Understanding Jacob Chapter 2

For the following scriptural analysis of Jacob chapter 2 in the Book of Mormon, we will use the 1830 edition, which is not divided up into verses and helps the reader to clearly see the verses within the context of the chapter. Certain words and phrases are highlighted, bolded, or otherwise emphasized. The words circled in red show the chapter's theme, or consistent message. The yellow highlights show the sources men use to justify their whoredoms. The blue highlights show the Lord’s objective. The green highlights show God commanding.

Jacob Chapter 2

The words which Jacob, the brother of Nephi, spake unto the people of Nephi, after the death of Nephi: Now, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, according to the responsibility which I am under to God, to magnify mine office with soberness, and that I might rid my garments of your sins, I come up into the temple this day, that I might declare unto you the word of God; and ye yourselves know, that I have hitherto been diligent in the office of my calling; but I this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls, than I have hitherto been. For behold, as yet, ye have been obedient unto the word of the Lord, which I have given unto you. But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know that by the help of the All-powerful Creator of Heaven and Earth, I can tell you concerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God. Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I might testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts; and also, it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech, concerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceeding tender, and chaste, and delicate before God, which thing is pleasing unto God; and it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

Wherefore, I must tell you the truth, according to the plainness of the word of God. For behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying, Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and declare the word which I shall give thee, unto this people. 

And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have began to search for gold, and for silver, and all manner of precious ores, in the which this land, which is a land of promise unto you, and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully. And the hand of Providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because that some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren, ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks, and high heads, because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren, because that ye suppose that ye are better then they. 

And now my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in this thing? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But he condemneth you, and if ye persist in these things, his judgments must speedily come unto you. O that he would shew you that he can pierce you, and with one glance of his eye, he can smite you to the dust. O that he would rid you from this iniquity, and abomination. And, O that ye would listen unto the word of his commands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls. Think of your brethren, like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all, and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you. But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the Kingdom of God. And after that ye have obtained a hope in Christ, ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them, for the intent to do good; to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick, and the afflicted. 

And now my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride; and those of you which have afflicted your neighbor, and persecuted him, because that ye were proud in your hearts, of the things which God hath given you, what say ye of it? Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him, who created all flesh? And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other. And all flesh is of the dust; and for the self same end hath he created them, that they should keep his commandments, and glorify him forever. And now I make an end of speaking unto you concerning this pride. And were it not that I must speak unto you concerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice excedingly, because of you. But the word of God burthens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This People begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the Scriptures: for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his Son. Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord. Wherefore, thus saith the Lord: I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch, from the fruit of the loins of Joseph. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none: For I, the Lord God, delighteth in the chastity of women. And whoredoms is an abomination before me: thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes. For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people: otherwise, they shall hearken unto these things. For behold, 

I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people, in the land of Jerusalem; yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands. And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me, against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts; for they shall not lead away captive, the daughters of my people, because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction: for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto they of old, saith the Lord of Hosts. 

And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these these commandments were given to our father Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things, which ye ought not to have done. Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascendeth up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds. 

But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto 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 seek your destruction. 

O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever. But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart; that are filthy this day before God; for except ye shall repent, the land is cursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like unto you, (nevertheless, they are cursed with a sore cursing) shall scourge you even unto destruction. And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent, they shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will lead away the righteous out from among you. Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate, because of their filthiness and the cursings which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our fathers, that they should have, save it were one wife; and concubines they should have none; and there should not be  whoredoms committed among them. And now this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people. Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands, and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their unbelief and their hatred towards you, is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your Great Creator?

O my brethren, I fear, that unless ye shall repent of your sins, that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them, because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers. Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye have grieved their hearts, because of the example that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the last day. 

O my brethren, hearken unto my word; arouse the faculties of your soul; shake yourselves, that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell, that ye may not become Angels to the Devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, warning them against fornication, and lasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them; and a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, which now began to be numerous, cannot be written upon these plates; but many of their proceedings are written upon the larger plates, and their wars, and their contentions, and the reigns of their kings. These plates are called the plates of Jacob; and they were made by the hand of Nephi. And I make an end of speaking these words.

Notes and Resources:

1. Jacob begins this section by explaining his intentions and reasons for declaring the word of God unto them. He has received a “strict commandment” from God to “admonish” or rebuke his brothers because of their wickedness, specifically for their pride in setting themselves up to think they are better than their brothers (because of their riches), as well as for being guilty of the crime and whoredom of having more than one wife.

2. If you take a glance at the entire chapter. you can see clearly that Jacob stays focused on his burden of needing to identify their crimes, rebuking them, and reminding them of the commandments of God, with clarity.

3. Note that Jacob is rebuking the men and not the women or the children. He acknowledges several times that it grieves him to be bold and to testify of their wickedness in front of the women and children

4. In order to remove the possibility that his people might think that Jacob is sharing his own personal feelings, he reveals to them that the Lord spoke to him and gave him a commandment to declare that they are condemned because of their wickedness.

5. Pride is the first abomination that is identified. The word of the Lord is that the people suppose that they are better than others because of their abundance (riches and superior clothing). God condemns their pride, calling it “iniquity,” “wickedness,” a “crime,” and an “abomination.”

6. The word of the Lord is that men who set themselves up and believe they are better than others, who fail to take care of the naked, hungry, captive, and sick, are wicked men who need the Savior to “rid” them from their iniquity and abomination. The Savior Jesus Christ personally expounded on this doctrine in Matthew 25:31-46 when he taught that those who fail in this manner are separated from the righteous. He declared that whatever we do or do not do for one of the least of these (those in need), we have, or have not done it unto Him.

7. Jacob ends speaking of the abomination and wickedness of pride in order to rebuke them for an even “GROSSER CRIME.”

In order to help you follow repeated points that are made, pay close attention to the color of the highlights, or you risk taking phrases out of context.

The word of the Lord is that many men do not understand the scriptures. They have read that David and Solomon had many wives and concubines, and have therefore sought to use the scriptures as an excuse to commit the same whoredom. The Lord declares here that He brought Lehi and his family out of Jerusalem to raise up seed unto Himself, to be a righteous branch of the house of Israel. Because raising up a righteous people is His objective (see the blue highlights), He gives them commandments so that they will not commit whoredoms “like unto them of old.” His commandment is to only have one wife and no concubines, calling polygamy a “whoredom” and an “abomination.” He declares that they must keep His commandments in order to be His seed or a “righteous branch” that He is seeking to raise up unto Himself. And then He declares that if He doesn’t give commandments to His people (while He is attempting to raise up seed unto Himself), then they “shall” undoubtedly hearken to the things that were written in the scriptures concerning David and Solomon in seeking to excuse themselves in committing the whoredom of polygamy.

It is ironic that many in our day continue to misunderstand the scriptures and seek to excuse themselves (now or potentially in the future), as well as to excuse their ancestors in committing this whoredom when the Lord has declared in plainness that a man is to cling to his ONE wife and none else. 

8. God gives a very compelling reason for why He commands His sons to reject the whoredom of polygamy, declaring that He hears the mourning of His daughters when their husbands are wicked. He states that their cries are against the men of His people, and that they shall not lead away captive His daughters. It is, therefore, important to note that polygamy is a form of captivity for His daughters because of their tenderness. This tenderness is not weakness. These women are stong, covenant daughters, with soft hearts, and trusting. The word of God never describes polygamous wives as women who benefited from it, or women who ever desired it, or as righteous women making a holy sacrifice that they were joyfully making. Instead, the Word of God describes them as “tender,” “heartbroken,” “mourning,” “sobbing,” and “crying” to God. Because of their nature, many women are vulnerable to the manipulation of wicked men. Their loyalty, love, and desire to preserve their marriages and families can be used against them. Their strong and beautiful commitment to their husbands becomes the mechanism of their captivity. God is explaining that He hears their cries and knows their pain. He declares that this wickedness will be answered with a curse, even unto destruction, because He will not tolerate His men committing whoredoms like “they of old” (David and Solomon). Does the Spirit lead you to believe that God would carefully explain to you that He hears women’s sobbings, desires to protect them, but will sometimes command His men to commit whoredoms, break their wives hearts and cause them to mourn in captivity? It is clear that God continues to emphasize that His men are trying to justify their whoredoms because of what they can read about “they of old” being polygamists, and that He condemns them for this wickedness and abomination.

9. Jacob declares that the men are under “great condemnation” because they have known this commandment (to have only one wife), and they rejected the word of the Lord. He declares that they broke the hearts of their wives. It is important to note that many women in our day also suffer from broken hearts because their husbands have expressed a willingness to break the commandments of the Lord and marry other women if a leader were to ask them to do so. Therefore, it is critical for all the children of God to understand the scriptures, to know for themselves that our God is NOT a God of whoredomes, that He hears the mourning of His daughters.

It is literally blasphemy to assert that the same God who, in no uncertain terms, calls polygamy a gross crime, a whoredom, an abomination, wickedness, and iniquity would oppose His own word and command His sons to enter into His condemnation by living such wicked lives. It is perhaps the most egregious blasphemy to even entertain the slightest thought that perhaps God Himself is engaged in such a crime, a God who practices what He has declared to be a whoredom, an abomination, wickedness, a God who is guilty of such iniquity, a God who hears the mourning of His daughters and yet would set the very same “bad example” to His children, for which He condemned His sons. All those who would blaspheme in such a manner have need to repent! You never knew Him! “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (Isaiah 1:2-4).

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:13-18).

10. Toward the end, we get a new description of the behavior that God and Jacob are condemning - filthiness. He warns that such filthiness and sin leads to destruction. Consider the following verse, “And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins” (Alma 11:37). Is it not true that what the Book of Mormon labels as “filthiness” and “sin” is what constitutes “uncleaness”? Therefore, no polygamy or any other such filthiness is in the kingdom of heaven.

11. Everyone is given, by the Spirit of Christ, to know good from evil. It seems as though everyone already knows in their soul that polygamy is not good. Virtually every active Latter-day Saint couple has had the same private discussion about polygamy. She asks her husband if he would practice polygamy if God asked him to, or if the leaders of the church were to ask him to. He responds that he would never want to because it would break her heart, that it doesn’t feel right, but that he would be obedient to the Lord if He were to command it. This causes her to mourn and to dread the very thought of eternity. This is the story of countless righteous women. Truly, God would never command men to sin! Women, stop asking your husbands if they would be obedient to a God who would command whoredoms! That is not our God. Good men who have been blinded by the craftiness of men (because of the things that have been written concerning David and Solomon) have put off the Spirit of Christ and have believed that this evil practice is of God. Sometimes it’s because they don’t know how to reconcile the word of God with things that church leaders have said in the past. What is the Keystone of your religion? The Lord NEVER said, “By the power of your leaders you may know the truth of all things.”

Why would God teach us the way to judge between good and evil in His Word, if we never had to judge because our leaders are supposed to judge for us? The keystone of our religion says, “Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually. But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ” (Moroni 7:12-19).

If we stop trying to justify what men have done and said in the past, and simply accept what the Word of God says and what the Lord has already put in our hearts by the light of Christ to recognize good from evil, we will know the truth of all things for ourselves. Nephi understood this when he said, “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Nephi 4:34). We are literally cursed when we trust what men say and what man can do for us, instead of what God has declared and what God can do for us.

To all those who believe that polygamy is the law of heaven, or who have rested the scriptures and seek to justify the whoredom, woe unto you! “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). Your faith in Jesus Christ is weak if you do not know His character/nature, or if the course of your life is contrary to His declared word. Jacob chapter 2 should leave no man seeking to justify the whoredom that God explicitly condemns.