He Shall Direct Thy Paths

“O be wise,” counseled the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob, “what can I say more?” (Jacob 6:12).

He also warned his people not to confuse learning with wisdom, decrying the foolishness of those who set aside God’s counsels, thinking they know better than Him. But he added, “to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God” (2 Nephi 9:28-29).

This week we’re studying the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, specifically Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

The book of Proverbs is an anthology of Israelite wisdom, divided into six sections:

1. A father’s instructions to his son and speeches of Wisdom herself (chapters 1-9)
2. Various aphorisms attributed to Solomon (10:1–22:16)
3. The words of the wise (22:17–24:34)
4. More proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah (chapters 25-29)
5. The words of Agur (chapter 30)
6. The teachings of King Lemuel’s mother (chapter 31)

The book of Ecclesiastes has similar content but with a decidedly darker tone. The author, traditionally identified as Solomon but named in the text only as the Preacher, wants to emphasize the finitude of everything in mortality, and so he repeatedly labels things that mortals cling to as “vanity,” speaking from the perspective of “under the sun.”

In both books, many of the proverbs follow a small number of templates. Here are some of the most common forms proverbs take:

1. Antithetical couplet — A statement followed by “but” with its opposite
2. Synonymous couplet — The same truth stated twice in different words
3. “Better than” — An aid to prioritization
4. Numerical saying — Usually announced by a number followed by the number incremented by one, such as “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him” (Proverbs 6:16)

Book of Mormon prophets also share wisdom, often with their children. Lehi’s final counsel to his sons (2 Nephi 1-4), Alma’s words to his three sons (Alma 36-42), and Mormon’s epistles to Moroni (Moroni 8-9) all fall into this genre. Additionally, editorial insertions, often introduced with “thus we see,” are proverb-like in their directness and simplicity.

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes focus on several topics that are also prominent in the Book of Mormon, including disciplining speech and emotions, the corrupting influence of wealth, the dangers of pride, and the importance of family.

Proverbs repeatedly extols the “fear of the Lord,” an important component of Book of Mormon conversion stories (see, for example, Mosiah 4:1; Alma 19:15; 36:7). It also emphasizes the importance of trusting in the Lord, promising to those who do so, “He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). King Benjamin teaches the negative form of this principle, when he warns those who withdraw from the Spirit of the Lord, “that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths” (Mosiah 2:36).

This week, as we study Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, let’s observe how Book of Mormon prophets also emphasized the pursuit of wisdom and taught the same principles to their children.