having borne a powerful and persuasive testimony of the Savior and of the requirements of Christian discipleship, Jacob affirmed his innocence from sin before the people; he attested that his prophetic duty was done—he had warned and now the people were under obligation to obey or be damned.
In symbolic fashion, Jacob stated that his garments were clean of the sins of the people. As their spiritual leader, he bad performed his duty to teach the truth and to call them to repentance; the burden had now been shifted to those who had heard his witness.
As he observed later in his own record, “we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of he people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments” (Jacob 1:19).
In like fashion, all who would be saved must have lived and testified so that their garments are also clean from the blood and sins of their generation (Alma 5:22; D&C 88:75).