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.
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