Lesson 12: Seek Ye for the Kingdom of God
Book of Mormon: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (1999),
51–55
1. Introduction
a) Begin
with Jacob
b) Born
between 600 and 590 BC
c) Jacob
had a difficult childhood
i)
Born in the wilderness with his brother Joseph
ii) Took
the harrowing journey across the ocean
iii) Probably
never knew a time in which his brothers were friendly and at peace with each
other
(1) After
the death of his father, Jacob accompanied Nephi and some of the rest of the
party in escaping into the wilderness for safety in the face of Laman and
Lemuel’s increasingly dangerous threats and actions.
iv) Helped
to build a Nephite city in the wilderness
(1) Assisted
in building a temple
v) Jacob
would say of his life:
(1) READ:
"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)
d) Probably
between 45-55 years old when Nephi gave him the plates
e) Nephi
was both the political and spiritual leader of the Nephites
i)
When Nephi died, political leadership went to another
appointed by Nephi, who called themselves Second Nephi, Third Nephi, etc.
ii) Jacob
had been consecrated a priest by Nephi and, with his brother, Joseph, provided
spiritual leadership to the Nephites.
2. Jacob
magnifies his calling from the Lord
a) Jacob
saw the Savior in his youth.
b) When
Nephi gives Jacob the small plates, he gives Jacob specific instructions
i)
Reading 1 – Jacob 1:1-4
1 For behold, it came to pass that
fifty and five years had passed away from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem;
wherefore, Nephi gave me, Jacob, a commandment concerning the small plates,
upon which these things are engraven.
2 And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I
should write upon these plates a few of the things which I considered to be
most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the
history of this people which are called the people of Nephi.
3 For he said that the history of his people
should be engraven upon his other plates, and that I should preserve these
plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation.
4 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.
(1) ASK –
Do we have “small plates” in our lives?
c) Errand
from the Lord
i)
After Nephi died, problems began to arise among the
Nephites under the second king
ii) Jacob
prepared for his first big challenge as a prophet
iii) Reading
2 – Jacob 1:17-19
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.
(1) ASK –
What does Jacob mean when he says he obtained his “errand from the Lord?”
(2) ASK –
Why was it important for Jacob to “magnify his office unto the Lord?”
(a) ASK
– What did Jacob do to magnify his office?
(i) 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 . . . laboring with our might
(b) Interesting
that Jacob wasn’t magnifying his office for the people.
(c) ASK
– When we have callings, do we ever magnify our office to the people in the
ward or stake?
(d) Reading
3 - President Hugh B. Brown wrote: "President John Taylor said on one
occasion... 'If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible
for those you might have saved, had you done your duty.' This is a challenging
statement. If by reason of sins of commission or omission lose what I might
have had in the hereafter, I myself must suffer and doubtless, my loved ones
with me. But...if any of us fail to teach, lead, direct, and help to save those
under our direction..., then the Lord will hold us responsible if they are lost
as a result of our failure." (The Abundant Life, p37)
d) The
Priesthood of the Nephites
i)
We sometimes think of the priesthood in Old Testament
times as the Aaronic Priesthood only.
ii) Reading
4 - Elder B. H. Roberts wrote: There was a priesthood
that administered the ordinances of [the] gospel, and as the gospel was a
higher law than the law of Moses, it is reasonable to conclude that the
priesthood which administered in those ordinances was a higher order of
priesthood than that conferred upon Aaron and the tribe of Levi, and
undoubtedly the higher priesthood could, on occasion, administer in the
ordinances of the inferior law. It was, doubtless, this higher order of
Priesthood that such characters as Abraham, Melchizedek, and other prophets in
Israel held, and by which they administered in sacred things. It was this order of priesthood
that was held by Lehi and Nephi, and which the latter conferred upon his
brothers, Jacob, and Joseph. The
former referring to his priesthood says, that he had been “ordained after the
manner of this (the Lord’s) holy order,” that being the way in which this
higher priesthood, of which I am speaking, is designated throughout the Book of
Mormon. Called also a priesthood “after the order of the Son of God.” It was
this priesthood, therefore, that was conferred upon the Nephites—not the
Aaronic priesthood—and by which they officiated in sacred things; of things
pertaining to the gospel as well as to the law given of Moses. The
justification for administering in the things of the law by this priesthood
consist in the fact that the superior authority includes all the rights and
powers of the inferior authority, and certainly possesses the power to do what
the inferior authority could do. (B. H. Roberts, New Witnesses for God, Vol.3,
p.469, emphasis added)
iii) In Old Testament times, the Aaronic Priesthood was held by
the Levites – descendants of Aaron who inherited this right. There were no
Levites among the Nephites.
3. Jacob
warns against the love of riches, pride, unchastity and racial prejudice
a) This
is Jacob’s temple sermon
b) The
specific problems Jacob addresses are the first time we see the pride cycle
begin among the Nephites.
c) Jacob
recognizes the seriousness of this threat.
d) Gathers
the Nephites together at the temple – Just like King Benjamin will do many
years in the future.
e) Jacob
will warn about
i)
Riches
ii) Pride
iii) Unchastity
iv) Racial
Prejudice toward the Lamanites
f) Reading
5 – Jacob 2:3-5
3 And ye yourselves know that I
have hitherto been diligent in the office of my calling; but I this day am weighed down with much
more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have
hitherto been.
4 For behold, as yet, ye have been obedient unto
the word of the Lord, which I have given unto you.
5 But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know
that by the help of the all-powerful
Creator of heaven and earth I
can tell you concerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very
abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God.
i)
Verse 3 - I
this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of
your souls
ii) Verse
5 - by the help of the all-powerful
Creator of heaven and earth I
can tell you concerning your thoughts
(1) Where
does sin first begin? In our thoughts.
(2) Recall
that Lehi in his dream beheld a "large
and spacious building" which Nephi learned represented the "vain imaginations and the pride
of the children of men" (1 Nephi 12:18)
(3) The
prophet knows the thoughts of his people
iii) ye are beginning to labor in sin
(1) Interesting
that Jacob describes sin as a labor.
g) Riches
and Pride
i)
Reading 6 – Jacob 2:12-13
12 And now behold, my brethren,
this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for
all manner of precious ores, in the which this land, which is a land of
promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully.
13 And the
hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have
obtained many riches; and because
some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are
lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high
heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are
better than they.
ii) Reading
7 - President Spencer W. Kimball wrote: “The possession of riches does not
necessarily constitute sin. But sin may arise in the acquisition and use of
wealth. … ‘For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.’ (1 Tim. 6:10–11.)
“Book of Mormon history eloquently
reveals the corrosive effect of the passion for wealth. … Had the people used
their wealth for good purposes they could have enjoyed a continuing prosperity.
But they seemed unable for a sustained period to be simultaneously wealthy and
righteous” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 47–48).
h) Unchastity
i)
Reading 8 – Jacob 2:23-24,27-28
23 But the word of God burdens me
because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people
begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to
excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were
written concerning David, and Solomon his son.
24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many
wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
SKIP
27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear
me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you
have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the
chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the
Lord of Hosts.
ii) Unchastity
is tied to pride and riches
iii) Unchastity
affects others besides those who directly engage in it
(1) READ
– Jacob 2:31-35
31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the
mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea,
and in all the lands of my people, because
of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.
32 And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of
Hosts, that the cries of the fair
daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of
Jerusalem, shall come up unto me
against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.
33 For they
shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their
tenderness, save I shall visit them
with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit
whoredoms, like unto them of old, saith the Lord of Hosts.
34 And now behold, my brethren, ye know that
these commandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known
them before; and ye have come unto
great condemnation; for ye have done these things which ye ought not to
have done.
35 Behold, ye have done greater iniquities
than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye
have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your
children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up
to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God,
which cometh down against you, many
hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.
i)
Racial Prejudice
i)
Jacob speaks of the attitude of the Nephites toward the
Lamanites whose skin has been darkened
ii) Reading
9 – Jacob 3:8-9
8 O my brethren, I fear that
unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours,
when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.
9 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.
4. Jacob
teaches of the Atonement
a) Jacob
speaks of how difficult it is to write on the metal plates
i)
Evidence of how important the message is
b) Jacob’s
most important message is the Atonement of Christ
c) READ
– Jacob 4:4-7,10-12
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.
6 Wherefore, we search the
prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a
hope, and our faith becometh
unshaken, insomuch that we
truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or
the mountains, or the waves of the sea.
7 Nevertheless, the Lord God
showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children
of men, that we have power to
do these things.
SKIP
10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to
take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he
counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.
11 Wherefore, beloved brethren, be
reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son,
and ye may obtain a resurrection,
according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the first-fruits of
Christ unto God, having faith,
and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the
flesh.
12 And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of
Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge
of a resurrection and the world to come?
Conclusion
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