THE BOOK OF JACOB

The words of his preaching to his brethren. He stops a man who tries to overthrow the doctrine of Christ. A few words concerning the history of the people of Nephi.

CHAPTER 1

Jacob and Joseph seek to persuade men to believe in Christ and keep His commandments—Nephi dies—Wickedness prevails among the Nephites. About 544–421 B.C.

1 Fifty-five years had passed from the time Lehi left Jerusalem, and Nephi gave me, Jacob, a commandment about the small plates, where I am engraving now.

2 He commanded me to write on these plates a few things that I considered to be most precious, and that I should not write, except little, about the history of this people of Nephi.

3 He said that the history of his people should be engraved on his other plates, and that I should preserve these plates and hand them down to my seed from generation to generation.

4 And if there were preaching that was sacred, or revelation that was great, or prophesying, that I should engrave the more important of them on these plates, and write them as much as possible for Christ’s purpose, and for the good of our people.

5 Because of faith and great concern, we have been shown what things would happen to our people.

6 We also had many revelations and the spirit of much prophecy, so we knew of Christ and his kingdom, which would come.

7 So we labored diligently among our people to persuade them to come to Christ and take part in the goodness of God, so they might enter into his rest, for fear that he might swear in his anger that they can’t enter in, like in the days where the children of Israel were in the wilderness and provoked his anger.

8 We wish to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against him, provoking him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and take up his cross, and bear the shaming of the world. So I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil the commandment of my brother Nephi.

9 Nephi began to be old and saw that he would die soon, so he anointed a man to be a king and a ruler over his people, according to the reigns of the kings.

10 The people had loved Nephi exceedingly for being a great protector for them, and for wielding the sword of Laban in their defense, and for laboring all his life for their benefit.

11 The people wanted to keep and remember his name, so whoever reigned after him was called second Nephi, third Nephi, and so on, according to the reigns of the kings, regardless of what their given name had been.

12 Nephi died.

13 The people who were not Lamanites were Nephites, but they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites.

14 From now on, I, Jacob, will not distinguish them by these many names, but I will use the name Lamanites for those who try to destroy the people of Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I will call Nephites.

15 Under the reign of the second king, the people of Nephi began to grow hard in their hearts and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, desiring many wives and concubines like David of old and Solomon, his son.

16 They began to find much gold and silver, and began to be lifted up somewhat in pride.

17 So I, Jacob, spoke these words from the Lord as I taught them in the temple.

18 Nephi ordained my brother Joseph and I to be priests and teachers of this people.

19 We glorified our office to the Lord, taking responsibility to teach the people the word of God with all diligence, answering their sins upon our own heads if we did not. We labored with our strength so their blood would not be on our garments, so we could be found spotless at the last day.

CHAPTER 2

Jacob denounces the love of riches, pride, and unchastity—Men may seek riches to help their fellowmen—The Lord commands that no man among the Nephites may have more than one wife—The Lord delights in the chastity of women. About 544–421 B.C.

1 After Nephi died, Jacob spoke to the people of Nephi:

2 My beloved brethren, I am under responsibility to God to solemnly fulfill my office, and in order to rid my garments of your sins, I come to the temple this day to declare the word of God to you.

3 You know I have already been diligent in my calling, but today I am weighed down with much desire and concern for the well-being of your souls than I have been before.

4 So far you have been obedient to the word of the Lord, which I have given you.

5 Listen to me and know that by the help of the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell you about your thoughts, that you are beginning to struggle with sin that is very abominable to me and to God.

6 It grieves my soul and makes me shrink with shame before my Maker that I must testify to you about the wickedness of your hearts.

7 And it grieves me that I must use such boldness of speech about you in front of your wives and children, many of whose feelings are very tender, chaste, and delicate before God, which is pleasing to God.

8 I suppose they have come to hear the pleasing word of God, which heals the wounded soul.

9 So it burdens my soul that I am compelled by strict commandment from God to warn you about your crimes, and to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds. And those who have not been wounded have daggers to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds, instead of feasting on the pleasing word of God.

10 But despite the greatness of the task, I must do as God commands and tell you about your wickedness and abominations in the presence of the pure in heart, and the broken heart, and under the watch of the piercing eye of the Almighty God.

11 So I must tell you the truth according to the plainness of the word of God. I asked God, and he said to me, Jacob, go to the temple tomorrow and declare the word I will give you to this people.

12 And this is the word I declare to you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, silver, and all manner of precious metals, which are plentiful in this land of promise to you and your seed.

13 God has smiled on you abundantly, so you have obtained many riches, and because some of you have obtained more than others, you are lifted up in pride, and you think highly of yourselves because of the expense of your clothing, and persecute your brethren because you think you are better than they.

14 Do you think God justifies you in this? No, he condemns you, and if you persist his judgments will come upon you speedily.

15 O that he would show you that he can pierce you, that with one glance of his eye he can strike you to the dust!

16 O that he would eliminate this iniquity and abomination from you, and that you would listen to his commands and not let this pride destroy your souls!

17 Think of your brethren like yourselves, and be friendly to all and free with your wealth, so they may be rich like you.

18 But before you look for riches, look for the kingdom of God.

19 After you have found a hope in Christ you will find riches if you want them, and you will get them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and afflicted.

20 I have spoken about pride, and what do you say about it, you who have afflicted your neighbor and persecuted him because you were proud of the things God has given you?

21 Do you not suppose that this is abominable to him who created all flesh? To him one person is as precious as the other. And all flesh is from the dust, and he has created them for the same purpose, that they should keep his commandments and glorify him forever.

22 I finish speaking to you about pride. And I would rejoice if I didn’t have to speak to you about a greater crime.

23 But the word of God burdens me because of your greater crimes. He says, This people begin to grow in iniquity. They do not understand the scriptures, because they try to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms because of the things that were written about David and Solomon his son.

24 The Lord says, David and Solomon did have many wives and concubines, which was abominable to me.

25 So I have led this people out of the land of Jerusalem by my power, so I could raise up to me a righteous branch from the seed of Joseph.

26 So I the Lord God will not allow this people to do like those of old.

27 So hear me, my brethren, and listen to the word of the Lord: No man among you will have more than one wife, and he will have no concubines because I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me.

29 The Lord of Hosts says, This people will keep my commandments, or the land will be cursed to remind them.

30 The Lord says, If I want only to raise up much seed to me, I will command my people to have multiple wives, but that is not my will, so they will listen to what I’m saying.

31 I have seen the sorrow and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in Jerusalem and in all the lands of my people because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.

32 I will not allow the cries of the lovely daughters of this people, whom I have led out of Jerusalem, to come up to me against the men of my people.

33 They will not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, or I will visit them with a sore curse, even to destruction because they will not commit whoredoms, like those of old.

34 You know that these commandments were given to our father, Lehi, so your condemnation is great for doing what you knew not to do.

35 You have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites. You have broken the hearts of your tender wives and lost the confidence of your children because of your bad examples to them, and the sobbing of their hearts ascends to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God that comes down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.

CHAPTER 3

The pure in heart receive the pleasing word of God—Lamanite righteousness exceeds that of the Nephites—Jacob warns against fornication, lustfulness, and every sin. About 544–421 B.C.

1 I, Jacob, speak to you who are pure in heart. Look to God with firmness of mind, and pray to him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause and send down justice upon those who try to destroy you.

2 All you who are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast on his love, because you may do that if your minds are firm forever.

3 But misery, misery to you who are not pure in heart, who are filthy before God, because unless you repent the land is cursed for your purposes. And the Lamanites, who are not filthy like you but still sorely cursed, will afflict you to destruction.

4 The time soon comes when they will take over the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will lead away the righteous out from among you, unless you repent.

5 You hate the Lamanites, your brethren, because of their filthiness and the cursing that has come upon their skins, but they are more righteous than you because they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord that was given to our father, that they should have only one wife and no concubines, and there should be no whoredoms committed among them.

6 Because they keep this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them but will be merciful to them, and one day they will become a blessed people.

7 Their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and wives love their children, and their unbelief and hatred toward you is because of the iniquity of their fathers. So how much better are you than they in the sight of your great Creator?

8 My brethren, I fear that unless you repent of your sins, their skins will be whiter than yours when you are brought with them before the throne of God.

9 I give you a commandment, the word of God, that you stop speaking against them because of the darkness of their skins, nor because of their filthiness, but remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness is because of their fathers.

10 Remember your children, how you have grieved their hearts because of the example you have set for them, and also remember that because of your filthiness you may bring your children to destruction, and their sins may be heaped upon your heads at the last day.

11 Listen to me, wake up the powers of your souls, shake yourselves awake from the sleep of death, and release yourselves from the pains of hell so you will not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone that is the second death.

12 I, Jacob, said many more things to the people of Nephi, warning them against unmarried sex and lust and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them.

13 Not a hundredth part of the acts of this numerous people can be written on these plates, but many of their actions are written on the larger plates, with their wars, contentions, and the reigns of their kings.

14 These are the plates of Jacob, which were made by the hand of Nephi.

CHAPTER 4

All the prophets worshiped the Father in the name of Christ—Abraham’s offering of Isaac was in similitude of God and His Only Begotten—Men should reconcile themselves to God through the Atonement—The Jews will reject the foundation stone. About 544–421 B.C.

1 I, Jacob, have ministered much to my people in word, but I can write only a few of my words because of the difficulty of engraving them on plates, which we do because they will last, whereas anything written otherwise will perish.

2 These words will give our children and our beloved brethren a small degree of knowledge about us, their fathers.

3 We rejoice that we can do this, and we labor diligently to engrave these words, hoping that our beloved brethren and children will receive them with thankful hearts, and read them so they can learn with joy and not with sorrow or contempt for their first parents.

4 We have written so they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming, as did all the holy prophets before us.

5 They believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, as do we. And we keep the law of Moses because it points our souls to him, so our efforts are made holy to us, just like it was made holy to Abraham in the wilderness when he was obedient to the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a likeness of God and his Only Begotten Son.

6 We search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy. With all these witnesses we have a hope, and our faith becomes unshaken, so we truly can command in the name of Jesus and even the trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

7 But the Lord God shows us our weakness so we may know that it is by his grace and his great and humble mercies to men that we have power to do these things.

8 Great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. The depths of his mysteries are unsearchable, and it is impossible that man could find out all his ways. And no man knows of his ways unless it is revealed to him, so do not despise the revelations of God.

9 By the power of his word man came on the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. So if God can speak and the world was, and can speak and man was created, then why would he not be able to command the earth, or his creations on the earth, according to his will and pleasure?

10 So don’t look to advise the Lord but to take direction from him because you know that he directs in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his creations.

11 Be restored to him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, so you may obtain a resurrection by the power of the resurrection that is in Christ, and be presented as the best fruits of Christ to God, having faith, and obtain a good hope of glory in him before he shows himself in the flesh.

12 Don’t be amazed that I tell you these things, because why not speak of the atonement of Christ and gain a perfect knowledge of him just like we would speak of gaining the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?

13 He who prophesies, let him prophesy so men can understand, because the Spirit speaks the truth and does not lie. So he speaks of things as they really are, and as they really will be; so these things are shown to us plainly for the salvation of our souls. But we are not witnesses alone in these things because God also spoke them to prophets of old.

14 But the Jews were stubbornly proud, and they hated the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and looked for things they could not understand. Because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking outside the marked path, they will fall, because God will take his plainness from them, and give them many things they cannot understand because they wanted it. And because they wanted it, God gave it, so they would stumble.

15 Now I am led by the Spirit to prophesy. I perceive by the Spirit within me that because of the stumbling of the Jews they will reject the stone on which they could build and have safe foundation.

16 But according to the scriptures, this stone will become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation on which the Jews can build.

17 My beloved, how is it possible that these, after rejecting the sure foundation, can ever build on it so it may become their cornerstone?

18 I will unravel this mystery to you so that I don’t get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit and stumble because of my overconcern for you.

CHAPTER 5

Forgive my personal interjection here, but the metaphors in Isaiah and throughout the Book of Mormon can be difficult enough. Jacob 5 is an allegory, which is an extended metaphor. Jacob quotes Zenos, a prophet not found in the scriptures anywhere else. About 544–421 B.C.

First, this allegory uses the symbol of olive trees. I have no interest in being horticulturally precise. It is enough to say that if a piece of olive tree is correctly planted in the ground, it will grow into a tender plant, but if is untended it will become a wild tangle of stems and branches whose fruit is useless. In order to make an olive tree useful it must be carefully pruned, weeded, and extensively grafted with pieces of other olive trees.

A summary of Jacob 5, which will help tie things together as you read the entire chapter:

The Lord God (master of the vineyard) loves his people.

Because he loves them beyond measure, he is willing to do whatever it takes to help them grow and become glorious. In the process, he knows he has to allow pieces of the tree (his children) to be scattered, to be planted, to grow, to be gathered in again, to dry up, to be burned, to be grafted to other trees, and to have other trees grafted to them.

All the cutting, scattering, and grafting could seem utterly puzzling, even cruel, but there is a divine, intricate purpose in all of it, which is to create trees with the most abundant and glorious fruit possible.

He loves us, and he is helping us by extending to us his power and grace all the time, even when we don’t understand and resist him. If we cooperate with him, the results are greatly improved.

It can also be helpful if you know what some of the various symbols mean:

The vineyard = the world

Master of the vineyard = Jesus Christ

The servant = the Lord’s prophets, or—just as likely—a mythical character Christ uses to expresses his thoughts to, since we have only very rare examples in scripture that Christ ever discusses his decisions about his children beforehand with any man.

Tame olive tree = covenant house of Israel

Wild tree = Gentiles, non-Israel, and later apostate Israel

Branches = various groups of people

Fruit of the tree = works of men

Roots of tame tree = the covenant with God that gives life to the tree

Digging, pruning, fertilizing = God’s work with men, to help them be obedient and fruitful

Transplanting branches = moving groups of people throughout the world

Grafting = joining a branch (group) to the tree’s trunk, branches, or root

Decaying branches = wickedness

Cast branch into fire = Judgment of God

1 My brethren, do you remember reading the words of the prophet Zenos, where he spoke to the house of Israel, saying,

2 Listen, O house of Israel, and hear my words, the words of a prophet of the Lord.

3 The Lord says, I will compare you, house of Israel, to a tame olive tree, which a man took and nourished in his vineyard, where it grew, became old, and began to decay.

4 The master of the vineyard saw this decay and said, I will prune it, dig around it, and nourish it, so perhaps it may produce young and tender branches so it won’t die.

5 He pruned it, dug around it, and nourished it as he had said.

6 After many days it began to produce some young and tender branches, but the main top began to die.

7 The master of the vineyard saw it and said to his servant, It grieves me to lose this tree, so take branches from a wild olive tree and bring them to me, and we will break off the branches here that are drying up, and we will throw them in the fire to be burned.

8 The Lord of the vineyard says, I take away many of these young and tender branches from the tame tree, and I will graft them wherever I decide, and it doesn’t matter if the root of this tree dies, because I can keep the fruit of it for myself by grafting these young and tender branches wherever I decide.

9 Take the branches of the wild olive tree, and graft them into the tame tree, and I will burn the branches I have cut off, so they won’t clutter the ground of my vineyard.

10 The servant obeyed his master and grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree.

11 The Lord of the vineyard directed the digging, pruning, and nourishing, saying to his servant, It grieves me to lose this tree, so I have done all this that perhaps I can keep the roots from dying, so I can keep them for myself.

12 Watch the tree and nourish it, as I have said.

13 These young and tender branches of the tame tree I will put in the most distant part of my vineyard, where I choose—it doesn’t matter to you—so I can save the natural branches of the tree, and so I can harvest and store up the fruit to myself for the winter season, because it grieves me that I might lose this tree and its fruit.

14 The Lord of the vineyard went away and hid the natural branches of the tame olive tree in the farthest parts of the vineyard, some in one place and some in another, wherever he chose.

15 After a long time, the Lord of the vineyard said to his servant, Come, let’s work in the vineyard.

16 The Lord of the vineyard and the servant went to the vineyard to labor. And the servant said, Look here at the tree.

17 And the Lord saw the tree where the wild olive branches had been grafted in, and it had sprouted and begun to bear fruit. He saw that it was good, with fruit like the natural fruit.

18 He said to the servant, The branches of the wild tree have taken the water springing from the root, so the root has become much stronger. And because of this strength, the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit. If we had not grafted in these branches, the tree would have died. Now I will harvest and store up much fruit to myself for the winter season.

19 The Lord said to the servant, Let’s go to the farthest part of the vineyard and see if the natural branches of the tree have produced much fruit also, so I may take its fruit for myself.

20 They went where the master had hid the natural branches of the tree, and the first had produced much fruit, which was good. He said to the servant, Take this fruit and store it for the future, so I can keep it for myself because I have nourished it for a long time, and it has produced much fruit.

21 The servant said to his master, Look, this was the poorest spot in all your vineyard, so why did you plant this tree or this branch here?

22 The Lord said, Don’t advise me. I knew it was a poor spot, which is why I told you, I have nourished it a long time, and you see that it has produced much fruit.

23 The Lord of the vineyard said to his servant, Look here and see that I have planted another branch of the tree, and you know that this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But look at the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it has produced much fruit, so gather it and store up the fruit to myself for the winter season.

24 Again the Lord of the vineyard said to his servant: Look here and see another branch I have planted. See that I have nourished it also, and it has produced fruit.

25 He said, Look here and see the last branch. I planted this one in a good spot of ground, and nourished it a long time, but only a part of the tree has produced tame fruit, and the other part has produced wild fruit; and I have nourished this tree like the others.

26 The Lord said to the servant, Pull off the branches that failed to produce good fruit, and throw them in the fire.

27 But the servant said, Let us prune it, and dig around it, and nourish it a little longer, so perhaps it will produce good fruit to you, so you can store it up.

28 The Lord and the servant nourished all the fruit of the vineyard.

29 After a long time, the Lord of the vineyard said to his servant, Let’s go to the vineyard, so we can labor there again because soon the end comes; so I must store fruit for myself.

30 The Lord and the servant went to the vineyard, and they came to the first tree whose natural branches had been broken off, and the wild branches had been grafted in, and all sorts of fruit burdened the tree.

31 The Lord of the vineyard tasted all the kinds of fruit, and he said, We nourished this tree a long time, and I have stored up much fruit for myself.

32 But this time, even though it has produced much fruit, none of it is good. There are all kinds of bad fruit, which brings me nothing, despite all our labor; and now it grieves me to lose this tree.

33 The Lord of the vineyard said to the servant: What will we do to the tree, so again I can keep good fruit?

34 The servant said, Because you grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree, they have nourished the roots, so they are alive, and you see that they are still good.

35 But the Lord said, As long as it produces bad fruit, the tree is useless to me, and the roots.

36 But I know that the roots are good, and for my own purpose I have kept them; and because of their great strength they have produced good fruit before from the wild branches.

37 But the wild branches have grown and overrun the roots, so the tree has produced so much bad fruit that it begins to die; and soon it will be ready to throw in the fire, unless we do something to save it.

38 The Lord said, Let us go to the farthest parts of the vineyard, and see if the natural branches have also produced bad fruit.

39 So they went and found that the fruit of the natural branches had become corrupt also: the first, the second, and the last, all corrupt.

40 And the wild fruit of the last had overcome the part of the tree which had produced good fruit before, so that the productive branch had withered and died.

41 The Lord of the vineyard wept and said to the servant: What more could I have done for my vineyard?

42 I knew that all the fruit of the vineyard had become corrupted, except these. And now these, which once produced good fruit, have also become corrupted. Now all the trees of my vineyard are good for nothing except to be cut down and thrown in the fire.

43 I planted this last tree, whose branch hath withered, in a good spot of ground, even choice to me above all other parts of my vineyard.

44 You see that I cut down the tree that previously crowded this spot of ground, so I might plant this tree instead.

45 And you see that a part of it produced good fruit, and a part produced wild fruit, and because I didn’t pull off the bad branches and throw them in the fire, they have overcome the good branch so it withered away.

46 Despite all the care we have given to my vineyard, the trees have become corrupted, so they produce no good fruit, and I had hoped to keep these and store up their fruit. But they have become like the wild olive tree, of no worth but to be cut down and thrown in the fire; and it grieves me to lose them.

47 But what more could I have done in my vineyard? Have I been weak and not nourished it? No, I have nourished it, and dug around it, and pruned it, and fertilized it; and I have given my power almost all the day long, but the end is near. It grieves me that I would cut down all the trees of my vineyard and throw them in the fire. Who has corrupted my vineyard?

48 The servant said, Perhaps it’s the height of the vineyard, so the branches overcome the roots, which are good. And because the branches overcame the roots, they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength for themselves. Is this not the cause of corruption?

49 The Lord said to the servant: Let us cut down the trees of the vineyard and throw them in the fire, so they won’t crowd the ground of my vineyard, because what more could I have done?

50 But the servant said to the Lord: Spare it a little longer.

51 The Lord said, I will spare it a little longer, for it grieves me to lose the trees of my vineyard.

52 So let us take natural branches of these I have planted in the farthest parts of my vineyard, and graft them into the first tree they came from. And let us pull from the first tree the branches whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in their place the scattered natural branches we gather.

53 I will do this so the tree will not perish, so perhaps I may save the roots for my own purpose.

54 And the roots of the natural branches of the tree I planted far away are still alive, so I can save them also for my own purpose. How? I will graft to the roots of these far away trees the branches of their mother tree. Then when the roots are sufficiently strong, perhaps the trees will produce good fruit, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard.

55 From the original natural tree they took branches that had become wild, and grafted them to the natural trees far away, which also had become wild.

56 And they took branches from the wild natural trees far away, and grafted into their mother tree.

57 The Lord said to the servant: Don’t pull the wild branches from the trees, except for the most bitter; and into them you will graft as I have said.

58 And again we will nourish the trees of the vineyard, and trim up the branches; and we will pluck from the trees the branches most withered, that will perish, and cast them into the fire.

59 I do this so that perhaps their roots may become stronger because of their goodness; and because of the change to the branches, the good might overcome the evil.

60 Because I have saved the natural branches and their roots, and have grafted the natural branches again into their mother tree, and have saved the roots of their mother tree, perhaps the trees of my vineyard may produce good fruit again, and I may have joy in the fruit of my vineyard and rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the roots and the branches of the first tree.

61 So call servants to labor diligently with us in the vineyard, so we may prepare the way again for the natural fruit, which is good and most precious above all other fruit.

62 Let us labor with our might this last time, because the end is close, and this is the last time I will prune my vineyard.

63 Graft in the branches. Begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last; and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time.

64 Dig around them, prune them, fertilize them once more. And if these last grafts grow and produce the natural fruit, then you will prepare the way for them, so they may grow.

65 As they begin to grow you will clear away the branches with bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and their size. Don’t clear away the bad all at once, so that the roots won’t be too strong for the graft, and the graft would perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard.

66 It grieves me that I would lose the trees of my vineyard, so you will clear away the bad as the good can grow, so the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good will overcome the bad, and the bad will be cut down and thrown in the fire, so it doesn’t clutter the ground of my vineyard; and thus I will sweep away the bad from my vineyard.

67 I will graft the branches of the scattered natural trees into the natural mother tree;

68 And I will graft the branches of the natural mother tree into the natural branches of the scattered trees; and thus I will bring them together again, so they will produce the natural fruit and be united.

69 And the bad will be thrown out of my vineyard, because only this last time will I prune my vineyard.

70 The servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him, and brought other servants, and they were few.

71 The Lord said to them, Labor in the vineyard with your might. This is the last time I will nourish my vineyard, because the end is near, and the winter season comes quickly. If you labor with me with your might you will have joy in the fruit I will store up to myself for the winter season which comes soon.

72 The servants went and labored mightily with the Lord of the vineyard, and they obeyed the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.

73 The natural fruit appeared again in the vineyard, and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off and cast away; and they kept the root and the top equal, according to their strengths.

74 And thus they labored with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, until the bad had been cast out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved the natural condition of the trees, with natural fruit. And they became united like one body, and the fruits were equal, and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved for himself the natural fruit that was most precious to him from the beginning.

75 And when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no longer corrupt, he called his servants, and said, This last time we have nourished my vineyard, and you see that I have done my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, which is good, even like it was in the beginning. Because you have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought to me again the natural fruit, so that my vineyard is no more corrupted and the bad is cast away, you are blessed and will have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.

76 For a long time I will store up of the fruit of my vineyard to myself for the winter season, which speedily comes. And for the last time I have nourished my vineyard, pruned it, dug around it, and fertilized it; so I will store up to myself the fruit for a long time, as I have spoken.

77 When the time comes that evil fruit will come into my vineyard again, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and I will preserve the good for myself, and I will cast the bad away to its own place. Then comes the winter season and the end; and I will burn my vineyard with fire.

CHAPTER 6

The Lord will recover Israel in the last days—The world will be burned with fire—Men must follow Christ to avoid the lake of fire and brimstone. About 544–421 B.C.

1 My brethren, I said to you that I would prophesy, so this is my prophecy: that the things spoken by Zenos about the house of Israel—comparing them to a tame olive tree—will surely happen.

2 The day comes when he will recover his people the second time, and that is the last time the servants of the Lord will go forth in his power to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end comes soon.

3 How blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard, and how cursed are they who will be cast out to their own place! And the world will be burned with fire.

4 And how merciful our God is to us because he remembers the house of Israel, both roots and branches, and he stretches his hands out to them all the day long; and they are a stubbornly proud and defiant people; but whoever will not harden their hearts will be saved in the kingdom of God.

5 My beloved brethren, I beg you with solemn words to repent, come with full purpose of heart, and hold to God as he holds to you. And while his arm of mercy is extended toward you in the light of the day, don’t harden your hearts.

6 If you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, because why would you want to die?

7 After you have been nourished by the good word of God all day long, will you produce evil fruit so you must be cut down and thrown in the fire?

8 Will you reject these words? Will you reject the words of the prophets and reject all the words that have been spoken about Christ after so many have spoken about him, and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and silence the Holy Spirit, and mock the great plan of redemption, which has been established for you?

9 Do you not know that if you do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?

10 According to the power of undeniable justice, you must go away to that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment. The flames of this fire can’t be extinguished, and the smoke ascends forever and ever.

11 So, my beloved brethren, repent and enter in at the exact gate, and continue in the narrow way, until you obtain eternal life.

12 Be wise. What more can I say?

13 Finally, I say farewell until I will meet you before the pleasing bar of God, the bar that strikes the wicked with awful dread and fear. Amen.

CHAPTER 7

Sherem denies Christ, contends with Jacob, demands a sin, and is struck by God—All of the prophets have spoken of Christ and His Atonement—The Nephites lived out their days as wanderers, born in tribulation, and hated by the Lamanites. About 544–421 B.C.

1 After some years, a man named Sherem came among the people of Nephi.

2 He began to preach among the people that there would be no Christ. He preached many things that were flattering to the people, so he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.

3 He labored diligently to lead away the hearts of the people, and he succeeded with many. He knew that I, Jacob, had faith in Christ who would come, so he looked persistently for opportunity to come to me.

4 He was educated, with a perfect knowledge of the language of the people, so he could use much flattery and power of speech according to the power of the devil.

5 He hoped to shake me from the faith, despite the many revelations and many things I had seen, and because I had seen angels who had ministered to me. I had also heard the voice of the Lord speaking to me from time to time, so I could not be shaken.

6 He came to me, saying, Brother Jacob, I have looked forward to speaking to you, because I know that you go around much, preaching what you call the gospel or doctrine of Christ.

7 You have led away many of these people so they pervert the right way of God. They don’t keep the law of Moses, which is the right way, and you convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being you say will come many hundred years from now. I, Sherem, declare to you that this is blasphemy, because no man knows such things, because he cannot tell of things to come.

8 The Lord God poured his Spirit into my soul, so that I frustrated him in all his words.

9 I said to him, Do you deny the Christ who will come? He said: If there would be a Christ, I would not deny him, but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be.

10 I said, Do you believe the scriptures? And he said, Yes.

11 I said, Then you do not understand them, because they truly testify of Christ. I say to you that none of the prophets have written nor prophesied, except they have spoken about this Christ.

12 Christ has been shown to me, because I have heard and seen by the power of the Holy Ghost. So I know if there would be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.

13 Sherem said to me, Show me a sign by this power of the Holy Ghost, by which you know so much.

14 And I said to him, Who am I to tempt God to show you a sign about the thing you know to be true? But you will deny it, because you are from the devil. But it’s not my choice here. If God will strike you, let that be your sign that he has power, both in heaven and earth, and your sign that Christ will come. Lord, your will be done, not mine.

15 When I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him, so he fell to the ground. And he was nourished for many days.

16 He said to the people, Gather together tomorrow, because I will die, and I want to speak to the people before I die.

17 The next day the multitude gathered together, and he spoke plainly to them and denied the things he had taught them, and confessed belief in Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost, and the ministering of angels.

18 He spoke plainly and said that he had been deceived by the power of the devil. And he spoke of hell, and eternity, and eternal punishment.

19 He said, I fear that I have committed the unpardonable sin, because I have lied to God. I denied the Christ but said that I believed the scriptures, which truly testify of him. Because I have lied to God I greatly fear that my case will be awful, but I confess to God.

20 When he had said these words he could say no more, and he died.

21 When the multitude had seen him speak these things as he was about to die, they were astonished exceedingly, so the power of God came down on them, and they were overcome and fell to the earth.

22 This was pleasing to me, Jacob, because I had requested it of my Father in heaven, and he heard and answered my prayer.

23 Peace and the love of God were restored among the people, and they searched the scriptures and listened no more to the words of this wicked man.

24 Many plans were made to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth, but it was all vain because they delighted in wars and bloodshed, and they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren. And they tried continually by the power of their weapons to destroy us.

25 The Nephites fortified against them with weapons and all their might, trusting in the God and rock of their salvation. So they became, for the moment, conquerors of their enemies.

26 I, Jacob, became old, so I conclude this record, knowing that the larger record of this people is found on the other plates of Nephi. I declare that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, and say that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like a dream, we being a lonesome and solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born in tribulation in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions. So we mourned out our days.

27 I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, so I said to my son Enos: Take these plates. And I told him what my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience to the commands. I finish my writing on these plates, which writing has been small. And to the reader I say farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words.