“Surely the most plain and precious of all truths lost from the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, are the clear and unequivocal declarations of the mission of Jesus Christ, his foreordained role as Messiah and Savior of the world, and the covenantal elements of his gospel, which have been taught from Adam down through each succeeding dispensation. Thus the Book of Mormon’s highest purpose is to restore to the universal family of God that crucial knowledge of Christ’s role in the salvation of every man, woman, and child who now lives, has ever lived, or will yet live upon the earth” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 6–7).
Jacob’s writings provide an important insight into the law of Moses and the Old Testament. In Jacob 4:5, we learn that prophets prior to Jacob’s time worshipped Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, showing that they knew of the Father and the Son as distinct individuals. Jacob’s words indicate that the law of Moses was far more than simply a set of strict commandments and legal codes, as some modern scholars claim. The law of Moses testified of Jesus Christ and led the righteous to sanctification through His Atonement.
“I do not think that many members of the Church consciously [follow] the persuasions of men or their own counsel instead of heeding the Lord’s. However, when we do not keep ourselves advised as to what the counsel of the Lord is, we are prone to substitute our own counsel for His. As a matter of fact, there is nothing else we can do but follow our own counsel when we do not know the Lord’s instructions” (Marion G. Romney, “Seek Not to Counsel the Lord,” Ensign, Aug. 1985, 5).