Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price

If you’ve been reading the Book of Mormon along with me, you’ve reached the end of the Book of Jacob. You may have been startled by the last word in the chapter.

And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son Enos: Take these plates. And I told him the things which my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience unto the commands. And I make an end of my writing upon these plates, which writing has been small; and to the reader I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.(Jacob 7:27)

Readers who pounce on the unexpected discovery of a French word that didn’t exist at the time the Book of Mormon took place often neglect to remember an important detail of the Book of Mormon. It was not written in English. It is a translated document.

I learned American sign language in my younger days and am learning Brazilian Portuguese now. I quickly learned there aren’t exact word-for-word translations for most words. Often, as I struggle to read the Book of Mormon in Portuguese, I’ll look up a word and find the translation dictionary’s choice makes no sense. Using the Internet, I’ll seek out other translations and often each dictionary will translate the word differently. Eventually, I’ll find a word that suits the meaning of the sentence I’m translating.

When I was learning sign language, I briefly had an opportunity to study with an LDS teacher who had me sign portions of the Book of Mormon. One day we encountered a verse that said a city rose up. The teacher pointed out that we couldn’t translate the verse until we knew exactly the way it rose up, since sign language is precise about things like that, even though English isn’t. While we would use the words “rose up” to signify a variety of things that could have happened to the city, in sign language, the meaning mattered in this case. Did it pop up out of the ground or was it built? Did God place it ready made? Each meaning would be translated differently.

Translation is all about meaning. A translator studies the material, evaluating the context, and trying to understand the meaning. Then they search for a word in English (if that’s the language they’re translating into) that means the same thing. Often there is no exact meaning, and the translator must select a word or phrase that comes close. This is why translated literature is often available in very different translations.

“It is interesting to note that there is a Hebrew word Lehitra’ot, which has essentially the same meaning in Hebrew as the word adieu has in French. Both of these words are much more than a simple farewell; they include the idea of a blessing. Would it be unreasonable to remind these critics that none of the words contained in the English translation of the book of Jacob were used by Jacob himself? These words all come from the English language, which did not come into existence until long after Jacob’s time!” (Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 163).”

Joseph’s Smith’s mother used the word adieu in some of her writings, and so it was a word Joseph knew and understood. When he encountered a word that meant goodbye, but not exactly goodbye, he searched his personal vocabulary for a word that was more precise than goodbye.
To learn more about Joseph Smith, visit the Joseph Smith website.

To learn more about translation and the original languages of the Book of Mormon, read Russell M. Nelson, “A Treasured Testament,” Ensign, Jul 1993, 61

The Nephites were a group of people who left Jerusalem in 600 BC. Most were members of the family of Lehi, and the family of a friend whose children married into Lehi’s family. After Lehi died, the people, now settled in the Americas, split into two opposing groups, those who wished to follow God and were known as Nephites, after Lehi’s fourth son, and those who did not. This latter group was known as the Lamanites, followers of Lehi’s oldest son.

By the time Nephi had died and his younger brother Jacob had taken on leadership of the church, the Nephites were losing their way. Many of them were ignoring the teachings of their childhood and were filled with pride, which led to a variety of other sins.

At this time, when their faith was weakened, a man named Sherem came to the city. We don’t know where he came from, whether he was a Lamanite, or whether he was one of the many people already on the American continent, today known often as Native Americans. He spoke and understood their language fluently, however, which gave him greater access to the people, and made it easier to win them over.

Sherem turned on the charm, using flattery to win people over to his message—that there was no Christ. Christ had not yet been born, but the prophets of the Book of Mormon taught of His coming regularly. Anyone who knew the Nephite language most certainly had heard these teachings.

He was particularly anxious to meet Jacob. I’m sure he felt it would be quite an accomplishment to win the prophet over to his teachings. When he finally had an opportunity to talk with Jacob, Sherem went right to the heart of his false doctrine:

6 And it came to pass that he came unto me, and on this wise did he speak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you; for I have heard and also know that thou goest about much, preaching that which ye call the gospel, or the doctrine of Christ.

7 And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way; and convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being which ye say shall come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare unto you that this is blasphemy; for no man knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come. And after this manner did Sherem contend against me.” (Jacob 7)

Notice that right away, Sherem is contradicting himself. He suggests Jacob can’t know Christ will be born because no man can know the future. However, he, Sherem, apparently considers himself an exception to the rule that you can’t see the future, since he claims to “know” Christ isn’t going to be born.

Jacob is neither amused nor shaken. He sets out to calmly undo Sherem’s slick arguments. He directly asks Sherem if he denied Christ. Sherem openly admitted to denying Christ.

Sherem says if there were a Christ, he would believe in Him, but since there isn’t, he doesn’t. Jacob then asks Sherem if he believes the scriptures and Sherem says he does. Jacob responds that if he truly believes the scriptures, he misunderstands them, because the prophets have clearly stated that Christ will come.

Then Jacob does what every good missionary must do. He shares his testimony of Christ, saying that this testimony came to him through the witness of the Holy Ghost. Sherem now goes for what he fully expects to be the big finish: he demands a sign.

Jacob refuses to promise him a sign.

14 And I said unto him: What am I that I should tempt God to show unto thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be true? Yet thou wilt deny it, because thou art of the devil. Nevertheless, not my will be done; but if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come. And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine.

15 And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the earth. And it came to pass that he was nourished for the space of many days.

Certainly Sherem was hoping Jacob would try to move a mountain or something harmless—to Sherem—unsuccessfully, in order to “prove” his point. Instead, Jacob, while refusing to promise anything, selected a sign that would penalize the sinner, should God choose to act on it.

Sherem understood that he was dying and asked to have the people brought to him. He made a death bed effort to undue what he had done, fearing, he said, that he had committed the unpardonable sin of lying to God and denying Jesus. He asked forgiveness and admitted to the people he had indeed lied and had been deceived by Satan. Shortly after making this confession and sharing his true testimony, he died.

The people were astounded and were shocked back into spirituality. The spirit was able to touch their hearts and they returned to the gospel and repented as well. The tide of wickedness beginning to take over the city came to a rapid end.

In a previous article I summarized the allegory of the Olive Tree, which the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob retold. It was first told by a prophet named Zenos, whose writings we no longer have. In another article, I explained the meaning of the tree. Today, I’d like to help you understand who the Lord and Servant are in the story.

There are two possible interpretations for this. One is that the Lord of the Vineyard is the Savior, and the servant is his prophets. The other, less commonly offered, is that the Lord of the Vineyard is God, and the servant is Jesus Christ, due to the Savior’s role as the Intercessory. The servant, you may recall, was always the one pleading for just a little more time. This role could suit either interpretation.

However, you view it, the Lord of the Vineyard is a member of the Godhead (the Godhead consists of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost) and the story is one of love. We see, as we study the story carefully, how very much the Lord loves his vineyard, and particularly the tree at the center of the story. He has enjoyed it for many years, loving it and caring for it. When He sees He is about to lose His tree, He devotes great time and effort to save it.

If we view the servant as the prophets, we can look back through the history of the world, whenever prophets were on the earth, and see how they often pleaded for their people and labored, under God’s guidance, to save the people. They struggled to humble their people so the top wouldn’t steal strength from the roots. If we view him as Jesus, we see Him working, also under God’s direction, to build the kingdom.

When the master transplants branches of the parent tree in far-flung corners of the vineyard, which represents the world, he doesn’t simply forget them. He gives them the same attention and love the parent tree receives. He sends his servant to nurture those young branches. In this same vein, God has not forgotten the scattered tribes of Israel. The world declares some are lost, but God always knows where they are, and we know He has had communication with at least some of them in times since their scattering. God doesn’t misplace the children He loves.

Just as the Lord of the Vineyard gathered the far-flung branches he had transplanted and made a final, mighty effort to save the vineyard, God will bring about a restoration of Israel with the help of His prophets. Yes, He has restored prophets to the earth to prepare His children for the last days. It will take the work of all those who are dedicated enough to participate however difficult it will be—and that includes all of us, who are invited to hear the words of the prophet and to assist God in His glorious work at closing down our time on earth.

In the previous article, I summarized for you the allegory of the Olive Tree, found in Jacob 5. Since the entire story revolves around this tree, it’s important to understand what it represents. In allegories, many things represent something else, and we must learn the meaning of the symbolism before we can learn the meaning of the story.

There are actually a number of olive trees in the story. The representations are taken from the Institute of Religion Manual for the Book of Mormon.

The tame tree represents Israel, the chosen people. The wild trees represent those who are not of Israel in the early story, and later the branches that are wild represent apostate Israel. The branches are various groups of people.

Olive trees can grow wild, but pruning and care gives the most reliable results. We see in the allegory how hard the Lord worked to care for his trees. We saw in one part of the allegory that the top of the tree was dying. This is due to the tree outgrowing its roots (Research and Perspectives: Recent Studies on the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, Jul 1989, 62) According to the article I’ve linked to here, the servant had to remove branches before grafting new ones to prevent this particular problem.

The Book of Mormon student manual explains that the olive tree is a very appropriate symbol for a story that represents God’s love for His children. The trees require extensive care and nurturing, as we’ve seen in the story. If left alone, the trees fruit will be inedible. A wild tree can be made tame, but this requires a great deal of effort, cutting back the trunk and grafting branches of a tame tree onto it. Even then, it’s not fully developed for fifteen years. Olive trees are the product of patience and direct, hands-on nurturing and assistance. The manual explains: “Throughout its history Israel has demonstrated the remarkable aptness characterized by the symbol of the olive tree. When they gave themselves to their God for pruning and grafting the Israelites prospered and bore much fruit, but when they turned from Christ, the Master of the vineyard, and sought to become their own source of life and sustenance they became wild and unfruitful.”

As we study the story, we see that Israel was a wonderful tree that served God well for many years. Being a favored nation, the Lord of the vineyard (God) is reluctant to let it simply die, and does everything in His power to save the tree, or Israel. Again and again, Israel struggles and seems to be in great trouble, but we see it is still here, having survived centuries of trials and war. The olive tree in the allegory produced many new trees from its transplanted branches, and is like Israel in that way. It keeps coming back to life, surviving all threats to its survival.

We know from prophecy that Israel will be gathered together and restored someday. The planting of the tree branches taken from the parent tree in various corners can be interpreted as the scattering of Israel, and the grafting of those scattered trees’ branches back on to the original tree can represent the gathering of Israel in the last days. Isaiah prophesied that Israel would learn from its mistakes, fulfill its part in the covenants made with God, and make the gathering possible. It is already happening in this day.

Jacob, the third prophet of the Book of Mormon, related an allegory first told by an ancient prophet named Zenos. We no longer have his writings and we know only that he was a great prophet much loved by the Nephites, who quoted him frequently, and that he was killed for his powerful teachings. We know the Bible was not written as a single unit, that it was written as separate pieces later gathered, and that there were many writings lost or not canonized. The Book of Mormon gives us a glimpse into some of these lost writings, including the work of Zenos.

This allegory was considered by Joseph Fielding Smith, an early church prophet, one of the greatest parables of the Book of Mormon, one that could only have come through prophecy, and not through the imagination of any mortal man, much less one with as little education as the young Joseph Smith had received when he translated the Book of Mormon. Many consider it powerful evidence, if evidence were required, that the Book of Mormon is true.
You can read the allegory yourself in the Book of Jacob, in chapter five.

Following is the basic story contained in the parable. In my next articles, I’ll help guide you through an understanding of this parable.

This is the story of a master who is upset because his prize olive tree is growing old and decaying. He doesn’t want to lose it, but hopes to preserve it so he can preserve the fruit for the future. He and his servant work constantly to do what is needed to save it—pruning it, working the ground around it, and nourishing it.

Initially, this seems to help. Some young new branches begin to appear. However, the top of the tree began to decay, upsetting the master. He sends his servant to pluck some branches from a wild olive tree. They then pluck off the dead branches, burning them, and graft branches from the wild tree onto the tame tree. They again work the ground and nurture the tree, hoping to preserve the roots. Natural young branches of the tame tree were hidden in various parts of the vineyard in hopes they would grow well.

When they return to evaluate the results, the tree has again begun to bear fruit, and the fruit is good. The master instructs the servant to preserve the fruit for his own purposes.

The servant, however, is puzzled. He asks why the master planted a tree in the poorest spot in the vineyard. The master agrees the spot was poor, but points out it has given good fruit for many years. He demonstrates that he had planted a branch in a spot that was even worse, and it too had given good fruit. In fact, the branches planted in bad spots generally grew well, but the ones they planted in good spots often produced bitter fruit and had to have the bad portions removed.

26 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck off the branches that have not brought forth good fruit, and cast them into the fire.

27 But behold, the servant said unto him: Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer, that perhaps it may bring forth good fruit unto thee, that thou canst lay it up against the season.

28 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did nourish all the fruit of the vineyard. (Jacob 5)

After a long season of careful care, they again went to inspect the initial tree they wanted to save. It was filled with fruit of all kinds, but none of it was good. The master was frustrated. He had worked so hard to save the tree, but the wild branches had overtaken the roots and were destroying the tree.

They then went to check on the other natural branches they had planted. These too had been destroyed, so that even the parts that had borne good fruit were now corrupted. The master grieved:

47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?

48 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?

Again the master decides the trees must be destroyed, and again, it is the servant who pleads for them to be saved and given a bit longer. The master agrees, hating the thought of losing his trees.

This time, the master decides to take branches from the new trees, which, you recall, came from the original tree. These he will graft onto the original tree, removing branches that are the most bitter. With the most bitter branches gone, and new branches grafted from trees created from that same tree, he hoped the roots would grow strong again.

This was the last chance. A small number of servants were called to assist in the preparations for this important last time. The effort was successful and the master rejoiced, calling his servants to him.

75 And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.

Jacob was the third prophet of the Book of Mormon. He called his people together in the temple to chastise them for their wickedness, and their failure to live the gospel that had once defined them. To help them see the risks they faced, he also prophesied of the future challenges faced by the Jews in Jerusalem, which is where his people had come from themselves. He warned them some of the Jewish people would reject the Savior when He came because they were looking for someone different from the person they saw and for a gospel more complex than what He was offering.

Instead, the Savior would offer a gospel that was filled with plain and simple truths. The complexities of the Law of Moses would be removed. The intellectualism some craved would not be a part of the gospel. Those who wanted a gospel too hard to understand would be disappointed, because the truth is not complex. However, we can see from Jacob’s warning that God would give them what they wanted, if they insisted on it, but to their own detriment.

“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. (Jacob 4)
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/jacob/4

While God glories in our intelligence, which He gave us, we must not allow intellectualism or a desire for the complex and fancy to overshadow our need for the very basic, very beautiful in their simplicity, gospel truths. Sometimes people who wish to attack the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will focus on small fringe ideas, ideas which were never canonized, but only speculated on by early leaders and others, as intelligent people sometimes do. They entirely miss the heart of the gospel, which begins when a young boy kneels in the woods and God appears, introducing young Joseph Smith to His Son, Jesus Christ. This simple moment in unpretentious, God-made surroundings, teaches the heart of the restored gospel. God lives. Jesus is His literal Son.

From this other simple truths were taught over time. God loves us with all His heart. Jesus redeemed us out of love. God sends prophets to teach us even today because He loves us. He has given us the Holy Ghost, if we choose it, to allow us to communicate directly with God anytime we choose, and this too, because He loves us.

The plain and simple truths of the gospel are the ones centered in love, and they are the heart of the gospel that is truly taught by the restored gospel. Don’t look beyond the mark, as the early Jewish people sometimes did, and miss what is right in front of you: The truth, in all its simplistic glory.

I’ve seen many articles lately suggesting that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Mormon Church, needs to “get with the times.”

When people tell a church to cave to popular opinion, fads, or styles, they are really seeking to counsel God. They want God to change, and even to alter unalterable truths.

Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh 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. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old. (Jacob 4:13)

As are so many other sins, this is a matter of pride, feeling we know better than God what is true and right. It is not the job of a Christian to be popular. It is his job to be right. When we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, we have an obligation to speak the truth when speaking of spiritual truths. These days, so many of God's truths are "unpopular" and those who try to hold to them are labeled bigots, out of touch, old-fashioned...any name that might intimidate people into giving in to prove they're part of the popular crowd.

Boyd K. Packer, a modern apostle of God, said, in response to those who feel the church must keep up with current fads of morality: “We do not set the standards, but we are commanded to teach them and maintain them. The standard remains abstinence before marriage and total fidelity in marriage. However out of step we may seem, however much the standards are belittled, however much others yield, we will not yield, we cannot yield.” (Boyd K. Packer, “‘The Standard of Truth Has Been Erected’,” Ensign, Nov 2003, 24)

Paul spoke of this concern in the Bible:

6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: (Ephesians 6)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no desire to be men pleasers. Their entire focus is to do the will of God, regardless of how it affects their “popularity.” Popularity isn’t the goal of the Church. While it might win them more friends, there is no purpose to the church if it isn’t teaching God’s word, and God’s word only. A church that promises a prophet who learns the truth from God must never abuse that privilege by trying to reinvent truth or alter it to suit selfish purposes. A Church that promises to be the true church must teach truth.

So, we will probably always be behind the times, unless the times catch up to God.

Have you ever been faced with a personal problem in which you felt you knew exactly how the problem should be solved, but also knew it was beyond your ability to solve it? Have you ever been tempted to go to the Lord and say, “Okay, God, here’s the problem and here’s what you need to do about it?”

Or, have you ever asked God to help you with a problem, disliked the results, and went back to God to complain about it? The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob warned his people of these methods of dealing with God.

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 4:10)

This command really comes down to faith and trust. When we have a true testimony that God knows what is best for us, and loves us enough to provide us with the best, we are freed from a desire to tell Him what to do. Instead, we’d much rather let Him do the choosing, since He knows far more than we do.

It can be difficult to put aside what we want to accept that the Lord might have a better plan. We, as humans, dislike giving up control over our lives, even to God. For this reason, it’s important to work hard on our trust.

Keeping a blessings journal is one way to do this. Each day, try to note something God did for you. As you become accustomed to seeing His hand in your life, it will become easier to trust Him.

Learn to say, “Thy will be done” in your prayers. There is nothing wrong with telling God how you’d like things to be. We’re counseled to study our problems out in our minds, come to a decision, and then ask God if it’s correct. We’re supposed to do our part. However, now the hard part begins. Once we’ve asked God to confirm our choice, we have to accept His answer. If He says you’re on the wrong track, accept that and try again.

God tells us we don’t have to be afraid. We can choose to be afraid, but if we’re doing what God has asked us to do, we need never be afraid of the results. Even though the purpose of His choices may not be clear, He can see much further into the future than we can.

There is a story in the Book of Mormon I love about a man named Abinidi. Abinidi was a prophet sent to preach to a group of people who didn’t want to hear the message. Their priests and their king were corrupted. Even though they intended to kill Abinidi, God promised he couldn’t be killed until he’d delivered his message, and so these wicked people were forced—out of fear—to listen.

Out of all the listeners, one man felt the spirit and was converted. His name was Alma, and he was a priest of the wicked king. However, when he heard Abinidi’s message, he knew it was true and asked the king to spare Abinidi.

When I tell this story to children, they expect Alma to be a hero and save Abinidi. It doesn’t happen that way, though. The king orders Alma killed also, and Alma flees, which upset the children I am teaching terribly. What the children eventually understand, though, is that even though Abinidi is then killed, God’s promise was kept. The reason Abinidi was sent there and the reason he couldn’t be killed until they’d heard the message was because God needed Alma’s conversion. His mission—that day and for his life—was completed upon the conversion of Alma. Alma will go on to become a prophet and a great leader. His descendants, because they grew up with the gospel, will be among those who see the Savior one day. God saw what my little students could not—He saw the long range picture, generations away, and made His choices accordingly.

When we agree to follow God’s counsel, however uncomfortable it might seem to be, we ensure His plans are carried out, giving us and others who are affected by our choice, the best possible outcome in life.

The people of the Book of Mormon lived in the Americas in ancient times. However, they initially came here from Jerusalem, fleeing around 600 B.C. and bringing with them the scriptures available to that point. As a result, they had the law of Moses and, until the Savior appeared to them between his death and resurrection, they practiced it.

Jacob, the third prophet of the Book of Mormon and son of the first prophet, brother of the second, explained the purpose of the records they kept, which was written for people of a future time (our time), including their descendants.

4 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.

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. (Jacob 4)

The purpose of the law of Moses was to prepare the Jews for the coming of the Savior. M. Russell Ballard, an apostle of the Lord in modern times, explained:

“…everything about Mosaic sacrifice focused on Christ. Like Christ, the priest acted as the mediator between the people and their God. Like Christ, the priest had to have the right parentage to officiate in his office. Like Christ, the offerer through obedience willingly sacrificed what was required by the law.

The part of sacrifice that most strongly paralleled the Savior was the offering itself. Notice with me some of these parallels.

First, like Christ, the animal was chosen and anointed by the laying on of hands. (The Hebrew title Messiah and the Greek title Christ both mean “the Anointed One.”) Second, the animal was to have its life’s blood spilt. Third, it had to be without blemish—totally free from physical flaws, complete, whole, and perfect. Fourth, the sacrifice had to be clean and worthy. Fifth, the sacrifice had to be domesticated; that is, not wild but tame and of help to man. Sixth and seventh, for the original sacrifice practiced by Adam and the most common sacrifice in the law of Moses, the animal had to be a firstborn and a male. Eighth, the sacrifice of grain had to be ground into flour and made into breadstuffs, which reminds us of our Lord’s title the Bread of Life. Ninth, the firstfruits that were offered remind us that Christ was the firstfruits of the Resurrection.”

(M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7. Please see article for Biblical references.)

The Nephites, as the people who kept the Book of Mormon record were known, knew of Christ. Their prophets had seen Him in visions, and even knew what His name would be. They knew that someday He would come to them as well, for a brief few days. His coming would be different than that of the time in Jerusalem, since He would come after his death to teach them.

So, although they were far from their first homeland of Jerusalem, they too awaited the birth of a Savior. Through spiritual signs, they would know when He was born and they’d know when He died. When He died, it would finally be their opportunity to learn from Him and to have the church established through His authority, just as the Savior established it in Jerusalem.

In the meantime, the Law of Moses helped them to understand the sacrifice He would make for them and would teach them discipline and obedience. While we don’t know exactly what was in the five books of Moses they brought with them, we can presume it was the Torah or nearly the Torah, and the laws mentioned throughout the book appear to be similar to those practiced in Old Testament times. In addition, they had prophets of their own, of course, and God could communicate to them exactly what was expected.

Jacob was the third prophet of the Book of Mormon. His family had left Jerusalem before he was born, when his father, Lehi, a prophet, was in danger. They came to a new land in the Americas. Sometime after their arrival, their father died. Lehi had two older sons who were wicked and they and their families had taken to persecuting and even trying to kill a younger son named Nephi. Nephi became the prophet after his father’s death, and the persecutions became so strong, the two factions of the family split off. Nephi took his family and friends away from those who chose to follow his older brother, Laman.

Over time, however, the Nephites became wealthy, which led to pride because they took full credit for their wealth instead of crediting God. Pride led to a letting down of obedience and moral standards. Jacob, who became the prophet when Nephi died, called his people together and spoke firmly to them, outlining their sins, including a serious problem in which the men were not honoring their marriage vows.

Jacob told them they hated the Lamanites due to their dark skins. The skin had been darkened by God in order to ensure the two groups didn’t initially intermarry. This helped to protect the Nephites from the wickedness of the Lamanites and helped them to recognize their enemy. However, the Nephites, as people sometimes will, had forgotten the purpose of the mark and had instead treated it entirely as a racial issue, not a religious one.
He told them in firm terms that they, the Nephites, had become more wicked than the Lamanites in many ways, particularly in terms of how they treated marriage. He said the Lamanites loved their spouses and their children, and some Nephites no longer did that. He explained that the Lamanite wickedness was because their fathers had trained them to be that way. The Nephites, raised in the gospel, had no such excuse. He warned them to stop judging Lamanites by their skin color and to be more concerned with their own wickedness.
“Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers.” (Jacob 3:9)

Gordon B. Hinckley, a previous prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in an important church conference:

“Now I am told that racial slurs and denigrating remarks are sometimes heard among us. I remind you that no man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church of Christ…Let us all recognize that each of us is a son or daughter of our Father in Heaven, who loves all of His children.

Brethren, there is no basis for racial hatred... If any within the sound of my voice is inclined to indulge in this, then let him go before the Lord and ask for forgiveness and be no more involved in such.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Need for Greater Kindness,” Ensign, May 2006, 58–6)

Over the years, the Church’s diversity has grown as the gospel has spread into many lands. I live in a very diverse ward (congregation) in a large city. Within the halls of the church on Sundays, we see people with every shade of skin color. Anyone can be asked to pray or speak, and prayers and “talks” are given in many different languages. Sunday School classes are taught in three languages and English classes are taught on Wednesdays.

Last year, our congregation had a cultural fair. Immigrants just in our own congregation were asked to create display tables for their countries. More than 35 countries were represented, and that didn’t include all the countries represented in our congregation, since not everyone chose to do a table. People of all races and nationalities can be seen in leadership positions in our congregation.

Unlike many churches, the Church of Jesus Christ has never held separate services for black and white worshippers. Congregations are determined by boundary lines and everyone who lives within the boundaries of a congregation is expected to attend that congregation.

Church materials today can be found in 157 languages and churches can be found in nearly every country in the world, where legally allowed. We have truly become a worldwide church.
For more on race relations within the church, visit the Newsroom at LDS.org.

There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that has occupied my time this morning. I wrote an article on it, focusing, as most of us who read it do, on how to use our wealth to help the poor. However, there is a small phrase tucked into this verse that caught my attention today:

“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.” (Jacob 2:19)

The little phrase we tend to skip over is “liberate the captive.” In a time when few of us live in countries with slavery, what does this verse mean? The verse was spoken in a sermon the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob was giving to his own people, chastising them for losing sight of the teachings of God. However, the Book of Mormon prophets kept these records just for our day—the people of the time didn’t have them. This means, if he chose to record the sermon, it has application for us. How can we today liberate the captive?

There are many ways to be captive. One can be held captive through sin, debt, addiction, poverty, or lack of education. One can be captive by not knowing the teachings of God. Anything that keeps you from reaching your full potential as a child of God can hold you captive.

With that in mind, the verse is specifically about the appropriate use of excess income. What are some ways you can use your discretionary income to liberate the captive?

Since no one can solve every problem, one solution is to think of which forms of captivity are of particular concern to you. You can put your money to good use in those areas, allowing you to make a larger single contribution than if you spread your money out. Another solution is to choose a single organization to help. Some people also prefer to help individuals rather than to deal with organizations.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has several programs to help liberate the captive. Some programs focus on the needs of members, but many others serve regardless of faith. You can read on the church’s website about their humanitarian outreach.

This outreach is funded by donations from both church members and non-church members alike. None of the money donated to this outreach is used for administration or outreach, a rare situation. Those costs are paid from regular church funds.

The services offered span a wide range of ways to liberate the captive. For instance, the church’s outreach has donated more than 190,000 wheelchairs to people around the world who would otherwise be captives in their beds. The clean water initiative has provided clean water to over three and a half million people in thirty-four counties by providing such things as wells or boreholes, purification, or storage systems. LDS ophthalmologists have served more than 30,000 people in sixteen nations.

While we may not be in a position to help so many people individually, the collective good done when a group of people band together to help can be immeasurable. A former prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once said, “The goodness of the world in which we live is the accumulated goodness of many small and seemingly inconsequential acts.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “I Believe,” Ensign, Aug 1992, 2)

As we’ve been reading the Book of Mormon together, we’ve seen that the Nephites (the people who chose to follow God and so went with the prophet Nephi) had prospered since separating from their wicked family members, the Lamanites, who followed a rebellious young man named Laman, the brother of the prophet Nephi. Since this time, Nephi has died, a new man has been appointed king, and Nephi’s younger brother Jacob has become the leader of the church, assisted by the youngest brother, Joseph.

The Nephites had grown numerous over the years, and had been blessed for their worthiness. Some had now grown prosperous because they were fortunate enough to find gold and ore and other valuables. Instead of thanking God, and using their excess to help those who had been less successful, they took all credit for their finds and their wealth and even looked down on those who had not been as fortunate. We discussed this in the previous article on pride. Jacob called his people together to chastise them for this:

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? (Jacob 2)

The subject of how to treat the poor ties directly in with Jacob’s warnings about pride. It’s much easier to neglect the poor if you believe it is their own fault they’re poor—that they’re poor due to wickedness, laziness, or whatever excuse you have in mind. Later in the Book of Mormon, other prophets will also warn people that often the wealthy have wealth because they had opportunities for learning because of their wealth. Had they not been wealthy, they might well have been different. It was their advantages that put them in place for their wealth.

“I am concerned about some of our prosperous people who are beginning to criticize the poor for being poor. Some of our own church members believe that only shiftless, lazy people remain poor in this prosperous day and age and that welfare is necessary only to sustain those who are not competent enough to work. They simply do not realize the unexpected problems and expenses that can suddenly come to any one of us. On one occasion the Church came to my aid when I was sick and helpless to help myself, and I was truly grateful that it did.” Theodore M. Burton, “A Disease Called Pride,” Ensign, Mar 1971, 26

Notice that Jacob suggested we should seek after wealth “for the intent to do good.” In other words, while being wealthy is not, in itself a sin, wanting to be wealthy so you can be “better than other people,” or to have a fancy home, an expensive car, or other worldly goods is wrong. The only reason to seek wealth is to have more to spend helping others. This can take enormous self-control. Brigham Young once said his greatest fear was that his people would become wealthy. While many may start that way, it’s difficult to maintain over time. Once a person has a taste of nice things, it can be tempting to add just one more nice thing, and then another nice thing, and soon you’re making your annual donation to the Heart Fund and that’s it, not willing to sacrifice too much of your own comfort.

One way to avoid this challenge is to get into the habit of giving long before you have wealth. Another is to always keep your life simple, not upgrading every time your wealth increases. Luxuries should be chosen with care. For instance, we live in a tiny cottage in a modest neighborhood. We do have a few things we spend a bit more money on, such as computers, since we both make our livings on the computer, but in general our material possessions are very modest. Self-employment means our income fluctuates, and we try not to raise our way of living when things are going well. I would like us to stay comfortable with a modest lifestyle. It’s much easier to stay with the status quo than to “downgrade” to a simpler life.

When life hands you a more luxurious income, ask yourself, “What good can I do with this money?” This will keep you in line with Jacob’s admonition to seek wealth, if you really want it, only to help others.

Jacob, the third prophet of the Book of Mormon, warned his people of the sin of pride. Today, we tend to praise pride as a value, but never does the Book of Mormon speak of pride as a virtue. God just doesn’t see pride the way we do today. Jacob warned:

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. (Jacob 2)

In these verses, and in several that follow, Jacob specifically points out one danger of pride—it causes people to think they alone are responsible for the good things that come to them, and therefore, it causes them to persecute or look down on others. This means they have forgotten to praise God and give Him the credit for their blessings.

If people stop crediting God for their blessings, they see no need to live His commandments or honor Him in any way, and this, of course, leads to further sin and apostasy. This is why pride is so strongly condemned. In the Book of Mormon, we see a reoccurring pattern of obedience leading to wealth, and wealth leading to pride. It takes a strong spirit and diligence to cope well with wealth.

In 1989, Ezra Taft Benson, a former prophet of God, gave what is considered a signature talk on pride to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes nicknamed Mormons. In Beware of Pride, he explained one of the most serious dangers of pride:

The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.

Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)

Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)

The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.

Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.” Ezra Taft Benson, “Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, 4

We can clearly see from this explanation that pride can destroy a person’s testimony of God and his relationship with God. This is why prophets from the earliest days of earth have counseled people against becoming prideful. Wealth, or the love of wealth, can lead to pride, but so can a love of our talents, for instance. While there is nothing wrong with being grateful for our talents—praising God for them and offering them to Him as we practice them—we must always remember where they came from and how they should be used. Our talents come from God and must be used for Him in humility.

We aren’t asked to hate ourselves. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate that we are all children of a Heavenly King, and therefore have a bit of divinity tucked inside us. We all have gifts and talents and blessings. But it’s the knowledge that we all have them that allows us to think of them with the proper perspective and avoid the sin of pride. We are all children of God and therefore, He loves and values us all equally. When pride allows us to think we are better than other children of God, we face spiritual danger.

As President Benson, quoted above explained, “The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. It is the broken heart and contrite spirit.”

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. (Jacob 1 in the Book of Mormon)

In these verses, the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob is talking about the importance of serving well when chosen by God to do a specific purpose. He notes that when God gives us responsibility over an aspect of His church, or over some of His people, He holds us accountable for how well we serve them. Today, we call these assignments callings.

Callings are a unique and powerful aspect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While most religions rely on volunteers to do a variety of things, the Church of Jesus Christ relies on volunteers to do everything. We are what is called a lay church, meaning we don’t have a paid clergy. We don’t pay our organists or teachers or other leaders. Everyone is a volunteer, but with a twist.

In general, for most positions, members of the Church don’t walk into the bishop (their congregational leader similar to a pastor) and ask for a specific job. Instead, the bishop and his counselors (the two men who serve under him and assist in leading the congregation) decide who might be good for the job and then pray until they know who God wants for the position. It takes so many people to run a typical congregation that everyone who wants a job to do can have one, and some people have more than one.

The person who receives the job is not necessarily the most qualified to do the job. In fact, people are often called to positions for which they’re entirely unqualified. We have a saying that whom God calls, God qualifies. In other words, you may not be called because you’re qualified or even skilled at the task. Instead, God sometimes chooses people who, if they choose to do so, can rise to the task and develop new skills and talents they didn’t know they had.

This is one of the signs to me that this is the true church. I felt, from the moment I first learned about callings, that this is just how God would do things. He wants us to find out who He knows we can be, and callings are one way to do that. Early in my church membership, I was told by someone speaking through inspiration that God saw in me a leader. I suspected God had made His first mistake. I was very, very shy, and no one had ever chosen me to lead anything. I was a skilled follower. However, in short time, I began to receive leadership positions. Who but God would see a leader in a painfully shy young woman?
Now, I wasn’t a great leader the very first day. I spent lots of time in prayer and study. I made mistakes. Over time, however, I really did learn how to lead and this helped me become someone I would never have become had I not joined the church.

Church members learn to be patient with people in callings, knowing they have to grow into them. People “born into” the church however—those who were born to active LDS families—tend to have a wider range of experience early on, since they receive leadership callings beginning when they’re only twelve years old. A preteen might find herself responsible for the well-being of a group of her own peers, planning their activities, planning to meet the needs of girls in her youth class who have special needs, and conducting meetings. She does all this with the help of two other young girls, called counselors, and under the shadow leadership of her adult advisors.

Shadow leadership means the leaders are there, quietly guiding and advising, but in general, letting the youth do their own work. The adults make sure guidelines are met, attend all meetings and activities, and use questions to guide the youth into making the proper decisions. They also provide leadership training.

Each position in the church comes with authority over that position. However, no position is more important than another and a person doesn’t work her way up the ladder of a congregation. A man might be a bishop one day and the assistant teacher in the toddler nursery the next. People are moved around in order to broaden their skills. I have been in the leadership over the Primary, the children’s auxiliary, many times, but I still find myself teaching instead of leading quite often. When this happens, and I face a challenge with my class, I go to my leaders for advice. Even though I am nearly fifty with extensive experience, and my leader might be only 23 years old with little experience, it is she who currently holds the authority to lead and so she is the one to whom God gives the wisdom for that job. I don’t find this demeaning at all. In fact, I have learned a great deal from these younger leaders who come in with fresh ideas.

God’s plans are always designed to help us grow to be everything He planned for us to be, and callings are one way He does this.

To learn more about callings, read, “Boyd K. Packer, “The Weak and the Simple of the Church,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 6–9

The Book of Mormon chronicles the history of the family of Lehi, a prophet who lived in Jerusalem in 600 BC. After being instructed by God to flee into the wilderness to protect his life, Lehi’s family was led by God to a personal promised land across the waters, in what is now the Americas.

After Lehi’s death, the family and those who had joined them on their journey split into two groups. The Nephites followed the fourth son, Nephi, who was righteous and loved God. The Lamanites followed Laman, the oldest son who rebelled and became very wicked. The Nephites moved to a new area to escape the brutality and persecution of the Lamanites, under the leadership of Nephi.

After Nephi’s death, his younger brother Jacob assumed leadership of the church, while another man was appointed king. Jacob wrote that Nephi’s death led to changes in the until-then righteous Nephites:

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. (Jacob 1)

We seen from Jacob’s brief summary the problems the small society faced: a hardness of the heart, immorality, corruption of the family unit, a love of money, and pride. These particular sins are primary destroyers of the spirit and in future chapters, Jacob will address these in sermons to the people. The fact that he was able to deliver a sermon to them suggests they had not stopped attending church. These were the members of the church living in this way.

It can be very easy for good people to slide into unworthiness. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, Satan doesn’t take perfectly good people and instantly turn them into bad people. He leads them away carefully and gently in small steps. The problems Jacob outlined didn’t suddenly begin upon the death of Nephi.

Nephi’s final sermon had expressed concern that the people seemed puzzled by the teachings he offered, unable to figure out what they meant. He had seen this often with his two oldest brothers, who would listen to their father’s sermon, and then go to Nephi for explanation. When he asked if they had inquired of God, as he had, they said they hadn’t.

Now Nephi and his two younger brothers saw this same problem developing in their own people. It was perhaps this problem that started the other problems. When the people stop going to God for counsel and instruction, they forget how to hear the Holy Ghost. From that point, it becomes easy for Satan to introduce other sins, since the people are no longer hearing the warnings of the Spirit.

Nephi had mentioned previously that his people prospered due to their righteousness. Repeatedly, in the Book of Mormon, we see that as people are blessed as a society, they forget where the blessings came from and begin to credit themselves for their prosperity. With an unwillingness to approach God for guidance and a forgetfulness of God’s blessings, it is but a small journey into the other sins mentioned.

Jacob’s concerns have two factors: The lack of individual worthiness and the carry-over into the larger society. To fix a nation, we must first fix the individuals. Being a member of the church and attending services does not make you a Christian. Only keeping the commandments and centering your life around Christ, crediting Him for all that is good, can make you a true Christian.

When Lehi, the first Book of Mormon prophet died, his family split into two groups, the Nephites and the Lamanites. The Nephites were the part of the family (and those who traveled to their own, personal promised land with them) who chose to follow God, and wanted Nephi as their leader. Nephi was the fourth son of Lehi.

The Lamanites were followers of the oldest of Lehi’s sons, Laman. He was a wicked young man who resented the family’s decision to abandon their wealth and do as God commanded. In time, he became violent and even murderous, and led a portion of the family and their companions away from the church. When Lehi died, they were so threatening, Nephi took his family and followers and moved a distance away.

Nephi’s younger brother Jacob lived with Nephi after his parents died, and become, in time, the spiritual leader of the Nephites. In his book (a section of the Book of Mormon) he wrote:

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. (Jacob 1)

Although Jacob may have been the president of the church, he uses the plural term to discuss efforts to convert people. This reminds us that teaching of Christ is not the sole responsibility of the churches. Everyone who has a testimony of the Savior has a responsibility to share it with others.

Friends who are not of my faith will sometimes tell me, “If what you just told me is true, how could you not share it with everyone?” Today we see people eager forwarding by email information on health or safety they think will help their friends. The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is far more important than those pass-along messages, so why are we less eager to share them?

Each of us can work to prepare ourselves to share our message with others. It can be done in a non-offensive, non-intrusive way. Often, I find opportunities to mention an aspect of my faith in ordinary conversation. I don’t have to preach—it’s just a natural response to whatever is discussed. It can be done with complete respect for the beliefs of those I talk to. I consider it my responsibility to treat the faith of my friends with the same respect I want them to treat my own. A sharing of beliefs helps to strengthen friendship as we get to know each other.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is rather famous for its missionary program, but we know we can’t rely on those men and women on bicycles to teach everyone, so we’re all taught to be ready to jump in and help out.

Want to know more about our faith? Ask a “Mormon.”

Jacob, apparently the third prophet of the Book of Mormon, wrote that his brother Nephi, the second prophet, had commanded him to keep two records of their people, the Nephites. When Nephi handed over the records to this younger brother, he asked Jacob to keep one set of plates (records) containing the history of the people. The second set would contain something more valuable:

And 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)

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes known as Mormons, are asked to keep both kinds of records even today. They are commanded to gather their family history, write it, and preserve it for future generations, just as Jacob was asked to do. They’re also asked to keep journals and write personal histories, which include the spiritual aspects of their lives. These too will be handed down to their posterity.

Nephi, and later Jacob, worked hard to make sure the records they kept would be of value to future generations. They listened carefully to the spirit and evaluated what they wrote to be sure it provided something that would help us in our day. Because of their diligence, we have many of God’s teachings to the people, as well as true inspirational stories from their history. These spiritual stories help guide us today, and many have found comfort or wisdom in them, just as people do the stories in the Bible.

What experiences have you had in your life that could be of value to others? What lessons do you want your children and grandchildren to have when you’re gone? Do your children know what your testimony of the Savior is? Is it written down so they can have it to comfort and encourage them after your death? If you keep these records diligently, your influence can continue for many generations to come.

Begin simply. You can write your history for a half hour or so a week. It needn’t even be written in order. Just write what comes to mind, and then insert it into the file wherever it fits. This is an excellent Sabbath activity. Periodically write and date your testimony of the Savior, including what spiritual lessons you’ve learned.

Choose what to write with wisdom. You don’t have to tell it all, but do be honest enough to help others learn from your experiences. As you read the Book of Mormon, you’ll see that sad moments, and moments of spiritual weakness are followed up with an explanation of what can be learned from the experience, and frequently with the ways these events changed lives for those who repented.

Begin your personal record keeping today and have a spiritual impact on your family for generations to come. For more on family history, visit LDSblogs.com’s Genealogy blog or LDS.org’s Family History section.

If you’ve been reading the Book of Mormon along with me, you’re now ready to start the Book of Jacob. Jacob was the brother of Nephi, the second Book of Mormon prophet. Let’s take a look back at his background.

Jacob’s father was Lehi, a prophet in Jerusalem around 600 BC. Lehi had been a successful man of wealth when he was called to be a prophet in a time when there were many prophets warning the people to repent or Jerusalem would be destroyed. When the people threatened his life, God instructed him to take his family and flee. They were later joined by another family and a man who would become a friend. Eventually, God led them across the water to a promised land of their very own.

Lehi and his wife Sariah had four sons when they fled Jerusalem. The oldest two broke their parents’ hearts by being disobedient and rebellious. They cared nothing for the faith of their parents or the well-being of their family. Over time, their wickedness increased until they were periodically trying to murder their younger brother Nephi, and sometimes other family members as well.

These wicked older brothers, Laman and Lemuel, had a particular animosity toward Nephi, whom God had designated to become the family’s leader when their father died. This call to leadership came from angels while Nephi was still a teenager.

After the family began their travels, two more sons, Jacob and Joseph, were born. Jacob was the oldest of the two, and he is the author of the next book in the Book of Mormon.

He had a very challenging childhood. He’d never known a real home, since he was born in the wilderness to a homeless, traveling family. He’d never known the relative stability that might have existed when Laman and Lemuel were merely badly behaved teens. Instead, he came into the world with two older brothers who were cruel and uncaring, bent on destroying those who were good. By then the older brothers had married into the other family journeying with them. This family had some children who were also wicked. Think how frightening his childhood must have been, with the constant violence or threat of violence, never having a home or the security of stability.

In spite of all this, Jacob grew to be a good man. His father had designated Nephi to care for the two youngest upon his death. After Lehi died, Nephi was forced to take his family, including Jacob, and those who wanted to live the gospel, to find a new homeland. The violence of the two oldest sons placed the others in too much danger. Jacob grew up in his brother’s care and soon took on important leadership roles in the church.

It might be that a childhood spent wandering gave Jacob a special understanding of the Israelites, and their long journey through the wilderness. This was a favorite theme for him, as was the atonement, which promised joy however challenging his life on earth had been.

He grew up with both the best and worst examples and had a clear understanding of the price of sin and of the blessings of obedience. His trials, rather than making him bitter, made him spiritually strong, and he was permitted to see the Savior in a vision. In fact, Jacob was the first of the Nephites to know what Jesus’ name would be. Although someone else was named king, he appears to have become the head of the church after his brother's death.

Near the end of his life, he wrote:

“And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.” (Jacob 7:26)

Despite this sad summary of his life, we see throughout Jacob’s story that he made the most of a challenging life, to become a devoted servant of God, and the father of prophets. He is a lesson to us about how to cope with lives that don’t go as they ought to. Jacob, while accepting that he’d had a hard life, made good use of his trials to bless and teach others.

Sometimes people will ask me why I decided to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—a Mormon, as some call us. I explain how I studied the religion and then turned to God in prayer to find out if the church was true. Often, they respond, “Oh, I’ve been taught not to do that because you can’t tell if the answer is from God or from Satan.”

When I hear this, my mind often turns to a scripture found in the Book of Mormon:

And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. (2 Nephi 32:8 in the Book of Mormon)

God knows the truth of everything, and while man might lead you astray, God never will. For this reason, Satan is very afraid of having people pray about truth. Once they receive truth from God, their faith can become so strong he finds it difficult, if not impossible, to reach them. So it’s in his best interests to discourage us from praying—but it’s certainly not in our own best interests. If we're unwilling to pray about truth, we are forced to trust mere men.

Throughout the Bible, God instructs us to pray. Never does He say to avoid prayer for fear you won’t recognize the answer. The scriptures regularly assure us that if we have faith and learn to know the Father, we will recognize God’s voice.

Have you ever met someone briefly and then, when you met them again, didn’t recognize them? They weren’t recognizable to you because you didn’t know them well. Have you ever developed a close friendship with someone, gotten to know their heart, and then been separated for many years? When you encounter them again, you remember them, even though you haven’t seen them in years. The difference is in how well you know them.

This is how it is in our relationship with God. When we build a relationship with Him, when we study the scriptures, ponder in our hearts, and spend time talking to God, His voice becomes more familiar to us. In time, we know Him so well there is no doubt who is speaking to us.

God has given us the ability to recognize His voice through the Light of Christ. When we pray, sincerely seeking truth for all the right reasons, and committed to doing whatever God tells us, the Light of Christ will whisper in our hearts that it’s true. Satan can’t bring true peace, so when we feel peace, joy, or contentment, we know the answer is from God.

God wants you to ask Him what is true and He’s prepared to give you an answer you will recognize as His. I know this because I know God can do anything at all, including this, and I’ve tried it. Would you like to try it too? Read How Can I Know This is True?

Have you ever read the stories of people in the scriptures who were privileged to listen to the Savior speak in person, and longed to be among them? When you read of the Sermon on the Mount, do you imagine yourself sitting on the hill, gazing up at the Savior and savoring every word He says?

While we may not be able to travel back in time to sit on a hill with the Savior or to join Him for dinner, listening as He speaks, God, in His kindness, has given us a way to feast on the Savior’s words even today. He instructed His people to keep records, and many of those records include the words of Christ for us to feast upon and treasure.

“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. “(2 Nephi 32:3 in the Book of Mormon)

The Savior’s words give us a visual understanding of how we are to live our lives on earth. He spoke, often, for example, of how we are to treat the poor and the disabled:

But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind (Luke 14:13)

But a careful reading of the scriptures shows us how Jesus Himself carried out this commandment:

Throughout the New Testament, we see the Savior’s kindness to those who were considered unimportant in His community—the poor, the disabled, the sinner. He was kind to them, forgiving, accepting. He included them in His world. He didn’t accept the sins, but He did accept the sinner. He taught the downtrodden by serving them and by treating them with respect, even when others didn’t. I’ve always loved the way He treated the blind man begging on the side of the road. (See Mark 10.)

The man believed that Jesus could heal him, so when He found that the Savior was coming down the road, he called out to Him. Others told him not to bother Jesus. The blind, in those days, were not important members of society, and a blind begger seemed to some to be too unimportant to warrant the attention of someone as important as the Savior. This showed a strong lack of understanding of who the Savior was. Jesus called the man to him and treated him with great respect. He asked what He could do for the man---when was the last time someone spoke so respectfully to this man? Then He told the man it was his (the blind man’s) faith that had healed him. The crowd around him heard that message, and must have looked at the man with a new respect.

The Savior’s treatment of this man mirrored the way He treated everyone at any level of society. This set an example we could see and emulate. Sometimes we humans need a visual to follow when learning what to do.

The scriptures give us a glimpse into the Savior’s life and teachings. Whether or not we see Him standing in front of us teaching, we have His words preserved and reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon allow us to feast on the words of the Savior.

2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 2-3, Book of Mormon)

The Book of Mormon teaches us that after we have been baptized and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we can speak with the tongue of angels. What an amazing gift that is! Of course, such an amazing gift also comes with amazing responsibility. Verse three explains that angels speak only by the power of the Holy Ghost. So what do they speak of? They teach the words of Christ. In other words, they teach the truth.

When we let people know we’re Christians, do we keep in mind that God expects us to speak with the tongue of angels? Do our words adequately represent who we are—a representative of the Savior? Do our tongues speak only the truth?

The first step to learning to speak with the tongue of angels is to find out what the truth really is. If we want to represent him properly, we have a tremendous obligation to find out what is true and to share only that. How do we know what’s true? We can ask someone we know, but people, even famous spiritual leaders, can be wrong. There are millions of people who have preached God’s word, but many of those people contradict each other. God is not a God of confusion. There can only be one truth. If the law of gravity is true, it can’t also be false. It’s our responsibility to find out what is true. Refusing to take on that responsibility makes u