Lesson 12: Jacob 1–4

(Questions mainly from Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual.)

Ponderize Jacob 2:18.  “[S]eek ye for the Kingdom of God.”

[What do you think this might mean?]

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[Jacob 1:1-4) What commandment did Nephi convey to Jacob?

Did Jacob keep this commandment?

What evidence do you find of this in Jacob chapters 1-4?

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[Jacob 1:7) What do the scriptures seem to mean by God’s rest?  (See D&C 84:19-24 and Alma 13:12)]

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What does Jacob (1:17-19) teach about magnifying our calling?   (See also D&C 58:26-28.)

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[Jacob 2:5-6) How and where did Jacob locate his people’s sins?]

President David O. McKay said: "Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap an eternal destiny."  (Quoted by President Kimball in Miracle of Foregiveness, 115).

Elder Boyd K. Packer said, “Have you noticed that without any real intent on your part … a shady little thought may creep in? …. If you permit them to go on … you will be left, because you consented to it, to the influence of unrighteous thoughts.**** I’ve had to evict some thoughts a hundred times before they would stay out. I have never been successful until I have put something edifying in their place. **** You can replace thoughts of temptation, anger, disappointment, or fear with better thoughts.” (Oct 1973 CR, Oct 1977 CR, & 1999 Conference Report [CR]).

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What did Jacob (2:17-19) teach to help us avoid misuse of wealth? 

President Kimball said: “The possession of riches does not necessarily constitute sin. But sin may arise in the acquisition and use of wealth.” (See The Miracle of Forgiveness, 47; quoted in BMGDTM, 53.)

Regarding the acquisition of wealth, President Kimball said that “the seller is entitled to” profit “only when he has benefited the buyer,” and he condemned “dishonest business practices” such as ““a few cents' worth of medicine for many dollars … ‘sales’ intended to misrepresent [savings, and], raising rents because of house shortage [rather than] increased costs of maintenance” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 198).

President Heber J. Grant and his Counselors declared: “The Church has been and still is unalterably opposed to any occupation, or so-called business, which takes money without giving value received in return” (Messages of the First Presidency 5: 245).

President Brigham Young said that when a man obtains “a stock of goods that he sells [for much more than] they cost [him,] he soon becomes wealthy; and you will hear many say … what a nice man he is, and what a great [benefactor].  My feeling of such a man is he is a great cheat … The [benefactor] is he that brings … the elements into successful use for the benefit of [others] … [S]uch a man I would call a benefactor of his fellow man. But the great majority of men who have amassed great wealth have done it at the expense of their fellows … Such men ought to be … performing useful and necessary labors for the good of mankind.” (August 1877, Journal of Discourses 19:98.)

Regarding the use of riches . . .

… a la Jacob 2:19, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, “Far too many in the world experience hunger ... ache with cold … suffer from sickness … grieve for their children … mourn for the safety of their families. These people are not strangers and foreigners ... They are our brothers and our sisters….  If, while we have the means to do so, we do not come to their aid, we are in danger of being among those the prophet Moroni spoke of when he said, ‘Behold, ye do love money, and your substance … more than ye love the poor and the needy ...” (Apr 2001 CR.)

President Monson has said, “We have a responsibility to extend help as well as hope … both at home and abroad…. In addition to the service you give as you care for one another, your [fast offerings] enable us to [help fulfill this responsibility]. Latter-day Saints contribute generously to a fast offering fund at least the equivalent of two meals ... and usually many times more…. What prompts such devotion?  … [A] heart felt desire to love the Lord with all one’s heart, mind, and soul, and one’s neighbor as oneself…. Released from poverty and want, they will then be better able to receive the spiritual gifts He holds in store for them.” 
(See Teachings of Thomas S. Monson, 321-326.)

… a la Jacob 2:18, Elder Oaks has said this “means to assign first priority to God and to His work” and to “not lay up for ourselves ‘treasures upon earth’” or “‘the vain things of the world’” (April 2001 Conference Report [CR]).  After quoting Jacob 2:18, [1] Elder Oaks quoted Alma 39:14, “Seek not after riches nor the vain things of the world” (Apr 2011 CR), and [2] Elder Packer quoted D&C 11:7, “Seek not for riches but for wisdom” (Oct 1980 CR).  

… a la Jacob 2:17, Elder L. Tom Perry said: “Here we see a direct application of the second great commandment … Jacob tells his people to share what they have with their brothers and sisters who have less than they do … to share freely of their substance.” (Apr 1987 CR.)

... Elder Hales has said that when we are “faced with the choice to buy, consume, or engage in activities, we need to learn to say ‘We can’t afford it’ but also, ‘We can afford it, but we don’t need it,’” and so not spend on “things we do not really need” with funds “we could have used to help … others” (April 2009 CR). 

. . . President Henry B. Eyring has said, “I have learned that the way to have a surplus is to spend less than I earn. With that surplus I have been able to learn that it really is better to give than to receive." (April 2011 CR.) 

 ... Luke 3:11) “He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none”

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Regarding the possession of riches, the Lord has said: “[T]hat which cometh of the earth is ordained for the use of man for food and for raiment, and that he might have in abundance. But it is not given that one man should possess … above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.” (D&C 49:19-20.)  At the time Joseph Smith wrote, “rich” had at least 2 meanings: “possessing a large portion of land, goods or money, or a larger portion than is common” (N Webster, 1828, American Dictionary of the English Language).  [When does the possession of riches constitute sin?]

Elder Christofferson has said that to “establish Zion” we must “care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us.” He quoted D&C 70:14, “In your temporal things you shall be equal, … otherwise the abundance of the manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld,” and D&C 104:16 in which the Lord says “this is the way … to provide for my saints … the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.” He also cited D&C 49:19-20 which says “[T]hat which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for food and for raiment, and that he might have in abundance. But it is not given that one man should possess … above another.” (October 2008 Conference Report.)

                                                                                           

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For what, specifically, does Jacob (2:35) chastise his brethren?

The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have warned that “individuals who violate covenants of chastity [or] who abuse spouse or offspring …will one day stand accountable before God” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

“Abuse [is] treating or speaking to someone in a way that is demeaning or that causes injury….  Child abuse … threatens or causes physical or emotional harm to a child.… Spouse abuse may also be physical [or] emotional… Emotional abuse can consist of name calling, demeaning statements, control or compulsion, threats, isolation, intimidation, or manipulation. Physical abuse includes withholding necessities and violence such as pushing, choking, scratching, pinching, restraining, or hitting.” (Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 55.)

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What does Jacob 3 teach about racism?

President Howard W. Hunter said: “The restored gospel is a message of divine love for all people everywhere, based upon the knowledge that all humans are children of the same God” (See Oct 1991 CR, quoted in BMGDTM, 55).

“[T]here is much … class and race distinction, inequality, and suffering in the world…. If I read the scriptures with understanding, I see the Creator of this world denouncing all such evils…” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 408.)  “The Latter-day Saints will never accomplish their mission until this inequality shall cease on the earth” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 286).  “We may not yet be the Zion…prophets foretold … but we long for it and we keep working toward it” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, April 1996 CR). 

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In Jacob 4(:4, 11), what hope does Jacob speak of?
(See also Moroni 7:41)

How does Jacob (4:6) say we can we obtain this hope?

Regarding Jacob 4:14, President Uchtdorf has said: "Sometimes, the truth may just seem too straightfoward, too plain, and too simple for us to fully appreciate its great value.  So we set aside what we have experiences and know to be true in pursuit of more mysterious or complicated information." (October 2015 Conference Report.)