Jacob 2 — Pride, Riches, and the Sanctity of Marriage
I was planing a piece of cherry last Saturday when I noticed a crack I had missed. It ran along the edge, thin as paper, invisible from the top. I had already cut the joint. The crack meant the piece was going to fail under load.
There are things you catch early and things you only see after you have committed. Jacob walked into a situation like that.
The people of Nephi had been doing well with gold and silver and fine apparel. They had started to think that made them better than the people who did not. And some of them had started taking multiple wives and looking to scripture to justify it.
Jacob had to say something. He did not want to.
What Does Jacob 2 Teach About the Love of Money
The chapter opens with Jacob describing his own reluctance. He says he would rather speak pleasing words. He would rather heal wounds than enlarge them. But he is constrained by a commandment he cannot ignore.
Behold, I, Jacob, am called of God and after this manner hath the Lord commanded me, that I should not suffer that ye should be a shame and a reproach. (Jacob 2:6)
He can see what is happening in their hearts. That is what he says. The Lord has let him see it, and he cannot pretend otherwise.
The problem starts with riches. Not riches themselves. The people found gold and silver in the land, and that was a blessing. But they let it change how they saw each other. Their necks got stiff. Their heads got high. They started looking down on people who did not have what they had.
Jacob draws a clear line in verse 18.
And before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
That is the order. Kingdom first. If you find riches after that, you use them for something useful by clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and liberating the captive. The wealth is not the problem. The love of it is.
I think about this when I see a nice tool in someone else's shop. It is easy to look at what another man has and feel small. But a tool is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it.
Why Did Jacob Rebuke the People of Nephi for Pride
Pride shows up in specific ways. Jacob names them.
Costly apparel. Persecuting the poor. Thinking you are better than someone because you have more. These are not subtle sins. They are visible. They show in how you dress, how you talk, how you treat the person who does not have what you have.
Verse 21 says something I keep coming back to.
And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other. And all flesh is of the dust.
I work with wood. Not for a living exactly, though I spend enough hours in the shop to know what the dust looks like when it settles. Walnut dust is dark, cherry dust is a soft red, and pine dust goes pale. It all looks the same when you sweep it up.
There is something humbling about that. The wealth you accumulate does not change what you are made of. You are dust wearing a nice shirt. Jacob wanted his people to remember that before they let their pride wreck their community.
Jacob 2 View on Plural Marriage and David and Solomon
Here is where the chapter gets heavy.
The people had started taking multiple wives and concubines. When challenged, they pointed to David and Solomon and said look at the great kings of Israel who had many wives. Why can we not do the same?
Jacob meets that argument head on. He says the Lord saw those actions as abominable. David and Solomon were given much, and their failures were severe. You do not get to use their mistakes as permission for your own.
The commandment is clear, one wife and no concubines, and the Lord delights in the chastity of women.
Jacob does not stop there. He describes the damage with broken hearts and lost confidence, the sobbings of the daughters of the people ascending to God. These are not abstract sins. They have faces and names and tears.
Behold, the Lord hath forbidden it. (Jacob 2:33)
I have been married to the same woman for nineteen years. That is not a long time compared to some. But it is long enough to know that marriage is hard work, and it is good work, and it is work you do with one person. I do not know how you do it with more than one. I do not think Jacob was interested in that question either.
The stewardship Jacob carried is described in the Jacob 1 article. This chapter is where that stewardship became painful. He had to say what nobody wanted to hear.
How to Apply Jacob 2:18 to Modern Life
Verse 18 is a two-part instruction. Seek the kingdom first. Then seek riches, but only for the right reasons.
I have tried to live this way and it is harder than it sounds. The kingdom is quiet while wealth is loud. The kingdom asks you to wait while wealth promises you everything now.
There is a trick to it. If you make the kingdom your primary pursuit, the other things tend to sort themselves out. That does not mean you get everything you want. It means the things you do get have a different weight. They are tools, not trophies.
The article on Acts 6 has a similar thread. The seven men chosen to serve tables were selected because they were full of the Spirit first. The administrative work came second. That order matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jacob 2 condemn all wealth or just the love of it?
Jacob does not condemn having riches. He condemns the pride that comes when you love money more than people. He says you should seek the kingdom first, then use any wealth you find to serve by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. The wealth itself is neutral but your heart is not.
Why did the people of Nephi use David and Solomon to justify plural marriage?
They looked at the scriptures and saw that David and Solomon had many wives. They used that as a reason to do the same thing. Jacob tells them this is wrong. He says the Lord saw those actions as abominable. Using someone else's sin as permission for your own is not how scripture works.
What does Jacob 2 say about the sanctity of marriage?
The commandment is one wife and no concubines. After that the Lord describes the damage with broken hearts, lost confidence in fathers, and the sobbings of the people's daughters rising to heaven. This language is not abstract. Jacob wanted his people to see the real cost of their choices.
What does it mean that God sees all people as equally precious?
Verse 21 says all flesh is of the dust and that one being is as precious to Him as another. This means God does not value one person over another based on wealth, status, or position. The ground is level. What you have does not change what you are.
I put the cracked cherry piece aside for shorter boards down the road. The crack did not ruin the wood. It just meant I could not use it the way I planned.
Jacob did the same thing with his people. He told them the truth about what they had become so they could be something else. It is not the kind of message you want to deliver. But it is the kind you need to hear.
-- D.