Jacob Speaks to His People in Temple

Event 35

Reference: Jacob 1:15-19; 2:1-35; 3:1-14

And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under thereign of the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts,and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, suchas like unto David of old desiring many wives andconcubines, and also Solomon, his son. 16 Yea, and theyalso began to search much gold and silver, and began to belifted up somewhat in pride. 17 Wherefore I, Jacob, gaveunto 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 priestsand teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi. 19 Andwe did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us theresponsibility, answering the sins of the people upon ourown heads if we did not teach them the word of God withall diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might theirblood might not come upon our garments; otherwise theirblood would come upon our garments, and we would not befound spotless at the last day.JacobLand of Nephi545 to 422 B.C.1 THE words which Jacob, the brother of Nephi, spake untothe people of Nephi, after the death of Nephi:2 Now, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, according to theresponsibility which I am under to God, to magnify mine officewith soberness, and that I might rid my garments of your sins, Icome up into the temple this day that I might declare unto you theword of God. 3 And ye yourselves know that I have hitherto beendiligent in the office of my calling; but I this day am weigheddown with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of yoursouls than I have hitherto been. 4 For behold, as yet, ye have beenobedient 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 ofthe all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell youconcerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor insin, which sin appeareth very abominable unto me, yea, andabominable unto God. 6 Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me toshrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I musttestify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts. 7 Andalso it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speechconcerning you, before your wives and your children, many ofwhose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicatebefore God, which thing is pleasing unto God; 8 And it supposethme that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word ofGod, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul. 9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained,because of the strict commandment which I have received fromGod, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge thewounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consolingand healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded,instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggersplaced to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds. 10 But,notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according tothe strict commands of God, and tell you concerning yourwickedness and abominations, in the presence of the pure in heart,and the broken heart, and under the glance of the piercing eye ofthe Almighty God. 11 Wherefore, I must tell you the truthaccording to the plainness of the word of God. For behold, as Iinquired of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying:JacobLand of Nephi545 to 422 B.C.Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and declarethe word which I shall give thee unto this people.The Lord12 And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declareunto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and forsilver, 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 aboundmost plentifully. 13 And the hand of providence hath smiled uponyou most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; andbecause some of you have obtained more abundantly than that ofyour brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wearstiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of yourapparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that yeare better than they. 14 And now, my brethren, do ye suppose thatGod justifieth you in this thing? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. Buthe condemneth you, and if ye persist in these things his judgmentsmust speedily come unto you. 15 O that he would show you that hecan pierce you, and with one glance of his eye he can smite you tothe dust! 16 O that he would rid you from this iniquity andabomination. And, O that ye would listen unto the word of hiscommands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!17 Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiarwith all and free with your substance, that they may be rich likeunto you. 18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdomof God. 19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shallobtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intentto do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and toliberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and theafflicted.Jacob20 And now, my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerningpride; and those of you which have afflicted your neighbor, andpersecuted him because ye were proud in your hearts, of the thingswhich God hath given you, what say ye of it? 21 Do ye notsuppose that such things are abominable unto him who created allflesh? And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other.And all flesh is of the dust; and for the selfsame end hath hecreated them, that they should keep his commandments and glorify him forever. 22 And now I make an end of speaking unto youconcerning this pride. And were it not that I must speak unto youconcerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice exceedinglybecause of you. 23 But the word of God burdens me because ofyour grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord:JacobLand of Nephi545 to 422 B.C.This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not thescriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committingwhoredoms, because of the things which were writtenconcerning David, and Solomon his son. 24 Behold, David andSolomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thingwas abominable before me, saith the Lord. 25 Wherefore, thussaith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land ofJerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up untome a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph. 26Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shalldo like unto them of old.The Lord27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word ofthe Lord:JacobFor there shall not any man among you have save it be onewife; and concubines he shall have none; 28 For I, the LordGod, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are anabomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts. 29Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith theLord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes. 30 For if Iwill, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I willcommand my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto thesethings. 31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, andheard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land ofJerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of thewickedness and abominations of their husbands. 32 And I willnot suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fairdaughters of this people, which I have led out of the land ofJerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of mypeople, saith the Lord of Hosts. 33 For they shall not lead awaycaptive 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.The Lord34 And now behold, my brethren, ye know that thesecommandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye haveknown them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation;for ye have done these things which ye ought not to have done. 35Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, ourbrethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lostthe confidence of your children, because of your bad examplesbefore them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to Godagainst you. And because of the strictness of the word of God,which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced withdeep wounds.Jacob 1 BUT behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure inheart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto himwith exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions,and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon thosewho seek your destruction. 2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift upyour heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast uponhis love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever. 3 But, wo, wo,unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy this day beforeGod; for except ye repent the land is cursed for your sakes; and theLamanites, which are not filthy like unto you, nevertheless theyare cursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you even untodestruction. 4 And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repentthey shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord Godwill lead away the righteous out from among you.JacobLand of Nephi545 to 422 B.C.5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because oftheir filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins,are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten thecommandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father—thatthey should have save it were one wife, and concubines theyshould have none, and there should not be whoredoms committedamong them. 6 And now, this commandment they observe to keep;wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping thiscommandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will bemerciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessedpeople. 7 Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wiveslove their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love theirchildren; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you isbecause of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how muchbetter are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator? 8 O mybrethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that theirskins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought withthem before the throne of God. 9 Wherefore, a commandment Igive unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no moreagainst them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shallye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shallremember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthinesscame because of their fathers.10 Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye havegrieved their hearts because of the example that ye have set beforethem; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness,bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped uponyour heads at the last day. 11 O my brethren, hearken unto mywords; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that yemay awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves fromthe pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to becast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death.12 And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto thepeople of Nephi, warning them against fornication andlasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them. 13 And a hundredth part of theproceedings of this people, which now began to benumerous, cannot be written upon these plates; but many oftheir proceedings are written upon the larger plates, andtheir wars, and their contentions, and the reigns of theirkings. 14 These plates are called the plates of Jacob, andthey were made by the hand of Nephi. And I make an endof speaking these words.JacobLand of Nephi545 to 422 B.C.