The Scripture Nativity

From the books of Helaman, 3rd Nephi, Matthew and Luke

Helaman 1: 2-5

Matthew 1: 18-21

 Matthew 1: 22-24

3 Nephi 1: 10-14

3 Nephi 1: 19-21

Luke 2: 1-7

Luke 2: 8-15

Matthew 2: 1-2

Matthew 2: 9-11

Peace be with you...

Jacob 5 -Allegory of the Olive Tree

Because Jacob talked about how difficult it is to chisel words on metal plates, Jacob must have thought this Olive Tree story was something we needed to read, study and understand. I have to admit, however, that despite my best efforts (adjusted for my life-long affliction of Attention Deficit Disorder), I find it a bit boring. And, just between you and me, I have read the Book of Mormon many more times than I have read Jacob 5.

The very, very, most basic breakdown of the Olive Tree story is that The Lord had His Servant plant an Olive Tree in some very good soil. The Olive Tree is the House of Israel. The Lord is our Heavenly Father. The Servant is The Savior. At first, the Olive Tree gives good fruit, but after a time goes by, the fruit starts to go bad. The roots of the tree are still good, but the fruit is awful. To help it grow, The Lord has the Servant nourish the tree, prune the tree, dung the tree, and etc. The Servant tries, but the fruit is still bad. 

As you read the chapter it becomes obvious that the efforts to save the Olive Tree symbolize The Lord's efforts to save the House of Israel. In the last verses of Jacob 4, we learn that the purpose of the Olive Tree story is tell how the House of Israel will get scattered several times, gathered several times, and then reject their Messiah all together. Will Israel ever accept Jesus as the Promised Christ? 

Jacob 4: 16-18

Why is it that the House of Israel lost their way? The scattering, and especially the gathering, of Israel is one of the paramount teachings of the Gospel. The gathering is already happening. 

Jacob 5:3

Jacob 5:47-48

Maybe you horticulturists can explain this part to the rest of us. I kind of get it, and kind of don't. I guess loftiness is like saying pride, maybe. How can we fix this problem? We need to help The Lord nourish his vineyard.

Jacob 5: 71-72

Read verse 72 again... "and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them." I like that a lot. Will The Lord save his beloved Olive Tree? Oh, I think it will work out just fine. 

Jacob 5: 75

If you have the desire to help, The Lord promises some pretty groovy blessings. 

Thanks for listening...

jb

Jacob 4 -Learn With Joy

 

Jacob teaching the people after Nephi's death

My last BOM blog was posted almost 6 years ago, in 2016. As an excuse for my absence, I reference the scene in "Black Sheep", when Chris Farley accidentally slips and falls down a mountainside for about 5 minutes before finally coming to a stop. He then gets up and looks up the mountain and says, "What in the #%^$ was that all about?" Here's a link if you'd like: https://youtu.be/f890SC1schE.

Today's post is about Jacob 4. The date is somewhere between 544 and 421 BC. Which means our little 8-year old Jacob Schwarzenegger has grown up to be around 70 years old or so.

Coming to America -about 592 BC

This chapter (Jacob 4) is very good, and I recommend you read the whole thing. For now, let's just look at a few scriptures of my choosing. There are a few often quoted verses in this chapter... such as...

Verse 1

In verse one we find out that it is difficult to engrave on the gold plates, which means that all those Isaiah chapters back in 1st and 2nd Nephi were actually important. Not to mention the famously long and, uh, fascinating(?) JACOB 5 -The Allegory of the Olive Tree. But we'll get to that next time.

And Verse 12...

And Verse 13

Neil A. Maxwell, one of the 12 Apostles from my younger days, talked about "things as they really are" on a few occasions. I bought a packet of 4 of his books back in the 90's and can honestly say that I started the one with that title. In fact, I started it several times...

And Verse 14...

Having read this verse many a time, and thinking to myself, "Ah, so that's why the Jews have such weird rules," today I'm taking a different lesson. I need to ask myself, 

• What have I been blind to?
• Where and how do I look beyond the mark? 
• What is the mark?

The last couple of years have been hard on my testimony and spirituality. As a confirmed introvert, the COVID pandemic gave me the wonderful opportunity to not have to go to church, but to do my churching from home. Unfortunately, I didn't do much churching at home. I have hardly picked up the scriptures since 2019. I don't pray near as much as I used to, and when I do pray, they are often short and lack substance. 

I have an APP on my phone that gives me reminders to do stuff. And, it keeps reminding me until I either do it and dismiss the reminder, or not do it and dismiss the reminder. Every morning starting at 7am, and bugging me every 1/2-hour until I do it, my phone dings and says, "Don't Forget to Pray!" Many's the time I didn't pray and dismissed my reminder. 

I think trying to have the Holy Spirit in my life, and maintaining my solid convictions of the truthfulness of the gospel without daily prayer and scripture reading (like I've done since I was 16 or so) is akin to me as "looking beyond the mark". My testimony that God Lives, that Jesus is The Christ, and  that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove are still a part of me, but have shrunk enough in significance that I stopped being driven by them. Weird, huh?

I feel like I am doing much better now. I feel the Spirit in my life and heart today, enough so that I felt motivated to pick up the scriptures and do a blog post again after so long. So, that's nice. 

Here's one of the scriptures that has spoken to me many times over the years...

Verse 3

Learning spiritual and life lessons are much funner if they come because of faithfulness, and not because of the lack of it. In other words... feeling blessed because I'm doing what is right, as opposed to feeling like crap because I'm not doing what is right, might give the same lesson, but it always better to...

Learn With Joy and Not With Sorrow

I'll leave the rest of Jacob 4 for you to glean what you will. When I post again (hopefully not 6 years from now), we'll talk about Jacob 5 and all of its dung. How exciting is that?!!!

Thanks for coming, and please, Don't Forget to Pray and Read the Scriptures...

jb

The Pleasing Word of God (Jacob 3)

Jacob continues speaking to the Nephites in chapter 3, at least those Nephites who stayed to hear him after getting their butts chewed so badly in chapter 2.  I'd like to think I'd be one of the ones who stayed, despite the hard truth from Jacob the Ripper.  On a lighter note....

Jacob 3: 2

Who are the "pure in heart"?  Seems a little lofty for the likes of me.  How 'bout you?  Well, let's all cut ourselves a little slack.  My arteries may be filled with cholesterol, but I certainly don't want to sin and be out of favor with The Lord.  My desire is to be good, do good, and always be able to receive the pleasing word of God.  That doesn't mean I'm always good, or always do good, or never sin.  When I voluntarily step out of the light into the dark, I don't like it, I'm not comfortable, and my desire to get back into the light is strong.  So, I repent.  And repent again.  And repent again.  You get the picture.  So, maybe I'm one of the pure in heart.  Maybe.  Anywayz...

And what about this "if their minds are firm" stuff?  My mind can be pretty soft at times.  "Firm" brings to my mind a strict parent or something.  Like, "he's firm, but he's fare."  But, I guess that is kind of what Jacob means.  Unbending, unmovable, resolute.

Jacob 3: 1-2

That's some pretty good promises. So, all I gotta do is be pure in heart, look to God with a firm mind and pray with exceeding faith (that's the blue stuff).  I'll give it a try.  It sure would be nice to feast upon His love forever, not to mention having God console me in my afflictions, plead my cause and bring down justice on those jerks who seek my destruction, whoever that is (that's the purple stuff).

So, I'm gonna leave it there for this chapter.  You can read the rest of Jacob 3 if you'd like.  I hope you're having a wonderful day.  I hope your mind is firm.  I hope you are able to feast on God's love for you, because He surely does.

Peace be with you...

Laboring in Sin (Jacob 2)

The Prophet (Nathan I think) rebuking Solomon

Just a few verses into Jacob 2 it becomes obvious that Jacob has some very serious things to say.  He goes on for about 11 verses preparing the listening Nephites with phrases like:

• Magnify mine office with soberness (seriousness)
• Rid my garments of your sins
• Weighed down with anxiety for the welfare of your souls
• Ye are beginning to labor in sin
• Which sin is abominable unto me and unto God
• Grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame
• It burdeneth my soul to be constrained to admonish you
• And so on... for 11 verses

I am imagining attending a big meeting where the Prophet of The Lord is going to speak.  I'm excited to see him, and look forward to the spiritual feast.  Then he launches into a rebuking, the likes of which have not been seen in these parts since the days of Noah... or something like that. 

I got 2 choices as I see it...

Listen up!!!

Or check out...

Ok, I'll stay, but I'm definitely scrunching down in my seat.  Hopefully, there's a tall guy with a big head in front of me.

So, what seems to be the issue, Jacob?

Whew!!!  Well, I guess I ain't got nuttin' to worry about.  I ain't rich.  I drive a '99 Jeep Cherokee with 208,000 miles on it.  Besides, I don't need gold or silver or precious ores to know that I'm better than others.  Oh... oops.

Oh, I get it.  It ain't the money grubbing that's so bad; it's the not putting Christ first and not helping others when you can that's not good.  Ok, I'll do better.  Anything else, Jacob?

Yeah, one more thing...

 You guessed it.... POLYGAMY

Well, it seems that some of the Nephites got to reading the Old Testament (Brass Plates), & started to get a few bad ideas when they read about ol' King Solomon and his dad, King David.  

You probably think I was exaggerating with the "700 wives" in the Lego meme above, but get a load of this from 1st Kings, chapter 11...

Could you imagine?  700 wives & princesses and 300 concubines?  Good gravy, man.  No wonder he's dead.  Anywayz, the Nephites were starting down a similar path, and I guess they thought it was OK since it's in the Bible & all.  Turns out polygamy is not OK, unless The Lord specifically commands it.  This is something I've always thought was interesting.  The Book of Mormon talks in detail about the sin of polygamy, and basically condemns it as a moral sin.  But, the early LDS Church practiced polygamy, didn't they?

This is Caroline Beard Tippets Barney, born 1826 in Virginia, died 1905 in Lake Shore, Utah (about 5 miles from where I sit).  She was married to a fellow named Benjamin Franklin Barney, who was my father's father's father's father's father, on my father's side.  Yup, my great, great, great grandpa.  Caroline was wife #1 of 3 women married to Benjamin.  She was quite a lady.  She reminds me of a line from the movie Last of the Mohicans:  "Who empowered these Colonials do as they please, and to come and go without so much as a by your leave?" -Duncan Heyward.  "They do not live their lives by your leave, they hack it out of the wilderness with their own two hands, burying their children along the way" -Cora Munro. 

The sad part of the story is that Benjamin left his #1 wife, leaving her to support herself and their children...

It was a long time ago, and I don't know the whole story.  I try not to judge.  Nowadays, lots of good and faithful LDS members have a hard time with the Church's historic practice of polygamy.  Personally speaking, I do believe that the Lord commanded it for a time (from about the 1840s to 1890) in order to grow and strengthen the early Church.  And it did strengthen the Church.  I was in a large meeting once where the question was asked, "Who in this meeting came from polygamist roots?"  The result was about 70-80% of them raised their hands, including me.

Could we get back to Jacob, please?

And verse 30 is really key to this chapter...

Well, that's the end of this post.  I don't really know of a groovy and/or profound way to end it.  I just want to say that, tho I do believe that The Lord commanded certain early LDS Church members to enter into polygamy, I have no problem with those who have a problem with that.  It is a weird thing.  I also know that when The Lord said "Stop" in 1890, He meant it.  Those weirdo groups who still do it today, and claim roots within the LDS Church, they ain't no friends of mine, and they are not associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Euweeka... Gode at wast!!!!"

Peace be with you...

Jacob's Errand from The Lord (Jacob 1)

Jesus Christ ordaining his apostles

The book of Jacob in the BOM is only 7 chapters.  That's great  news, since I started 2nd Nephi back in March of 2012.  Sticking to my current APR, Jacob should just take 1 or 2 years.  So, without further adieu (until Jacob 7: 27), in the words of my 2-year old grandson, Gordon, "K, do it!"

The "Them" in verse 17 is the people of Nephi, or Nephites.  After Nephi died, the people loved him so much that they wanted to keep his name going.  So, anyone who followed Nephi as King and Prophet were called "Nephites", even though they were actually Jacobites, Josephites, Samites, Ishmaelites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, Zoramites, etc.  And, yes, I think some of the kids of Laman, Lemuel and Ishmael followed Nephi when he departed the land of Lehi and went to the land of Nephi.  Mostly, though, the descendants of Laman, Lemuel and Ishmael chose to not follow The Lord nor His prophet.  These guys were collectively called "Lamanites".  For the most part throughout the BOM, the Lamanites were the "Bad Guys", even though they were at times very good, and the Nephites were the "Good Guys", even though they were at times very bad.  Simple, huh?

Anywayz... The Nephites were getting a little wild, so Jacob went to the temple to preach to them.  Jacob didn't take this duty on himself willy-nilly.  He first received his "errand from The Lord".  I like the way he put that, but what does it mean?  Jacob said that he and his brother Joseph were consecrated priests and teachers by the hand of Nephi.

Jacob received his Priesthood Office by the laying on of hands from Nephi, who was the Prophet and presiding High Priest over the people.  Nephi received this Office the same way from his dad, Lehi, who received it the same way from... well, someone, and so on. 

This is Moses ordaining his brother Aaron to the High Priesthood

So, what does Jacob tell the Nephites?  What did Nephi tell them?  What did Lehi tell them?  It's been the same since clear back to Adam's day...  

 Come unto Christ and partake of the goodness of God.

Jacob 1: 7-8

3 Notes from these verses:

• God's wrath ("...lest by any means He should swear in His wrath that they should not enter in..."):  If I read the word wrath outside of the context of Our Heavenly Father I would take the meaning to be anger.  In this case, however, I do not interpret it that way.  I would probably substitute the word chasten for wrath, and the meaning to be more along the lines of a strong reminder for us to clean up our acts in order to be the most happiest we can be, because us being the most happiest we can be is what Heavenly Father wants for us. He is our Father, after all.

• The "provocation in the days of temptation" refers to the children of Israel not being allowed to enter into the promised land, but instead had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.  

• View His death, suffer His cross and bear the shame of the world:  This is some deep stuff and deserves some deeper thinking.  I don't want to give my opinion of the meanings here, but encourage you to ponder about it.  One thing that comes to my mind, though, about "bearing the shame of the world"... I'm reminded of Lehi's dream back in 1st Nephi 8 where certain people followed the right path to the tree of life (the love of God), but then noticed there were people in the great and spacious building (the world) pointing their fingers and laughing at them. Unfortunately, their reaction was to cast their eyes down in shame and wander off into darkness.  That part always makes me sad.

So, let's recap the BOM story so far...

• About 600 B.C. Lehi had a vision of the impending destruction of the Jews in Jerusalem, and took his & Ishmael's families and a guy named Zoram, who was a servant of his cousin Laban, & fled the scene in secret.

• They first went southwest to the Red Sea, then southeast along the Red Sea for a ways, then due east to what they called "Bountiful".  

• After traveling in the wilderness and living there in Bountiful for a period of 8 years, Nephi, with his brothers' willing help, built a nice boat and sailed across the Indian and Pacific Oceans for near a year, landing in their promised land,  the Americas.  

• Lehi and Ishmael settled their families in what they called "The Land of Lehi", it being a tradition to name a place after the leader of the settlement.  Whether The Land of Lehi was located in Mexico, California, Peru or Timbuktu (unlikely) is not important to me or my ramblings.

• Lehi got old & was going to kick the bucket, so he got all of his kids & grandkids (including Zoram's family) around him & gave them all Priesthood blessings, asking The Lord to watch over them and all of their descendants. 

• Lehi died.  And, not long after that, Laman, Lemuel & Ishmael's kids got more and more wild, throwing loud parties, blasting rap music in the middle of the night, etc.  So, The Lord told Nephi to get out.  

• Nephi, Sam, Jacob, Joseph, Zoram, an unknown number of Nephi's sisters and an unknown number of his bad brothers' kids fled the scene.  These guys are the Nephites, and they moved north to a little place they like to call.... The Land of Nephi.  

• Laman & those other guys stayed in The Land of Lehi, & became the Lamanites.  The Lamanites not only failed to teach their kids anything about God, but brainwashed them into believing that the Nephites were a horrible bunch of no accounts who needed to be wiped out because of the many wrongs they committed against them.  The bad decisions of Laman, Lemuel & Ishmael's kids plunged their descendants into darkness for generations.

• Sorry about that...Anywayz..., 55 years after Lehi left Jerusalem, Nephi got old & died.  Before he died Nephi designated some dude to take over as king of the Nephites, and ordained Jacob and Joseph to be the spiritual leaders of his people. 

Which brings us to the end of Jacob chapter 1.  Only 6 more to go.  Excited?  Wait till we get to chapter 5. 

Peace be with you...