"Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that theymay be rich like unto you. But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdomof God. And 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 do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted. (Jacob 2:17-19)
Sins of pride, unchastity and materialism were an ongoing theme in Jacob's teachings. When we lose the feeling of being guided by the Spirit, or when life begins to seem meaningless, it's good to take a look at those areas in our lives and see if we are caught up 'in the thick of thin things.'
With Patience and Faith
“Now the only safety we have as members of this Church is to do exactly what the Lord said to the Church in that day when the Church was organized. We must learn to give heed to the words and commandments that the Lord shall give through His prophet, “as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; … as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith” (D&C 21:4–5).
There will be some things that take patience and faith. You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord Himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory'” (D&C 21:6). (Harold B. Lee, Improvement Era, Dec. 1970, p. 126)
Patience and faith: two such important qualities for troubled times. A poetic prophet, Jacob ends his record with a beautiful description of the rather melancholy nature of his people, torn by civil war. Though uncertain about the future, his own personal faith remains securely fixed, and he leaves us with a challenge to choose wisdom over the ever changing winds of public opinion:
"And it came to pass that I, Jacob, began to be old; and the record of this people being kept on the other plates of Nephi, wherefore, I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days.
"O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. O be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 7:26 and 6:11-12)
