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...
Ether chapter 8 tells of how a wicked man named Akish usurped the throne by conspiring with his kinsmen and his followers:
"And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared all his kinsfolk, and said unto them: Will ye swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you? And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life. And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning. And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms" (Ether 8:13-16).
After recounting the story of how a wicked man named Jared entered an evil alliance with Akish to kill the king, the author recorded that the "Lord worketh not in secret combinations" (Ether 8:19). According to the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, secret combinations "are groups of conspirators who plot and initiate "works of darkness" for evil and selfish purposes. Secret combinations have existed since the days of Cain (Moses 5:5). Satan is their author (2 Ne. 26:22), power and gain are their motives (Ether 8:15, 25), and conspiracy is their method of operation (Hel. 6:22-24)" (Ray Hillam).
Corruption, conspiracy, and intrigue seem to be on full display in American political life today. As troubling as these trends are, they don't impede my ability to live a righteous life; I am much more interested in how I am behaving that what flawed leaders are doing. Are there times when I am complicit in the bad behavior of others? Do my mistakes lead others to stumble as well? Am I casual about ethics in a way that creates a culture that is permissive? Obviously I'm not talking about anything on the scale of the murders and lies Ether describes, but I am aware that my role in group dynamics may not always be positive. A recent humorous example was teaching my girls their first swear words through a Taylor Swift song. I love the beat of the song "Shake it Off" and blast it at full volume when it's just me and the girls in the car as part of our daddy daughter dance parties. Bren had expressed some concern with the language of the song. I dismissed her concerns and conceded to not play the song when she was around. But when my girls started memorizing the words and asking about the meaning of the swear words in the song, I realized my mistake, and how helpless I was to remove those words from tender 6-, 4-, and 3-year-old brains.
The author warns that "whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed" (Ether 8:22). I think the same is true of individuals. Anyone who secretly schemes with unsavory allies to gain riches or influence is destined for destruction. Usually we cut corners, flex morals, and skirt rules because we think it is better than the alternative, but that is never the case. Chickens come home to roost and whether in this life or the next we will reap the consequences of our actions.
The most hopeful verse in this passage of scripture is Moroni's explanation for why he was sharing this bleak vignette fro history: "I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved" (Ether 8:26). We know how the story ends. Eventually good will overcome evil and Christ will reign personally upon the earth. This can only be accomplished through the transformative power of the atonement and as people choose
Application Questions
How do we enable unrighteous in our words, actions, and tacit agreements with others.
How can we strive to be more open an transparent about our faith and our work in the church?
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