Jacob 7

Jacob 7:26

...the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born n tribulation, in a wilderness, an hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore we did mourn out our days.

A quick thought for today. Sometimes I think that as Christians we believe that if we are righteous then we will have nothing but happiness. Though we have examples like Job we still have this idea that if we are good we won't have to experience unpleasant things. Of course the gospel does bring joy but trials and mourning are natural part of God's plan for us. Jacob was a man who had seen angels and heard the voice of God, his faith could not be shaken (Jacob 7:5) but still in this farewell that he gives it sounds as though his life was kind of depressing. It was at the very least filled with lifelong difficulties. He says "we did mourn out our days."

Another thing that is interesting to me is how different Jacob's personality and writing style are from other Book of Mormon authors. That is apparent in these last few verses.