After quoting his sermon, Jacob turns his attention to us. He urges us to receive counsel from God and to be reconciled to Him through the atonement of Christ. He says that even though people may reject that foundation, all is not lost for them, as he will illustrate in the next chapter.
Chapter Outline
- Jacob writes so that his children will know of his faith in Christ (v. 1-7)
- Don’t try to counsel God. Instead, receive counsel from Him (v. 8-10)
- Be reconciled to Him through the atonement of Christ (v. 11-12)
- The Jews have stumbled because of blindness, but they will yet build on a sure foundation (v. 13-18)
My Takeaways
- We can build relationships with our ancestors by learning about them.
- We shouldn’t pray as though we had the master plan and we just needed His help to achieve it. We should ask for guidance, not just blessings.
- We need to focus on our highest priority tasks and avoid being distracted by less important activities.
Featured Blog Posts
❖ Jacob’s purpose in writing – Jacob 4:1-7
Why Did the Nephites Keep the Law of Moses?
The apostle Paul told the saints in Galatia that the law of Moses had served as a “schoolmaster” to help them develop faith in Jesus Christ. After they developed faith, they didn’t need the schoolmaster any more (Galatians 3:24-25). The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob also recognized that the law of Moses was intended to…
Why Is Family History Important?
Heavenly Father wants us to build strong relationships with each other, and those relationships are not limited to people who are currently living. After Lehi left Jerusalem with his family, He sent his sons back on a dangerous mission. They were to acquire a valuable spiritual record engraved on brass plates which were in the…
❖ Receive Counsel from God – Jacob 4:8-10
Seek Not to Counsel the Lord – Jacob 4:10
10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works. (Jacob 4:10) It sounds obvious: since God knows all things and we know comparatively little, we ought to…
What Are the Mysteries of God?
A knowledge of the mysteries of God was important to Nephi. He knew that he was “highly favored of the Lord” because he “had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1). His first recorded spiritual experience came because he had “great desires to know of the mysteries of…
Trusting the Answers We Receive from God
“Counsel me not,” says the Lord of the vineyard when his servant questions a prior decision. Jacob urges us to “take counsel from [the Lord’s] hand.” An important part of that is trusting the revelation you have already received on a given topic.
❖ The Jews will build on a sure foundation – Jacob 4:13-18
“The Only Sure Foundation” – Jacob 4:15-18
In the 118th psalm, there is an interesting passage which highlights the disconnect between popular opinion and intrinsic value: The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:22-23) During the Savior’s mortal ministry, He referenced this passage…
Looking Beyond the Mark – Jacob 4:14-16
14 But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them,…
Because of My Over Anxiety for You – Jacob 4:18
18 Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you. (Jacob 4:18) In the prior chapter, Jacob taught us the importance of “firmness of mind.” In this chapter, he…
Old Testament Foundations
The Cornerstone
Jesus Christ is our cornerstone, our sure foundation. If we center our lives on Him, we will be well-supported. But even if we reject Him, all is not lost. He is patient and merciful and ready to be our foundation as soon as we are ready to accept Him.
Firstfruits
God commanded ancient Israel to bring their first crops each year to His house. Why were those crops considered holy? Because they represented the Savior, “the firstfruits of them that slept.” Jesus overcame death so that all of us can rise from the dead.
What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Abraham?
Near the beginning of the Book of Mormon, Lehi’s sons risk their lives in order to obtain a set of brass plates which contains, among other things, the five books of Moses. A central character in those books is the prophet Abraham. Even though he had lived nearly 2,000 years earlier, his influence is felt…
New Testament Parallels
Vain Jangling – Part 1
Paul warned Timothy and Titus against engaging in time-wasting conversations on low-priority topics. He urged them instead to focus on “sound doctrine.” We ought to focus on the most important truths and avoid taking the easy path.
“Search the Prophets”
The Book of Mormon prophet Jacob declared that all prophets have testified of Jesus Christ. Peter taught the same after the ascension of Jesus Christ. Studying the words of prophets helps us develop faith in Jesus Christ.
What Is Truth?
When the Savior stood before Pontius Pilate, accused of treason, He explained to the Roman governor that His kingdom was not about worldly power: To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth…
Of Gnats and Camels
4 reasons we often “strain at gnats:” 1. We can only focus on one task at a time. 2. Our brains are programmed to look for threats. 3. Simple problems give us a feeling of achievement. 4. Distant or vague problems demand too little of us.
Blind
After healing a man who was born blind, Jesus taught the Pharisees about spiritual blindness. Unlike physical blindness, spiritual blindness is often willful, caused by trying to prove what we want to believe instead of accepting evidence at face value.
What Does It Mean to Minister?
In the Book of Mormon, the word “minister” is often a synonym for “teach.” It also refers to other forms of service. A person who ministers is eager to serve “in an active practical way.”
Church History Connections
Receive Counsel
In Zenos’s Allegory of the Olive Tree, there is a scene in which one of the servants questions a decision made by the Lord of the Vineyard. “How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree?” he asks. “For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of…
Truth
Our relationship with the truth is a fundamental part of our moral character. The prophet Jacob defined “truth” as “things as they really are, and…things as they really will be”(Jacob 4:13). (See also Doctrine and Covenants 93:24.) The Lord revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith that “All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed…
Record-keeping
The first sentence in the Book of Mormon is about the importance of keeping records. Nephi tells us that, because the Lord had blessed him with “goodly parents,” who taught him, and because he had been “highly favored of the Lord” in spite of enduring many afflictions, “therefore I make a record of my proceedings…
The Counsels of God
Jacob said, “Seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from His hand.” When Joseph Smith asked a question three times, he probably didn’t think he was rejecting revelation, but he was. We need to pray with the intent to learn, not to persuade.
All Posts Referencing Jacob 4
- The Akedah: a Similitude (3/1/2026)
- “Is Any Thing Too Hard for the Lord?” (2/23/2026)
- Four Foundational Strategies (1/4/2026)
- Receiving the Word of God by the Spirit of Truth (5/21/2025)
- “Sweet Evidence” (4/3/2025)
- Devoted to Study (3/21/2025)
- “Pretend to No Other Gift” (1/29/2025)
- The Counsels of God (1/28/2025)
- Hearken and Search (1/9/2025)
- Searching (10/16/2024)
- “The Workings of the Spirit of the Lord” (4/21/2024)
- Becoming Unshakeable (4/13/2024)
- Obtaining Hope (4/7/2024)
- Trusting the Answers We Receive from God (4/6/2024)
- Beyond the Mark (4/5/2024)
- Mercy (3/26/2024)
- Testimony of Jesus = Spirit of Prophecy (12/30/2023)
- Unshaken (11/12/2023)
- Good Things to Come (11/10/2023)
- Vain Jangling – Part 1 (10/27/2023)
- Firstfruits (9/8/2023)
- Atonement and Reconciliation (8/13/2023)
- Truth and Soberness (8/4/2023)
- “Search the Prophets” (7/8/2023)
- What Is Truth? What Is True? (6/16/2023)
- The Cornerstone (5/19/2023)
- Of Gnats and Camels (5/17/2023)
- Blind (4/30/2023)
- “The Grass Withereth, the Flower Fadeth” (9/21/2022)
- “I Uttered That I Understood Not” (8/2/2022)
- Joshua and the Book of Mormon (5/26/2022)
- Glory (12/28/2021)
- The Living Christ and the Book of Mormon (12/26/2021)
- Receive Counsel (10/27/2021)
- “What Is Truth?” (8/27/2021)
- Record-keeping (3/7/2021)
- Truth (1/8/2021)
- “Go Ye Forth of Babylon” – 1 Nephi 20:20 (12/31/2020)
- Book of Mormon References in Moroni 6 (12/5/2020)
- Just and Merciful (7/31/2020)
- Justice and Mercy (4/4/2020)
- “The Only Sure Foundation” – Jacob 4:15-18 (3/15/2020)
- “A Hundredth Part” – Jacob 3:13 (3/13/2020)
- “We Also Had Many Revelations” – Jacob 1:6 (3/11/2020)
- What Are the Mysteries of God? (1/19/2020)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Reveal? (1/1/2020)
- What Is Truth? (12/11/2019)
- What Should I Be Thankful For? (11/28/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Diligence? (9/22/2019)
- How Can I Be More Hopeful? (8/25/2019)
- Why Did the Nephites Keep the Law of Moses? (8/11/2019)
- What Does It Mean to Minister? (8/3/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Abraham? (7/20/2019)
- Why Is Family History Important? (7/17/2019)
- How Should I Deal with Anxiety? (7/10/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Obedience? (6/30/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Fear? (5/8/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About the Resurrection? (4/21/2019)
- What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Grace? (1/28/2019)
- What Does It Mean to Search the Scriptures? (1/5/2019)
- Looking Beyond the Mark – Jacob 4:14-16 (9/1/2017)
- Seek Not to Counsel the Lord – Jacob 4:10 (8/31/2017)
- With Thankful Hearts – Jacob 4:3 (5/2/2016)
- Our Faith Becometh Unshaken – Jacob 4:6 (3/2/2016)
- Because of My Over Anxiety for You – Jacob 4:18 (4/1/2015)