Jacob 5-6

Thanks to Reed and all of you for a great discussion today. Hopefully, you went away with much to ponder. Next week we are going meet in the Relief Society room. I think our numbers are such we should be comfortable there. It is located in the southwest corner of the building.

February Reading

February 12--Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon
February 19--Mosiah 1-3
February 26--Mosiah 4-6

OLIVE TREES

• Prevalent in ancient Middle East
• Live an average of 500, sometimes 1500 years
• Fruit used for food or oil, which was used for anointing, cooking, skin, hair, medicine, fuel, lubrication, massage, etc.
• Famous Greek poet Homer called olive oil “liquid gold”
• Greeks consume 24 liters of olive oil per year
• Olive trees first cultivated in what is modern-day Israel near 5000 BC
• Trees spread by planting cuttings or grafting domesticated trees onto wild trees Grow in dry, rocky soil
• Grown in North America, but only in Arizona, California, Argentina, and Chile

Allegory

• “from the Greek word ALLEGOREIN, meaning to speak figuratively”
• “a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral of political one”
• “a work of written, oral, or visual expression that uses symbolic figures, objects, and actions to convey truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience”
• can invite subjective and/or multiple meanings

Jacob 5 and Joseph Smith

According to Dr. Daniel Peterson, LDS and BYU scholar in ancient near eastern studies, horticulturalists have “found that in virtually every detail, it (olive cultivation as recorded in Jacob 5) matches what we actually know about how olive trees are treated, how they are grown, cultivated, and cared for.” Dr. Peterson pointed out that “it has to be understood that olive trees do not grow in New York State. Joseph Smith probably didn’t ever see any. He certainly wouldn’t have known much about olive trees and olive cultivation, and olive trees are very, very different from the kinds of trees he would have known. So where did he get this information from? It seems to me that the most conservative notion, the best explanation, is that whoever wrote the parable of the Olive Tree in Jacob 5 knew olive cultivation first hand.” Dr. Peterson summarizes that Jacob 5 is “a very detailed account, a very rich account, because of course it’s an account of the history of the world (in the past and on into the future) using the olive tree as a metaphor for the House of Israel.”

 Zenos’s Seven Allegorical Historical Periods

• 1st Period: The Founding and Aging of Israel. (v. 3)
• 2nd Period: The Nurturing and Scattering of Israel. (v. 4-14) 3rd Period: The Day of the Gentiles. (v. 15-28)
• 4th Period: The Great Apostasy. (v. 26-49)
• 5th Period: The Gathering of Israel. (v. 50-74)
• 6th Period: The Millennium. (v. 75-76)
• 7th Period: The End of the World. (v. 77)

 ZENOS’S SOLUTION TO MYSTERY

• Disease/Problem/Diagnosis/Symptoms: Jacob 4: 15, 5: 4, 32, 37, 40, 46
• Cause: Jacob 5: 48
• Treatment/Prescription: Jacob 5: 15, 4, 8, 9, 47, 61, 70 Patient Compliance Requirement: Jacob 6: 5, 8, 11 Prognosis: Jacob 5: 75, 77, 6: 11

Nourishing

• Appears twenty-one times. What is it? (See Jacob 6: 7) What is it’s purpose?
• How does God do it?

Digging

• Appears seven times.
• What is it?
• What is it’s purpose?
• How can God dig about you?
• Does God always dig everyone the same?

Pruning

• Appears nine times.
• What is it?
• What is it’s purpose?
• How can God “prune” you? How does it feel to be pruned?

THE SMELL OF THE MANURE

“On my way the James’ the other evening, I saw a wheat field that appeared to be greener and taller than the others. Thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that occasionally some loving farmer drives over the field and pumps manure all over it. (Dung, in other words.). I thought, my, it’s just like life. Here we are minding our own business, growing our little hearts out; we’re really quite green, somewhat productive, and very sincere. When out of the blue, life deals us a dirty one, and we’re up to our elbows in manure. We, of course, conclude that life as we know it has ended and will never be the same again. But one day, the smell and the shock are gone, and we find ourselves greener and more productive than ever before. Unfortunately, no matter how often we go through these growing experiences, we are never able to appreciate the sound of the tractor or the smell of the manure.”

Harold W. Wood, source unknown.

Grafting

• Appears twenty-one times.
• What is it?
• What is it’s purpose?
• How might God graft us?
• Where does God graft us? (See v. 8) Is being grafted pleasant?

Grieve

• Appears eight times.
• Why did the Lord of the vineyard “grieve?”
• What are the different ways the Lord expresses his grief? (See v. 41, 47)

What is the connection between the Lord’s grief and the nourishing, digging, pruning, dunging, and grafting?

Jacob 1-4

February Reading

February   5--Jacob 5-6
February 12--Enos, Jarom, Omni,
                      Words of Mormon
February 19--Mosiah 1-3
February 26--Mosiah 4-6

Thank you for your patience yesterday! I appreciate your insights and questions. Jacob has much to teach us and it was powerful to listen to your applications of his words.

Psalms Used by Jacob

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-does-jacob-quote-so-much-from-the-psalms

Book of Jacob	Book of Psalms
Jacob 1:7“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”	Psalm 95:8, 11 “as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.”
Jacob 4:10“in great mercy, over all his works”	Psalm 145:8–9 “of great mercy and his tender mercies are over all his works.”
Jacob 4:15–17“they will reject the stone upon which they might build … how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner?”	Psalm 118:22“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”
Jacob 6:6“Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts”	Psalm 95:7–8 “To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart”

Jacob 4:8

An interesting figure of speech used in the Book of Mormon is called antenantiosis. It is the practice of stating a proposition in terms of its opposite. The result is to express the positive in a very high degree, or as the biblical scholar E. W. Bullinger puts it, “We thus emphasize that which we seem to lessen.”

For instance, when Jacob counsels to “despise not the revelations of God” (Jacob 4:8), he is not merely saying that one should not despise the revelations; he is actually urging the righteous to hold the revelations of God in the highest esteem. The unexpected negative increases the force of the idea that it apparently understates. It seems to make us notice and dwell on the expression, so that we can learn more from it.

It is an interesting figure of speech, drawn to our attention by biblical scholarship, that helps illuminate the forceful effectiveness of many of the prophetic messages of the Book of Mormon.

Gail Call, https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1110&index=25

Jacob’s Temple Speech

Early Nephite polygyny may be better understood by situating it in a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican context. Brant A. Gardner, who did graduate work in Mesoamerican ethnohistory, noted that in the ancient Maya’s patriarchal society—as in many civilizations—a higher social and economic status could be signified by a man’s material possession or the number of his wives (and often both). 

The Mesoamerican picture of developing social distinctions is precisely the type of threat that the early Nephite community is facing [at this time]. There is pressure for social hierarchies and that pressure is related to multiple wives” and the accumulation of wealth through trade and diplomatic relations. Gardner also conjectured that “Nephite polygyny involved elite men’s arranging diplomatic marriages to assure commercial or political alliances,” a practice known from ancient Mesoamerica and ancient Israel.

This would explain why Jacob condemned David and Solomon, but not other biblical figures, such as Abraham and Jacob. As recounted in the Old Testament, David and Solomon both sinned by exploiting women.

This in turn led both David and Solomon to break their covenants with God, resulting in eventual disaster for the Israelite kingdom (1 Kings 11:9–11). That Jacob speaks ill of these biblical polygamists but not righteous men such as Abraham and Jacob, who also married multiple wives (Genesis 16:1–3; 29–30), would seem to indicate that the “whoredom” that Jacob condemned wasn’t plural marriage itself, but rather women being exploited for social and material benefit in relationships unapproved by God. 

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/what-does-the-book-of-mormon-say-about-polygamy

Chapter 4 is an exposition on knowing and truth.  Without explicitly saying so, Jacob made bold statements to answer such questions as, “What is truth?” and “How do we know the truth?”  “How is truth preserved, transmitted, and conveyed?”

Read Jacob 4:1-13 and consider the rich vocabulary and phrases. How do they lend answers to the above questions?

2 Nephi 31-33

Reading--Next Week

Jacob 1-4

Reading--February

February   5--Jacob 5-6

February 12--Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon

February 19--Mosiah 1-3

February 26--Mosiah 4-6

I neglected to look at the last slide in class this week. It is a great summary of the doctrine of Christ. Make sure you take a look! Thanks again for coming. It is only through a collective effort we really learn!  

Doctrine of Christ

“Although a phrase like “the doctrine of Christ” could appropriately be used to describe any or all of the Master’s teachings, nevertheless those magnificently broad and beautiful expressions spread throughout the Book of Mormon, New Testament, and latter-day scriptures might more properly be called “the doctrines of Christ.” Note that the phrase Nephi used is distinctly singular. The emphasis is on a precise, focused, singular sense of Christ’s doctrine.”

Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, pg. 49

“One of the purposes of the Book of Mormon is the restoration of “plain and precious” truths that have been lost or obscured. The teachings contained in the Book of Mormon regarding the purpose of baptism are unique and exceptional in all of ancient scripture for their clarity, specificity and consistency. In contrast to biblical descriptions of baptism, the Book of Mormon provides profound insight into the covenantal nature of this ordinance, what the individual is signaling to God when he or she chooses to be baptized, and the way in which God responds to the believer’s commitment.”

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/what-is-the-purpose-of-baptism-in-the-book-of-mormon

“For the most part, the voice of the Father has usually been limited in scripture to introducing his Beloved Son and expressing his pleasure in him, but this verse from the stylus of Nephi is revealing in that it gives broader utterance to the Father than that which the biblical canon usually records. This is one of few declarations so identified in scripture. 

The doctrine of repentance is so crucial that the Father himself made a declaration on this point.”

Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, pg. 51-52

“The Greek word "pistis," which English Bibles typically render as "faith," also means "confidence" or "trust," and these ordinary, everyday terms convey very neatly what scriptural faith entails. The first readers of the New Testament didn't have to ask what "pistis" meant. Paul hadn't invented the word. They knew it already; it had been common in Greek for centuries. And in the standard English lexicon of classical Greek, the first definition of "pistis" is "trust in others." 

Our English word "faith" comes from the Latin "fides," but today we tend to think of "faith" as "belief in something without proof," and, often, more as agreement with a set of propositions than as trust in a person. But God is a person, and saving faith -- although it surely entails agreeing with certain propositions -- is trust in him, as a person, to love us and to keep his promises to us.

We show our trust in someone by our willingness to act in a trusting way. When God asks us to do something, though, we show our trust in him by doing it if we can, even if we don't completely understand it. 

Moreover, as we trust others -- including God -- and find our trust rewarded and justified, it grows. Our relationship thrives.”

Daniel C. Peterson, professor of Islamic studies and Arabic at BYU, Founder of The Interpreter Journal and Mormon ScholarsTestify.org

“The “tongue of angels” has long been a point of interest to Latter-day Saints, who wonder whether it really is as simple as speaking under the influence of the Spirit or if it might mean something more. Drawing on the structure of Nephi’s record, and the interactions with angels that Nephi recorded, we learn that this notion of speaking with the tongue of angels has connections with ancient Israelite temple worship and the divine council.

Nephi’s record taken as a temple text carries the reader through the progression of creation, fall, atonement, and entering the presence of the Lord through the veil. Nephi only discusses speaking with the tongue of angels in the final portion of the text, which represents passing through the veil (or “gate”) and coming into the Lord’s presence. There, Nephi places the act of speaking with the tongue of angels at the culmination of a literary ascent, where one must pass through a gate (baptism) and by a gatekeeper (the Holy Ghost). This progression makes rich allusions to imagery in the visions of Lehi, Nephi, and Isaiah, where these prophets were brought into the presence of the Lord, stood in the divine council, and were commissioned to declare the words of the Lord.

Here in these final chapters, Nephi makes it clear that he himself has stood in this council, has become one of the heavenly hosts, and now speaks with the tongue of angels. Nephi also makes it clear, however, that this is not merely the prerogative of the prophets. Nephi’s carefully crafted narrative teaches that all are both invited and commanded to follow the path that leads to entrance into the Lord’s presence, and ultimately grants membership into the heavenly assembly.”

Neal Rappleye, https://www.mormoninterpreter.com/with-the-tongue-of-angels-angelic-speech-as-a-form-of-deification/

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/what-is-it-to-speak-with-the-tongue-of-angels

“What then is the doctrine of Christ? It is seeking the things of God with full purpose of heart and real intent, honest prayer, genuine repentance, baptism by water, baptism by fire, pressing forward with steadfastness in Christ, having hope and love, feasting on the words of Christ, enduring to the end of the strait and narrow path, and receiving the promise of eternal life.”

Larry E. Dahl, “The Doctrine of Christ: 2 Nephi 31–32,” in Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1989), 355–75.

2 Nephi 25-30

Reading for next week--2 Nephi 31-33

2 Nephi 26-27

“Most of Isaiah 29, in order, is interspersed through 2 Nephi 26:14–27;35. The creative reinterpretation of a scriptural passage in ways that highlight its hidden significance with regard to new contexts and situations is somewhat akin to later rabbinic interpretation. The fact that this is done through insertions within a continuous, phrase-by-phrase recitation of the original passage is extraordinary.”


Maxwell Institute Study Edition, The Book of Mormon, Edited by Grant Hardy

“After all we can do”

“After here does not refer to sequence or chronology. It means beyond or above. The Lord will provide all that is needed beyond our capacity to accomplish in repenting and becoming reconciled to God. His aid is not reserved or delayed until the end but is constantly with us in the journey.”

“We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. And we do not need to achieve some minimum level of capacity or goodness before God will help—divine aid can be ours every hour of every day, no matter where we are in the path of obedience. But I know that beyond desiring His help, we must exert ourselves, repent, and choose God for Him to be able to act in our lives consistent with justice and moral agency. My plea is simply to take responsibility and go to work so that there is something for God to help us with.”

D. Todd Christofferson, Seminar for New Mission Presidents, 2013

Enemies of Christ

“Is the Book of Mormon true?—Yes. Who is it for?—Us. What is its purpose?—To bring men to Christ. How does it do this?—By testifying of Christ and revealing his enemies.”

President Ezra Taft Benson, April Conference, 1975

“Each of these precepts specifies what God cannot do. The key phrase is “the Redeemer hath done his work” (v. 5). It is possible that Nephi chose to specify and thus expose these particular precepts because they are enemies to the doctrine of restoration. For example, if there were no miracles, there would have been no first vision of Joseph Smith; if there were no power of God, there would have been no restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood; if there were no work today, there would be no proselyting church with prophets receiving continuous revelation.”

“In order to sin without feeling guilt, one must lower his moral standard to correspond with his behavior. This is an exactly opposite teaching from the true gospel principle that to remove guilt one must lift his behavior to his moral standard through appropriate repentance. Seeking to reverse the process, some modern clinicians, with their false teachings, seek to strip mankind of the gift of conscience. The disarming of this divine alarm system enables the enemy to enter and move freely about.”

“A key phrase used by those who advocate sin is “there is no harm in this” (2 Nephi 28:8). This devilish whisper invites good men and women to compromise and be selective in their personal righteousness. Nephi labeled this a vain doctrine. Perhaps the vanity of the doctrine is in its self-centeredness. The lying, the digging of the pit, the taking advantage of a neighbor all elevates one at the expense of another. The “live for today” consciousness exalts the “me first” attitude prevalent in today’s world. The world teaches that life is short and tomorrow we die, and we prosper according to our genius and conquer according to our strength.”

“The Book of Mormon is a witness of the reality of Satan. He is proclaimed the enemy of all righteousness (Moroni 9:6) who desires “that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

Satan tempts us with alluring distractions, attitudes, and circumstances, which appear on the surface to be harmless; but as one partakes of them, the spirit slowly suffers, creating a weakened condition which can produce eventual alienation from God. Jesus told his disciples in ancient America to “watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat”

Dennis L Largely, BYU Religious Studies, 1989, https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-second-nephi-doctrinal-structure/16-enemies-christ-2-nephi-28

As Dennis L. Largey put it, through Nephi “our Heavenly Father has righteously opened to us his children the unholy playbook of those identified as his enemies.” This is why a pair of Latter-day Saint scholars have said, "The devil hates the Book of Mormon because it exposes his tactics.” There is probably not any other place in scripture or religious literature that lays this all out more clearly, cogently, and compellingly. That is reason enough to be grateful for the Book of Mormon. Those interested in embracing the great plan of the Holy One should study 2 Nephi 28 carefully in order to better prepare themselves against these ploys of the “cunning plan of the evil one.”

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/how-does-the-devil-lead-us-astray

Please Add Chapter 30

Hi all. Would you please include 2 Nephi 30 in your study for next week? Thanks!