Jacob Implores His People to Not Reject His Words

John W. Welch

In verse 8, Jacob implores his people to heed his words: "Do not reject the words of the prophets that have been spoken concerning Christ … after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption." The Father (God), the Son (Christ), and the Holy Ghost are all present in that statement.

"Quenching" means "pouring water on." This could be a plea that the people not extinguish the temple fire, which must always be kept burning (Leviticus 6:12–13). When Jacob declared, Do not "make a mock of the great plan of redemption," for God should not be mocked, he wanted to be sure that they appreciated and did not mock and ridicule the things that were going on in that all-important temple. Otherwise, they would have "shame and awful guilt" when they would stand "before the bar of God" (Jacob 6:9).

The purpose of the temple, of course, is to bring people into the presence of God, and we all hope that it will be a pleasant experience, that we have been purified to be able to stand before God and to be in his presence. But if we are not pure, we will stand with shame and awful guilt. It is significant that Jacob focuses his brief concluding remarks on temple elements. Just as Zenos’s allegory ends with God’s judgment harvest, Jacob ends with counsel and exhortation to remain faithful to the Lord, keep the commandments, and honor their temple laws, rituals, and covenants.

John W. Welch Notes

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