We Knew of Christ

Yesterday I wrote about how Nephi focused on his children and posterity and that helping them believe in and follow the Savior was a main motivation for what he wrote.  His brother Jacob similarly focused on the future and what would happen to his posterity.  For example, he cited this as a main reason that he quoted the words of Isaiah: “Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.”  He rejoiced in the promises of the Lord to be fulfilled concerning his seed: “And behold how great the covenants of the Lord, and how great his condescensions unto the children of men; and because of his greatness, and his grace and mercy, he has promised unto us that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would preserve them; and in future generations they shall become a righteous branch unto the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 9:3, 53).  He further explained what had been revealed to him about his posterity: “Wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer” (2 Nephi 10:2).  Like Nephi, Jacob was concerned about his posterity far into the future and was primarily focused on their acceptance of the Savior.  He took comfort in knowing that though his seed, with Nephi’s, would fall into unbelief, the gospel and knowledge of the Savior would be brought to them again in the latter days. 

                Jacob took seriously his responsibility given to him by Nephi to make a record of his people and he knew they would be passed down to his children for many generations.  He described how Nephi had instructed him: “That I should preserve these plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation” (Jacob 1:3).  Jacob explained how difficult it was to record their words upon the plates, but that they did it for their future posterity: “We can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers—Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.”  Jacob and many other prophets labored diligently to keep the records and write upon them the things of God that would bless their children and help them to come unto the Savior.  He further explained, “For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming” (Jacob 4:2-4).  Above all other things, he wanted his posterity for many generations to come to be able to look back upon him and know that he, Jacob, knew of Christ and had hope in His coming.  We too should seek to help our children and the generations that will follow to know, above all else, that we had hope in Christ and sought with all our hearts to follow Him.  Like Jacob we can leave this witness and invitation to them to receive His mercy in their lives: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts” (2 Nephi 6:5).