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...
"How blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard ... And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long ... Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?" (Jacob 6:3-6).
Jacob's injunction rhetorically asks, "Why will ye die?" Given the truths his people were taught and the love of God he describes it seems impossible that anyone would stray from the path. But people did, and people do. So why do we sin? Why do we choose spiritual death? Sin is an attempt to go numb, or fast-track to something we haven't yet earned. We try and escape from the difficult and uncomfortable aspects of our lives or avoid effort. For a moment, we are trying to opt out of God’s plan and avoid the negative emotions and hardships associated with it. We are at greatest risk to sin when we are bored, tired, sad, angry, lonely, disappointed, depressed, or feel envy, doubt, fear, shame, or guilt. The more comfortable we are with discomfort, the more we challenge negative thought patterns, and the more we try to fill our lives with joy and meaning, the more resilient we will be in the face of temptation.
"O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. O be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 6:11-12) Jacob summarizes his counsel in three words, "O be wise." The modern equivalent seems to be "use common sense." Is Jacob being over simplistic? Are instructions to "just be smart" useful? How can we follow Jacob's instruction?
Bren and I often laugh about our experiences asking our parents for advice. They have always given us a lot of latitude and extended a lot of trust, something we are extremely grateful for. But even when we announced we were getting married, even when we have specifically asked for parenting advice, even when we have cornered them and asked repeatedly, they don't really tell us what to do. The response is inevitably something like, "You'll figure it out," or "You'll do great." Re-reading Jacob's counsel I see a thread of wisdom between these irksome but ultimately valuable responses. Like the shrouded layers of meaning encoded in a parable, Jacob's council demands that we seek out the ultimate source of all truth to know what is "wise." The answers we get when we study for ourselves and have experiences of our own will always outweigh the wisdom we are offered. In fact, neither Jacob nor our parents can really give us wisdom. They can only invite and encourage us to earn it.
Application Question:
Why do you make choices that you know are wrong? How can you stop treating symptoms and address the underlying issues you are running from?
What does it mean to "be wise?"
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