example) simply checking boxes is insufficient. Our fundamental natures and the character that we develop remain with us. As Jacob states, "they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still" (2 Nephi 9:16). There are no shortcuts in this transformation. Our personal development is a gradual process. Jacob explains that in order to become righteous we must "endure the crosses of the world, and despise the shame of it [the world]" so that we can "inherit the kingdom of God" (2 Nephi 9:18).
Take Up Your Cross
When Christ came to earth to visit the people of the American continent after his crucifixion he call twelve apostles and instructed them to remain pure and avoid lustful thoughts, "For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell" (3 Nephi 12:30). In 1837 the Lord instructed the modern apostles to do the same: "Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, follow me, and feed my sheep" (D&C 112:14).
Choosing to live as God would have us life requires be comfortable with His correction and chastisement. Jacob acknowledged: "I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken" (2 Nephi 9:40). This is true even when we are not yet living the truths we believe. We still accept them and work toward them. When we do this we realize the promise that Jacob describes: "And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them" (2 Nephi 9:42).
Taking up your cross means accepting the short-term discomforts, costs, and sacrifices of keeping the commandments. It is about foregoing current pleasures for long-term happiness. It is about mourning and letting go of the worldly things we will never have because we choose righteousness. To this end, Jacob encourages us "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy" (2 Nephi 9: 51) Instead, he urges, "Come, my brethren [and sisters], every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Christ has atoned for us, and extends the enabling power that this sacrifice provides. It grants us strength and comfort and assures ultimate victory over death and sin. We accept the atonement and the attendant blessings when we seek to do God's will and become like Him. Yesterday in bishopric meeting my bishop shared the following scripture: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Accepting crosses and yokes distributes the weight of our burdens with the Lord. And while the hard work associated with following Christ might not feel very relaxing--it might exhaust our bodies and minds--it brings rest unto our souls. The peace and contentment that comes from a clear conscience is the reward that we seek, in this life and in the hereafter.
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