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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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Words of Mormon 1 - For Thus It Whispereth Me


Mormon interjected to explain his process of compiling the records of his people, and comment on the reign of King Benjamin. Looking back from Mormon's perspective hundreds of years after Christ, and faced with the imminent destruction of his people, I wonder what thoughts and emotions Mormon had while abridging the plates. Surely there was a mix of gratitude and sorrow witnessing the obliteration of his society, but knowing that prophesies about the preservation of the record and the return of the Lamanites to the truth would ultimately be fulfillment 

 Mormon also experienced confidence that he was acting in accordance with the Lord's will and that his abridged record would bless the lives of millions. He said, "I chose these things, to finish my record upon them ... for they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren" (Words of Mormon 1:5-6). The source of this confidence and sense of hope was the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. Regarding compiling the records, Mormon said "I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will" (Words of Mormon 1:7). Mormon was prompted and motivated to do the will of the Lord even without having a full view of the Lord's purposes. 

 I often assume that for the most important components of God's plan, God uses alternative means or goes to extreme efforts to reveal truth to his servants. Certainly there are examples of miracles and visitations in the scriptures that stand out and support this idea. But just as often, God does not send an angel or part a sea. More often than not he uses a pattern of whispering through the Holy Ghost to inspire his servants to act. Most significantly, Jesus Christ relied on nothing more than the basic tools of scripture study, prayer, sabbath worship, temple attendance and fasting to come to know of his role as the Savior by the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. Prior to His transfiguration, I'm not aware of an example in the New Testament of Christ experiencing a visitation by an angel, or having a vision of His role as the Redeemer. How did Christ know he was the Savior? How did he muster the confidence and willingness to live a lifetime of righteous service and undergo the pain of the atonement? What assurances did he have that he was actually the Messiah and that His suffering would be effective to wash away the sins of man. 

 From a revelation given to Joseph Smith we learn that Christ "received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first" (D&C 93:12-15). In his youth there must have been a moment when He felt his first inkling that He might be the Messiah. In the course of His development, the subtle whisperings of the Spirit grew stronger and confirmed in His heart the role he was destined to play. Heavenly Father let the fate of the entire human race hinge on one child's ability to hear and respond the the subtle promptings of the Holy Ghost. There was no more important event in human history than the life and atonement of Jesus Christ, and yet to my knowledge Jesus did not even audibly hear the Father's voice until after his baptism. 

 It is hard to be certain about what God would have me do with my life and to move forward with boldness to achieve it. When I feel impressions and promptings from the Spirit it is easy to question, disregard or hesitate. But I am reminded that Jesus never had more than the same tools available to me to learn of His divine mission and carry it out perfectly. Mormon abridge and preserved a record of the entire history of his people, "For thus it whispereth me." The whisperings, hunches and inklings we feel from the Spirit are all we need to know the truth of all things and fulfill our mortal purpose. 


Application Questions

 What promptings and personal revelation have you received about your purpose and mission in life? How can you work today to fulfill those promptings?


Image Credit: David Crank 

Comments

  1. baimaoOctober 9, 2017 at 10:05 PM

    1 Kings 19:12 for Old Testament example

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sterling LarsenOctober 10, 2017 at 1:16 PM

      Yes, probably the most poetic verse in scripture related to this idea:

      11 And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

      12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

      Now that you have me thinking of the Old Testament, the calling of Samuel comes to mind as well. 1 Samuel 3:4-10

      Delete

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