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

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 us an irresponsible representative of the Savior.

So if we can’t necessarily trust men, who do we ask? We ask God, of course. He knows the entire truth, and will never mislead us. We can turn to Him in prayer and ask Him what is true and what we are to share with others. Following His instructions, instructions that came directly from Him, is the first step.

Once we’re on the right path, we must, as Nephi said, feast on the words of Christ. We need to study the scriptures in depth and make certain we know them well. Then we can teach only the truth, as God wants it taught.

From that moment on, we must guard our tongue to be sure it’s always representing God and the Savior well. We must speak with a voice of kindness and love, with an inviting voice, not one that turns people away because of attacks and belittlement.

When we speak lovingly God’s own words, and the words of Christ, we speak with the tongue of angels. What a wonderful gift!

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. (2 Nephi 31:21)

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes called “Mormons,” do not believe in the doctrine of the trinity. God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct individuals. So what does the above scripture from the Book of Mormon mean?

On LDS.org, we learn what it means to say God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are one God:

“Although the members of the Godhead are distinct beings with distinct roles, they are one in purpose and doctrine. They are perfectly united in bringing to pass Heavenly Father's divine plan of salvation."

People learning of the church for the first time are sometimes puzzled by this belief, and it can be helpful to understand more about why we believe as we do on this subject.
Joseph Smith, the first prophet of modern days, learned of the true nature of God and Jesus when he was fourteen years old. Confused about which church to join, he followed the advice of the Bible (James 1:5) and went to the woods to pray about the problem. As he prayed, God and Jesus came to him to answer his question. You can read more about this at Mormon.org.

Because he saw God and Jesus, Joseph understood that they were separate beings. When the Bible speaks of Jesus as God’s Son, Joseph realized this was a literal statement. When Joseph grew up and was called by God to restore the gospel to the earth, He learned more about this fascinating subject.

Harpers Bible Dictionary, a non-LDS authority on the Bible, says the trinity is not found in the Bible. (Paul F. Achtemeier, ed. (1985), 1099) Instead, it was defined as a part of Christian doctrine in 325 BC at the Council at Nicaea. The Nicene Creed, which developed from this council held by various scholars to unify the various Christian beliefs circulating, contained the doctrine of the Trinity and was passed along to Christians as if it had come from the Bible. It is the result of argumentation, debate, and decision, not prayer or prophecy.

There is indeed confusion in the Christian world over this doctrine, but Christ Himself felt no confusion about it. He said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38, King James version of the Bible.) There is no clearer statement that Jesus knew He and God were distinct individuals.

For more on this subject, read Apostasy and Restoration by Dallin H. Oaks.

In my previous entry, I spoke of baptism. Baptism is only one of the steps on the path back home to our Heavenly Father. Often the hardest work comes after that wonderful moment when you’ve risen from the water and everyone is smiling at you.

For that single moment, you are perfect. But when the service is over, you leave the chapel and go out into the real world, where challenges and trials await. Your trials don’t end because you’ve chosen to commit your life to serving God. Satan certainly has no plans to leave you alone after you’ve made such an eternally significant decision. No, he’s going to work hard to convince you to change your mind.

The Book of Mormon gives us guidelines as to our responsibilities after baptism:

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20)

These are wonderful, inspirational words, but they aren’t platitudes. They are an outline for the rest of our lives, and they involve hard work and diligence. Enduring to the end is harder than it seems. It involves becoming a true disciple of Christ, a term meaning Pupil, and continuing the process all your life. Great bursts of faith are exciting and make for inspiring legends. We all love to read about those who were martyred. Within the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we praise Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum for their willingness to die for God. There were, in fact, many martyrs in our religion during the early years of the church. However, James E. Faust, an ">apostle of God, made this critical point:

For most of us, however, what is required is not to die for the Church but to live for it. For many, living a Christlike life every day may be even more difficult than laying down one’s life. I learned during a time of war that many men were capable of great acts of selflessness, heroism, and nobility without regard to life. But when the war was over and they came home, they could not bear up under the ordinary daily burdens of living and became enslaved by tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and debauchery, which in the end caused them to forfeit their lives.” (James E. Faust, “Discipleship,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 20–23)

What does it mean to live for your faith? It means that in the small, every day choices, we take into consideration the will of our Father. His choices, not ours, are the foundation for our everyday lives, all the large and small choices we make all day long.

It’s often said that Satan can’t capture us in one spectacular moment. He leads us away in small steps, increasing our comfort level with sin. Once Satan can get us comfortable with the little sins, he can convince us that slightly larger ones are okay as well. Soon, our baptismal covenants are forgotten and we’ve fallen far from where we belong. So it’s in the small moments of life that we have to be particularly vigilant, to be certain it isn’t the little, seemingly harmless, sins that are setting us on the wrong path. “It’s just a little lie.” “It’s only a cup of coffee.”

Remaining steadfast and enduring to the end may become the hardest challenges you face, even harder than making the choice to convert will be. The rewards, however, are beyond measure, and worth the vigilance and dedication to faith and truth.

To learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the lives the “Mormons” live, visit Mormon.org.