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...
After hearing Alma's instructions regarding faith, the people had a number of questions. "Now after Alma had spoken these words, they sent forth unto him desiring to know whether they should believe in one God, that they might obtain this fruit of which he had spoken, or how they should plant the seed, or the word of which he had spoken, which he said must be planted in their hearts; or in what manner they should begin to exercise their faith" (Alma 33:1) They wanted specific, detailed guidance on how to implement the teachings that Alma had just shared. Instead of answering their specific questions, Alma redirected them to the teachings of the Prophet Zenos regarding prayer: " Do ye remember to have read what Zenos , the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship ?" (Alma 33:3). Zeno taught that the Lord had heard his prayers when he prayed in the wilderness, in his fields, in his house, in his closet, and in the congregation. He testified that...