Jacob 6 explains a little about chapter 5, the end of the world, and the Second Coming of Christ. Some of my favorite verses include:
· Verse 2: “And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh.”
· Verse 3: “And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard”
o I am so excited to serve the Lord in his vineyard, and I can’t wait to see how my life changes because of the work I do. I know that the changes and blessings will probably not be the ones that I expect, but I see the Lord’s hand in my life so much already, in mostly unexpected ways, that I have learned to appreciate any guidance that I am given.
· Verse 4: “ And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long”
o The Lord truly does extend blessings to me and to all of His children every day.
· Verses 8: “Behold will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?”
o In all honesty, I really don’t understand how someone could reject all of the things that testify of Christ. Besides the words of every prophet since the world began, everything beautiful and meaningful in this world testifies of Him. Whenever I walk in the woods, I can see the touch of the Master’s Hand. When I listen to a piece of music that stirs my soul, I know that I am listening to something eternally beautiful. Making “a mock of the great plan of redemption” makes me extremely sad. In essence, the great plan of redemption is that we lived with our Father in Heaven before we lived on this earth; and that if we live righteously, we can live with our families in happiness forever. Many times in the world, I see people who are lost, and think that no one cares for them and loves them, or that they have sinned and have no way to get to heaven. I am so sad for them, and I just want to shout that a perfect Father in Heaven loves them, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, has paid the price for their sins, if they just accept His sacrifice and try to live their lives in accordance with His.
· Verse 12: “O be wise: what can I say more?”
Jacob 7 contains the first example of an Anti-Christ to be found in the Book of Mormon. Ezra Taft Benson, the 13th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, once said that, “The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ.” Even though it is sad to see people over whom Satan has so much power, it is good to look at history and learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others. The Book of Mormon truly was written for our day.
In this chapter, a man named Sherem starts to go about teaching “that there should be no Christ.” “And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead away many hearts… And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil.” Jacob says that Sherem “had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken.” Obviously, Jacob is able to rebut every argument that Sherem brings up, but of my favorite part is when Jacob asks, “Believest thou the scriptures?” Sherem says yes, but then Jacob says, “Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ… [and] I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.”
Eventually, Sherem asks Jacob to show him a sign, but Jacob says, “What am I that I should tempt God to show thee a sign in the thing which thou knowest to be true?” Sherem still keeps pressing for a sign, and eventually, the Lord gives him one, when “the power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the earth.” He is unconscious for many days, but then wakes up and calls all the people together to tell them how wrong he truly was. “And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil.” When he finishes his message, he dies, giving the crowd further proof that the things he spake were true.
“And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave… and I make an end of my writing upon these plates.” Unfortunately, this is the end of Jacob’s record, but he passes the plates on to his son Enos to continue keeping the history of the people.
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