Jacob 4

Jacob 4:5 Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son. James E. Talmage talks about how the Nephites were more willing to accept that salvation did not come by way of the law than the Hebrews were, as shown by their willingness to accept Christ when he arrived and by verses like this one. Now, I would say that there are also scriptures in the old testament that make it clear that the Hebrews (at least those more than 600 years prior to Christ) understood that the law did not justify them, and point out that some Jews were willing to accept the conclusion of the period of living under the law of Moses. I would also point out that in the Americas, all the wicked people were buried under mountains or burned in fires or washed out to the sea, which left only the righteous, and I wouldn't put it past a group of righteous peopl anywhere to be willing to accept truth when Christ himself shows up to declare it to them. And finally, I would point out that the Nephites had to live without the Leviticus priesthood throughout their entire history, which may have contributed to their willingness to abandon the mosaic law. Prophets, who held the melchezidick priesthood could come from any tribe, and could be ordained by another prophet, an angel, or anyone with the authority to do so. Levites and Aaron's other progeny were the only people who could be priests under the levitical law, giving the office a great deal of tradition, ceremony, and clear cut rules, somewhat akin to nobility. People who grow up with nobility have a harder time throwing it off and accepting the idea of everyone being equal than those who grow up with elected leaders.

A useful reference for this verse is in Galatians, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Do we have laws now that are schoolmasters, to bring us to Christ? One thing that comes to mind immediately is the law of tithing. If we live the law of consecration, will we pay tithing? I can't imagine how that would work. What about the word of wisdom? If we all had self discipline and exercised moderation in all things, would we need an injunction against consuming alcohol?