In the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

, Jacob () is a younger brother of the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

Nephi, the keeper of the

small plates of Nephi According to the Book of Mormon, the plates of Nephi, consisting of the large plates of Nephi and the small plates of Nephi, are a portion of the collection of inscribed metal plates which make up the record of the Nephites. This record was late ...

after Nephi's death, and narrates the Book of Jacob, which in the frame narrative of the overall Book of Mormon he authors.

Family

The Book of Mormon mentions Jacob as the younger brother of Nephi, and the elder of two sons born to Lehi (the younger son being Joseph) after Lehi's departure from Jerusalem. It does not explicitly name Lehi's wife Sariah as the mother of Jacob or Joseph, but no other wife of Lehi is ever mentioned.

Life

According to the Book of Mormon narrative, Jacob was born in the wilderness during his father Lehi's journey from

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

to the promised land (the Americas) sometime between 592 B.C. and 590 B.C. Jacob and his family eventually traveled to the Americas via boat constructed by his brother, Nephi. Jacob went on to be a righteous leader, and succeeded Nephi as prophet to the

Nephites In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) said to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, politi ...

. Jacob is the author of the Book of Jacob in the

Teachings

Three sermons of Jacob are recorded in the

which include preaching of central as well as specific doctrinal truths. In them, Jacob preaches many core LDS doctrines, including humanity's fallen nature and subsequent need of an infinite atonement, the salvation of repentant individuals through the Atonement of Christ, and so forth. He also sternly and definitely preaches against specific practices such as

pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

, and

polygyny Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); . Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...

(excepting only when commanded by the Lord so as to "raise up a people unto me"). Jacob also speaks favorably of the blessings associated with humble righteousness, such as the bright future of the Lamanite people due to their marital and familial love for each other. The first sermon draws on

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

's teachings to invite individuals and nations to return from rejecting Christ and receive His mercies. He clarifies sin as knowing God's commandments and doing otherwise, and offers the generous doctrine that "where there is no law given there is no punishment /nowiki> no condemnation /nowiki> and the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him." In his second sermon, Jacob decries

greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

and

lust Lust is an intense desire for something. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food (see gluttony) as distinct from the need for food or lust for red ...

. He upends racist

Nephite In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) said to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, poli ...

self-righteousness, saying of the

Lamanites In the Book of Mormon, the Lamanites () are one of the four peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas. The Lamanites also play a role in the prophecies and reve ...

, who were ignorant of the finer points of the law, "their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children" and prophesies that the Lord would be merciful to the

because of their righteousness in this regard. He explained the Lord's standard of sexual purity as "that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them" unless directed by God via revelation for the purpose of "rais ng/nowiki> up seed unto me". In Jacob's third sermon, Jacob quotes an allegory of the scattering and gathering of Israel (see

Parable of the Olive Tree The Allegory of the Olive Tree is an extended allegory recounted in Chapter 5 of the Book of Jacob, the third book of the Book of Mormon. The narrative describes the parable as one of the teachings of Zenos found in the brass plates, a lost reco ...

), which he attributes to another prophet, Zenos. In it, what may have been perceived as the Lord's punishment is re-framed as the Lord's devoted effort to save His original covenant people, as well as to spread his covenant and the blessings that accompany it, to all other nations. Christ is seen as a mediator, calling on the Master of the Vineyard to forbear casting the wicked "into the fire", saying instead "Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer". Lest the Lord of the Vineyard's mercy be questioned, the allegory later records that "the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?... Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned."

Notable descendants

According to the Book of Mormon, several important record keepers were direct descendants of Jacob as shown below:

Family

Life

Teachings

Notable descendants

References

Further reading