In a couple weeks we will study the words of Jacob from the Book of Mormon in Sunday School. As Jacob spoke to his people, he pleaded with them to leave behind some habits and trends they were developing that would certainly lead them into dangerous territory. In reasoning with them, he makes a statement that has always stood out to me about why Christ would be rejected in the meridian of time. He says,

Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall;” (Jacob 6:14).

For me, the sobering message is that if I get off-balance and off-focus, it’s easy for my strengths to becoming vices. That’s what happened to the Pharisee and Sadducee. So how can I protect myself from that? What can I do to make sure that I’m where I need to be?

I’ve recently discovered a question that’s helped me liken the great examples of men and women from the scriptures who clearly had their eyes on the mark–Jesus Christ. As I read great stories of faith by Nephi, Jacob, Peter, Luke, John, Daniel, Isaiah–the question I ask myself is:
In the story of Insert Name Here, what doctrine(s) or principle(s) did Insert Name Here understand about the Savior and His Atonement?

Try It
Consider 2 Nephi 4. As you read the Psalm of Nephi, ask yourself, ‘What does Nephi understand about the Savior and His Atonement?’