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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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Helaman 10 - He Did Stop and Did Not Go Unto His Own House,



After a very long day in which Nephi used the gift of prophesy to identify the murdered of the chief judge, he must have been exhausted. I think of my own mental, physical, and emotional state coming home from a normal day at the office and I can only imagine his fatigue. In Helaman chapter 10 we read that after all of this “Nephi went his way towards his own house, pondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him” (Helaman 10:2). Nephi was praying on his commute.

"And it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will" (Helaman 10:3-5)

Nephi was qualified to receive these great manifestations and blessings because he:

  • declared the word of God (Helaman 10:4)
  • did not fear man (Helaman 10:4)
  • sought the will of God (Helaman 10:4); and 
  • kept the commandments (Helaman 10:4)

I love thinking of these qualifications as a personal checklist for my behavior and the condition of my heart. I have always felt a direct correlation between my willingness to share my testimony without fear and receiving strength from God. Whenever I try to do His will, however poorly, I find that I speak and act better than I would otherwise.

The gift God gave to Nephi was truly profound: Nephi heard the voice of God and received the sealing power at His hand. God said, "Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Helaman 10:7). Because Nephi had aligned his will with God's, God could trust him with incredible power and responsibility.

After this remarkable manifestation I would imagine that Nephi would want to ponder, to rest, or to record his experience. Instead, “he did stop and did not go unto his own house, but did return unto the multitudes who were scattered about upon the face of the land, and began to declare unto them the word of the Lord which had been spoken unto him, concerning their destruction if they did not repent” (Helaman 10:12). There was no delay or hesitation. Nephi acted immediately to warn the people and call them to repentance. When I receive inspiration to help someone, my first impulse is usually to try to schedule it. If I'm careful I can delay long enough to numb my conscience and forget. But Nephi set aside his schedule and his needs--to rest and process--and immediately went to work.

I don't remember where I first heard the concept of living an "interruptible life," but I love the idea. I hope I can be less scheduled and more responsive to promptings to serve.


Application Questions

When do I find time to reflect on spiritual prompting and record experiences

 How can I respond to spiritual promptings with more urgency?

 Is declaring the word of the Lord my highest priority?


Image Credit: www.trstimson.com

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