Jacob was obviously a very sober-minded man whose pattern was to teach from the scriptures. His knowledge of them gave his teachings a power that they would not otherwise have had and made of him one of the greatest teachers and prophets of ancient times.
“A Mist of Darkness”
Lehi noticed that this large number of persons had made its way onto the gospel path, only to be met soon thereafter by mists of darkness, symbolic of “the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost” (1 Nephi 12:17). Not being grounded enough in the truth or rooted strongly enough in their resolve to press forward to the ultimate rewards of discipleship, these lost their way, wandered off, and were lost. The enticements of wealth or fame or immorality prove to be greater than the enticements of peace and happiness among the obedient.