22 Now, this thing was
pleasing unto me, Jacob, for I had requested it of my Father who was in heaven;
for he had heard my cry and answered my prayer.
23 And it came to pass
that peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched
the scriptures, and hearkened no more to the words of this wicked man.
24 And it came to pass
that many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the
knowledge of the truth; but it all was vain, for they delighted in wars and bloodshed,
and they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren. And they sought by the power of their arms to
destroy us continually.
25 Wherefore, the
people of Nephi did fortify against them with their arms, and with all their
might, trusting in the God and rock of their salvation; wherefore, they became
as yet, conquerors of their enemies.
26 And it came to pass
that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the
other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have
written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed
away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream,
we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem,
born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused
wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.
27 And I, Jacob, saw
that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son Enos: Take
these plates. And I told him the things
which my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience unto the
commands. And I make an end of my
writing upon these plates, which writing has been small; and to the reader I
bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.
Jacob 7:22-27
Sherem confessed his sins and died. The people were overcome by Sherem’s
death. This was exactly what Jacob had
wanted. “I had requested it of my Father who was in heaven; for he had heard my
cry and answered my prayers.”
Peace was restored.
The people turned away from Sherem’s teachings, the teachings of “this wicked man.”
In either event, whether it was
given at a regular or special convocation, the net effect of Sherem's confession
was collective—to reconcile the people with their God: "Peace . . . was
restored again among the people" (Jacob 7:23) … In addition, more was
involved in biblical jurisprudence than just human interrelations,
and thus it is significant that Jacob 7:23 also declares that
"the love of God was restored again among the people."[1]
The Book of Mormon tells us about our relationship with God.
Literally or figuratively, rising
or falling in the Book of Mormon shows the relation of humans to God. Sherem,
the antichrist who challenges Jacob, dramatizes the fall of man. He says his
will, not God's, should be done. He boasts about himself and denies the
atonement of Christ. Jacob is just the opposite. He calls for God's will, not
his own, to be done, humbles himself, and affirms the atonement of Christ. When
Sherem continues to deny the power of God, "the power of the Lord [comes]
upon him, insomuch that he [falls] to the earth" (Jacob 7:15). This is a
damning fall of man, not one with potential salvation. After the people see
Sherem die, confessing his sins, they in turn fall to the earth (Jacob 7:21).
This fall, though, leads the way to their having "peace and the love of
God" restored (Jacob 7:23).[2]
Jacob’s writings now shift to the missionary efforts to
reclaim the Lamanites. “[B]ut it was all in vain.” Instead, there were “wars” and
bloodshed. They hated the Nephites and
desired to destroy them. John Tanner
writes about how this may have affected Jacob.
Jacob was a child of a house
divided, suffering from abusive brothers. He saw a family feud evolve into a
more or less permanent state of war. Think what it meant for Jacob to be Laman
and Lemuel's brother. The Lamanites were not distant, faceless, nameless
enemies; they were kinsmen—brothers, nephews, and cousins whose names and
families he knew. This helps me read with more sympathy Jacob's sad parting
observation: "Many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites
to the knowledge of the truth; but it all was vain, for they delighted in wars
and bloodshed, and they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren"
(Jacob 7:24).[3]
King Benjamin told his sons about the Lamanites. “I say
unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved
by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and
have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have
dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the
Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe
them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers,
which are not correct” (Mosiah 1:5).
Alma2 also taught, “For
there are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because
of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of
ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their
existence in the land.” (Alma 9:16).
John Sorenson describes the warfare that occurred at this
time.
The Lamanites began attacking the
Nephites within a few decades after 600 BC (see 2 Nephi 5:34).3 In
those early days the populations involved would have been small. Consequently,
the fraternal conflicts could only have amounted to occasional raids rather
than systematic military campaigns (see Jacob 7:24–25). The two groups
occupied different ecological zones, an upland mountain zone for the Nephites
and lowland coastal area for their rivals (see 2 Nephi 5:24; Enos 1:20–21). Thus
they were not in economic competition. The Lamanites' intention was obviously
to destroy their rivals' leaders—Nephi and Jacob (the chief priest)—and their
descendants. For the Nephites we discover no hint of any motive except
preservation of their people, goods, and lands.[4]
The Nephites were forced to build fortifications against the
Lamanites. As they did this, they put
their trust in God.
Jacob is getting old.
He keeps the history of his people on the other plates (large plates of
Nephi). He is now concluding his
writings on the small plates. What he
has written, he has “written according to
the best of my knowledge.”
He is also despondent, reminding us their “lives passed away like as it were unto us a
dream, we being a lonesome and solemn people wanderers cast out from Jerusalem.” He experienced the worst of his brothers’
behavior.
John Tanner writes about the price Jacob paid.
The cost the wilderness exacted on
Jacob is most evident in his final farewell. His parting words express the
accumulated sorrows of a life of struggle: "I conclude this record . . .
by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away
like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people,
wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and
hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did
mourn out our days" (Jacob 7:26). By now it should be clear how in
substance and style this leave-taking could only be written by Jacob, of all
Book of Mormon authors. It fits the facts of his life as a man, and it captures
his sensitivity, vulnerability, and eloquence as a writer.[5]
Marilyn Arnold comments on Jacob’s tone in his farewell
writings.
To skim that passage and miss its
tone of heartbreak, its revelation of Jacob's character and his perception of
his circumstances, is to miss a rich opportunity for human understanding.
Without question, Jacob, like Nephi, paid dearly for his faith. The text also
affirms that he was beloved of the Lord, for even when Nephi was alive, Jacob was
visited by Christ and by angels. Moreover, Jacob was first among the Nephites
to learn—from an angel—that the name of the Holy One of Israel would be Christ (see
2 Nephi 10:3). And anyone uninitiated to Jacob's rhetorical gifts need only
study in detail the sermon fragment that Nephi elects to copy into his own
chronicle.[6]
Jacob passes the plates on to his son Enos. He passed on Nephi’s instructions to
Enos. “And I make an end of my writing upon these plates, which writing has
been small.” Why were Jacob’s
writings so small? Why might those
writing between Jacob and King Benjamin have written so little? John Tanner
writes:
In addition, neither Jacob nor his
descendants appear to have added new plates to the ones Nephi made. This may
simply mean that they lacked the proper materials or skill to fashion plates,
though both Jacob and Jarom mention an abundance of gold in the promised land
(see Jacob 2:12; Jarom 1:8). More likely, it reveals something about the
meaning of the plates in Jacob's and his family's minds: namely, that they saw
the plates as primarily Nephi's record, a sacred legacy from an incomparable
man and cultural hero, to be added to only sparingly by those who followed.
Even Jacob, whose contribution to the small plates is sublime and considerable,
still confessed that his "writing has been small" (Jacob 7:27).
Evidently, he was comparing his authorship to the extensive writing of his
illustrious older brother. All the later authors in Jacob's family seem to have
suffered from similar feelings of inferiority.[7]
Jacob bids us farewell.
When Joseph Smith translated his farewell, he chose to end it with the
word “adieu,” a French word. Critics of the Book of Mormon have latched on
to this as a problem with the Book of Mormon.
Daniel C. Peterson points out this is nonsense.
Another popular claim among critics
of the Book of Mormon has alleged that the occurrence of the word adieu at Jacob
7:27 is anachronistic, that it does not belong in the period where Joseph
Smith seems to place it. French didn't exist in the sixth century B.C., they
point out. So why does French show up in the Book of Mormon?11 But,
of course, what this argument fails to notice is that the Book of Mormon, as we
have it today, purports to be a translation. Therefore, it stands to reason
that the language into which the Book of Mormon has been rendered is not that
from which, according to its own claims, it was translated. The language of the
Book of Mormon is, necessarily, the language of its translator, Joseph Smith.
There is nothing mysterious about this. The presence of adieu in
the modern English Book of Mormon no more implies the existence of French on
the plates than the occurrence of the words in the beginning indicates
the existence of English in the original Hebrew text of Genesis 1.[8]
[1]
The
Case of Sherem, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 16, 2014.
[2]
"Not
Cast Off Forever" – Imagery, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 16, 2014.
[3]
Jacob
and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute, accessed
May 16, 2014.
[4]
Last-Ditch
Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica Recalls the Book of Mormon, John L. Sorenson,
Maxwell Institute, accessed May 16, 2014.
[5]
Jacob
and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute, accessed
May 16, 2014.
[6]
Unlocking
the Sacred Text, Marilyn Arnold, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 16, 2014
[7]
Jacob
and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute, accessed
May 16, 2014.
[8]
Is
the Book of Mormon True? Notes on the Debate, Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 16, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment