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...
After completing the record of his father, Moroni proceeded "to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country" (Ether 1:1). There are a number of parallels between this people and the Nephites: both were led by God out of their ancestral land to inherit the American continent. Both established great nations there and enjoyed periods of righteousness and prosperity. And both societies collapsed and were destroyed because of wickedness. After just witnessing the total destruction of his own people, abridging the record of the descendants of the brother of Jared (Jaredites), must have been a raw and poignant experience for Moroni.
Ether was the prophet who abridge the record of the Jadeites. After recounting Ether's genealogy, Moroni summarized the Jaredites' journey from the old world to America.
After God confounded the languages of the people at the Tower of Babel, the brother of Jared prayer to the Lord three times, and in each case the Lord heard his prayer and had compassion on the brother of Jared. First he prayer for his brother, "therefore [the Lord] did not confound the language of Jared" (Ether 1:35). Next he prayed for his family and friends, and "the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded" (Ether 1:37). Lastly, the brother of Jared prayed for direction if they were scattered, and "the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him." As a result, the Lord commanded to brother of Jared to gather his possessions and family and travel into the wilderness with the promise that "I (the Lord) will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth" (Ether 1:42).
I love applying this metaphor of journeying to the promised land to understand my own progress and development. Whether it is moving or taking a new job or starting a new program or launching a business, or developing a new skill, we all have to leave our area of comfort in order to grow and achieve something better.
From the example of the brother of Jared we learn that creating our lives and charting our destinies is a collaborative effort with God. Prayer is the process by which our wills are aligned with God's. God is omniscient and has foreknowledge of the things we will do. He will not grant blessings that He has not already foreordained for us, but some blessings are made contingent on our asking. In the case of the brother of Jared, the Lord explained that "I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me" (Ether 1:43). He received blessings because he faithfully asked. When we persistently pray for our righteous desires, our loving God is likely to grant them unless He has a higher purpose and a compelling reason not to.
Application Question
How has the Lord heard and answered your prayers?
What challenges are you facing that you could turn over to the Lord through prayer?
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