10 And it came to pass
that the prophets of the Lord did threaten the people of Nephi, according to
the word of God, that if they did not keep the commandments, but should fall
into transgression, they should be destroyed from off the face of the land.
11 Wherefore, the
prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting
with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the claw
of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to look
forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already
was. And after this manner did they
teach them.
12 And it came to pass
that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land;
for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up
unto repentance.
13 And it came to pass
that two hundred and thirty and eight years had passed away [361 B.C.]—after
the manner of wars, and contentions, and dissensions, for the space of much of
the time.
14 And I, Jarom, do
not write more, for the plates are small.
But behold, my brethren, ye can go to the other plates of Nephi; for
behold, upon them the records of our wars are engraven, according to the
writings of the kings, or those which they caused to be written.
15 And I deliver these
plates into the hands of my son Omni, that they may be kept according to the
commandments of my fathers.
Jarom 1:10-15
Even though the Nephites had survived previous Lamanite
attacks, the prophets “did threaten the people of Nephi … that if they did not
keep the commandments … they should be destroyed from off the face of the land.” These teachings go back to Nephi and his
great vision.
“And while the angel spake these words, I beheld and saw
that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word
of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the
devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my
seed.
“And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the
seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in
multitudes upon the face of the land” (1 Nephi 12:19-20).
The prophets, priests, and teachers labored, teaching the
people the Law of Moses. Even though the
Nephites knew about the coming of Christ, they were still expected to keep the
Law of Moses. “Behold, they believed in
Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in
his name. And for this intent we keep
the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is
sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in
the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son
Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son” (Jacob 4:5).
Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni taught the Lamanites. The Anti-Nephi-Lehis kept the Laws of Moses.
“Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was
expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all
fulfilled. But notwithstanding the law
of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the
law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those
outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.
“Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of
Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and
thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon
the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come” (Alma 25:15-16).
The intent of the teachings were to convince the Nephites to
look forward to the coming of Christ while believing “in him … as though he
already was.” This belief goes back to
Nephi. “Behold, my soul delighteth in
proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end
hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God
from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi
11:4).
“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of
Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that
our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their
sins.
“Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children
may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law,
may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the
law was given. And after the law is
fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when
the law ought to be done away” (2 Nephi 25:26-27).
King Benjamin taught, “And the Lord God hath sent his holy
prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every
kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ
should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with
exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them” (Mosiah
3:13). “For every Book of Mormon
prophet, the Atonement is already a done deal. It was already in place, before
Adam was even set on the earth.”[1]
“While we don’t know much about Jarom, he gives us some
hints. While he writes about his
prophesies and revelations, when he refers to the prophets, priests, and
teachers, he refers to them in third-person.
This implies he may well have been an outsider, not a part of the
religious leadership like his grandfather, Jacob.”[2]
Why the constant preaching?
The preaching kept the Nephites safe.
The preaching of the church leaders pierced their hearts and stirred
them up to repentance.
Abridging Alma2’s book, Mormon wrote, “And now,
as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that
which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the
people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore
Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of
God” (Alma 31:5). Enos always wrote, “And
there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of
wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding them of
death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and
all these things—stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the
Lord. I say there was nothing short of
these things, and exceedingly great plainness of speech, would keep them from
going down speedily to destruction.” (Enos 1:23).
Hugh Nibley explains the emphasis on destruction.
“Why this constant insistence on destruction—can’t the
people simply be punished or corrected? The ceaseless labors of prophets,
priests, and teachers are all that ‘kept them from being destroyed upon the
face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually
stirring them up unto repentance’ (Jarom 1:12). Apparently the severe penalty
clause for those who fail to meet conditions of survival in the promised land
comes with the territory. And who are the righteous in this land of backsliding
Nephites and depraved Lamanites? The answer is written all over the Book of
Mormon—the righteous are whoever are repenting. (Emphasis in
original).”[3]
Hugh Nibley also reminds us the Book of Mormon was written
for us today.
“And why should the true Church be any more immune to the
blandishments of money and fine clothes and beautiful churches today than it
was in the days of the Nephites? Unless even these times are “cut short in
righteousness,” who shall be saved? If the Book of Mormon is to be trusted, the
members of the Church as well as the nonmembers need someone to ‘prick their
hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance’ (Jarom
1:12). Why should they now think that all these warnings are not meant for
them, but only for the wicked outsiders? It is exactly the attitude which Nephi
and Samuel the Lamanite attacked with such vigor. The Book of Mormon was given
to us because it was meant for us.”[4]
There is another way to describe the warnings and teachings
in the Book of Mormon, “The penalty is destruction; the deliverance,
repentance.”[5]
Even though most of the people were righteous, that does not
mean there were no problems. Even this
early in history, “Throughout their history a high degree of mixing of
populations took place between Nephite and Lamanite factions. ‘Dissensions’
from the early Nephites in the land of Nephi were noted by Jarom as early as
the fourth century B.C. (see Jarom 1:13).”[6] Nephites
were dissenting and leaving the Nephite society. There were also wars and contentions.
The record of Jarom we read was found on the small plates of
Nephi. We again learn that the plates
are small. He may well have had problems
engraving the plates, like Jacob did (Jacob 4:1). He also references the large plates, which he
apparently had no part in keeping. “[U]pon
them the records of our wars are engraven, according to the writings of the
kings.”
Jarom concludes his short record at this point, giving the
plates to his son, Omni.
[1] Abinadi:
The Message and the Martyr (Part 2), Todd Parker, Maxwell Institute.
[2] Jacob
and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute.
[3] Scriptural
Perspectives on How to Survive the Calamities of the Last Days, Hugh Nibley,
Maxwell Institute.
[4] Prophecy
in the Book of Mormon: The Three Periods, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute.
[5] Last
Call: An Apocalyptic Warning from the Book of Mormon, Maxwell Institute.
[6] Religious
Groups and Movements among the Nephites, 200-1 B.C., John L. Sorenson, Maxwell
Institute.
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