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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 14 - Their Wickedness and Abominations Had Prepared a Way for Their Everlasting Destruction


Even in the bleakest chapters of the Book of Mormon, I usually try to identify one positive theme to highlight, or find some way to apply that chapter to my life in a constructive way. It feels almost impossible to find a redeeming element in Ether chapter 14. This chapter chronicles the destruction of the people of the Jaredites in graphic detail, "And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction" (Ether 14:25). 

 To summarize, in the course of the chapter:

  • Gilead battles Coriantumr
  • Coriantumr retreats to the wilderness 
  • Gilead takes the throne
  • Both sides build up armies
  • Lib conspires with the high priest to murder Gilead
  • Lib takes the throne
  • Coriantumr drives Lib to the seashore
  • Coriantumr kills Lib
  • Lib's brother, Shiz, battles with Coriantumr
  • All the people divide into two armies
  • Shiz and Coriantumr battle three times
  • Both sides suffer huge losses and agree to a brief ceasefire

"And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead. And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh" (Ether 14:21-22).

 As readers of the Book of Mormon, what are we supposed to do with this? As a cautionary tale, the evil, intrigue, murder, and war seem too far removed from my experience to feel relevant. From my comfortable, privileged, and safe perspective, what could all of this possibly have to do with me? Even as a metaphor for good versus evil this part of the record falls apart, since both sides were equally deprave. Maybe I would feel differently if I had experienced war first-hand, or lived through the atrocities that are all too common on the news today. But I haven't, and it's hard to relate. 

 I want to feel the spirit when I read this chapter and chapters like it. I want to be able to glean something from its pages that helps me to know God better, to have more love for others, and to have greater desire and motivation to do what's right. Maybe that's the approach to take. To ask God with each chapter what aspect of it can increase my testimony and understanding and help me be a better person. Even just framing the question this way, I can begin to imagine the sorrow that God must feel for the sins of his children, and the way he mourns when they are unkind to each other. Perhaps letting the tragedy of this chapter sink in can teach me how deeply and urgently God cares for us.

 Application Questions

 What can you learn from the chapters of the Book of Mormon that just seem to document evil, death, and destruction?

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