Jacob 4:3

Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.

This is also the hope of my heart as I write many things to my children, that they will receive them and appreciate them and learn from them. What I failed to teach them as youngsters I hope they profit from as adults.

Jacob 3:10

Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye have grieved their hearts because of the example that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the last day.

We as parents bear a tremendous responsibility toward our children to teach them and to set a proper example. The children may not be required to bear the sins of the parents, but they are certainly influenced by them. Parents, on the other hand, may get to bear at least some of the sins of their children if they fail to teach them proper principles.  Wayward parents may repent down the road and put their own lives in order, but they will be hard pressed to overcome their early influence on the lives of their posterity. Thank goodness for the atonement, which can heal all wounds and correct all injustices, including those we may inflict on those we love the most.

Jacob 3:2

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.

We can be fed continually by the love of God, provided we are firm in our determination to follow him and listen to his words. The word "firm" is repeated in two verses. Firmness is the key to having power with God. If we wait on him no matter what and refuse to be shaken loose from our faith in the face of the most bitter trials, he cannot resist us.

Jacob 3:1

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.

Even the pure in heart will have afflictions. If we lay those afflictions at the Lord's feet, however, he will help us bear the burden and comfort us.

Jacob 2:23

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.

Satan loves to use the scriptures to get people sidetracked. When Jesus defended himself against the temptations of Satan, he quoted scripture. Satan countered by quoting scriptures as well.  If the devil can get us to justify poor behavior through the misuse of scripture, we will never be able to trust the word of God or our ability to comprehend it. He will have turned us away from one of our greatest sources of understanding and power. We must be guided by the Spirit and not by the philosophies of men if we are to hold fast to the iron rod.

Jacob 2:21

Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who created all flesh? 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 he created them, that they should keep his commandments and glorify him forever.

Perspective is key to eternal success. We are not on this earth to collect things, use up resources, make ourselves comfortable, and compare and compete. We are here to grow and mature spiritually, and we do that best by serving God and his children.

Jacob 2:17

Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.

A simple, practical explanation for the practice of charity. We have to move away from the economy of scarcity and operate in an economy of abundance. When we believe in abundance, we are able to share with others, for we know God can always replace what we give away. When we operate from scarcity, however, we assume that our resources are limited and irreplaceable, and so we hold tightly to all we have, fearing we can never acquired more. To give to others is to diminish ourselves. Such is the fear of the natural man and the selfishness that comes from his fear. Only faith in God overcomes fear.

Jacob 2:13

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.

Riches in and of themselves are not evil, but what they can do the soul is dangerous. Riches feed the pride of the natural man. When we begin to compare and keep score, we lose the perspective of charity. The Lord blesses us so we can be generous, but our pride overrules our desires for charity, and we become just the opposite of what we had set out to do. The truly rich of the world have learned that to be truly prosperous, we must give it away.

Jacob 2:11

Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the plainness of the word of God. For behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying: Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and declare the word which I shall give thee unto this people.

Not every message from God is pleasant to the ear and easy to hear. God and his servants must speak the unpopular truth from time to time. Jesus left no doubt about what he thought of money changers in the temple and hypocritical Pharisees and scribes. Sometimes the truth is hard to those who do not want to hear it. But it is nevertheless the truth. Sin is sin no matter how white washed the sepulcher may be and no matter how the politically correct pundits may spin it. Sin, however, is not the sinner. Messages to repent, though they may be stern, are really messages of love and invitations to return. God always welcomes the sinner who stops sinning and turns to Christ. He never chastises but what he also offers hope.

Jacob 2:8

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.

No wound of the soul is so deep that the Word of God, who is Christ, cannot heal it. He heals completely, fully, and without leaving a scar. Because we are wounded daily in this life, let's make room for God's word every day so that we can be healed.

Jacob 2:5

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.

To labor in sin means to put some real effort into it. This is not haphazard, accidental sinning. This is purposeful, intentional sinning. It is planned and organized sinning. It is not just giving into temptation, it is seeking out temptation and creating it if it cannot be found. The good news is that Christ's Atonement works even on these kinds of sins once we repent. Christ will not save us in our sins, but he will save us from them if we will give them up.

Jacob 1:19

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.

We each have a ministry to fulfill. We are responsible to teach others, and especially our children. If we do all we can, we will not be held accountable for the agency of others. If we do not make the effort, however, God will hold us culpable for our neglect of duty.  We will bear at least part of the guilt. Thankfully, the Atonement can overcome every sin and all guilt. We can repent, make amends, and be healed even of lost opportunities.

Jacob 1:8

Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world; wherefore, I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil the commandment of my brother Nephi.

To believe in Christ means to believe all he said. We believe he is who he said he is, does what he said he can do, overcomes what he said he has overcome, forgives whom he said he will forgive, saves whom he said he will save. To view his death means to observe his death, acknowledge it, and accept it as ransom for us. To suffer his cross means to accept the cross of Christ and be willing to bear the load with him if need be. To bear the shame of the world is to accept the mocking and derision that the wicked of the world will heap upon humble believers. It means to stay by the Tree of Life when the masses in the great and spacious building point their fingers and taunt us to cross over to their side. This is the Christian duty: to believe, to view, to accept, to suffer, to bear, and to endure.

Jacob 1:6-7

And we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy; wherefore, we knew of Christ and his kingdom, which should come. Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness.

Because I am convinced in the very depths of my soul that God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, lives, and that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to help me return to his presence when the test of mortality is over, I am obligated and duty-bound to share what I know. I believe God is real. I believe he loves me. I believes he loves every human being who ever has, does now, and ever will live on this earth. Can a greater truth be known? Can a greater purpose be found? Can I stand idly by surrounded by countless numbers of people who live without God in the world? Believing what I believe to be true, can I possibly find a more meaningful and purposeful use of my time than "persuading others to come unto Christ and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest"?

Second Nephi 33:15

For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen.

Joseph Smith did not say that he had written a good book with good ideas, which he is willing to debate and discuss. He said God would judge the world by this book. No other book before or after has ever made such a claim except the Bible. His testimony, expressed in the words of Nephi, stands unassailed and unrefuted. We either buy it or we don't. We are either in or out. There is no middle ground on which we can stand, and no fence on which we can sit. I choose Christ, the Book of Mormon, Nephi and Joseph. Let God at the judgment bar tell me I'm wrong. I will be in good company.

Second Nephi 33:11

And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.

Here is where faith comes in. We will have proof at the last day. Until then, we operate on faith. And once again, the Book of Mormon makes a bold statement. Nephi himself will testify to us at the judgment bar of God that he wrote his part of the book. Joseph Smith was either the boldest of bold faced liars, or we are absolutely going to meet Nephi.

Second Nephi 33:10

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

The Book of Mormon is a testament of Christ. It is bold statements like this in the Book of Mormon that set it apart from any other book in the world. It leaves no middle ground or room for speculation. It is either true or false. We cannot read it simply as a good book of moral teachings. If it is true, it is all true, and Joseph Smith was a prophet. If it is not true, if even one statement in it is not true, then the whole book is a fraud, and so was Joseph Smith. We likewise cannot say that we accept Jesus as a great moral teacher if we do not accept his claim to be the son of God. If he lied about who he was and where he came from, he probably lied about everything else. Christ, the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith are an all-or-nothing proposition. We are either all in, or we are all out. That is the whole test of life.

Second Nephi 33:9

I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation.

To walk in the strait path and continue in it does not mean to never make a mistake or give in to a temptation to deviate from the path. No one is perfect, and we need the Atonement daily. Nevertheless if our intention is to stay on the path and come unto Christ and seek to enter into his kingdom, then Christ will justify us, which is to pardon us through the Atonement, and he will declare us guiltless. He will not save us against our will, but if we want to be saved, as evidenced by our willingness to be obedient, he is ever willing to save us.

Second Nephi 33:6

I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.

Nephi taught the gospel of Christ plainly. He left no doubt who the Redeemer is and what he does for us. I glory with Nephi in my Jesus. The miracle is that Christ is as personally my Savior and he is Nephi's, Peter's, Paul's, Adam's, and yours. We can know him personally, individually, intimately, and directly. He stands at my door and knocks, just as he stands at your door.

Second Nephi 33:3

But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.

I pray for my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren by name day and night. I do not always know specifically what blessings they need, but I know they all need blessings, comfort, guidance, strength, and protection daily. And so I add my faith to theirs every day. And just in case one of them missed an opportunity to pray one day, I want to make sure God at least hears their name. Prayers for others are powerful.

Second Nephi 32:7

And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

If we think we are missing out on important knowledge, we should look to ourselves to find our attitude, behavior, and tendencies that lead us away from the Spirit and block the channel of communication. God does not withhold any knowledge from us that we are prepared to receive.

Second Nephi 32:5

For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.

The Holy Ghost is the ultimate teacher. He will show us everything we need to come unto Christ and return to Heavenly Father. The challenge is to learn to listen and to obey faithfully and immediately. We have to learn the language of the Spirit.

Second Nephi 31:21

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.

We cannot be saved in our own name. There is no other way, including our own way, except by the gift and grace of Christ through the atonement.