Gospel Simplicity Shows Us Things as They Are - Book of Jacob, Chapter Four (Jacob 4)

You can read the entire chapter at this link: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/jacob/4?lang=eng

Jacob displays the depth of his knowledge by his references to prophets throughout the ages. As he shares this knowledge, we detect similarities with other prophets who come before and after him, reminding us that often the Holy Ghost works through different people to reveal the same basic truths. Jacob also emphasizes that only his most precious insights are memorialized upon the gold plates because of the difficulty involved in the engraving process.

There’s definitely a nod to Nephi here. To this point in the Book of Mormon, Jacob’s writings and preachings have very viscerally emphasized the Nephites’ need for repentance in specific areas of their lives. Now we see Jacob stepping back a bit, with his allusions to prophets of old providing a sweeping perspective, while insisting—as was a trademark of Nephi’s teaching—that these many witnesses over time voice an overwhelming consensus.

What is that consensus? Jacob tells us that from the beginning, prophets knew and taught of Christ, even if the Old Testament (with the possible exception of Isaiah’s glorious but still somewhat ambiguous poetry) does not have many clear references to the coming of Jesus and his birth, life, ministry, Atonement, and Resurrection.

Jacob tells us in verse 6 that we can gain truth both by “searching the prophets” (their writings) and by “having many revelations and the spirit of prophecy.” This is a model for us. Studying the words of the scriptures as they have been passed down over time is absolutely necessary for us to understand the reality of who God is and how He deals with us. But by itself it is not sufficient—as in the case of the Old Testament’s lack of direct reference to Christ. We must also seek out our own direct line to God, because He wants to clarify the full meaning and context of those scriptures to us.

Jacob shares in verse 14 that we need this context partly because the Jews had the plainness of their prophets taken away from them. (We don’t know precisely what happened, but it could be that Jews’ scribes and translators either intentionally or unintentionally obscured the original truths—shared by prophets from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses to Elijah to Jeremiah.) Jacob tells us that at least some of the Jews sought for things they could not understand. They looked “beyond the mark,” making things complicated when simplicity was actually the means of salvation, and the Lord gave them their desire by allowing them to become confused. The irony is that the people of the covenant in the Old Testament had so many powerful experiences from their history that we—looking back on their time—easily see as pointing them to Christ. Jacob notes two of them in verse 5—the law of Moses and Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac (a similitude of Heavenly Father’s willingness to sacrifice Jesus for all of us).

It makes me wonder—what are the experiences in our day that those in future generations will look back on and clearly see as pointing us to Christ? And will we succeed in embracing the opportunities to align ourselves with Christ that these present-day experiences offer us?

Jacob’s words are beautifully inspiring. As mentioned above, instead of chastising as he did in previous chapters when he was addressing men whose thoughts were pulling them in sin’s ruinous direction, here his tone beckons. This beckoning contains both a warning and a set of amazing promises.

The warning in verses 15-17 is pretty simple. Don’t stumble over or past the great foundation stone (Jesus and the revelation He brings us), like the Jews did. Instead, build upon Him.

The promises start with the premise that to progress, we need knowledge. And that knowledge can only come through revelation. So if we seek and receive that revelation, our faith becomes unshaken (verse 6). And then come untold blessings of power (commanding trees, mountains, and oceans – verse 6) and inheritance of divine qualities (having a “good hope of glory” as the “first-fruits of Christ unto God” – verse 11).

How do we obtain these things? Back to the simplicity of the gospel. “Seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand” (verse 10). Understand—by the power of His word (verse 9 – harking back to the first chapter of the gospel of John)—that it is His creation and His plan, and that our weakness desperately needs His grace in order to receive power and become like Him (verse 7).

So, in the end, “why not speak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?” (verse 12) As we gain knowledge and act according to what that knowledge tells us is vital for our salvation and that of others, we all have the potential to become prophets for ourselves and those we care for. The Spirit of the Lord (the Holy Ghost) will speak to us of “things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls” (verse 13). If our ability to act for ourselves (or agency) is the most important thing we possess, having completely clear discernment of past/present/future to go along with that agency is probably the choicest blessing we can strive for. 

Hope Alongside the Warnings - Book of Jacob, Chapter Three (Jacob 3)

You can read the entire chapter at this link: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/jacob/3?lang=eng

When those familiar with the Book of Mormon are asked to share the essence of Jacob’s message, they often talk about the stern warnings he proclaims to the Nephites regarding marital infidelity and how impure thoughts can lead very quickly to destructive actions. And this is correct. But I’m not sure it provides a fair picture of the hope Jacob offers alongside the warnings.

The first two verses of this chapter are emblematic of how Jacob shares a vision of great promise with his people even as he unfolds unto them the “awful consequences” of “fornication and lasciviousness, and every kind of sin” (verse 12).

Jacob admonishes these men to pray in faith, and to look “unto God with firmness of mind.” In return, their blessings will include:

• Consolation in afflictions
• The Lord will plead their cause
• They can receive the “pleasing word of God”
• They can “feast upon His love”

These blessings are addressed specifically to those who are “pure in heart.” Jacob, I believe, is trying to elevate these men, to appeal to their desires to have purer hearts by showing them the vision of inexpressible comfort and joy.

Jacob then tries to give the Nephites added motivation to reach for these promised blessings by showing them the dangers of self-justification. One of the age-old snares of evil is to flatter people into thinking that their sin is not so bad because at least they are not as bad of sinners as “those other people.” This was precisely the snare Jesus pointed out time and again, often to the Pharisees of His time who mistakenly thought themselves superior to publicans (corrupt tax collectors) in their midst, when some of these sinners turned out to be humbler and more prepared for the kingdom of God than the Pharisees (see the parable in Luke 18:10-14).

In the case of the Nephites in Jacob’s time, “those other people” are the Lamanites. And Jacob systematically dismantles the Nephites’ case for self-justification. He tells them that even if the Lamanites have been “cursed” because of the consequences of their fathers’ rebellion against God, the Lamanites are “more righteous than you” (verse 5) and shall “scourge you” and “possess the land of your inheritance” (verses 3-4).

In verses 7-8, Jacob explains that the Lamanites’ main problem was being raised improperly (the “iniquity of their fathers”). However, unlike many of the Nephites, the Lamanites “love their wives” and “their children,” and Jacob adds that despite the darkness of their skin, that skin will be “whiter” than the Nephites’ before God if the Nephites do not repent.of their sins. His ringing admonition to them is “remember your own filthiness” (verse 9). This admonition has just as much application to each of us today as it did to the Nephites.

But there’s more. Jacob has a great talent for focusing his audience’s attention less on the sin itself than on the far-reaching destructiveness it will cause if not abandoned. He points out that sin’s reach, its trajectory, is not limited to the destiny of the individual who commits it, but that it has potential—and even likelihood—to “bring your children unto destruction” (verse 10). Because of the terrible consequences that lie in store, Jacob wants to make sure the Nephites’ eyes are wide open. When we are in paths of error, one of the worst tragedies is our inability to recognize how far we're off track. It’s with that in mind that Jacob insists “shake yourselves, that ye may awake from the slumber of death” (verse 11). Otherwise, it may be too late. We may already have become “angels to the devil,” having allowed ourselves to come into the grasp of evil from which we will have great difficulty getting free.

As I think of Jacob’s anguish as he encounters the corrupt hearts of his people and seeks to do all in his power to motivate them to seek purification, my mind is turned to two things.

First, there is a mighty Christian hymn that has the power to stir the soul and inspire men to become better versions of themselves through God’s help. Here are two of its signature lines:

Rise up, O men of God. Have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of Kings…. Rise up, O men of God. In one united throng. Bring in the day of brotherhood and end the night of wrong.

Second, the immortal Victorian English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson penned this dialogue for Gareth, one of King Arthur’s knights of the Round Table, who was in the process of discovering that he needed to leave the idle pursuits of his youth in favor of that which was of supreme importance:

Follow the deer? Nay, follow the Christ the king. Live pure, speak true, right wrong. Follow the king—else wherefore born? (Tennyson, “Gareth and Lynette,” Idylls of the King, 1859-1885)