I was drawn to a talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in General Conference last year, entitled “Desire.” He says our desires are the underlying motive for all our actions and as such is relevant to this lesson.
“Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming.”
Elder Oaks talks about prioritizing our desires and how some desires are overridden by more important desires. For instance, the desire to eat is overridden sometimes by a desire to fast for spiritual strength. Jacob will tell us about the desires of the Nephites and how to override those desires with greater desires. He demonstrates how to do this himself.
WHERE DOES JACOB’S DESIRE COME FROM AND HOW DOES HIS DESIRE FOR THE PEOPLE DICTATE HIS ACTIONS?
· His errand came from the Lord: consecrated a priest and teacher, which implies that the Holy Spirit confirmed his errand and motivated action.
· He did not just complete the requirements of his calling, he chose to magnify them. His definition of magnify is to take responsibility for the sins of the people if they didn’t labor with their might to teach them correct and guiding principles. Ours should be similar: to ultimately teach or show the doctrines of Christ because we have them. Will the sins of those we are responsible for be upon our heads? Perhaps. It probably depends on exactly what we are called to do. As a parent, a family member, a teacher, it probably does. Thankfully, the atonement will help us get through what we should've done, but didn't do. But we should try to teach the doctrines, led by the spirit, of course.
We discussed a little about pride 2 weeks ago and we will discuss it a little more today because after the book of Jacob, the word pride is only mentioned 3 more times in The Book of Mormon. More accurately, we will be read about the formula Jacob gives to combat pride.
In Jacob 2:12-13, Jacob tells them they have begun to look for “gold, silver and precious ores: and that because some have more than others, the people who don’t have much are looked down upon and even persecuted. After condemning the persecutors, Jacob tells them how to override their desire to have more than their brethren. Please listen for the components of the antidote for pride.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO AVOID OR RESOLVE PRIDE?
· Love thy neighbor as thyself (your desire moves from your own welfare to those of others)
· Be familiar with them – what sort of familiarity?
· Be free with your substance
· Seek the kingdom of God first, then riches
o Elder Perry: “What this testifies to me is that we cant ell whether or not we put the kingdom of God first by looking at how we treat our brothers and sister in the Church.” From United in building the kingdom of God, Apr 87
· Seek riches for the intent to do good
o President Romney: There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. The process of giving exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process, both are sanctified. The poor, released from the bondage and limitations of poverty, are enabled as free men to rise to their full potential, both temporally and spiritually. The rich, by imparting of their surplus, participate in the eternal principle of giving. Once a person has been made whole, or self-reliant, he reaches out to aid others, and the cycle repeats itself.
· Remember who gives you everything
· Everyone is precious to God
· Keep the commandments
Jacob would’ve been happy if the only thing he had to talk about was pride, but there’s something worse or even a product of pride that he must address: Chastity
WHAT IS THE DESIRE OF THE NEPHITES AS EXPLAINED HERE BY JACOB?
· Selfishness
· They seek to excuse themselves from the commandments – in fact in verse 34, Jacob reminds them that they were aware of the commandment of one wife, as it was a commandment given by Lehi.
· They twist the scriptures to support the way they want to live their lives.
Jacob informs them of the commandment that should help them override their current desires:
WHAT DOES JACOB INDICATE ARE THE OVERRIDING DESIRES?
· Obedience to the commandment from God – which implies a knowledge, love and respect for God
· The chastity of women – remember it’s not all about you – consider the feelings of others (women and children) and what effect you are having on them. In fact, Jacob mentions in chapter 3:10 to “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.
o Elder Maxwell states, regarding the influence of parent: All are free to choose, of course, and we would not have it otherwise. Unfortunately, however, when some choose slackness, they are choosing not only for themselves, but for the next generation and the next. Small equivocations in parents can produce large deviations in their children! Earlier generations in a family may have reflected dedication, while some in the current generation evidence equivocation. Sadly, in the next, some may choose dissension as erosion takes its toll. “Settle This in Your Hearts,” Oct. Gen. Conference 1992
· Reminders that the land will be cursed (all that gold and silver will be taken away)
· The Lord is at the helm of his operation on earth, and while there were instances of plurality of wives, those instances were directed by the Lord for His purposes, while man twisted them for selfish and unrighteous purposes.
o The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “I have constantly said no man shall have but one wife at a time, unless the Lord directs otherwise” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 324).
After discouraging the offenders of the law regarding pride and chastity, Jacob reminds them that if their hope desires lie with Christ, their weaknesses can be made strong
Jacob 4:3-7
Our desires to follow Christ come by knowing who He is and what he can do. We know this by searching the prophets (scriptures – listening to conference, etc.), understanding the revelations and the spirit of prophecy. The Nephites needed symbols and stories to help them understand what would happen in the future. We the faith to understand what DID happen in the past. When we understand, we obtain hope and faith and then power comes to use the atonement to help us with our weaknesses.
Should our desires lie with Christ, which Jacob described as being pure in heart, here is what he will do and what you should do
Jacob 3:1-2
1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and apray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will bconsole you in your cafflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down djustice upon those who seek your destruction.
2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his alove; for ye may, if your bminds are cfirm, forever.
Christ will: Console, plead and send justice We need to: lift, receive and feast upon his love.
A last quote from Elder Oaks about desire:
“. . . all of us face potential traps that will prevent progress toward our eternal destiny. If our righteous desires are sufficiently intense, they will motivate us to cut and carve ourselves free from addictions and other sinful pressures and priorities that prevent our eternal progress.
We should remember that righteous desires cannot be superficial, impulsive, or temporary. They must be heartfelt, unwavering, and permanent. So motivated, we will seek for that condition described by the Prophet Joseph Smith, where we have “overcome the evils of [our lives] and lost every desire for sin.”5 That is a very personal decision. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell said:
“When people are described as ‘having lost their desire for sin,’ it is they, and they only, who deliberately decided to lose those wrong desires by being willing to ‘give away all [their] sins’ in order to know God.”
“Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.”6
No comments:
Post a Comment