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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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Ether 5 - By and by It Shall Be Wisdom in God


As Moroni abridged the record of the Jaredites, he explained that the miraculous things that the brother of Jared saw were too sacred to share. He sealed that portion of the record and explained that it was not to be translated or published, “except by and by it shall be wisdom in God“ (Ether 5:1). 

 Sometimes as believers we are too certain that what we know is all there is, and that it will never change. This kind of arrogance about our ability to comprehend the will of God overplays our hand, alienates others, and limits our ability to learn more. Instead, God wants us to remain open to the additional light and knowledge He wants to give us, and to love each other deeply in the meantime.  

 I know we don't know everything God wants to tell us. His truth is infinite and cannot be understood by human minds. Even the pure revelation He gives us through an living prophet today is delivered to a limited human, who understands in incompletely, and transmits it through the filter of an imperfect language, before it enters our dull ears, and is interpreted by our biased thoughts and experiences. I love the notion that when we speak about "the truth" we learn more about ourselves than the actual nature of God and His universe. 

 I am equally confident that God reveals Himself to us directly through Spirit, and that while we will never fully comprehend God in this life, He has promised to reveal everything we need to know. We don't need to know everything, or even fully understand what we have been given, in order to enjoy all the blessings that God has prepared for those that love Him. 
Application Questions

 How can humility about what you know and believe make you a more faithful and loving person? When can certainty actually get in the way?
Image Credit: peegel.info

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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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