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9 - 15 Mar - Learn With Joy and Not With Sorrow - Jacob 1 - 4

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...
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2 Nephi 15 - My Well-Beloved Hath a Vineyard in a Very Fruitful Hill


Continuing on the theme of producing fruit, Isaiah shares an allegory of a vineyard to illustrate the consequences of wickedness for the House of Judah. "My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." (2 Nephi 15:1-2). 
Instead of producing fruit, however, the vines of the vineyard were unruly and produced "wild" grapes, or unrighteous works. The lord of the vineyard laments, "What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes it brought forth wild grapes" (2 Nephi 15:4). Jacob will later quote the prophet Zenos who echoes this refrain in his allegory of a vineyard as well: "And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?" (Jacob 5:41).
God's work and glory is our immortality and eternal life. All his works, all his thoughts, all of his effort, energy, and emotion is focused on our development and refinement. He has created our planet, our bodies, and tirelessly cares for our progress by "fencing" (protecting) us, gathering out "stones" (removing obstacles), pruning (correcting), and digging (nourishing). So often, though, we are oblivious to His care, and like the wicked, "regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands" (2 Nephi 15:12)
In describing the wickedness of His people, and the grave consequences of unrighteousness, Isaiah explains, "my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge" (2 Nephi 15:13). Knowledge of what? What gaps in our knowledge bind and limit us? As Isaiah alludes in verse 12, it may be a lack of awareness of God's love and his effort son our behalf. The inverse is also true: a clear understanding of God's love for his children opens our minds to learn new truths and frees us to do His will. At the close of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni the key to understanding and gaining a testimony of the book to those who would read it later: "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things ... that ye would remember 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, and ponder it in your hearts" (Moroni 10:3).
When we remember God's love, and live in gratitude of his blessings, our knowledge increases, and we are more resilient to sin. Isaiah laments the wicked and warns "Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope" (2 Nephi 15:18). How are pride and vanity making it hard for me to let go of the unrighteous things I do? What sins could I let go of if I were more humble? Fortunately, God is patient, and will wait for us to return to Him. Even though his his sense of justice cannot tolerate unrighteousness, his mercy is always extended to us, "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still" (2 Nephi 15:25).
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