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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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3 Nephi 20 - Ye Shall Not Go out with Haste nor Go by Flight


After teaching the people to pray continuously in their hearts, and miraculously providing bread and wine to administer the sacrament, Christ reiterated prophesies made by Isaiah about the gathering of Israel. 

 Ye Have Them Before You, Therefore Search Them

 Christ instructed the people to read the teaching of Isaiah, which I interpret to mean we more generally that we should read the scriptures and the words of the living prophets. He told the Nephites, "ye have them before you, therefore search them" (3 Nephi 20:11). God has given us the information we need to follow him and live righteous lives. We simply need to search it out and try to follow its teaching. If we do, God has promised that "I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor. For I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass" (3 Nephi 20:18-19). God has the ability to make us a nourishing and valuable source of sustenance, like wheat. He can also strengthened us like a bull with iron horns and brass hooves. He can increase our natural abilities and make us more than we are. 

 The promises that God has made to those who choose to follow Him and be adopted into his family through baptism are really amazing. Christ taught the Nephites, "I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time ... Then shall they break forth into joy—Sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Father hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one" (3 Nephi 20:29, 34-35). It's subtle, but notice the verb tenses in this passage. While He "will remember" His covenant, and his people "shall" break forth in song, He "hath" already redeemed Jerusalem, and "hath" made bare his holy arm. To me this is significant, because while our joy in the fulfillment of the covenant is in the future, the redemptive and atoning work has already been completed. The fulfilling of the covenant is inevitable. We know how the story ends, and nothing can stop the progress of the work of God. 

 While the fulfillment of God's work is inevitable, our participation in it and enjoyment the promised blessings hinges on our choices. Christ quoted Isaiah to encourage the Nephites to "Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion" (3 Nephi 20:36-37). This beautiful, metaphorical language is a reminder to me separate myself from habits and beliefs that pull me away from God and prevent me from feeling the Spirit. 

 Ye Shall Not Go out with Haste nor Go by Flight

 Christ quotes Isaiah and cautions the Nephites that as they remove themselves from the evil of Babylon that "ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward" ( 3 Nephi 20:42). To "go out with haste" seems to imply leaving carelessly without prior planning. To "go by flight" seems to mean to go in fear. While distancing ourselves from evil is urgent, and failure to leave metaphorical Babylon is dangerous to our spirits and bodies, God does not want us to be driven by anxiety and fear. 

 Christ wants us to be thoughtful, to be measured, to take time to prepare, to go at an appropriate pace. He instructed Joseph Smith "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end" (D&C 10:4). He taught Timothy, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Yesterday I was feeling particularly overwhelmed. It just seemed like I wasn't making the progress I wanted to make as fast as I wanted to make it. I want my business to grow faster, I want my body to be healthier, I want my job to be more fulfilling, I want my house to be cleaner, I want to fulfill my calling better. And I didn't have any evidence that any of those things was where I wanted them to be. Hitting an emotional wall like that can be defeating, and when I reach that point of fatigue and discouragement it's easy to want to give up. 

 The reason I can worth through this wall and go forward with calm and confidence is because Christ is my rearward. He is my source of support and strength. 
Application Questions

 How can you make your study of the word of God more meaningful?

 What habits and beliefs to you need to give up to be closer to God?

 How are you overextending yourself? Are your expectations creative anxiety and discouragement? How can you rely on Christ to move forward to more energy and peace?


 Image Credit: www.telegraph.co.uk




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