My apologies for letting this go so long without putting up a new entry. I guess I’m normal in some ways, in that I’m not always consistent about my scripture study. Still, I’m here now and we need to pick up where we left off, namely,
2 Nephi 9.
We continue with Jacob’s conference talk. I’m judging here that, since they didn’t have quite as many General Authorities, their conference talks were probably a lot longer. Still, it’s nice that it’s broken up into more or less bite-sized pieces like this one is. As before, this chapter is pretty long, so I’m going to try and sum up for you rather than try to explain each verse. Even so, this entry is likely to be pretty long so, be prepared.
Now, Jacob has just finished reading several chapters of the book of Isaiah, namely
Isaiah 49: 22-26;
Isaiah 50;
Isaiah 51, and
Isaiah 52:1-2. He claims the reason for this to be so that they will know about the covenants the Lord has made with the House of Israel and that he has talked with his prophets from the beginning, from generation to generation until the time comes that they are all “restored to the true church and fold of god; when they shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise. (v2)” This last indicates to me that there is more than one land of promise. You’ll remember that Israel initially thought that Canaan was “
the land of promise,” meaning it was promised to them in a covenant. However, frequently in the Book of Mormon, someone will say they have obtained “
a land of promise,” with the same connotation. Now, Jacob makes mention of “all their lands of promise.” That is so cool to me to know that the Lord has more than one land of promise. Maybe the whole earth is a land of promise.
Next, Jacob mentions that he knows many of them have searched “to know of things to come. (v4).” This means they are studying their scriptures or, more specifically, the records of the prophets in the Old Testament, which would be much like us meticulously studying Revelations (which we’ll get to eventually). It is in this context that Jacob speaks of “God” showing himself to the people in Jerusalem. This is a reference to the Savior of the World. Jacob says it is expedient that he should be among them. I always believed the word “
expedient” meant necessary. Merriam-Webster tells us it means “suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance.” So, he didn’t
have to live among the Jews. He could actually have lived anywhere. However, the Jews were the best place for him to come to achieve his end, so he
chose to come there.
Jacob also notes “it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. (v5)” Again, I had a mistaken understanding about this statement, so I feel the need to explain it. First of all, according to M-W, where the word “expedient”
doesn’t mean necessary, the word “
behoove”
does. In this same passage, Jacob uses the word subject. Now, being a big D&D fan, I understood the word “
subject” to mean someone who is under the authority of someone else. M-W agrees with this definition. However, it’s the word “might” that makes this statement work. So let’s translate. It was necessary for the Lord to come under the authority of man and die for us, so that we all have the option to be under His authority. If we’re under His authority, that means we take His name on us, serve him, always remember him and avail ourselves of the free gift of repentance. In a sense, He becomes our lord and we willingly become His vassals or loyal subjects. Honestly, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be subject to. Can you?
Moving right along, Jacob next speaks of resurrection. Without it, our bodies would remain in their graves to rot forever and our spirits would become subject to the devil and his followers. This would be the inevitable consequences of being fallible mortal beings. Without the atonement to restore our bodies and our spirits, our situations would be hopeless and the plan would fail.
It’s worthwhile here to examine Jacob’s definition of the word “death.” There are two kinds of death, according to Jacob: temporal or physical death and spiritual death. In this case, death means separation. In physical death, our spirits are separated from our bodies. In spiritual death, our spirits are separated from their God. Thanks to the atonement, physical death is no longer a worry, because we are assured that “all men [will] become incorruptible and immortal, (v13)”
Jacob then tells us that we’ll have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, uncleanness and nakedness. To me, that calls to mind the first time I had to undress in a public locker room and how uncomfortable I felt walking around with no clothes on. Our guilt and shame will be that obvious to us and, likely, to others who see us. However, Jacob goes on, saying that the righteous will have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment and righteousness, “being clothed with purity.” In other words, we
won’t feel uncomfortable because we’ll remember our righteousness and it will also be obvious to us and others.
In any case, Jacob warns us that the righteous will go on being righteous and the filthy will go on being filthy. Here he compares the torment of the filthy to a burning lake of fire and brimstone. Brimstone is an ancient reference to sulfur, which has a distinctive smell that might remind you of rotten eggs and tends to last for a long time. So, think of a lake of lava, constantly burning, that stinks of sulfur. Can you imagine the memory of your sins being so vivid that they are like a constant burning sensation and an ever present stink? That’s what I think is meant by this simile provided by Jacob.
Here, too, in verses 25 and 26, Jacob reminds us that the Lord has given a law and, with that law, comes punishment if we break it. However, we know that, if we don’t have the law, we can’t be punished for not following it, therefore, there’s no condemnation on our heads. All of this is thanks, again, to the atonement, which takes the law, that says ignorance is no excuse, and adds an element of mercy. Suddenly, ignorance of the law is a definite excuse.
However, if you do have the law, according to Jacob, you have a responsibility to try to live it and to repent as often as necessary. Jacob warns us in verse 28 of the “foolishness of men.” There are two examples he provides: the Learned or scholars and the Rich or wealthy.
Let’s look at the Learned first. Jacob qualifies this, saying that being learned is good if you’re paying attention to the counsel of God. However, if you take your knowledge to mean you’re wise, and forget to pay attention to God’s counsel, you’re really foolish and your knowledge doesn’t really get you anywhere. The key to this is the word “
wise,” which, as an adjective, Merriam-Webster’s defines as “marked by deep understanding, keen discernment, and a capacity for sound judgment.” So, be very careful not to let the fact that you know lots of stuff lead you to believe that you understand everything, or have keen discernment and sound judgment unless you’re also paying attention to God’s counsel.
Now, let’s look at the Rich. In Jacob’s estimation, the problem with wealth is that it leads the owner to despise those with less than they have and persecute people who are submissive, mild tempered and moderate (
meek). There’s also the tendency to get so attached to your wealth that it becomes the be-all and end-all of your existence, like an idol or an addiction. It’s hard, when you’re wealthy, to remember that real treasure doesn’t really have anything to do with money.
Next Jacob talks about the deaf who will not hear and the blind who will not see, so let’s look at them next. We know that the physically deaf are unable to hear because, although sound waves enter their ears, sometimes there is an interrupt between the ears and the brain that prevents those signals from entering. Likewise, the physically blind are unable to see because light enters their eyes and the signals that are the interpretation of that light is prevented from reaching the brain. However, though the brain is the place where those physical signals are interpreted and put to use, the spiritual sight and sound signals are interpreted by our hearts. However, if our hearts are hardened by pride of any form, those signals will fail to reach our hearts. However, unlike with physical blindness and deafness, we don’t become spiritually deaf and blind by accident or by birth. We can only be spiritually deafened and blinded by choice, namely the choice to harden our hearts and refuse to hear the call of the master or receive light and truth to our minds. Allowing this, Jacob tells us, will cut us off from our Father in Heaven, resulting in Spiritual Death.
Another interestingly poetic comparison Jacob makes is in reference to the uncircumcised of heart. We learn in the Old Testament that Abraham and his descendants were commanded that all males must be circumcised as a sign of their covenant with God. The symbolism of this is fairly obvious. It’s hard to forget something if the symbol of it stares at you every time you go to change your underwear, not to mention that circumcision is a fairly painful procedure without anesthesia. So there, too, the covenant it represents would be hard to forget. Nowadays, though, physical circumcision isn’t a requirement any more. So, by what sign do we remember our covenants with the Lord? By the sign of our broken, or humble, heart and our faith.
After this, Jacob lists a number of other sins and consequences, but he sums everything up by simply adding that all those who die in their sins will return, face God and remain in their sins. He points out that being carnally minded is death, while being spiritually minded is eternal life. Here, again, we have another example of the eloquence of Jacob. What does it mean to be carnally minded. For this one, I think we need a little etymology. Here is what the Online Etymology Dictionary tells us about the word “carnal”
c.1400, "physical, human, mortal," from Old French carnal and directly from Medieval Latin carnalis "natural, of the same blood," from Latin carnis "of the flesh," genitive of caro "flesh, meat" (see carnage). Meaning "sensual" is from early 15c.; that of "worldly, sinful" is from mid-15c. Carnal knowledge is attested from early 15c. and was in legal use by 1680s.
In short, the word “carnal” is a reference to the flesh. Therefore, being carnally minded means having your thoughts centered around the needs of the flesh. Likewise, being spiritually minded means having your thoughts centered around the needs of the spirit.
Jacob reminds us not to say he’s “spoken hard things to us.” If we do, we’re likely to despise and use harsh language against the truth. Since Jacob has only repeated the words of the Lord, he is well aware that the wicked will find the truth to be hard. The righteous, however, don’t find the truth hard at all. They love it. It doesn’t bother them, but frees them. Jacob tells us that the road of righteousness is narrow, but very straight no curves or bends. The gatekeeper, of course, is Christ, himself. People willing to lower themselves to the humbling task of asking to pass the gate will be given admittance. Those too proud to do so, for whatever reason, won’t.
The remainder of the chapter is basically Jacob pleading with his audience to repent. With this, he closes his talk. However, just like me, Jacob promises them more tomorrow. Until then.
