Jacob 2:31-35

For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.

And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.

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.

And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which ye ought not to have done.

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 died, pierced with deep wounds.

Jacob 2:30-35

Jacob explains to the Nephites the Lord has seen the sorrow and heard the mourning of the wives of these men involved in plural marriage.  This sorrow was “because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.”  “… Jacob not only chastises Nephite husbands for infidelity (see Jacob 2:31-35), but explains that he has come to deliver his prophetic message because the Lord has heard the prayers of those Nephite women.”[1]

The men were ignoring the effects their sins had on their wives.  The cries of the women “come up unto me against the men of my people.” 

Cynthia Hallen explains the effect of sin on the husbands. 

Those who compromise standards or disregard covenants are often not capable of respecting or responding to the feelings of family members with tenderness. Those who are hardened may accuse the tenderhearted of being hypersensitive, sanctimonious, or self-righteous.  On the other hand, when we keep the commandments and set a good example, we can be sensitive to the feelings of others and thus be instrumental in healing broken hearts.[2] 

The Lord will not tolerate the husbands “lead[ing] away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness.”  John Welch explains the source of Jacob’s teachings.  “Jacob's eighth commandment [Wo unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell (2 Nephi 9:36)] is against whoredoms, not just the narrower crime of adultery. This reflects Lehi's teachings against whoredoms of any kind (see Jacob 2:33-34).”[3]

Alyson Skabelund Von Feldt writes:

Extended warnings about sexual sin occur twice in the Book of Mormon. Jacob, taking note of a declining family structure among his people, gathers them in the temple and delivers an admonishment from the Lord: "There shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me" (Jacob 2:27—28). The husbands are not to "lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction" (Jacob 2:33). Though Jacob delivers this warning to the people as the Lord's mouthpiece rather than as a patriarch admonishing his children, the themes of fidelity and captivity are straight from the wisdom tradition of Proverbs 1—9.[4]

Jacob is teaching them the “commandments [that] were given to our father Lehi.”  These teachings are known to them, so they have come under great condemnation for doing things they knew they should not be doing.

Not only did they sin, they had “done greater iniquities than the Lamanites…”  Hugh Nibley explains this situation.

The Nephites always fancied themselves to be good people because the Lord had brought them to the land of promise, and, accordingly, they styled their enemies as the wicked. And indeed the enemy was a real and constant element in all their operations. The dangerous illusion that the populace may be classified simply as the good guys (our side) and the bad guys (their side) becomes the main theme of the book of Jacob, as of the Book of Mormon itself. While Jacob spares no words in describing the wickedness and depravity of the Lamanites, he can declare of his own people at that early date: "Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites" (Jacob 2:35).[5]

They’ve broken their wives hearts and their children no longer have any confidence in them because of the bad example they set. 

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[1] Nephite Feminism Revisited: Thoughts on Carol Lynn Pearson's View of Women in the Book of Mormon, Reviewed by Kevin and Shauna Christensen, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 11, 2014.

[2] What's in a Word? "Tender and Chaste and Delicate" Feelings Are Pleasing to the Lord, Cynthia L. Hallen, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 11, 2014.

[3] Jacob's Ten Commandments, John Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 11, 2014.

[4] "His Secret Is with the Righteous" Instructional Wisdom in the Book of Mormon, Alyson Skabelund Von Feldt, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 11, 2014.

[5] Scriptural Perspectives on How to Survive the Calamities of the Last Days, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed March 11, 2014.