Jacob 2<\/a> is a remarkable document, and it\u2019s our reading for today.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time, and it certainly won\u2019t be the last, that my strict rule of being concise and of focusing on one or two or three items, but no more, will cause me regret. \u00a0But, realistically, I know that I simply don\u2019t have the time to give any\u00a0chapter the time and attention that it deserves.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, for now, I\u2019ll write about just two passages in Jacob 2, painfully aware that much more needs to be said about them and that many other passages within the chapter deserve attention.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The chapter deals with two basic themes, condemning first greedy materialism and then unchastity and infidelity. \u00a0But the condemnations are nuanced, not black and white.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perhaps the crucial passage on wealth is that found in verses 18-19:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But\u00a0before\u00a0ye seek for\u00a0riches, seek ye for the\u00a0kingdom\u00a0of God. \u00a0And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to\u00a0do good\u2014to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In other words, the Book of Mormon and the Lord aren\u2019t hostile to riches. They\u2019re concerned about the uses to which riches are put. \u00a0Greedy materialism is wrong. \u00a0Wealth itself is morally neutral.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
2.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
But, of course, the most famous\/notorious\/controversial passage in the chapter is, without question, verse 30. \u00a0The Lord has, by\u00a0this point in the chapter, condemned polygamy among the Nephites. \u00a0Some think that this means that the Book of Mormon as a whole condemns polygamy, absolutely \u2014 and, therefore, that the modern Church\u00a0was in error when, after the Book of Mormon was published, it began to teach the principle of plural marriage. \u00a0But verse 30 seems to me clearly to contradict that idea:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up\u00a0seed\u00a0unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In other words, says the Lord, monogamy is the rule, the default setting, unless I command my people otherwise<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatever your opinion of plural marriage, or of Mormonism<\/a>, or of Joseph Smith, that\u2019s vital to understand. \u00a0Moreover, verse 34 seems to suggest that the commandment of one wife for one husband was specifically given to Lehi, whether or not it was the norm among Jews of the period more generally.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Jacob 2 is a remarkable document, and it\u2019s our reading for today. \u00a0 This isn\u2019t the first time, and it certainly won\u2019t be the last, that my strict rule of being concise and of focusing on one or two or three items, but no more, will cause me regret. \u00a0But, realistically, I know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>