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...
The book of 3 Nephi closes with a two verse chapter:
"Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying:
"Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel." - 3 Nephi 30:1-2
Mormon, who abridged the record and added his own commentary, summarized the account of Christ's visit to the America's by outlining the most basic tenets of the gospel:
- Come unto Christ
- Be baptized
- Receive a remission of your sins
- Be filled with the Holy Ghost
- Be numbered with my people
While each of these phrases consists of only a few words, some of them are lifelong pursuits. I love to think of the deeper meaning of coming unto Christ, or being numbered with His people. To me this means that we consistently turn to Christ as our primary source of support and guidance, that we strive to be like him, and that we constantly repent. It means that we turn over our pain, our fear, and our sin to him. Being numbered with his people seems to speak to the identity we choose to take upon ourselves, and the communities we choose to be a part of. When we identify as a follower of Christ and actively participate in His church we are promised that we will be filled with the Holy Ghost.
At first I was surprised by how short this chapter was, but it make sense that it would focus one the sole message of the Book of Mormon: Jesus is the Christ. The title page of the book reinforces that the Book of Mormon is written unto the "convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (Book of Mormon, Title Page). Not only does this brief chapter testify of Christ's role and divinity, but invites us to forsake our sins and follow
Application Questions
Have I overlooked certain aspects of the gospel because they seem too simple?
What can I do to come unto Christ, and be numbered with his people?
Image Credit: www.mormon.org
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