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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 20 - Shall the Ax Boast Itself


After receiving instructions from God to preach the gospel to non-Jews, Peter taught, "of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (Acts 10:34-35). Isaiah taught that the inverse is also true, that just as God will provide every person with the opportunity to receive the blessings available through the plan of salvation, He will equally punish those who rebel and disobey:
"Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus? As my hand hath founded the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and to her idols? 
Calno, Carchemish, Hamath, Arpad, Samaria, and Damascus were all kingdoms neighboring Israel and Judah who practices idol worship. They were destroyed by the Assyrians as punishment for idol worship and Isaiah prophesies of the doom that will likewise meet God's chosen people if they persist in idolatry. Even though Assyria was an instrument in God's hand to punish and chasten wickedness (referred to as an ax, a saw, and a whipping rod), the Assyrian's vast empire was conquered by the Babylonians soon after. Isaiah rebukes the haughtiness of Assyria, which  boasted in its conquest of these kingdoms: "Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood!" (2 Nephi 20:9-11). 
We have all been given talents, knowledge, resources, privileges, wealth, and time to make us useful as instruments in God's hand. These gifts are intended to bless us, our families, and those around us. I wonder, though, how often I think of my privileges this way, or if I squander them on my own self-indulgent pride. Yann Dall'Aglio in a TED Talk on love introduced the concept of "seduction capital." Accruing seduction capital is the self-aggrandizing process of amassing desirable traits (money, degrees, status, appearance) to win the approval and admiration of others, and establish our status as superior to others. It is the antithesis of love. Like the Assyrians, there are times when I would imagine that I have somehow earned the privileges I have. But the truth is they have nothing to do with me. They belong to God and I will be held accountable for how I use them to love others. 
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