To This End Was I Born about 27 min
Jesus Christ Appears at the Temple about 5 min
Two Easter related videos of Christ for your viewing…
Because of pride and exceeding wealth, the Nephites during the time of Jacob succumbed to many sins, particularly the sin of immorality. Feeling the weight of his prophetic calling, Jacob denounced these evil practices and boldly called the people to repentance.
After teaching the Nephites the consequences of their sins, Jacob turned their attention to the Savior. He taught that we have power to overcome sin and weakness through the grace of Christ.
I have an “errand from the Lord.”
REVIEW Jacob 1:6-8
-What did Jacob have starting out? 6
-What was the intent of their labor? 7-8
READ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland…in Additional Resources
REVIEW Jacob 1:15-19
-What is happening with the people of Nephi? 15
-What did they search for? 16
-How were they being lifted up? 16
-Who gave Jacob and Joseph their errand? 17
READ What power comes by being…in Add’l Res
-What was the source of their authority? 18
READ What Priesthood authority did…in Add;l Res
-What did they do, how did they act? 19
-What does it mean “to magnify” their office?
READ What does it mean to ‘magnify their….in Add’l Res
-What errands the does the Lord have for you?
What do you feel inspired to do to “magnify” them?
Jacob 1:6 And we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy; wherefore, we knew of Christ and his kingdom, which should come.
7 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, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness.
8 Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world; wherefore, I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil the commandment of my brother Nephi.
15 And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign of the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts, and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old desiring many wives and concubines, and also Solomon, his son.
16 Yea, and they also began to search much gold and silver, and began to be lifted up somewhat in pride.
17 Wherefore I, Jacob, gave unto them these words as I taught them in the temple, having first obtained mine errand from the Lord.
18 For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi.
19 And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day.
14 BofM SS Lesson: April 1-7 Jacob 1-4: Be Reconciled unto God through the Atonement of Christ
“Let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!”
Jacob taught that God does not condemn the wealthy for their riches. Instead, any condemnation comes from their pride or misuse of their abundance
READ Jacob 2:12-13 -What is the situation with the people?
READ Verse 14: -What does God think about this?
READ Verses 15-16 -What does Jacob wish God would do?
READ Verse 17 -How should they think of their brethren?
Some of the people of Nephi chose riches rather than God as the center of their lives. Their search for wealth led them to persecute their brethren rather than assist them.
READ Verse 18-19 -What should we be seeking?
READ President Boyd K. Packer…in Add’l Res
-What do we do that provides assistance to the poor and needy?
READ Elder Marion G. Romney…in Add’l Res
Pride is sometimes called the great sin of the spirit; it was Satan’s sin in the premortal realm.
READ Verses 20-21
-What truth does Jacob teach to demonstrate how persecution of others is “abominable unto him who created all flesh”?
Jacob concludes his sermon on pride with this verse:
READ Verse 22: And now I make an end of speaking unto you concerning this pride. And were it not that I must speak unto you concerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice exceedingly because of you.
Jacob 2:12 And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ores, in the which this land, which is a land of promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully.
13 And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and 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 because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they.
14 And now, my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in this thing? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But he condemneth you, and if ye persist in these things his judgments must speedily come unto you.
15 O that he would show you that he can pierce you, and with one glance of his eye he can smite you to the dust!
16 O that he would rid you from this iniquity and abomination. And, O that ye would listen unto the word of his commands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!
17 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.
18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
20 And now, my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride; and those of you which have afflicted your neighbor, and persecuted him because ye were proud in your hearts, of the things which God hath given you, what say ye of it?
21 Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who created all flesh? And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other. And 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.
God delights in chastity.
The grosser crimes alluded to by Jacob in verse 22 involved sexual wickedness and the resulting abuse of marital relations.
READ Jacob 2:23-24
-Whose example were the Nephites following?
READ How does modern Revelation…in Add’l Res
Jacob clearly taught that the Lord did not want the Nephites to practice any form of plural marriage.
READ Verse 27
Jacob followed with these words of God from verse 28: For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
Jacob continued to quote the Lord:
READ Verses 31-32
Many Nephite husbands had broken the hearts of their wives and lost the confidence of their children. Families can be destroyed when the law of chastity is broken.
-Why is chastity so important to the Lord?
READ Elder Neal A. Maxwell…in Add’l Res
Jacob pleads with his people to be an example to their children, and not lead them unto destruction. HIs people have become more wicked than the Lamanites.
READ Jacob 3:10-12
READ Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone…in Add’l Res
-Why the need to awaken, what are they in danger of? 11
-What are the consequences of unchastity?
Jacob continues to warn his people against sin. 12
How is God’s standard of sexual purity different from other messages you might encounter?
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Jacob 2:23 But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son.
24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.
32 And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Jacob 3:10 Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye have grieved their hearts because of the example that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the last day.
11 O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death.
12 And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, warning them against fornication and lasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them.
I can be reconciled to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Jacob’s writings provide us with an important insight into the law of Moses and the Old Testament. In Jacob 4:5 we learn that the Old Testament prophets prior to Jacob’s time knew of both Christ and the Father as distinct individuals and appropriately worshipped the Father in Christ’s name. Jacob’s words indicate that the law of Moses was far more than simply a law of strict commandments and legal codes, as some modern scholars claim.
READ Jacob 4:5
-What was the purpose of the Law of Moses?
The law of Moses testified of Jesus Christ and led the righteous to sanctification through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
READ Verse 6
READ The difference between hoping and obtaining a hope…in Add’l Res
Jacob closes out chapter 4 with several bits of advice.
READ Jacob 4:10
-What does it mean to “counsel the Lord” rather than to “take counsel from his hand?”
READ President Marion G. Romney…in Add’l Res
-Why must we keep up with the Lord’s counsel?
-How do we do that?
Jacob said another problem was “looking beyond the mark.”
READ Jacob 4:14
-What did Jacob say happened to the Jews anciently because they “looked beyond the mark”?
-How can we avoid “looking beyond the mark?”
Jacob 4:5 Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son.
6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.
Jacob 4:10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.
Jacob 4:14 But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.
THE LAST WORDS:
This week I would like to end with the last few verses of Jacob 4. On the preceding page Jacob tells us that the Jews will reject Christ because of their spiritual blindness, a blindness which they desired because they chose to “look beyond the mark.”
The March 9-15, 2020 Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families manual invites individuals and families to focus their lives more completely on the Redeemer. Jesus Christ is the mark, “there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God (2 Nephi 31:21). The Prophet Jacob warned the people of his times that they needed to beware of blindly “looking beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14).
Elder Quentin L. Cook cautions that we face similar problems: “Today there is a tendency among some of us to ‘look beyond the mark’ rather than to maintain a testimony of gospel basics. We do this when we substitute the philosophies of men for gospel truths, engage in gospel extremism, seek heroic gestures at the expense of daily consecration, or elevate rule over doctrine. Avoiding these behaviors will help us avoid the theological blindness and stumbling that Jacob described” (“Looking beyond the Mark,” Ensign, Mar. 2003, 42).
One of the clearest explanations how we should focus on living essential gospel principles and doctrines was revealed to Joseph Smith in March 1830: “And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost. Behold, this is a great and the last commandment which I shall give unto you concerning this matter; for this shall suffice for thy daily walk, even unto the end of thy life” (D&C 19:31-32).
Elder Cook concludes: “One of the great challenges of this life is to accept Christ for who He is: the resurrected Savior of the world, our Redeemer, our Lord and Master, our Advocate with the Father. When He is the foundation for all that we do and are, we avoid the theological blindness that results from looking beyond the mark, and we reap the glorious blessings He has promised us.
From the final verses of Jacob 4, the prophet asks how the Jews, rejecting the Savior, will be able to build upon a strong foundation.
17 And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner?
18 Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you.
What strikes me is the great humility of this faithful servant of God, who tells his people that he will deliver the mysteries of which he speaks, if he does not get shaken from his firmness [his testimony], and stumble because of his anxiety for them. He is telling them that even he, their prophet, must not look beyond the mark, but must endure faithfully to the end.
We must focus on the gospel basics, faith, repentance, baptism by water and by the Holy Ghost and enduring. It is simple in concept but requires devoted discipleship. It is true, and it is thinking Celestial. This is the mark. Have a good week and stay safe, healthy and hopeful.
Greg
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland put Jacob’s intent into perspective:
“Jacob seems to have been particularly committed to presenting the doctrine of Christ. Given the amount of space he gave to his witness of the Savior’s atonement, Jacob clearly considered this basic doctrine the most sacred of teachings and the greatest of revelations.
“No prophet in the Book of Mormon, by temperament or personal testimony, seems to have gone about that work of persuasion any more faithfully than did Jacob. He scorned the praise of the world, he taught straight, solid, even painful doctrine, and he knew the Lord personally. His is a classic Book of Mormon example of a young man’s decision to suffer the cross and bear the shame of the world in defense of the name of Christ. Life, including those difficult early years when he saw the wickedness of Laman and Lemuel bring his father and mother down to their graves in grief, was never easy for this firstborn in the wilderness” (Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 62–63).
What Power comes by being on the Lord’s Errand? “If we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. That divine help, however, is predicated upon our worthiness. To sail safely the seas of mortality, to perform a human rescue mission, we need the guidance of that eternal mariner--even the great Jehovah. We reach out, we reach up, to obtain heavenly hilp.” (President Monson, Your Eternal Voyage, 66)
What Priesthood authority did the Nephites Hold? “The Nephites did not officiate under the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood. They were not descendants of Aaron and there were no Levites among them. There is no evidence in the Book of Mormon that they held the Aaronic Priesthood….but the Book of Mormon tells us definitely, in many places, that the priesthood which they held and under which they officiated was the Priesthood after the holy order, the order of the Son of God. This higher priesthood can officiate in every ordinance of the gospel, and Jacob and Joseph, for instance, were consecrated priests and teachers after this order.” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation. 3:86)
What does it mean to “Magnify our Office.?” “The Prophet Joseph Smith was often asked, ‘Brother Joseph, what do you mean by magnifying a calling?’
“Joseph replied: “What does it mean to magnify a calling? It means to build up in dignity and in importance, to make it honorable and commendable in the eyes of all men, to enlarge and strengthen it, to let the light of heaven shine through it to the view of other men. And how does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it.’” (Monson, Pathways to Perfection, 1:46)
Elder Marion G Romney: “‘Be liberal in your giving, that you yourselves may grow. Don’t give just for the benefit of the poor, but give for your own welfare. Give enough so that you can give yourself into the kingdom of God through consecrating of your means and your time” (Ensign, July 1982, 4)
President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, provided additional instruction concerning the pursuits of life:
“We want our children and their children to know that the choice of life is not between fame and obscurity, nor is the choice between wealth and poverty. The choice is between good and evil, and that is a very different matter indeed.
“When we finally understand this lesson, thereafter our happiness will not be determined by material things. We may be happy without them or successful in spite of them. Wealth and prominence do not always come from having earned them. Our worth is not measured by renown or by what we own.
“Our lives are made up of thousands of everyday choices. Over the years these little choices will be bundled together and show clearly what we value.
“The crucial test of life, I repeat, does not center in the choice between fame and obscurity, nor between wealth and poverty. The greatest decision of life is between good and evil” (CR, Oct. 1980).
How does modern revelation clarify verse 24? The revelation in Section 132:28 reads “David also received many wives and concubines and also Solomon and Moses my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time, and in nothing did they sin save in those things they received not from me. (D&C 138:28)
Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) explained how more than just those who participate in the sin are affected by the consequences:
“Unchastity and infidelity bring serious consequences such as the rippling, even haunting effects of illegitimacy and fatherlessness, along with disease and the shredding of families. So many marriages hang by a thread or have already snapped. …
“Therefore, the keeping of the seventh commandment is such a vital shield! (see Exodus 20:14). By our lowering or losing that shield, the much-needed blessings of heaven are lost. No person or nation can prosper for long without those blessings” (CR, Oct. 2001, 96)
Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone of the Seventy cautioned, “A word to adults and parents: Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s father [Oscar Walter McConkie] counseled that when we violate any commandment, however small, our youth may choose to violate a commandment later on in life perhaps 10 times or 100 times worse and justify it on the basis of the small commandment we broke” (Conference Report, Oct. 1999, 15)
The difference between hoping and obtaining a hope. “Closely associated with having faith is what Jacob calls ‘obtaining a hope in Christ’....His phrase of ‘obtaining a hope’ is more than just having ‘hope’ and seems to be an assurance or testimony that one has reached a particular state or spiritual condition and a special relationship with the Lord….In all, the word hope appears 50 times in the Book of Mormon and is used by eight different prophets. Jacob, however, is unique in using it in the sense of obtaining ‘a hope,’ which is an achievement of something beyond simply ‘hoping.’” (Maxwell, “Jacob”, 49-50)
President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988) of the First Presidency explained what it meant to “counsel the Lord”: “Now I do not think that many members of the Church consciously urge the persuasions of men or their own counsel instead of heeding the Lord’s. However, when we do not keep ourselves advised as to what the counsel of the Lord is, we are prone to substitute our own counsel for His. As a matter of fact, there is nothing else we can do but follow our own counsel when we do not know the Lord’s instructions” (“Seek Not to Counsel the Lord,” Ensign, Aug. 1985, 5).
“Looking beyond the Mark”
While serving in the Seventy, Elder Dean L. Larsen explained that the Israelites in ancient times “got themselves into great difficulty” because they “placed themselves in serious jeopardy in spiritual things because they were unwilling to accept simple, basic principles of truth. They entertained and intrigued themselves with ‘things that they could not understand’ (Jacob 4:14). They were apparently afflicted with a pseudosophistication and a snobbishness that gave them a false sense of superiority over those who came among them with the Lord’s words of plainness. They went beyond the mark of wisdom and prudence, and obviously failed to stay within the circle of fundamental gospel truths, which provide a basis for faith. They must have reveled in speculative and theoretical matters that obscured for them the fundamental spiritual truths. As they became infatuated by these ‘things that they could not understand,’ their comprehension of and faith in the redeeming role of a true Messiah was lost, and the purpose of life became confused. A study of Israel’s history will confirm Jacob’s allegations” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1987, 11–12; or Ensign, Nov. 1987, 11).
CONTINUE
Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained how “looking beyond the mark” can be avoided today: “This incredible blindness which led to the rejection of those truths spoken by prophets and which prevented the recognition of Jesus for who he was, according to Jacob, came ‘by looking beyond the mark.’ Those who look beyond plainness, beyond the prophets, beyond Christ, and beyond his simple teachings waited in vain then, as they will wait in vain now. For only the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us of things as they really are and as they really will be” (“On Being a Light” [address delivered at the Salt Lake Institute of Religion, Jan. 2, 1974], 1).