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 God I know is filled with kindness, mercy, and patience. His most enduring characteristic is love and he has shepherded me through my wanderings with a watchful and gentle hand. Even His corrections and chastisements have been filled with encouragement and hope.
Maybe that is why I have such a hard time appreciating God's justice. The wrath of a vengeful God seems antithetical to the loving Father I have experienced. But in too many instances for me to ignore, the scriptures record this dimension of our Heavenly Father.
Yesterday I was reading in Exodus with Bren and noticed for the first time that after Aaron created a golden calf for the children of Israel to worship in the wilderness, Moses slaughtered the unrepentant. "As soon as he ... saw the calf, and the dancing ... Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it" (Exodus 32:19-20). "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men" (Exodus 32:26-28).
When all the children of Israel had been found in iniquity, Moses called the penitent to him. Those who failed to heed the call "Who is on the Lord’s side?" and abandon their sins were summarily slaughtered by the thousands. In many ways Moses is a type of the Savior, and in the Book of Mormon we learn that He, too, has not tolerance for wickedness: "Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (Alma 45:16).
In 2 Nephi 23, Isaiah prophesies regarding the destruction of Babylon, which serves as a metaphor for the destruction of the wicked at the end of the world, before the righteous enjoy millennial rest. In shocking language Isaiah foresees the atrocities held for the wicked: "And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled and their wives ravished. Their bows shall also dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children. (2 Nephi 23:11, 16, 18).
The vengeance of God is still a mystery to me, but in reading this chapter today I was impressed by the truth that God simultaneously mourns for the wicked even as he must punish them. He stands with open arms even as He chastens, and His sorrow for the wicked is a symbol of His love. This sentiment is perfectly captured by Mormon as he observed the final destruction o this people the Nephites: "O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss" (Mormon 6:17-18).
The second truth is that we self-select to receive His mercy and healing, or His destruction, and the unrighteous actions of other cannot impede the progress of Zion. As Jeremiah explained, "We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God" (Jeremiah 51:9-10).
I'm left with the question "What should I do with this information?" What lessons can I glean as an individual that I can apply to my day-to-day life from my knowledge of the holocaust that awaits the wicked?
- Remain penitent and encourage others to come to and remain on the Lord's side.
- Mourn the poor choices of wayward family and friends and persist in love.
- Press forward in doing good, despite the negative choices of others.
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