Jacob 1: 10, Jacob 1:18, Jacob 2: 5-9

Are you always aware of what you're doing? Do you always know exactly where you are heading with every choice that you make?

"10 The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defence, and having labored in all his days for their welfare—" (Jacob 1: 10)

"18 For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi." (Jacob 1: 18)

"5 But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know that by the help of the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell you concerning your ^athoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God.

6 Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I must testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts.

7 And also it grieveth me that I must use so much ^aboldness of speech concerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and ^bchaste and delicate before God, which thing is pleasing unto God;

8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing ^aword of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to ^aadmonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds." (Jacob 2: 5-9)

"11 Wherefore, beloved brethren, be ^areconciled unto him through the ^batonement of Christ, his ^cOnly Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a ^dresurrection, according to the ^epower of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the ^ffirst-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh." (Jacob 4: 11)

And here's the introductory commentary for the reading assignment this week, Jaceob 1-4, entitled, "Be Reconciled unto God through the Atonement of Christ" :

"The Nephites considered Nephi their “great protector” (see Jacob 1:10). He had also protected them against spiritual dangers, warning them against sin and urging them to come unto Christ. Now that task fell to Jacob, whom Nephi had consecrated to be a priest and teacher (see Jacob 1:18). Jacob felt a responsibility to boldly warn those who were “beginning to labor in sin” while also comforting “the wounded soul” of those who had been hurt by the sins of others (see Jacob 2:5–9). How would he do both? He would point them to Jesus Christ—because both groups needed the Savior’s healing (see Jacob 4). Like the message of Nephi before him, Jacob’s testimony was a call to “be reconciled unto [God] through the atonement of Christ” (Jacob 4:11)."

"Beginning to labor in sin" sounds like losing focus on the things that matter most. All human beings--every child of God naturally tend to commit sin. And yet, we were given the gift of free agency so we can always choose our own decisions--our thoughts words. and actions as we are influenced by two opposites, good or evil.  Everything that we do is indeed a choice. Giving in to the temptation to lose focus on the things that matter most is a choice. Giving in to the temptation to not consider other people's feelings before taking action is a choice. Giving in to the temptation to feel lonely and hurt in quite a long time is a choice. Because of Jesus Christ we can overcome our natural tendency to commit sin and the wound in our soul can be healed.

The Pakistani word for "death" (I learned from our Pakistani sister at church) simply means "time has run out". Before time runs out, you would want to make sure you're heading in the direction where you want to go after this life is over, right? So awareness of what you're doing and focus on things that matter most are so important. It's a challenge to make the choice to stay focused and be always aware of what you're doing especially now with many distractions attracting your attention everywhere. And yet the distractions will only get your attention if you choose to. You are the one making the choice whether to pay attention to those distractions or stay focused on things that matter most. Which choice do you want to make? It's all up to you. "If it is to be, it's up to me." Can't remember who said this. This just came to mind and it means you have the power to make things happen. If you keep this in mind you will be more aware of your choices than ever before. You would want to make sure that your choices are aligned with your goals, especially your ultimate goal. 

Mark 16: 6 -7, Mosiah 16: 7-9 Easter Sunday Celebration 2024

He Is Risen

He is risen! He is risen!

Tell it out with joyful voice.

He has burst his three days’ prison;

Let the whole wide earth rejoice.

Death is conquered; man is free.

Christ has won the victory.

Come with high and holy hymning;

Chant our Lord’s triumphant lay.

Not one darksome cloud is dimming

Yonder glorious morning ray,

Breaking o’er the purple east,

Symbol of our Easter feast.

He is risen! He is risen!

He hath opened heaven’s gate.

We are free from sin’s dark prison,

Risen to a holier state.

And a brighter Easter beam

On our longing eyes shall stream.

"6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is ^arisen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you." (Mark 16: 6-7)

"7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no ^asting, there could have been no resurrection.

8 But there is a ^aresurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory
, and the sting of ^bdeath is swallowed up in Christ.

9 He is the ^alight and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." (Mosiah 16: 7-9)

When my own father passed away, that's when death became a reality for me. Click this link to read up on my story of emotional healing brought by Jesus Christ's victory over death: https://mendyrellora.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/victory/ 

Alma 15: 3-12,, Alma 24: 7-19

 

How much time do you think you have left before it's already your last day on earth? What if today is your last day? Are you ready to go? Have you experienced a change of heart?

Here are two more examples of people having a change of heart:

"3 And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom, with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his ^awickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more; and he supposed that they had been slain because of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceedingly sore, having no deliverance; therefore he began to be scorched with a burning heat.

4 Now, when he heard that Alma and Amulek were in the land of Sidom, his heart began to take courage; and he sent a message immediately unto them, desiring them to come unto him.

5 And it came to pass that they went immediately, obeying the message which he had sent unto them; and they went in unto the house unto Zeezrom; and they found him upon his bed, sick, being very low with a burning fever; and his mind also was ^aexceedingly sore because of his iniquities; and when he saw them he stretched forth his hand, and besought them that they would heal him.

6 And it came to pass that Alma said unto him, taking him by the hand: ^aBelievest thou in the power of Christ unto salvation?

7 And he answered and said: Yea, I believe all the words that thou hast taught.

8 And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be ^ahealed.

9 And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words.

10 And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have ^amercy on this man, and ^bheal him according to his faith which is in Christ.

11 And when Alma had said these words, ^aZeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom.

12 And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that time forth to preach unto the people."  (Alma 15: 3 -12)

"7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the ^atraditions of our wicked fathers.

8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have ^aopened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.

9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our ^asins, and of the many murders which we have committed.

10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath ^aforgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the ^bguilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to ^atake them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stains—

12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.

13 Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords ^aagain they can no more be ^bwashed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.

14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our ^asouls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the ^bplan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us ^ahide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us ^bclean thereby.

16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall ^ago to our God and shall be saved.

17 And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did ^abury them up deep in the earth.

18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they ^anever would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and ^bcovenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would ^cgive up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to ^abelieve and to know the truth, they were ^bfirm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace." (Alma 24: 7-19)

And here again is the commentary entitled: "Jesus Christ can cleanse me and help perfect me.":

"It could be said that the Book of Mormon is an account of people who changed because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. You can read some of these experiences in Mosiah 5:1–2; 27:8–28; Alma 15:3–12; 24:7–19. You might think of other examples to study as well. What do you notice that these experiences have in common? What differences do you notice? What do these experiences teach you about how the Savior can change you?"

A change of heart in people truly is a miracle made possible only by God's power. In both of these experiences, people's lives were put at stake. In the first one, Zeezrom's change of heart was accompanied by his physical illness which almost killed him and yet by the power of God he got healed. And the people who believed the words spoken to them by God's servants, Alma and Amulek, did not escape physical danger--they were burned to death, and yet their spirits were received by God in paradise (spirit world). In the second one, the truly repentant people decided to bury their weapons of war as a testimony to God that they never used them again after they heard and believed God's words and repented of their sins. They were willing to give up their lives rather than fight in the next war and kill their brethren using their weapons all over again.

God truly gave His children the freedom of choice so each one can decide whether to believe His words and change or not to believe and remain in a sinful state. Because of God's mercy, He gave us enough time to repent of our sins. That's why the final judgment is delayed. He is allowing His children to make wicked choices so that His judgment of them in the end will be just. You are prepared to die anytime when you are a believer and are truly repentant. You wouldn't want to die in your sins because you will be facing the consequences of your sins come judgment day. If you're not able to repent while in this life before you die, you will be punished for your own sins because what Jesus Christ did for you (His taking upon Himself the punishment for your sins) will only take effect if you did your part yourself--if you believed, repented of your own sins and had a change of heart while you still have time. Time on earth is so precious. Nobody knows how much time you have left at any given moment. Only God knows. So, what are you waiting for? You wouldn't want to wait until it's already your last day on earth before you start repenting of your sins, would you?