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...
During this time of wickedness among the Nephites, the Lord called a prophet of the Lamanites to preach to the Nephites. Helaman 13:1 sets the stage that "the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea, in great wickedness, while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God." Given the wickedness of the Nephites, it comes as no surprise that they rejected the teachings of Samuel. After his unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Nephites to repent, Samuel "was about to return to his own land" (Helaman 13:2). Essentially, Samuel the Lamanite had given up.
In our efforts to share the gospel and encourage loved ones to participate in the church, we are sure to encounter obstacles and may want to give up. Alma had a similar experience preaching to the people of Ammonihah before he met Amulek (Alma 8). I wonder why God let Samuel fail before the voice of the Lord came to Samuel to tell him to return and preach to the city. My best guess is that there is value in exerting all of our efforts and intellect before the Lord intervenes to assist us. The Lord instructed Samuel to "prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart," but even with spiritual guidance, God did not remove every obstacle before Samuel (Helaman 13:3). When Samuel faced the additional obstacle of being barred from reentering the city, he found another way and climbed up on the city wall to preach to the people. There seems to be a common theme throughout The Book of Mormon of the obstacles faced by prophets, their efforts and failures, and the incremental help of God. The phrase "whatsoever things should come into his heart" summarizes the kind of help God offers, and the level of trust required to receive it. Heavenly help comes not as a solution to our problems, but as an assurance that we will have what we need within us when the time comes.
While decrying the wickedness of the Nephites and prophesying their destruction if they did not repent, Samuel said he knew these things because an angel "did bring glad tidings to my soul" (Helaman 13:7). This reminds me of Lehi's reaction to the vision he received of the destruction of Jerusalem. He saw in a dream that Jerusalem "should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon" (1 Nephi 1:13). Facing the obliteration of his home and country, you would think that Lehi would be filled with sorrow or anger. But Lehi praised God, saying "Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!" (1 Nephi 1:14).
The reason Lehi rejoiced and Samuel described his vision of destruction as "glad tidings" is because they knew that the fate of Jerusalem and the fate of the Nephites was not inevitable. They knew that Jesus had prepared a way for them to repent, and that anyone who repented would be saved. Samuel added the caveat that, "except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them" (1 Helaman 13:8). When our family members, friends, communities, and nations choose to wander and reject God's teachings, we can have hope they their stories are not yet written. We can rejoice in the power of Christ's atonement, which stands at the ready to heal. We can pray that the Spirit will continue to strive with those we love and live among with full assurance that God is at the helm.
Application Questions
What challenges do you face in your efforts to share the gospel with family and friends? Even if you don't feel specific guidance from God, what else can you do to teach, testify, and encourage?
How can you find joy in the "glad tidings" of the gospel in a wicked world?
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