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...
In contrast to the murder, corruption, and deception employed by Amalickiah, in chapter 48 we read about the virtues of Moroni, and the pains he took to prepare his people to defend themselves. Amalickiah had consolidated his control of the Lamanites, and now set his sites on conquering the Nephites. His first step was a propaganda campaign to stoke Lamanite animosity toward the Nephites. "He did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their towers, against the Nephites" (Alma 48:1), and "he had hardened the hearts of the Lamanites and blinded their minds, and stirred them up to anger, insomuch that he had gathered together a numerous host to go to battle against the Nephites" (Alma 48:3). Through his fear mongering, Amalickiah manipulated the Lamanites into pursuing an unjustified war of aggression. "Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God" (Alma 48:7). Prophets of God, ...