Jacob loved and respected his brother Nephi. So it’s not surprising that he opens his book by describing the instructions he received from Nephi and how he was fulfilling those instructions. At the end of the chapter, he introduces his second sermon by explaining that his people had begun to commit sins and the Lord had commanded him to gather them and call them to repentance.
Chapter Outline
- Nephi’s instructions to Jacob (v. 1-8)
- Death of Nephi (v. 9-14)
- Jacob gathers his people to call them to repentance (v. 15-19)
My Takeaways
- Record in a journal the things which are most important to you.
- Seek inspiration to know what you should teach and how to teach it.
- Recognize the importance of your callings and perform them to the highest standard of excellence.
Featured Blog Posts
❖ Nephi’s instructions to Jacob (Jacob 1:1-8)
The Things Which I Considered to Be Most Precious – Jacob 1:2-4
2 And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should write upon these plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this people which are called the people of Nephi. 3 For he said that the…
“We Also Had Many Revelations” – Jacob 1:6
As I listened to the first chapter in the book of Jacob this morning, I was struck by how he talked about revelation. His brother Nephi had entrusted the sacred records to him and had instructed him to limit this record to spiritual things: sermons, revelations, and prophecies (Jacob 1:1-4). Jacob goes on to say that…
That They Might Enter into His Rest – Jacob 1:7
7 Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation…
❖ Death of Nephi (Jacob 1:9-14)
A House Divided
God seeks to bring people together. Satan seeks to divide us, because we are easier to conquer when we’re alone. Jesus taught that a house divided cannot stand. We can follow Him by bringing people together instead of separating them.
❖ Jacob calls his people to repentance (Jacob 1:15-19)
Having First Obtained Mine Errand from the Lord – Jacob 1:17
15 And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign of the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts, and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old desiring many wives and concubines, and also Solomon, his son. 16 Yea, and they also…
Priests and Teachers – Jacob 1:18-19
18 For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi.19 And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of…
We Did Magnify Our Office unto the Lord – Jacob 1:19
19 And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood…
Old Testament Foundations
“If They Pray Toward This Place…”
The Apostle Paul chided the Athenians for limiting God by thinking too narrowly about places of worship: God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath,…
The Book of Psalms and the Book of Mormon
The brass plates which Lehi and his family carried from Jerusalem contained a lot of content which overlaps with the Old Testament. Nephi describes three categories of writings, which correspond with three of the four groupings of books in the Old Testament: “The five books of Moses” – The Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy) “A record…
New Testament Parallels
Daily Death and Resurrection
In his epistles to the Corinthians, Paul uses death and resurrection as a metaphor for God’s daily deliverance. If we believe that God will raise us from the dead, then surely we can also believe that He will help us through our smaller afflictions today.
His Cross
After suffering unfathomable pain in Gethsemane, Jesus was interrogated through the night, delivered to the Roman governor, mocked and beaten, and finally sentenced to death by crucifixion. Two of the gospel writers tell us that He carried His own cross at least partway to place of execution, the hill Golgotha. (See Luke 23:26, John 19:17.)…
Church History Connections
Practicable
Do you ever feel like there isn’t enough time to do everything that you need to do? How do you deal with that situation? In January of 1832, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had multiple competing demands on their time. They had taken a break from translating the Bible to preach the gospel (Doctrine and…
Thy Calling, Thy Duty
God’s callings serve two purposes: giving us opportunities to serve others while simultaneously opening our hearts to receive the sanctifying power of Jesus Christ.
All Posts Referencing Jacob 1
- Seeing the Face of God (8/27/2025)
- Thy Calling, Thy Duty (3/18/2025)
- None Other Work (2/2/2025)
- Psalm 95 and Alma 12-13 (6/27/2024)
- Amaleki (4/19/2024)
- “Their Delicate Minds” (4/3/2024)
- General Conference and the Welfare of Our Souls (4/2/2024)
- Daily Death and Resurrection (9/10/2023)
- A House Divided (3/15/2023)
- The Book of Psalms and the Book of Mormon (8/27/2022)
- “If They Pray Toward This Place…” (6/26/2022)
- Anointed (10/31/2021)
- Rest (7/28/2021)
- Practicable (7/3/2021)
- His Cross (4/2/2021)
- A House of Prayer (3/29/2021)
- “Inquire of the Lord” (1/7/2021)
- How to “Come unto Christ” (12/22/2020)
- “Meet Together Oft” – Moroni 6:5 (12/4/2020)
- “That I Might Rid My Garments of Your Blood” – Mosiah 2:27-28 (4/17/2020)
- “A Hundredth Part” – Jacob 3:13 (3/13/2020)
- “We Also Had Many Revelations” – Jacob 1:6 (3/11/2020)
- Will We Be Judged by the Apostles? (10/9/2019)
- What Is the Relationship Between the Family and the Church? (9/18/2019)
- What Does It Mean to Consecrate Something? (5/4/2019)
- What Does It Mean for Our Garments to Be “Washed White Through the Blood of the Lamb?” (2/1/2019)
- We Did Magnify Our Office unto the Lord – Jacob 1:19 (11/5/2018)
- Having First Obtained Mine Errand from the Lord – Jacob 1:17 (8/28/2017)
- That They Might Enter into His Rest – Jacob 1:7 (8/27/2017)
- Priests and Teachers – Jacob 1:18-19 (6/27/2016)
- We Did Magnify Our Office Unto the Lord- Jacob 1:19 (3/27/2015)
- The Things Which I Considered to Be Most Precious – Jacob 1:2-4 (3/26/2015)