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...
Isaiah uses a metaphor of an olive tree to prophesy of Jesus Christ and the restoration of His church in modern times:
"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots" 2 Nephi 21:1).
Whenever I read this passage in the past, I presumed that all the references to rods, stems, branches, and roots referred to Jesus Christ. While verses 1-5 refer specifically to the Savior, verse 1 possesses a dual meaning and verse 10 refers to Joseph Smith.
"Stem of Jesse" = Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 21:1-5)
"the rod" = Joseph Smith (2 Nephi 21:1, 10)
D&C 113 explains this distinction in more detail: "Who is the Stem of Jesse spoken of in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th verses of the 11th chapter of Isaiah? Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ. What is the rod spoken of in the first verse of the 11th chapter of Isaiah, that should come of the Stem of Jesse? Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power. What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter? Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days (D&C 13:1-6).
By incorporating prophesies about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into his prophesy of Christ's triumph over evil and millennial reign Isaiah highlights the pivotal role that Joseph Smith and the restored church will play in bringing to pass this great work. Jesus created the world, performed the atonement, and enable our Heavenly Father's plan for our salvation; without the restoration of the church through Joseph Smith, the vast majority of God's children would not know these truths nor have access to these blessings.
Looking at the troubles of the world and the relatively minuscule size of the church compare to the world population, the task of bringing all people to a knowledge of the Lord can feel daunting. Indeed it is God's great work, millennia in the making, and will only prosper under His power and direction. Isaiah describes the blissful state that will follow Christ's second coming: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (2 Nephi 21:9).
The peace and happiness foretold will come because "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord." Not that people will know about the Lord, but they will actually have come to know him in a visceral and experiential way through righteous living. We cannot begin to fathom the love of God until we have tried to love as he did. We can have no inkling of his sacrifice and service until our efforts to help others have stretched us. Knowing God is not an intellectual pursuit. It is a process of becoming like Him. In fact, it is the essence of our purpose on earth to become like Him and return to live with Him someday. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
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