Jarom 1: The Cycle of Faithfulness, Pride, and the Labor of the Prophets
I have a piece of cherry in the garage that I have been working on for a few weeks. It has a beautiful grain that is tight and even, with a few small knots that tell the story of where the tree grew. Every time I look at it, I see the rings. Good years and hard years, all pressed into the same board.
Jarom 1 reads like a cross-section of a tree. It covers a long stretch of Nephite history in a short space, and the pattern is visible in the grain.
What Does Jarom 1 Teach About Pride and Prosperity
The chapter describes a cycle that repeats itself. The Nephites keep the commandments and they prosper. They plant crops, raise flocks, build cities, and trade. Things go well. Then, when things are going well, they start to forget who made it possible.
Jarom says it plainly. And after this manner of language did they teach them. The prophets kept warning them, and the people kept drifting. Prosperity made them comfortable, and comfort made them careless.
I have seen this in my own life. When things are going well, it is easy to start thinking I did it myself. The mortgage gets paid, the kids are healthy, the work is steady, and I start to feel like I have it figured out. That is exactly when I am most likely to forget.
The chapter does not say prosperity is bad. It says prosperity is a test. The question is whether you can stay humble when you do not have to be.
Meaning of the Cycle of Faithfulness in the Book of Mormon
The pattern in Jarom is not unique to the Nephites. It shows up all through the Book of Mormon. Faithfulness leads to blessings, and blessings lead to pride. Pride leads to punishment, punishment leads to humility, and humility leads back to faithfulness.
It is a spiral, not a circle. The people do not end up where they started. They either get closer to God or farther away, depending on what they do with the lesson.
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, they should be destroyed. (Jarom 1:10)
The prophets were not being harsh. They were being honest. They could see where the pattern was heading, and they were trying to interrupt it.
I think about that when I read the news or look at my own habits. The same pattern plays out at every scale. The question is whether I will listen to the warning or wait for the consequence.
How to Avoid the Trap of Pride When Things Are Going Well
Jarom does not leave us without an answer. The chapter says the prophets labored diligently, and the people did hearken unto the words of the prophets. Often enough to keep the society together, though not always.
The key is intentional humility. It does not happen by accident. You have to build it into your life the way you build a habit.
I wrote about Enos 1 a while back, about wrestling in prayer. Enos did not stumble into a testimony. He worked for it, and the same is true for humility. You have to choose it before you need it, because when you need it, you will not have the presence of mind to find it.
Role of Prophets in Jarom 1 Summary
The prophets in Jarom did not have an easy job. They were telling people what they did not want to hear. They were calling attention to the drift that everyone else was ignoring.
Jarom himself says he does not write much because the plates are small. But what he writes is enough. He records that the prophets labored continually, that they taught the law of Moses, and that they pointed the people toward Christ.
That is the job. To be faithful, not to be popular. I respect that kind of work, and I try to do it. I have had to tell my kids things they did not want to hear, and I have had to hear things I did not want to hear. It is not easy on either side. But the alternative is letting the drift continue until it becomes a crash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Nephites consistently fall into pride after they prospered?
Prosperity creates a false sense of self-reliance. When things are going well, it is easy to believe you did it yourself. That belief is the root of pride, and it disconnects you from the source of your blessings.
What is the relationship between the law of Moses and the prosperity of the Nephites in Jarom 1?
The law of Moses gave the Nephites a structure for their lives. But their prosperity came from their faithfulness to God, not from the law itself. The law was the framework. The heart was the engine.
What does Jarom 1 teach us about the process of repentance?
It teaches that repentance often follows a period of humbling. The cycle shows that God allows the consequences of pride to be felt so that people are brought back to a state of dependence on Him. The fall is not the end, and the return is what matters.
What is the featured verse for Jarom 1?
Jarom 1:10. 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, they should be destroyed.
How long does the book of Jarom cover?
Jarom covers approximately 60 years of Nephite history, from about 399 BC to 361 BC. It is one of the shortest books in the Book of Mormon, but it captures a pattern that repeats throughout the entire record.
I finished the cherry board last weekend, and the knots did not weaken it. They made it stronger. The grain grew tight around them, and the whole piece held together better because of the places where it had struggled.
Jarom is like that. A short book with a tight grain. The pattern is visible if you look for it. Good years and hard years, all pressed into the same board.
-- D.