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...
How to Give Good Gifts Unto Your Children
Every morning when Silas wakes up the first word out of his mouth is "toast!" He loves peanut butter toast and so before I even get him out of his crib, I dutifully drop a slice of bread into the toaster. This daily ritual is has become a bonding experience for us, and I love to see how much he enjoys licking peanut butter off his fingers. I imagine Christ was describing a scene like this one when he said, "what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:9, 11).
God loves us to a level of depth and perfection that we cannot fathom. While I love my kids, I do so in a way that is flawed and imperfect. But even in my weakness, I can usually muster peanut butter toast. Wanting the best for our children is a common experience for most parents and is a fitting metaphor for the way God wants to bless us. He has not always given me what I wanted, but has always given me what I needed.
Do Ye Even so to Them
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12). Through living prophets God gives us commandments as trail markers. These instructions help us live healthier, happier lives, and mold us to become more like God. While these instructions are numerous and specific, at their core they are intended to teach us to love God and to love others. Christ's message on this point was the same to his disciples as well as those who challenged Him. When a lawyer tempted Him, asking "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).
The idea that there exists a hierarchy among commandments is interesting and useful to me. On one end of the spectrum are the commandments to love God and others, and I imagine all of God's other commandments listed in descending order below them. When I have difficulty reconciling my thoughts and values and social norms with the teachings of the gospel, I can center back on the two commandments that always lead to me good. When we are focused on loving God and loving others we will still make mistakes and tactical errors, but generally move in the right direction, and enjoy the guiding and sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost, and the saving power of the atonement.
Few There Be That Find It
Christ issued His disciples an invitation and a warning to "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). I never noticed before that these verses are immediately preceded by Christ's counsel to love others as yourself. It is as if he is saying that all the laws and the prophets can be boiled down into one narrow gate: to love others, and anything more or less will ultimately lead to downfall.
Why is it that few there be that find it? Especially when we also believe that "through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel" (Articles of Faith 1:3). I am still trying to reconcile these two ideas. Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I have long assumed that in the final analysis many if not most of God's children would be saved. Perhaps what I am missing is a working definition of the "life" that the strait and narrow way leads to. For me the "strait gate" conjures images of baptism, which leads to salvation, but maybe the "life" Christ referred to in the Sermon on the Mount is exaltation.
Elder Russell M. Nelson explained that “to be saved—or to gain salvation—means to be saved from physical and spiritual death.” Exaltation, he further taught, “refers to the highest state of happiness and glory in the celestial realm.” All people will be resurrected and overcome physical death. It is a free gift secured through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I would argue that in the course of the great redeeming work of God being conducted on both sides of the veil that vast numbers of God's children will also accept baptism, whether performed personally or vicariously. But eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God, is reserved for those who not only repent in faith and are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, but who continue on the narrow path and receive specific exalting ordinance in the temple (D&C 14:7).
By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them
Throughout the scriptures actions and behavior are described metaphorically as "fruit." For me the essence of religion is its transformative power to change our base natures, and Christ taught that the best insight we have into our nature and the nature of others comes from the things we do: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-20).
It's tempting to use religion as a standard by which to judge others, but that is not our job, and that is not the point. Religion offers metaphysical explanations of our world and insights into the afterlife, but that is not where its true value lies. Religion shapes laws and social norms, which can be useful, but historically has just as often been misused to oppress as to uplift. The true litmus test is how we use religious beliefs to act better and make better choices. The value of religion doesn't come from learning about it, but by practicing it. It is possible to be a scriptorian and a sexual predator, or to be a saint without ever reading the Bible. The part of my faith that is most interesting to me is how it is helping me to be the best version of myself now, as judged by the way I treat my spouse, my children, and those I come in contact with.
As One Having Authority "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:28-29). I wonder what it looks like to teach with authority. Is it characterized by a certain tone of voice or rhetorical approach? That might be part of it. I imagine the scribes took a scholarly approach to religion that was intellectually fascinated by minutia and external requirements of religion. But when Jesus taught the people, he was not dissecting and extrapolating obscure aspects of the law of Moses, he was delivering unadulterated truth as revealed by God the Father. We can speak as one having authority, too, when we stop relying on our own intellect and instead speak to what we know from the confirmation of the Spirit.
Image Credit:Three Apples (1910), Morgan Russell
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