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...
When we partake of the sacrament bread, we witness to God that we are willing to do three things: take upon us the name of Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. The promise that we make when we partake of the sacrament water is slightly different:
"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the bloodof thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen" (Moroni 5:2).
When partaking of the sacrament water, we witness that we always remember Jesus Christ
The promise we make is more limited, but the blessing is the same. We are promised that if we keep in mind the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we will enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost. In practical terms, I wonder what it means to always remember Christ. It could involve remembering His mercy toward me and suspending judgment of others. It could involve remembering His service and being more willing to help others. It could involve remembering the perfect life He lived and finding renewed strength to resist temptation.
I believe that we become the things that we habitually think about and focus on. I also believe that the Holy Ghost confirms the righteous thoughts that we have. Two people can be in the same place, hearing, doing, and seeing the same thing, and have different emotional and spiritual experiences. To me this difference can be explained by the different thoughts that the two people choose to have at the time. In the same way that our thoughts cause our emotions, the Holy Ghost responds to and confirms our thoughts. By constantly thinking about Christ, we can enjoy not only the guidance and the comfort of the Holy Ghost, but experience the "baptism of fire," or in other words be sanctified and have our natures changed by the Spirit's influence.
Application Questions
Why is it so important to remember Jesus Christ and what he has done?
How can you be more mindful of the Savior and His atonement?
Image Credit: Walter Rane, history.lds.org
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