We now begin the book of Jacob, who starts out by giving us the date. It's 544 B.C., and Nephi's getting old, so he passes the plates on to Jacob. He also appoints a successor to the Nephite throne as mentioned in verse 9, and in the following two verses Jacob mentions something interesting: "The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defence, and having labored in all his days for their welfare -- Wherefore, the people were desirous to retain in remembrance his name. And whoso should reign in his stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reigns of the kings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would." There is a popular practice of leaders taking on regnal names, often the name of a respected individual. The Nephites take this a step further, and "Nephi" becomes a title for all their kings. This would also happen a few centuries later with the founding of the Roman Empire by Julius Caesar. Later Roman Emporers would retain the title Caesar, and it survived even beyond the Roman Empire. The Ottoman sultan Mehmed II used the title after conquering Constantinople in 1453. Early English kings would use the honorific "casere," while the Germans had the title "kaiser," and the Russians had "czar." Nephi and Caesar weren't alone: Charlemagne's name became a popular Slavonic title, and there were other examples as well.

Anyway, the point is that Nephi became a respected, though perhaps reluctant, leader. Now he's getting old, and verse 12 mentions: "And it came to pass that Nephi died." Jacob doesn't succeed Nephi as king, but he does retain the plates and continues his ministerial labors. He is instructed in verse 2 to write what he considered to be "most precious," and in this and the following verses it specifies to avoid the history except as necessary for the narrative, and to focus on summarizing noteworthy preaching and prophesying among the people.

Jacob and his brother are an important part of the picture at this point, since the Nephites have been going downhill. In verses 15 and 16 we find out that their priorities aren't what they should be, and Jacob will discuss this in greater detail in his preaching: "And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign of the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts, and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as David of old desiring many wives and concubines, and also Solomon, his son. Yea, and they also began to search much gold and silver, and began to be lifted up somewhat in pride."

So the Nephites are getting distracted by sex and money (compare and contrast with modern society's values), but Jacob and Joseph really take their callings seriously: "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." This is mentioned because it applies to us as well. President John Taylor said "if you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty." So in chapter 2 Jacob preaches to the Nephites. He warns them "I this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have hitherto been."

Before he gets to their particular sin, Jacob points out that the Nephite women and children, who have been undergoing some sort of suffering (he uses the term "wounded soul") are a prime example of pure intentions. Verse 8: "And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul." Unfortunately, he has bad news for them: "Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds."

Well, what have the Nephites been doing? Jacob starts with money in verse 12. They've spent their time trying to get rich. "And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you" in verse 13. But, "because of the costliness of your apparel, [you] persecute your brethren because ye suppose ye are better than they." Jacob mentions that this is a serious abomination. President Spencer W. Kimball wrote in The Miracle of Forgiveness, "The possession of riches does not necessarily constitute sin. But sin may arise in the acquisition and use of wealth... 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." So being rich isn't a sin in itself, but it can make it difficult to be righteous. Jesus said to his disciples "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" (Luke 18:24). I often hear the justification, "well, I'll be the exception." Unfortunately, that indicates that your priorities are already skewed. Seeking riches is not worth the serious risk involved.

Verse 18 tells us where our priorities should be: "But before ye seek riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God." Verse 19 is often used as a justification for seeking riches: "And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good -- to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted." Yeah, that sounds like a good justification, but how many people focus on clothing, feeding and helping others with their riches? They may do some amount of this, but always after they accumulate a lot of luxuries for themselves. They dress in fine apparel, live in large houses with big screen televisions, and throw the scraps to the poor, indicating that they didn't really have the hope in Christ which was supposed to be a prerequisite to their search for wealth. Basically, if you're wealthy and you're neighbor is poor, someone is committing sin, and nine times out of ten it's not the poor person.

So there's nothing wrong with being rich, but remember that it was Satan who first taught the concept that it is important to seek for riches -- and I'm not expecting to find Cain in the Celestial Kingdom...

But that's not all Jacob has to say. In verse 23 he mentions "the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes." So they've sunk even deeper than the economic inequalities of the day. "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. Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord." Well, David and Solomon had a certain number of wives given to them by the Lord, but they married even more women outside of the covenant. A temple marriage, however, is a requirement for exaltation. In effect, they were willing to cheat these women out of eternal life in order to satisfy their lusts. This is important to us as well: anyone willing to marry one of us outside the temple is willing to cheat us out of the promises of the Lord in order to get sex. If your boyfriend or girlfriend really cares about you, he or she will insist on the form of marriage that will bring you both closer to the Lord.

This is a serious sin the Nephites are committing. Verse 26: "Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old." And further, in verse 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."

At this point Jacob summarizes his rebuke of the Nephites: "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 dies, pierced with deep wounds" (Verse 35).

We have made it to Chapter 3. Jacob here encourages the righteous to remain righteous, in verses 1 and 2: "But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction. O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever." In other words, Jacob's telling them "I know it's tough, but hang in there. The Lord will take care of things."

He has to get back to harping on the wicked, though. He needs to do everything he can to persuade them to righteousness; this is magnifying his calling. He mentions that despite their hatred for the Lamanites, the Lamanites are at least not committing the gross sexual sins that the Nephites find themselves guilty of. Verse 7: "Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator?" So quit with your racism, Jacob says, and in verse 9 he instructs them "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." This is your basic "Judge not, lest ye be judged" doctrine.

Well, that's the basic premise of Chapter 3. Jacob mentions in verse 12: "And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, warning them against fornication and lasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them."

Chapter 4 is a history lesson of sorts, combined with Jacob's testimony of Christ and the Atonement. The law of Moses is mentioned as a means to focus attention on Christ, and the story of Abraham offering up Isaac is mentioned as a similitude of Christ.

It's interesting to note Jacob's use of the word atonement. In verse 11, "Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him [the Lord] through the atonement of Christ." Atonement is an all-encompassing word. The romance languages use "expiation," I believe. Expiation is a reparation for sin. A quid pro quo type of thing. Atonement includes this, but also implies a reconciliaton, as Jacob mentioned, or a reunion. So in verse 12 Jacob mentions: "And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of Christ, and attain a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?"

We are warned to be careful. In verse 14 Jacob mentions that the Jews were "looking beyond the mark." The basic premises of the scriptures are simple. It's atonement, and it's faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and lifelong obedience. But making the scriptures more complicated, or "intellectual embroidery" as Neal A. Maxwell called it, makes things more interesting, and possibly provides loopholes. How often are we told to avoid "mysteries" and "deep doctrine" and focus on the basic principles? It will take a lifetime of effort to comply with these things, and we can't afford any distractions.

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor (Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1992).

Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Part 1 (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2004).

Church Educational System, Book of Mormon Student Manual (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1996).