Jacob 2

(August 14, 2014)

                In this chapter, Jacob condemns three separate sins (greed, pride, and unchastity), but it appears more and more that there really is only one sin – pride.  I am understanding why pride is the universal sin.  Everything in this chapter is something good and worthwhile (money, intimacy), but because of the people’s pride, they sought out more than they should.

                It is fine to have desires for the good things of the world.  The problem, though, is that we want those things the way we want them, in the quantity we want them.  If we were willing to constrain ourselves to the bounds that the Lord has set, then the problems that faced the Nephites would not likewise plague us.  This is true not only about money and sex, but about everything (work, recreation, or pick anything else).

                The trick to this, I believe, is being willing to give everything to the Lord and be willing to accept back only such things as He chooses to give us.  In this way, the United Order was a great educational tool for teaching us about consecration.  If we are willing to give to the Lord all of our hopes and wishes concerning, say, intimacy and then accept back whatever He chooses to bless us with, then we can be happy.  If, on the other hand, we demand that things go our way and we get what we want, we will be unhappy by those unmet expectations.  And, of course, the distinction between happiness and unhappiness could have nothing to do with what we actually receive – we could get more of what we want and still be unhappy if we are not willing to consecrate things to the Lord.