WOW!!! I have learned SO much today in just 2 short chapters. Bear with me as I go through and try to touch on all that I learned.
So in the first chapter it testifies a ton about missionary work and also magnifying our callings. Many times we hear the phrase "do missionary work. the missionaries need YOUR help" well I never really have jumped full heartedly into missionary work. I try to work on it but often times I just forget and don't do anything about it. But Jacob in this chapter takes it so so seriously. I put so in there twice because I am trying to show you how important he feels missionary work is.
He says "wherefore we labored DILLIGENTLY among our people that we might persuade them to come unto Christ..." I think we all need to step back and ask ourselves if we are DILLIGENTLY laboring in our missionary efforts. I could tell you right now that I have not done that. Shame on me. The dictionary's definition of diligent is "constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything". What words stand out to you. CONSTANT, and PERSISTENT are the 2 most prominent words to me. We should go through every day with a constant desire to teach of the gospel and to be persistent in what we have to teach. Teach and teach and teach to people until we are blue in the face and show our commitment to Heavenly Father to share the gospel that he gave us as a gift to have on this earth. Who wouldn't want to share his gift.
Jacob wanted to teach his people so that "all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world." I love the phrase "suffer his cross" it just hit me hard reading the statement today. When we read, or watch reenactments of Christ's persecution don't we have a tendency to think "I wish that I could be there to help him carry his cross" I know I do all the time. Today it dawned on me that although I was not there to help him carry the cross, I can help him today. He died for us so that we can return to live with him again and he wants ALL of us to come unto him again right. He was willing to die so that this could happen. BUT not all of his children know about Christ and his sacrifice for us. All of his children do not know about this gospel and that is where we come in hand. We need to suffer his cross and help him carry it by teaching ALL of the people or as many as we can about Christ, this gospel, and that we can ALL return to live with him again.
Ok so onto the next topic... Magnifying our callings.
When we are called to do a calling, our name is not just thrown into a hat where the bishop pulls a name out and decides that whoevers name is drawn gets to be called to that calling. Dad I am sure can attest to that one. :) but instead inspiration comes from God as the Bishop prays about it. Jacob was commanded that he needed to go and teach the people because of their hardened hearts. he says "I Jacob, gave unto them these words as I taught them in the temple, HAVING FIRST OBTAINED MINE ERRAND FROM THE LORD" even Jacob was called by the lord to go and teach his people. The Lord has obtained him to this calling. He says that he and his brother were consecrated priests and teachers by the hand of Nephi. So here, it is saying that he was pretty much set apart as well as his brother by priesthood authority to do his calling just as we are today. We are set apart so that we can receive our own revelation on how we can magnify our callings and help us know what we need to do to fulfil our duties of the calling.
Jacob shows great faith in teaching the people. Even when what has been asked of him is a hard matter to talk about. he says "I have hitherto been diligent in the office of my calling: but I this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have hitherto been" "and also it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech"This shows just how hard this task is for him to do. He was ordained to go and preach this hard thing to the people but he was Anxious. How would you be feeling if you had to go stand in front of hundreds of people and tell them, you are sinning! you have become too prideful, and you are indulging yourselves with wives and concubines. you need to stop now and repent. I would be feeling every bit as anxious as he is. I am anxious every single week just to get up and sing in front of all my primary kids and hope that I am teaching them enough about each song we sing and that is easy. I don't have people hating me for what I am teaching like Jacob did here.
Anyways the Lord asks us to serve in our callings. To bring the hearts of the children to him (or in other words the hearts of his children to him). we need to always be praying about our callings, Let Him help us and guide us in these callings. Give our all in laboring for him. For he gave us his son as a gift to come die for us. The least we can do is to give of ourselves to be spokesmen for him and deliver our best efforts to bring together his children in righteousness both in our callings and missionary work.
There is SOOOOO much more in this chapter I learned, like how Jacob is commanded to admonish his people and to "enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded instead of consoling and healing their wounds" so that they can come to repentance. It was interesting to read all of those bold sentences about repentance through the rest of the chapter. I will be sure to always be repenting of my sins so that I am not called to repentance with such bold statements. I would probably never forgive myself for getting off the path that far to have to be told in such harshness to get my butt back in line. I am not going to go on with what I learned from the repentance part of these chapters but I do encourage you to go read these chapters and feel the inspiration Jacob shares with us if you are having a hard time magnifying your calling or preaching the gospel. I know that he has given me much more strength to go on and be the best Primary Chorister and Activity Day leader.
~Tessa~
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