Culture: Although Jacob is addressing himself exclusively to men, their “wives and children” are in the audience. Jacob notes that they have come to the temple “to hear the pleasing word of God,” implying that his listeners have often come to the temple before for religious services, including sermons, almost certainly by him, at predictable intervals like festival days. This scenario also seems likely since informing the Nephites who lived and worked in the fields surrounding the city about the sermon would have posed logistical difficulties unless they were coming according to a schedule they also knew.
At this point, the Book of Mormon has described relatively few formal sermons except for Jacob’s sermon given at Nephi’s behest which notes that it was given over two days (2 Ne. 6–10). I have speculated that the division between 2 Nephi 31 and 32 may also represent two parts of a sermon given on different days. The very fact of a population gathered to the village center on two consecutive days suggests a festival, and indeed John S. Thompson analyzes Jacob’s speech as a festival sermon.
Text: Jacob has been in charge of the small plates for over thirty years, yet this sermon is the only one he records. If I am correct in hypothesizing that the people expected a major sermon periodically (such as during festivals), then there must have been others. So why did Nephi and Jacob select only these sermons to record?
One reason may be that these recorded sermons are very important discourses with purposes above and beyond normal didactic and social functions. In the case of Jacob’s earlier sermon (2 Ne. 6–10), the doctrines are unquestionably important for modern readers but their obvious purpose was to help a community struggling to integrate different ethnic groups—hence, the emphasis on the salvation by the Gentiles, a descriptive title that would fit the “others” that had joined with the Nephites. (See commentary on 2 Nephi 6–10.) Nephi’s sermon introduced the baptismal covenant to a people who had not yet received it (2 Ne. 31). In this sermon by Jacob, the important element is spelling out how they have departed from the “pleasing word of God” that they are accustomed to hearing.
Given the ongoing emphasis on developing a society, it seems likely that most of the sermons would have fostered group cohesion. This sermon identifies and condemns divisions in the group. Thus, while supporting the group as a whole, it attacks its most powerful members—the wealthy men. This tactic is a dangerous one in a small society, especially bold since it is so different from previous sermons. And obviously, Yahweh had required this step. These reasons warranted the sermon’s inclusion on the small plates.