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
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 reflected in their record keeping, but in the focus of their ministry. "Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest ... that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world (Jacob 1:7-8).
We all face scarce resources in terms of our time, money, and energy. The way we use these limited resources speaks directly to our priorities. These verses prompt me to record spiritual impressions, document the daily details and major milestones of my family life, and to evaluate how I spend my time based on the criteria, "did I build faith?"
Jacob 2 - Be Familiar With All
How could someone who had been "diligent in the office of my calling" to a people who "have been obedient to the word of the Lord" still be "weighed down with much anxiety for the welfare of your souls" (Jacob 2:3-4)? I connect this comment from Jacob to details in the scriptures about God weeping, and similarly wonder how a perfect being with unlimited power could feel anything but joy. It is a good reminder that righteousness does not limit the range of our emotional experience, or inoculate us to difficult feelings and experiences.
Tellingly, the issue that was so troubling to Jacob was the worldliness that had crept into the church, and resultant neglect of the poor. This caused me to reflect on my own attitudes about the poor. Am I "weighed down and troubled" because of the material lack of others? Do I feel anxiety for their welfare? Jacob voiced an indictment of the proud within the church who, "because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts and wear stiff necks and high heads ... and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that yea are better than they" (Jacob 2:13).
Jacob unambiguously taught his people to "think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you" (Jacob 2:17). The ramifications of this commandment is two-fold. The directive to be free with your substance is fairly straightforward and urges us to share our resources, time, and talents with others. But in previous readings I have glossed over the phrase, "be familiar with all." If we strive to think of our spiritual siblings like ourselves, it is not enough to serve them.
Sometimes in serving we inadvertently reinforce unrighteous power dynamics of superiority and inferiority between the server and the served. But "being familiar with all," which I read to mean getting acquainted with and understanding others, ensures that relationships are genuine and that equity is preserved regardless of the direction of the assistance.
For "all flesh is of the dust; and for the selfsame end hath he created them, that they should keep his commandments and glorify him forever" (Jacob 2:21). All of our material substance is nothing but symbolic tokens intended as training tools during our life on earth. All of it amounts to nothing, except the lasting lessons that we learn from our use of them.
Jacob 3 - Pure in Heart
Jacob opens his remarks to "the pure in heart." Being pure in heart is an attitude not a behavior set. To me it implies being well-intentioned, and being filled with righteous thoughts, motivations, and desires. David A. Bednar in his talk Clean Hands and a Pure Heart drew a distinction between overcoming sin (clean hands) and overcoming the desire to sin (pure heart). Usually we think of these as steps, or stages in a sequence. First we exercise self control to stop sinning, then we further refine our intentions to eliminate the desire to sin. I would argue that these processes happen concurrently, and more often than not we must first eliminate the desire to sin, and then watch as the negative behavior associated with that unrighteous desire withers on the vine. It also offers hope for those who are sincerely trying their best, but have not fully overcome bad habits. I like to think that our hearts can be pure the moment we turn ourselves to Christ, even if our hands are still sullied.
Jacob specifically instructed those who are pure in heart to:
- Look unto God with firmness of mind,
- pray unto him with exceeding faith,
- lift up your heads and received the pleasing word of God, and
- feast upon his love (Jacob 3:1-2)
Jacob 4 - Learn With Joy and Not With Sorrow
In sharing his reasons for engraving the prophesies of his people on metal plates, Jacob explained that if his people and posterity "receive them with grateful hearts" and "look upon them," that they would be able "learn with joy and not with sorrow" (Jacob 4:3). This seems to imply that we will learn in this life almost in spite of ourselves. Whether we read the scriptures and heed their teachings, or disregard spiritual matters and go through life buffeted by the consequences of our bad choices we will learn and grow. Gratefully heeding the teaching of the scriptures enables us to learn by the spirit as opposed to learning in the school of hard knocks.
But what does it really mean to learn with joy? Reading the scriptures does not insulate us from disappointment, tragedy, and suffering, all of which are an integral and unavoidable part of mortal life. Despite Jacob's faith and the miracles he and his people were able to perform he stated, "the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace and his great condescension unto the childeren of men, that we have power to do these things" (Jacob 4:7). The scriptures don't take away our problems, but they give us perspective and encourage confidence in a source of power beyond ourselves to face the inevitable challenges of life.
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thank you for sharing these wonderful insights. i so appreciate reading your blog!
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