Jarom, the great-grandson of
Lehi, the grandson of Jacob, and son of Enos, is given the plates by his father
and told to update the record. Was it necessary for him to go into detail like
his father or grandfather had before him? He had a few observations that were
brief, succinct and to the point as he wrote down:
1. Behold it is expedient that
much should be done among this people because of the hardness of their hearts,
and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the
stiffness of their necks.
2. God is exceedingly merciful
unto them and has not as yet swept them off form the face of the land.
3. There are many among us who
have many revelations.
4. They are not all
stiff-necked, and have faith, as well as have communion with the Holy Spirit.
5. After 200 years, the people
have become strong in the land, observe
the Law of Moses, keep the Sabbath Day holy, neither profane nor blaspheme.
6. There are twice as many Lamanites as Nephites scattered
on the face of the land, and the laws are very strict.
7. Jarom did not write down his own prophecies and
revelations, for they were the same as those of his father and grandfather, for
what more could be written.
8. My fathers have revealed the plan
of salvation and that sufficeth me.
9. We have many times
withstood the Lamanites and swept
them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever
place of our inheritance.
10. We have multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face
of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in
precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in
machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner
of tools of every kind to till the ground, as well as weapons of war.
11. And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did
not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake
unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall
prosper in the land.
12. The prophets of the Lord did threaten the people of
Nephi, according to the word of God, that if they did not keep the
commandments, but should fall into transgression, they should be destroyed from
off the face of the land.
13. Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the
teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to
diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given;
persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as
though he already had.
14. After 238 years and many wars, contentions and
dissensions, the prophets were continually stirring the people up unto
repentance.
15. I, Jarom, do not write more, for the plates are small.
But behold, my brethren, ye can go to the other plates of Nephi; for behold,
upon them the records of our wars are engraven, according to the writings of
the kings, or those which they caused to be written, and I deliver these plates
into the hands of my son Omni, that they may be kept according to the
commandments of my fathers.
Obviously, the Lamanites were far
more numerous than the Nephites, and loved murder, coming many times against
the Nephites in battle, the latter only able to arm and defend themselves. The
Nephite kings and leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord, teaching
the people the ways of the Lord. Once having removed the Lamanites from their
land, the Nephites began fortifying their cities.
Throughout Nephite history until
the very end (when grace had left the Nephites), all battles took place on
Nephite territory. In fact, at the end, Mormon told the Nephites: “it was
because the armies of the Nephites went up unto the Lamanites that they began
to be smitten; for were it not for that, the Lamanites could have had no power
over them. Behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by
the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the
hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed“ (Mormon 4:4).
The Nephites in Jarom’s time
prepared for war—they were very proficient in building, making things, working
with metal, including machines for war—but being armed did not provide them
with security, only a means of not being overrun and destroyed. It was keeping
the commandments that saved them as a people and as a nation, right up to the
end when they violated the very precepts of righteousness and attacked their
neighbor.
And
it came to pass that the prophets of the Lord did threaten the people of Nephi,
according to the word of God, that if they did not keep the commandments, but
should fall into transgression, they should be destroyed from off the face of
the land. To keep the people in line, “the prophets of the Lord did threaten
the people of Nephi, according to the word of God, that if they did not keep
the commandments, but should fall into transgression, they should be destroyed
from off the face of the land” (Jarom 1:10).
Jarom
seems to be one of those quiet men of history, fervent in his testimony, and valiant
in his defense of his country and its beliefs. He wrote little, depending upon
the words of previous prophets to his own, and reminding the people of who they
were and what they already had been told and about what they had been warned.
He
understood the value of his heritage and of the prophets of his day preaching
that heritage to the Nephites.
Unfortunately,
for the Nephites, Jarom’s son, Omni, though a patriot himself, was a
self-proclaimed “wicked man,” who did not live up to the commandments of the
Lord. It is easy to see that Jarom teaches us to look to the commandments, i.e., what the prophets have already preached, to follow the prophets, and not be trying to state or restate what is already known. From a geographical point, Jarom teaches us to follow the simple statements of the prophets and not try to come up with wild, new, and controversial ideas of our own--but to stay the course and pay attention to what we have been told.
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