📒 Jacob 4
📜 3 Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents.
📜 4 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.
📖 Scriptures preserve sacred memory and testimony.
In verse 3, Jacob says they “labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates,” not just for record-keeping, but so that future generations—“our beloved brethren and our children”—might receive them “with thankful hearts.” Why? Because these words carry the emotional and spiritual legacy of their ancestors. They’re meant to be read “with joy and not with sorrow,” suggesting that scripture is a bridge to healing, not just history.
So here’s a question to reflect on:
Why might it matter that we receive the stories of our “first parents” with joy rather than contempt or sorrow?
What shifts when we see their struggles as part of a sacred inheritance?
👫 parents
Value of Scriptures
📗 Isaiah 8
📜 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
📕 Matthew 4
📜 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
📕 Matthew 22
📜 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
📕 Luke 16
📜 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
📕 John 5
📜 39 ¶ Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
📕 Romans 15
📜 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
📕 2 Timothy 3
📜 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
📕 2 Peter 1
📜 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
📒 Helaman 15
📜 7 And behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them—
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 42
📜 12 And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 68
📜 4 And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 84
📜 85 Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 138
📜 11 As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great.
🕊️ Closing Summary: The Living Power of Scripture
Scriptures are not mere records—they are living testimonies, engraved with diligence and passed down with hope. From Jacob’s plates to Isaiah’s law and testimony, from Christ’s rebuke in Matthew to Paul’s comfort in Romans, the word of God is shown to be essential, eternal, and transformative. It nourishes more deeply than bread, corrects more wisely than man, and speaks with the voice of the Lord when moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
When we receive the stories of our first parents with joy, we reclaim them not as shameful origins but as sacred inheritance. Their struggles become our scaffolding. Their hope in Christ—long before His coming—becomes our anchor. And as Helaman affirms, belief in these holy writings leads to faith, repentance, and a change of heart.
To treasure scripture is to treasure light. It is to live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from God. It is to join the prophets, the parents, and the witnesses in a lineage of learning, comfort, and eternal hope.
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Let’s move into Jacob 4:4.
🔥 Scriptures bear witness of Christ across time.
Jacob writes, “we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming.” This isn’t just historical—it’s prophetic. The scriptures aren’t waiting for Christ to arrive to start testifying; they’re already saturated with hope, already echoing his glory. And Jacob emphasizes that this hope wasn’t isolated: “all the holy prophets which were before us” shared it too.
So here’s the next reflection:
Why might it matter that prophets knew of Christ long before his birth?
What does that say about the nature of revelation, and the continuity of divine hope?
knew
Prophecies about Jesus Christ
📗 Isaiah 25
📜 9 ¶ And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
📗 Malachi 3
📜 1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
📕 John 7
📜 42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
📕 Acts 3
📜 24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
📒 1 Nephi 22
📜 21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness.
📒 Alma 21
📜 9 Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 34
📜 7 For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 35
📜 21 For they will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall not be asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming; for they shall be purified, even as I am pure.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 138
📜 42 And Isaiah, who declared by prophecy that the Redeemer was anointed to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound, were also there.
📚 Moses 6
📜 57 Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.
Testimony
📗 Deuteronomy 6
📜 20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?
📗 Isaiah 6
📜 5 ¶ Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
📕 Matthew 10
📜 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
📕 Matthew 16
📜 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
📜 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
📒 Moroni 7
📜 44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.
📒 Moroni 10
📜 7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 109
📜 38 Put upon thy servants the testimony of the covenant, that when they go out and proclaim thy word they may seal up the law, and prepare the hearts of thy saints for all those judgments thou art about to send, in thy wrath, upon the inhabitants of the earth, because of their transgressions, that thy people may not faint in the day of trouble.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 138
📜 12 And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;
📜 60 Thus was the vision of the redemption of the dead revealed to me, and I bear record, and I know that this record is true, through the blessing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, even so. Amen.
📚 Moses 7
📜 27 And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.
📜 62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
🌟 Closing Summary: Prophetic Witness and Eternal Testimony
The scriptures testify that Christ was known, awaited, and proclaimed long before His mortal birth. From Isaiah’s cry of salvation to Malachi’s promise of a messenger, from Nephi’s declaration to Aaron’s teaching of the atonement, the prophets bore witness of the Redeemer with clarity and conviction. Their knowledge was not abstract—it was revealed, personal, and anchored in divine promise.
This continuity of revelation affirms that God’s plan is not reactive but eternal. Christ’s coming was not a surprise—it was the fulfillment of a hope already alive in the hearts of the faithful. As Acts 3 declares, “all the prophets… have likewise foretold of these days.” And as Moses 6 reveals, even Adam knew Him as the “Man of Holiness,” the Son of Man.
The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. It is the thread that binds generations, the light that opens eyes like Isaiah’s, the confession that Peter received “not from flesh and blood,” but from the Father in heaven. It is the power by which Moroni invites all to know that “he is,” and the vision by which the dead are redeemed and Zion is gathered.
To know that prophets saw Him before He came is to know that hope is older than sorrow, and that testimony is stronger than time. It is to join the chorus of the just, the meek, and the holy, bearing witness that Jesus is the Christ—yesterday, today, and forever.
glory
Glory of Jesus Christ
📗 Isaiah 6
📜 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
📗 Isaiah 40
📜 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
📗 Isaiah 60
📜 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
📕 Matthew 16
📜 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
📕 Matthew 17
📜 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
📕 Matthew 24
📜 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
📒 Alma 5
📜 50 Yea, thus saith the Spirit: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, that the Spirit saith: Behold the glory of the King of all the earth; and also the King of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men.
📒 Alma 9
📜 26 And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
📒 Alma 13
📜 24 For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 7
📜 3 And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people.
📚 Moses 1
📜 5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.
📜 18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.
📜 39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
🌈 Closing Summary: The Glory Foretolod and Revealed
The glory of Jesus Christ is not confined to His mortal ministry—it radiates through prophecy, vision, and divine promise across dispensations. Isaiah saw it fill the earth. Alma described it as majesty, mercy, and dominion. Matthew witnessed it transfigured in light and promised it would return in clouds with angels. And Moses, beholding it, declared that God’s glory is inseparable from His work: to bring to pass immortality and eternal life.
Jacob’s testimony—that prophets “knew of Christ” and “had a hope of his glory”—is echoed in every sacred record. This foreknowledge affirms that revelation is not bound by time. The Spirit speaks across centuries, preparing hearts, declaring truth, and anchoring hope in the One who was, and is, and is to come.
To know Christ’s glory before His coming is to live in covenant with eternity. It is to walk by faith, not by sight, and to be transformed by the light that prophets saw, angels declared, and saints now await. His glory is not just a future event—it is the present witness of divine love, shining through scripture, prophecy, and the hearts of the meek.
prophets
📕 Matthew 24
📜 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
📕 1 Peter 1
📜 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
📒 Jacob 7
🗝📜 11 And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.
📜 12 And this is not all—it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.
📒 Mosiah 13
🗝📜 33 For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?
📜 34 Have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth?
📜 35 Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted?
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 20
26 Not only those who believed after he came in the meridian of time, in the flesh, but all those from the beginning, even as many as were before he came, who believed in the words of the holy prophets, who spake as they were inspired by the gift of the Holy Ghost, who truly testified of him in all things, should have eternal life,
🕯️ Closing Summary: Prophets as Eternal Witnesses of Christ
From Moses to Moroni, the prophets have spoken with one voice: Christ is the center of all scripture. Their testimony is not retrospective—it is anticipatory, revealed by the Spirit of Christ within them. As Peter affirms, they “testified beforehand” of His sufferings and the glory to follow. Jacob declares that “none of the prophets… have prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ,” and Mosiah confirms that “all the prophets… since the world began” foretold His coming, His power, His affliction, and His resurrection.
This continuity reveals the nature of revelation: it is timeless, Spirit-driven, and universally accessible to those who seek. The prophets were not guessing—they were moved by the Holy Ghost, inspired to speak of the Redeemer with clarity and conviction. Their words are not just historical—they are covenantal, offering eternal life to all who believe, whether before or after His mortal ministry.
To know that prophets bore witness of Christ across time is to know that divine hope is never absent. It is to trust that God’s plan has always been centered in Jesus Christ, and that revelation is a living stream, flowing from the beginning to the end, inviting all to drink and live.
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