Jacob 3

(All of my own thoughts are in red type.5/20 green 2/21 Orange 5/22 Brown 2023)

Chapter 3

The pure in heart receive the pleasing word of God—Lamanite righteousness exceeds that of the Nephites—Jacob warns against fornication, lasciviousness, and every sin. About 544–421 B.C.

1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Our leaders today might say, "I'm speaking to the youth, or the women, or men, but they don't qualify their counsel like this, (that I can remember) Look unto God with firmness of mind, and ^apray unto him with exceeding faith, "more than usual" and he will ^bconsole you in your ^cafflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down ^djustice upon those who seek your destruction. now to the righteous (pure in heart) - look to God, (not man); be firm in your mind about your own conduct; pray with mighty faith. God will hear your cries and console you as you wade through your trials. He will plead your cause (is this Jesus pleading your cause to the Father? If so, is the “God” we are to look to Jesus Christ? Is He the one to pray to? Or does the Father "plead our cause" meaning He justifies His actions based on the merits of your case.) Let God send justice upon those who seek your destruction. 
  2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his ^alove; for ye may, if your ^bminds are ^cfirm, forever. What is the pleasing word of God? Isn’t it the truth of His love? Notice you have to keep your mind firm. Control what you allow to enter your heart as a belief. This sounds like an invitation to be born again, and then to stay in that place of feeling and knowing His love. He's also teaching that in spite of their afflictions, they can feast on the love of God.
  3 But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the land is ^acursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not ^bfilthy like unto you, nevertheless they are ^ccursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you even unto destruction. A distinction is being made here between those who are pure and heart and those who are not pure in heart. This is deeper than words or actions but goes to the core of who we are and what we believe. Notice the Lamanites, with all their hatred and wrong beliefs are not considered filthy like these Nephites. Yes, they are cursed with a sore cursing but they have promises because of the sins of their fathers and God uses their cursing to bring judgment to the Nephites who are sinning, in rebellion against the blessings of their fathers. The penalty - destruction! It sounds like if we experience a 'cursed land' it will be because we are filthy before the Lord. And using this standard, it will be because we have rebelled against God.
  4 And the time speedily cometh, (when it happens, it will come swiftly) that except ye repent they shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will ^alead away the righteous out from among you. Ahhh! I love this pattern. Just as Nephi was led away from his brothers, the Lord will lead again, the righteous away from the wicked before they are destroyed!  Pattern!!!
      5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; Ok, we know we all are sinners and none are worthy to be with God except through repentance and faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. But...there is such a thing as “more” righteous or “more” wicked. This is where righteous judgment comes in. We all fall short, but in our efforts to become like Jesus, we can become “more” and “more” righteous Also, it seems like they've fallen in to a bit of "racism" for hating the Lamanites because they were cursed with a dark skin. Yes, it does say skin. I don't know how you take this not literally. I do think it makes a distinction between their filthiness and the curse of the dark skin. The dark skin curse was passed on, but the filthiness doesn't have to be passed on. The curse of the dark skin is the fault of Laman and Lemuel, not the children. 

this drawing is from 900 AD and shows the variation in skin color.

for they have not ^aforgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father Lehi —that they should have save it were ^bone wife, and ^cconcubines they should have none, and there should not be ^dwhoredoms committed among them.
  6 And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be ^amerciful unto them; and one day they shall ^bbecome a blessed people. Is this commandment so important that it alone can keep a society from destruction? Why are they promised that one day they will become a blessed people? Is this how God’s mercy works for the innocent who are brought up with wicked traditions through no fault of their own? 
  7 Behold, their ^ahusbands ^blove their ^cwives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children; and their ^dunbelief and their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers; wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great Creator? God is no respecter of persons, yet here we are taught that one can be “better” in sight of God than another. The Lamanites aren’t filled with the spirit of hate except towards the Nephites, which they were brought up to believe. Other than that, they are a loving people. Is that correct what I’m reading here? For all our preaching about not judging others or comparing, Jacob is doing just that. (Or God is, through him...) Is Jacob being contentious for calling out their sins? For comparing them to the Lamanites? For saying the Lamanites are "better" than them before God? If contention requires two people, than I would say, he is not being contentious.
  8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be ^awhiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God. It’s easy to see here, how the “whiteness” of skin may not refer to actual color, but the dark/black or light/white of your heart. Or, since the Nephites seem to be focused on skin color and think they are "better" for being white, Jacob uses that belief to say, "well...then they will be "whiter" than you, at the last day, because of your sin. I've read that heavenly being appear "white" or bright. Perhaps our "whiteness" is an external glow that varies like the degrees of light in the stars, moon, sun. 
  9 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye ^arevile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers. This is an important truth to help us look upon our “enemies” with compassion and to not look down on others because of the color of their skin. Their filthiness is not their dark skin, but the wicked traditions they were taught. Sin equals filthy. He is judging them as "filthy" though..
  10 Wherefore, ye shall remember your ^achildren, how that ye have grieved their hearts because of the ^bexample that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the last day. Another important truth. We can cause the destruction of our own children and then also be responsible for those sins (which lead to their destruction) because of what we teach them by our example and our immorality (filthiness). Jacob teaches them that they can do to their own children what the Lamanites have done to theirs. Skin color has no bearing on anything here.
  11 O my brethren, hearken unto my words; ^aarouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may ^bawake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of ^chell that ye may not become ^dangels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second ^edeath. He wants them to realize the seriousness of what they are thinking and believing (and will then soon do or are doing) and wake up to the lies of the adversary and the chains that he is forging for them with each choice they make to listen to Satan. There is only pain ahead in exchange for their temporary carnal pleasure. They have no idea what it really means to be “angels to a devil”. They falsely believe they will forever remain free to choose what they do, but is that true? Are angels to the devil free to leave his employ? I believe they can, but not without casting off each link of deception which chains them down. It’s not easy. 
  12 And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, ^awarning them against ^bfornication (sex between unmarried people) and ^clasciviousness, (unrestrained sexual behavior) and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them.
  13 And a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, which now began to be numerous, cannot be written upon ^athese plates; but many of their proceedings are written upon the ^blarger plates, and their wars, and their contentions, and the reigns of their kings.
  14 ^aThese plates are called the plates of Jacob, and they were ^bmade by the hand of Nephi. And I make an end of speaking these words. Makes me wonder if Nephi made as many extra blank plates as he was able, to be sure there was no excuse to not continue keeping the record...