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
After fleeing into the wilderness, the priests of King Noah abducted 24 daughters of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites wrongly assumed the people of Limnhi had abducted the women. This incited a battle between the Lamanites and the people of Limhi before the misunderstanding was resolved and appropriate blame was placed on the priests of Noah.
The record details some of the reasons why the priests of Noah committed this crime. "And now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the city of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would slay them, therefore they durst not return to their wives and their children" (Mosiah 20:3).
Their decision to remain on the run and abduct the Lamanite women as wives was rooted in a sense of shame. Unwilling to come to terms with their failure and accept just consequences, they sank deeper into sin. This verse highlights an extreme example of the toxic influence of shame and fear in our lives. Had the priests of Noah returned to the people of Limhi, they would have certainly faced sever punishment, maybe even death. But if they had expressed true sorrow and penitence, there is a chance that their lives might have been spared and they could have embarked on a path of repentance and reconciliation. Instead, shame drove them to keep running and commit a grievous sin that surely inflicted psychological, emotional, and sexual trauma on the innocent daughters of the Lamanites, and paved the way to their own spiritual destruction.
On a smaller scale, we all experience shame. While many of us have been taught that "righteous sorrow" is a necessary part of repentance it is important to draw a distinction between this kind of remorse, and shame. Guilt a feeling of having committed wrong or failed in an obligation while shame is a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. Bree Brown summarized this notion beautifully in a blog post she wrote entitled Shame vs. Guilt. She defines shame as "the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging – something we've experienced, done, or failed to do makes us unworthy of connection. I don't believe shame is helpful or productive."
Feeling guilt or righteous sorrow is a motivating experience that helps us realign with our values and keep working toward them. Recognizing the gap between where we are and where we want to be awakens our creativity and resolve to keep trying and moving forward. This kind of remorse is a divinely given and can be communicated by the Holy Ghost as God corrects and chastises us. Shame on the other hand is an instrument of Satan to damn us, or prevent our forward progression. We can recognize shame because it will motivate us to hide and withdraw from others because we feel "unworthy of love and connections." It will tempt us to give up because we are past hope and unworthy of saving. These lies would have us forget that there is simply nothing we can due to diminish God's love for us.
Application Questions
When do you feel shame and what can you do to feel less of it? What thoughts and beliefs help you feel love for yourself, God's love for you, and hope for the future even when you have made serious mistakes?
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