Lesson 45-46 Study Guide

Due to a special Stake Conference, we will be covering two lessons on Daniel in the Gospel Doctrine Class on December 12.

Following are the class member study guides for Lessons 45 and 46:

Lesson 45: “If I Perish, I Perish”, Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, 28–29

Daniel 1; 3; 6; Esther 3–5; 7–8

Study the following scriptures:

• a. Daniel 1. Daniel and his friends refuse to eat King Nebuchadnezzar’s food (1:1–16). The Lord blesses Daniel and his friends with good health and wisdom (1:17–21).

• b. Daniel 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol (3:1–12). King Nebuchadnezzar casts them into a fiery furnace, and the Lord saves them from death (3:13–30).

• c. Daniel 6. King Darius’s men persuade the king to sign a decree that for 30 days all petitions must be directed to him rather than to any other man or to God (6:1–9). In spite of the king’s decree, Daniel prays to God (6:10–13). As punishment for disobeying the decree, Daniel is thrown into a den of lions (6:14–17). The Lord sends an angel to protect Daniel (6:18–23).

• d. Esther 3–5; 7–8. Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, refuses to bow to Haman (3:1–4). Haman persuades King Ahasuerus to prepare a decree calling for the death of all Jews in the kingdom (3:5–14). Esther learns of Haman’s plan to kill her people and risks her life by going to ask King Ahasuerus for help (4:1–17). The king grants Esther’s request to come with Haman to a banquet (5:1–8). At the banquet Esther reveals Haman’s plot to kill the Jews (7:1–6). The king hangs Haman (7:7–10). The king honors Mordecai and grants Esther’s request to reverse Haman’s decree (8:1–17).

As a young boy, Daniel was carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. He and other promising Hebrew youths—including his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—were trained in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar.

Esther was a Jewish woman who lived shortly after the time of Daniel. After her parents died, she was raised by her cousin Mordecai. Esther was very beautiful, and Ahasuerus, the king of Persia and Media, was so pleased with her beauty that he made her his queen.

• • What did Daniel and his friends propose when they were given the king’s meat and wine? (See Daniel 1:8–14.) How are the blessings they received similar to the Lord’s promises to us if we obey the Word of Wisdom? (See Daniel 1:15, 17, 20; D&C 89:18–20.)

• • What happened when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into the furnace? (See Daniel 3:21–27.) Who was in the furnace with them? (See Daniel 3:25.) How does the Savior help us when we turn to him during our trials?

• • What challenges do we face today that require courage like Esther’s? What blessings will we receive as we strive to do what is right even when we are faced with difficult consequences?

Additional reading: Esther 1–2; 6; 9–10.

Lesson 46: “A Kingdom, Which Shall Never Be Destroyed”, Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, 29

Daniel 2

Study the following scriptures:

• a. Daniel 2:1–23. King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and commands his advisers to describe and interpret it (2:1–13). Daniel prays with his friends, and God reveals to him the dream and its interpretation (2:14–23).

• b. Daniel 2:24–49. Daniel reveals that King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream foretells the rise and fall of the great kingdoms of the earth and the latter-day triumph of the kingdom of God over all other kingdoms.

• • How did Daniel describe the great image that the king had seen in his dream? (See Daniel 2:31–33.) What did the different parts of the image represent? (See Daniel 2:36–43.)

• • What did the “stone … cut out without hands” represent? (See Daniel 2:44–45; D&C 65:2.) What did Daniel prophesy concerning the Church in the latter days? (See Daniel 2:34–35, 44.) How is Daniel’s prophecy that the Church will “fill the whole earth” and “never be destroyed” being fulfilled today?

Additional reading: Doctrine and Covenants 65.

Lesson 44 - Every Thing Shall Live Whiter the River Cometh

Ezekiel 43–44; 47

Purpose

To encourage us to partake of the life-giving, healing powers that are available in the temple.

• Have you ever been excited while watching a sporting event or some other kind of entertainment?

• Have you ever been so excited at such an event that you stood and shouted or cheered?

• Can you think of sacred events that have been or will be accompanied by enthusiastic expressions of joy and gratitude? Some of these events include:
a. The creation of the earth (Job 38:4–7).
b. The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (John 12:12–16).
c. The Second Coming of Christ and the Resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

• How does the excitement of sporting events or other entertainment compare to the joy of these sacred events?

(While the excitement of sporting events or other entertainment is temporary, the joy associated with sacred events is eternal.)

• What is a sacred event in the Church where participants show their joy and gratitude by standing, shouting, and waving?

(During the dedication of a temple, the congregation participates in a great expression of joy called the Hosanna Shout.)

“The Hosanna Shout is whole-souled, given to the full limit of one’s strength. The congregation stands and in unison shouts the words ‘Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to God and the Lamb. Amen, Amen, and Amen,’ repeating them three times. This is usually accompanied by the rhythmic waving of white handkerchiefs with uplifted hands. The epithet ‘Lamb’ relates to the condescension and atonement of Jesus Christ” (in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 2:659).
This lesson will help us understand some of the many ways the temple brings joy.
1. Ezekiel is shown a vision of the temple in Jerusalem. Ezekiel 43:1–12; 44:6–9, 23.

• read Ezekiel 43:1–12 and Ezekiel 44:6–9, 23. What can we learn about the temple from these verses?
a. The glory of the Lord fills the temple (Ezekiel 43:2, 4–5).
b. The temple is “the place of [the Lord’s] throne” on earth (Ezekiel 43:7).
c. The Lord walks in the temple, calling it “the place of the soles of my feet” (Ezekiel 43:7).
d. The temple is a place where the Lord may “dwell in the midst” of his people (Ezekiel 43:7).
e. We learn about the laws of the Lord in the temple (Ezekiel 43:11).
f. There are ordinances that the Lord wants us to perform in the temple (Ezekiel 43:11).
g. Even the grounds that surround the temple “shall be most holy” (Ezekiel 43:12).
h. Only those who are worthy should enter the temple (Ezekiel 44:6–9).
i. In the temple we learn the difference between holy and profane and between clean and unclean (Ezekiel 44:23).

2. Ezekiel sees a river flowing from the temple that gives life to the desert and heals the Dead Sea. Ezekiel 47:1, 6–12.

• What did Ezekiel see coming from the east doors of the temple in Jerusalem? (See Ezekiel 47:1.) Where did the water go? (See Ezekiel 47:8.

• The Judean wilderness is a barren desert, and the Dead Sea is too salty to sustain animal life. According to Ezekiel’s vision, what changes will take place in the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea because of the river flowing from the temple? (See Ezekiel 47:6–12.)

• In a vision similar to Ezekiel’s vision of the temple, John the Beloved was shown the throne of God (Revelation 22:1–3; note that in Ezekiel 43:7, the Lord calls the temple “the place of my throne”). What flowed from the throne of God in John’s vision? (See Revelation 22:1.) What is the “water of life”?

How are we like the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea if we do not partake of the water of life?

• How does the water of life that is available in the temple heal and give life to marriages? families? our ancestors? the Church? What else flows from the temple that gives spiritual life and healing? (truth, wisdom, revelation, and covenants.)

• Ezekiel 47:12 describes the trees that grew along the banks of the river in Ezekiel’s vision. What did the trees have in common with the waters of the river? (They had healing and life-giving powers.)

• What grew along the banks of the river in John’s vision? (See Revelation 22:2.) Where else in the scriptures are prophets shown the tree of life? (See 1 Nephi 8:10–11; 11:25.) In the dream given to Lehi and Nephi, what did the tree of life represent? (See 1 Nephi 11:25.)

• How does the love of God heal and give life? What spiritual and physical wounds will God’s love heal?

3. Ezekiel measures the river’s depth. Ezekiel 47:2–5.

• How deep was the river the first time Ezekiel waded across it? (See Ezekiel 47:2–3.) How deep was it the second, third, and fourth times he waded across? (See Ezekiel 47:4–5.) What truth do these verses suggest about the temple? (The power of the temple increases in our lives the more often we attend.)

• Wonderful truths are taught in the temple, many through symbols. If at first our understanding of these truths or of temple ordinances is only “ankle deep,” what should we do? (See Ezekiel 47:2–5. We should wade into the “river” again and again—or, in other words, attend the temple as often as possible.)

Conclusion

The Lord has called the temple “a place of thanksgiving” (D&C 97:13). Express your thanks for the blessings that come because of the temple, and invite class members to share their feelings of gratitude for the temple. Just as the waters from the temple healed the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea in Ezekiel’s vision, the gospel of Jesus Christ will heal and cleanse us if we will partake of it.

1. “I have loved the habitation of thy house” (Psalm 26:8)
Many of the psalms mention blessings we receive from temple attendance and express beautiful feelings of love and thanksgiving for the temple. Express their feelings of gratitude for the temple as you discuss the following psalms:
Psalm 24:3-4, 6-8, Psalm 27: 1, 4-6, 65:4, 84, 122, 134

2. “The Great Symbol of [Our] Membership”
President Howard W. Hunter said: “I invite the Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your membership. It is the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the temple. It would please the Lord if every adult member would be worthy of—and carry—a current temple recommend. The things that we must do and not do to be worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy as individuals and as families” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 8; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, 8).

• How can we make the temple the “great symbol of [our] membership” in the Church? How would looking to the temple in this way affect our outlook on life and our dedication to the Lord’s work?

Lesson 44 - Every Thing Shall Live Whither the River Commeth

Sunday, November 28, 2010 Reading Assignment

Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, 28

Read: Ezekiel 43–44; 47

Study the following scriptures:

a. Ezekiel 43:1–12; 44:6–9, 23. Ezekiel is shown a vision of the temple in Jerusalem.

b. Ezekiel 47:1, 6–12. Ezekiel sees a river flowing from the temple that gives life to the desert and heals the Dead Sea.

c. Ezekiel 47:2–5. Ezekiel measures the river’s depth and discovers that the water gets deeper each time he wades into it.

- What do you learn about the temple from Ezekiel 43:1–12 and 44:6–9, 23?

- According to Ezekiel’s vision, what changes will take place in the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea, which are east of Jerusalem, because of the river flowing from the temple? (See Ezekiel 47:6–12.)

How does the water of life available in the temple heal and give life to marriages? families? our ancestors? the Church?

As you study the account in Ezekiel 47:1, 6–12, you may also want to study Revelation 22:1–3 and 1 Nephi 8:10–11; 11:25. Notice the similar images in these passages.

The Shepherds of Israel

“Lesson 43: The Shepherds of Israel,” Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 201

1. Introduction

a) Ezekiel

i) Came at the end of an age

(1) The children of Israel had been miraculously freed from bondage in Egypt

(2) Traveled in the wilderness for 40 years

(3) Brought to the Promised Land

(4) Built a great and powerful kingdom

(a) Kings, Queens and other prominent men came to Jerusalem during the reign of Solomon to see the marvels that the people of Israel had created

(b) Solomon ruled over quite a large kingdom

(5) After Solomon, Israel went into decline

(a) Beginning with the latter years of Solomon's reign, pagan religions gained a strong foothold in Israel

(b) After Solomon's death, the kingdom split

(i) Northern Kingdom – Israel

(ii) Southern Kingdom – Judah

(c) After the great military victories of Joshua and David, the apostate kingdoms of Israel and Judah began to lose battles with their neighbors and shrink.

(d) The Lord continues to send prophets to Israel and Judah to warn of the consequences of idolatry and call the people to repentance

(e) In 721 BC, the kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrians and its people are taken to Assyria as captives never to return.

(6) In Judah, 80 years after the fall of the Northern Kingdom, a righteous king, Josiah, comes to the throne at age 8 and leads his nation in a great religious revival

(a) Josiah is likened unto King David

(b) He cleanses the temple

(c) In the temple, a scroll containing the law of Moses is discovered

(d) Josiah commands that the law be taught to the people of Jerusalem

(e) He sends authorized priests throughout the land to teach the law to the people

(f) During the 31 years of Josiah's reign, the borders of Judah expand greatly

(i) Reaching the size of King David's kingdom, exceeded only by Solomon's

(7) After Josiah, Judah was once again ruled by wicked kings

(8) Jerusalem would fall only 50 years after the end of Josiah's reign

(a) Some of the people Ezekiel taught during the Babylonian captivity would have remembered the great kingdom of King Josiah

ii) Remember, we discussed that the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah came in steps

(1) Step 1 took place in 597 B.C. when the Babylonians took King Joiachin and a large number of prominent Israelites captive to ensure that Judah would not rebel and would pay tribute assessments promptly in the future

(a) Ezekiel was in this group

(i) Probably 25-26 years old

(ii) Ezekiel was not a prophet when he was taken into captivity

1. Received his call from the Lord while living as a captive in the Babylonian kingdom, about 5 years after going into Babylon.

2. Prophesied for about 22 years from about 593-571 B.C.

(b) After this first group was taken into captivity, Israelite kings still ruled in the Southern Kingdom, under the domination of Babylon

(2) Step 2 took place 10 years later, in 587 B.C. the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took many more captives

(a) Destroyed the temple

(b) Burned the city

(c) Ezekiel learned of the fall of Jerusalem in his 12^th year of captivity

(3) Captivity would continue for 70 years

iii) Ezekiel would spend his entire time as a prophet teaching the children of Israel while they were in captivity

(1) Reading 1 - Brother Duane S. Crowther has written: "Ezekiel lived the life of a captive and labored among Jewish exiles and slaves in Babylonia. Like Jeremiah, he was commanded to perform symbolic actions. Like Jeremiah, he struck out at the sins of Judah and gave the reason for God's rejection of his chosen people. Though of an upper class heritage before going into captivity, he was forced to live a life of poverty and despair. He ministered to the common people while Daniel ministered to the royalty." (Prophets & Prophecies of The Old Testament, p529)

(2) His early prophesies called the Jews to repentance to avoid being overthrown

(3) After the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel addressed much different questions:

(a) What future did the children of Israel have now that they had offended God so grievously that he had allowed them to be driven from their land?

(b) Was he still their God?

(c) Were they still his chosen people?

(d) And even if he were willing, could he gather people so widely dispersed as the Israelites were in Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, and elsewhere throughout the world?

iv) Many of Ezekiel's prophesies were to be fulfilled in different ages

(1) God would never abandon His people

(2) Captive Israel would return to Jerusalem during the lives of some of those who heard his word

(3) After another much longer scattering when Jerusalem again fell about 70 years after the birth of Christ, Jews would again return to Jerusalem

(a) Members of all the tribes of Israel scattered throughout the world would be gathered again to the true church of Jesus Christ

2. The shepherds of Israel

a) Reading 2 – Ezekiel 34:2-4

2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

i) Addressing the shepherds of Israel – Verse 2

ii) the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks – Verse 2

iii) the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks – Verse 3

iv) diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost – Verse 4

v) The shepherds of Israel were spiritual shepherds, those who have responsibility to care for the people

b) Consequences of the Failures of the Shepherds

i) Reading 3 - Ezekiel 34:5–6

5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

(1) Verse 5 - they were scattered

(2) Verse 6 - My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill

(3) Verse 6 - none did search or seek after them

ii) Reading 4 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: “Anyone serving in any capacity in the Church in which he is responsible for the spiritual or temporal well-being of any of the Lord’s children is a shepherd to those sheep. The Lord holds his shepherds accountable for the safety (salvation) of his sheep” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 710).

c) Actions of Good Shepherds

i) Reading 5 - Ezekiel 34:11–16

11 ¶ For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.

16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

(1) Verse 11 - search my sheep, and seek them out

(2) Verse 12 - deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day

(3) Verse 13 - bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries

(4) Verse 13 - bring them to their own land, and feed them

(a) Gather to the stakes of Zion

(5) Verse 14 - feed them in a good pasture

(6) Verse 14 - upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be [and] shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel

(a) References to temples

(7) Verse 15 - feed cause them to lie down

(8) Verse 16 - seek that which was lost

(9) Verse 16 - bring again that which was driven away

(10) Verse 16 - bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick

d) ASK – Who are the good shepherds?

i) The Savior - 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. – John 10:11

ii) Church leaders

iii) Missionaries

iv) Anyone who ministers to those in need

v) Remember the consequence for Israel when the people did not have good shepherds

3. Repentance and forgiveness

a) One of the reasons for the apostasy of the people of Judah was a wrongful belief that the blood of Abraham was what would save them.

i) Those of the priests – Levitical priesthood – felt they were superior to the ordinary people.

b) Ezekiel teaches a powerful lesson of individual responsibility and agency

i) READ – Ezekiel 18:4-5,9-10,13-14,17-22

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

5 ¶ But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,

SKIP – Describes a number of additional virtues

9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.

10 ¶ If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,

SKIP – Describes a number of sins

13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

14 ¶ Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,

SKIP – Describes virtues that are opposite of the father's sin

17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.

18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.

19 ¶ Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.

20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

c) Reading 6 - President Spencer W. Kimball said: "Having received the necessary saving ordinances - baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, temple ordinances and sealings - one must live the covenants made. He must endure in faith. No matter how brilliant was the service rendered by the bishop or stake president or other person, if he falters later in his life and fails to live righteously 'to the end' the good works he did all stand in jeopardy." (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p149)

d) Reading 7 - Ezekiel 18:30-31

30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

31 ¶ Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

i) make you a new heart and a new spirit – fruits of the Atonement

ii) Just like we can't remove our sins ourselves, we can't change a heart that has been harmed by sin without the Atonement

iii) READ – Recall one of the scriptures from last week - Jeremiah 31:33 - I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

iv) READ – Hebrews 10:16 - 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

v) Only an atoning Savior can write upon our hearts

4. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of bones

a) Ezekiel is also noted for some very powerful and detailed visions

b) Reading 8 – Ezekiel 37:1-14

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

11 ¶ Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

c) Verse 1 – Valley full of bones - The Valley of Vision is likely the Kidron Valley, separating the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (and its sister hills), including the Garden of Gethsemane. This valley is and was from ancient times the crux, the center focus of the Israelite people.

d) Both real and symbolic on many levels

i) A theme of restoration

(1) Alma 41:4 – "all things shall be restored to their proper order"

ii) The Lord shows Israel, whose members are scattered like the bones of a dismembered body, that he will reconstitute them into a living entity – deliver them from Babylonian captivity - just as he will reconstitute bones of dismembered bodies into living bodies

iii) Latter-day gathering of Jews to Israel

iv) Gathering of the scattered children of Israel to the stakes of Zion

v) Fulfillment of the Lord's promise to Abraham that his seed will inherit a particular land

vi) Resurrection of the body

(1) Alma 41:4 – "all things shall be restored to their proper order"

5. The stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph

a) Reading 9 - Ezekiel 37:15-20

15 ¶ The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

20 ¶ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

b) READ – 2 Nephi 3:12

12 Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.

c) READ - Elder Boyd K. Packer said: “The stick or record of Judah—the Old Testament and the New Testament—and the stick or record of Ephraim—the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ—are now woven together in such a way that as you pore over one you are drawn to the other; as you learn from one you are enlightened by the other. They are indeed one in our hands. Ezekiel’s prophecy now stands fulfilled” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1982, 75; or Ensign, Nov. 1982, 53).

Conclusion

Lesson 43: The Shepherds of Israel – Scriptures and Quotes

Reading 1 - Brother Duane S. Crowther has written: "Ezekiel lived the life of a captive and labored among Jewish exiles and slaves in Babylonia. Like Jeremiah, he was commanded to perform symbolic actions. Like Jeremiah, he struck out at the sins of Judah and gave the reason for God's rejection of his chosen people. Though of an upper class heritage before going into captivity, he was forced to live a life of poverty and despair. He ministered to the common people while Daniel ministered to the royalty." (Prophets & Prophecies of The Old Testament, p529)

Reading 2 – Ezekiel 34:2-4

Reading 3 - Ezekiel 34:5–6

Reading 4 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: “Anyone serving in any capacity in the Church in which he is responsible for the spiritual or temporal well-being of any of the Lord’s children is a shepherd to those sheep. The Lord holds his shepherds accountable for the safety (salvation) of his sheep” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 710).

Reading 5 - Ezekiel 34:11–16

Ezekiel 18:4-5,9-10,13-14,17-22

Reading 6 - President Spencer W. Kimball said: "Having received the necessary saving ordinances - baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, temple ordinances and sealings - one must live the covenants made. He must endure in faith. No matter how brilliant was the service rendered by the bishop or stake president or other person, if he falters later in his life and fails to live righteously 'to the end' the good works he did all stand in jeopardy." (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p149)

Reading 7 - Ezekiel 18:30-31

Jeremiah 31:33

Hebrews 10:16

Reading 8 – Ezekiel 37:1-14

Reading 9 - Ezekiel 37:15-20

2 Nephi 3:12

Elder Boyd K. Packer said: “The stick or record of Judah—the Old Testament and the New Testament—and the stick or record of Ephraim—the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ—are now woven together in such a way that as you pore over one you are drawn to the other; as you learn from one you are enlightened by the other. They are indeed one in our hands. Ezekiel’s prophecy now stands fulfilled” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1982, 75; or Ensign, Nov. 1982, 53).

Ezekiel, Prophet of Hope

Keith H. Meservy, “Ezekiel, Prophet of Hope,” Ensign, Sep 1990, 59

After the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel brought the promise anew that God would yet gather his sheep.

Ezekiel lived at the close of an age. A little more than a century earlier, around 721 b.c., the Kingdom of Israel had come to its end at the hands of the Assyrians. Its inhabitants had been carried into captivity and scattered among various countries. And then, in Ezekiel’s time, Babylonians, who had helped overthrow the Assyrians, had conquered Jerusalem.

In 593 b.c., while Lehi and his family were facing their trials in the Arabian wilderness and Jeremiah was contending with hostile forces in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was languishing in Babylonia. (He was one of the Jewish captives carried there earlier as surety that the Jews in their homeland would not rebel.) This was the year that Ezekiel was called by the Lord to give hope to captive souls.

The Kingdom of Judah wasn’t dead yet; it still had its own king, and many of its people still lived in their own land. But, chafing under Babylonian bonds and rejecting prophetic advice, they refused to pay their tribute. Within a few years, the temple, city walls, and homes of Jerusalem were burned and leveled. More citizens were carried away to Babylon, and those who remained soon fled to Egypt for security.

The Kingdom of Judah was no more. The promised land, north and south, was depopulated of Israelites, bringing to an end an extremely important era in Israelite history. This didn’t happen because God was unable to protect the Israelites. He could have fought their battles and saved them from being oppressed, but instead, he chose to let them fall and suffer the consequences of their wickedness. (See Ezek. 8; Jer. 16:10–13; 1 Ne. 1:4, 13.)

Ezekiel’s Message of Hope

As the fall of Jerusalem marked an important transition in the life of the Israelites, it also marked an important transition in Ezekiel’s prophecies. No longer did he call Jews to repentance to avoid being overthrown. He addressed instead the questions that must have been on their minds now that their nation was no more. What future did they have now that they had offended God so grievously that he had allowed them to be driven from their land? Was he still their God? Were they still his chosen people? And even if he were willing, could he gather people so widely dispersed as the Israelites were in Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, and elsewhere throughout the world?

News of the fall of Jerusalem (Ezek. 33:21) is the point at which one may see a transition taking place in Ezekiel’s prophecies. As this news sank into the exiles’ minds, making the prophesied dispersion a reality, Ezekiel was called to cast a beam of light on a future known only to God. His messages were messages of hope.

God would never abandon his people or his land, Ezekiel said. In days of old, Moses had foretold their dispersion and their subsequent gathering. (See Deut. 30:1–5.) But in their current situation, the words of Ezekiel offered a strong reaffirmation that the Lord would eventually fulfill His promises in regard to their gathering.

Ezekiel likened the exiled Israelites’ situation to that of scattered sheep. The scattering had taken place because their shepherds had been careless and had exploited the sheep. (See Ezek. 34:1–10.) But God himself would replace those careless shepherds with his constant care. He, as any good shepherd, would seek out the sheep, bind up their bruises, and bring them home again.

This metaphor of God as a compassionate shepherd provides background for understanding the many references Jesus made to Israel as lost sheep and to himself as the Good Shepherd. (See Matt. 18:12–14; John 10:11–18.) Christ is the shepherd both to the wandering individual and to His scattered people, and the message of hope in Ezekiel’s words applies both to the one lost sheep and to the straying flock.

A kind of national repentance might have saved the Kingdom of Judah, and that is what Ezekiel preached. But collective repentance is made up of many individual acts, and so Ezekiel’s words hold out a message of hope to the repentant individual in all times and in all places. If the wicked person will “turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; …

“He shall surely live, he shall not die.

“None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him.” (Ezek. 33:14–16.)

God does not look back at what we were in the past when we improve our lives. He does not mention former misconduct we have repented of. That is, a dishonest person who repents and does honestly is regarded by the Lord as being honest because he is doing “that which is lawful and right.”

How reassuring for those of us who struggle to overcome the weaknesses of mortality to know that when we improve our lives through repentance and faith in the Savior’s Atonement, the Lord does not mention to us that we were anything less than what we have become. And, of course, if he doesn’t, neither should we—either to ourselves or to our neighbors.

The Wages of Sin

Since sinners, through repentance, can become saints, the converse is also true. Saints who walk through life doing good, but think they are good enough not to go astray, may die as sinners. And “the wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23.) This means that whoever embarks on a virtuous life, but “turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.” (Ezek. 18:26.) Like the past deeds of the repentant sinner, his past virtuous deeds shall not be mentioned to him. (See Ezek. 33:13.) No one can stockpile enough righteous deeds to entitle him to deviate or walk an evil path. The example of the highly favored King David comes to mind.

Ezekiel teaches that spiritual life after sin is possible only for those who repent of their foolishness. God’s promises, based on knowing the truth—in other words, knowing things as they really are—are the basis of rebuilding shattered lives. Those who repent demonstrate that they are greater than their sins. Their actions show their convictions, along with their hope, that they can return to the Lord, from whom they have become estranged.

The words of modern prophets bear out this hope. Joseph Smith explains that God is close when we are willing to turn fully to him. “There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed unpardonable sin.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, p. 191.)

Similarly, Ezekiel taught that in the day of judgment, sin need not be weighed in the balance against us if we have repented of it.

The Day of Restoration

But what of a people who have strayed?

The Lord promised them: “I, even I, will both search my sheep, …

“and] deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

“And I will … gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land.” (Ezek. 34:11–13.)

One mustn’t read this prophecy as an indication that God loves one people more than another, or that he raises one people at the expense of another. We are all his children, and he is just. His purpose is to bless the earth. To those who listen to him, he gives his priesthood power and revelations so that they, in turn, may bless the nations. To this end, he gathers people.

It may try our patience to wait long enough through history to see how the gathering actually blesses all people, but that is part of faith. God loves all his children and brings all his works to fruition. When he is through, we will see how he blesses all the nations of the earth.

In that day, said Ezekiel, when the Lord’s purposes are to be accomplished, Israel will be converted to God by divine power. He will replace their stony heart with a heart of flesh. Said he: “A new heart also will I give you, …

“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

“And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezek. 36:26–28, italics added.)

The final sentence—“ye shall be my people, and I will be your God”—expresses the ideal relationship, that of oneness between God and his people as was known in Enoch’s day when “the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness. …

“And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.

“And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

“And Enoch … built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion.” (Moses 7:16–19.)

The Valley of Dry Bones

In chapter 37 of Ezekiel, [Ezek. 37] other details of the Lord’s latter-day gathering are explained. Using the reality of the resurrection, the Lord shows Israel, whose members are scattered like the bones of a dismembered body, that he will reconstitute them into a living entity, just as he will reconstitute bones of dismembered bodies into living bodies. Thus, in this chapter, resurrection is both a metaphor and a reality.

This reality includes bringing resurrected Israelites into their land—even those who die in places far removed from the promised land. They, like Abraham, will be resurrected and gathered to their land, for the gathering is not only spatial—from the nations of the earth—but also temporal—from various periods of time. Abraham asked: “Lord God, how wilt thou give me this land for an everlasting inheritance?” And the Lord answered, “Though thou wast dead, yet am I not able to give it thee?” Then the Lord showed Abraham the day of the Son of Man, how Christ would die and live again, and how Abraham would also live again. And the scriptures record of Abraham that “his soul found rest.” (JST, Gen. 15:9–12; italics added.)

To Ezekiel’s Israelites, whose two nations were dead, their people scattered abroad—to these people who seemed to have no hope of inheriting the land, the Lord extended the assurance he had given to Abraham: “I will open your graves … and bring you into the land of Israel.” (Ezek. 37:12.)

The Book of Mormon and the Gathering

Ezekiel understood very well that the key to the gathering of Israel would be the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, as Jesus explained to the Nephites. (3 Ne. 21:1–3, 7–8.) Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon were in the process of being prepared by God during Ezekiel’s ministry as major instruments to gather his people back to himself. Both records have one message—to convince “Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself to all nations.” (Book of Mormon title page.) This step is essential if people are to be gathered back to God. Hand in hand, these two records make this fact clear.

So when Ezekiel talked of gathering, he united two “sticks”—one symbolizing the record of Judah (the Bible) and the other symbolizing the record of Joseph (the Book of Mormon). For his models, he probably used two wax writing tablets, of the kind known to the Babylonians. (See Ensign, Feb. 1987, p. 4.) When he joined these “sticks,” they became one record—one in his hand, even as the Bible and Book of Mormon would become one in the hand of the Lord to carry out his work. (See Ezek. 37:15–17.) Publication of the Book of Mormon made it possible for the two books to be united in testimony—and for the gathering work to begin.

A Gathering in the Heart

Ezekiel understood that the most important part of this work would be the gathering of Israel back to God himself. In no other way could the Lord become their God and they his people. His children must be gathered spiritually, or there would be no point in their being gathered physically.

The major evidence that this dramatic gathering and conversion have occurred will be the presence of God among his people. He will dwell in their midst: “My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God and they shall be my people.

“And the heathen [Gentiles] shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” (Ezek. 37:27–28.)

This will happen after the Lord has defeated the forces of Gog allied against Israel. “And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.” (Ezek. 39:21.) His great victory will bring home to Israel the awesome reality that he who brought Moses up out of the land of Egypt would also bring the children of Israel into their land in the latter days, helping them surmount every problem they would encounter. “So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.” (Ezek. 39:22.)

Ezekiel was shown in glorious vision how Jerusalem will become the Lord’s city when Jehovah resides in the midst of the people there. Even its name will indicate his favor: “And the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.” (Ezek. 48:35.) Waters flowing from beneath the temple will go on to heal the Dead Sea, and trees growing along this river will provide medicine for the healing of illness. (Ezek. 47:1–12.)

In that day, the land will be divided among the tribes of Israel, as specified in chapters 47 and 48 of Ezekiel. [Ezek. 47–48] The allocation of space to Joseph in these verses might be seen as reflecting a principle, since additional information in the Book of Mormon, unavailable to Ezekiel, promises that a “remnant of the seed of Joseph” shall also have an inheritance in the Western Hemisphere. (See Ether 13:6–10.)

Ezekiel served magnificently, whether addressing the individual or the national need for hope. His description of the gathering of Israel shows how well God plans his work in order to bless the nations of the earth. But this ancient prophet also strengthens our faith by teaching us that God can work in our individual lives.

The Shepherds of Israel

“Lesson 43: The Shepherds of Israel,” Old Testament Class Member Study Guide, 27

Ezekiel 18; 34; 37

Study the following scriptures:

• a. Ezekiel 34. The Lord reproves those shepherds who do not feed the flock. He will seek all the lost sheep and be their Shepherd.

• b. Ezekiel 18:21–32. Ezekiel teaches that the wicked who repent will be saved and that the righteous who turn to wickedness will be cast out.

• c. Ezekiel 37:1–14. Ezekiel sees a vision in which many dry bones are given life.

• d. Ezekiel 37:15–28. Ezekiel prophesies that the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph will become one in the Lord’s hand.

In 597 b.c. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carried into captivity many people from the kingdom of Judah. Among these captives was Ezekiel, whom the Lord called as a prophet five years later. Ezekiel ministered to his exiled people until 570 b.c.

Ezekiel’s writings include rebukes and promises that apply not only to the ancient kingdom of Judah but to all Israel, including Church members today. Although Jerusalem had been destroyed, Ezekiel foresaw a day when Israel would be gathered and restored.

• • Who are the “shepherds of Israel” spoken of in Ezekiel 34? In what ways can each of us be considered a shepherd of Israel?

• • How is the Savior like a shepherd to us? (See Ezekiel 34:11–16; Psalm 23.)

• • What does it mean to “make … a new heart and a new spirit”? (Ezekiel 18:31). How can we experience this change of heart? (See Alma 5:7–14.)

• • In the prophecy recorded in Ezekiel 37:15–28, one of the things the stick of Judah represents is the Bible. One of the things the stick of Joseph represents is the Book of Mormon. What blessings have come from having the Book of Mormon in addition to the Bible?

Additional reading: Ezekiel 2.

Lesson 42 - I will write it upon their hearts...Doctrine, Principle, & Application

President George Q. Cannon says that we must thoughtfully and prayerfully turn our hearts over to God: “I should go in a prayerful spirit, asking God to write upon my heart his will; not with my own will already prepared, and determined to carry out my will.” (Cited in Henry B. Eyring, “Write Upon My Heart,” Ensign, Nov. 2000). The dangers we face are not so different from the dangers the ancient Israelites faced. Brueggeman writes, “In Jeremiah’s time the temptation was the gods of Babylon. In our day the comparable temptation may be the gods of militarism, of nationalism . . . of consumerism. In both cases the temptation is to vest one’s life hope in the things we ourselves generate, instead of receiving life as a gift from this One who stands beyond us and for us” (Brueggeman,102).

If you could have witnessed any event in the Old Testament, many of you might say you would have loved to see the children of Israel delivered from captivity as the Red Sea parted before their very eyes.



Reading 1 - Jeremiah 16
14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord
liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their eland that I gave unto their fathers.
16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

Jeremy prophesied of an even greater event than the parting of the Red Sea.

Reading 2 - Numbers 11

29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

Moses longed that the people would be able to receive their own revelation to guide their own lives. This comes through personal worthiness and knowing how to listen to the voice of the Lord.


Reading 3 - Jeremiah 31

31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

What does the phrase "write in in their hearts, really mean?"

Reading 4 - Elder D. Todd Christofferson teaches that this change of heart is up to us: “The gospel cannot be written in your heart unless your heart is open. . . . As a first step, you must lay aside any feeling of pride that is so common in the world today. By this I mean the attitude that rejects the authority of God to rule in our lives. . . . Further, for the gospel to be written in your heart, you need to know what it is and grow to understand it more fully. That means you will study it. . . . You must not only open your heart to a knowledge of the gospel and the love of God, you must practice the gospel law. You cannot fully understand or appreciate it unless you personally apply it in your life.” (D. Todd Christofferson, “When Thou Art Converted,” Ensign, May 2004.)

To understand the concept of doctrine, principle and application and how they inter-relate, I love this scripture in the New Testament:

Reading 5 – New Testament 2 Corinthians 3:2-6
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.


If we stress the how, without the why, we risk looking beyond the mark.

Your effectiveness as a parent is not in how many family home evening lessons you teach...rather in what did your children learn? Learning begins with your learning. This is why it is so important that you study the gospel alone and together.

Let's review the learning concept of doctrine, principles and applications:

A gospel doctrine is a truth revealed by Heavenly Father to His children related to their eternal progress. Doctrine is simple, foundational and fundamental. It always answers the question "why?"

Examples of doctrine are Atonement, Priesthood, Plan of Salvation and Godhead.

A principle is a guideline that comes from the doctrine for the righteous exercise of moral agency and answers the question "what?"

Look at the Articles of Faith. The first three teach us doctrine (Godhead, Plan of Happiness, and Atonement). The next one teaches principles: faith, repentance, baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

An application is a guideline for our behavior and action and answers the question "how?"

If you ask most parents and teachers and leaders in Church about where we have focused our efforts--on doctrines, principles or applications, an honest reply would be that we seem to have been fixated on applications.

President Pack taught: "True doctrine understood, changes attitude and behavior." Discuss as a couple, "why and how this works?"

This one statement summarizes the doctrine, principles, application concept better than anything I have heard: "As you teach the appropriate doctrine and help explain how the Lord communicates through the Spirit, your students will experience being led by the Spirit. They will learn the principles upon which such communication is based. As they apply those principles, they will make the correct choices in life."
http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=11954 (Elder Richard G. Scott)

I am grateful for the overiding principle in my life taught by President Benson - "when obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that very moment, God will endow us with power."


Reading 6 –

Again, think of the great lesson taught in Elder Scott's summary of doctrine, principle and application. As you teach the appropriate doctrine and help explain how the Lord communicates through the Spirit, your students will experience being led by the Spirit. They will learn the principles upon which such communication is based. As they apply those principles, they will make the correct choices in life.
(BYU Education Week Devotional, Elder Richard G. Scott)

The benefit of all of this? Joseph Smith said it best:

Reading 7 – “I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves” (Joseph Smith)

And finally, a look to the future gathering as prophesied by Jeremiah:


Reading 8 – Jeremiah 29

10 For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Can we each look inwardly and do our best to have an attitude of prayer, seeking, searching and feed our souls "the good word of God" as we learn to internalize and do His will.

Reading Assignment for Sunday, November 14, 2010 - Jeremiah 16,23, 29, 31

Lesson 42: “I Will Write It in Their Hearts”, from the Old Testament Class Member Study Guide

• As recorded in Jeremiah 31:31–34, what did the Lord promise to do in the latter days? (See also Ezekiel 11:17–20; 36:24–28; 2 Corinthians 3:2–3.)


What does it mean to have God’s law written in our hearts?


What must we do to have God’s law written in our hearts?


How is our behavior affected when we have God’s law written in our hearts?


• According to Jeremiah 29:12–14, what can we do to draw close to God?

Additional reading: Jeremiah 3–9; 13; 30; 32:37–42; 33; 35.

Have Made Thee This Day … an Iron Pillar

Lesson 41: “I Have Made Thee This Day … an Iron Pillar”, Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 194

1. Introduction

a) Thought I would have Isaiah withdrawal this week

b) Have come to appreciate Jeremiah

i) One of the few prophets who lived to see many prophesies fulfilled

ii) Worked during one of the most difficult times ever

(1) Israel was terribly depraved

(2) Babylon was knocking on the door and Jeremiah could see what would happen if Israel continued

(3) Prophesied to more than one prominent member of his society that they and their children would be carried away captive and killed.

(4) Was scorned and treated horribly for his prophesies

c) I wonder if we can draw some parallels between Jeremiah and the experiences of some LDS leaders, missionaries and members who speak out against some of the evil practices that are accepted in the world today.

d) One Isaiah scripture mentioned by Bro. Robison last week is good for us to remember as we see disturbing trends among the worldly.

i) READ Isaiah 65:17 -

17 ¶ For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

(1) Implications are amazing

(2) We know from revelation that those righteous Saints who have gone to the Spirit World continue to be aware of what is going on here in mortality, particularly among their family members.

(3) Always thought that there might be some discussion in the Spirit World about experiences we had during this life.

(4) Isaiah is saying that when Christ comes and the earth is transformed into its Millennial state, that transformed earth will be so wonderful that we won't even remember or think of the mortal earth that captures almost all our thoughts today.

(5) On days when we feel a little like Jeremiah in considering the world's wickedness, I believe that thinking on the earth in its millennial state might be good for us.

(a) Jeremiah knew that wickedness would bring captivity in Babylon

(b) We know that wickedness will happen before the return of Christ to the earth.

(c) What a great difference between our view of the future of the world and Jeremiah's.

(d) How blessed we are to live on the earth at this time, knowing that astounding new heavens and a new earth are just around the corner, according to the Lord's timetable.

2. Background on Jeremiah

a) Born about 645 BC in a small town, Anathoth, near Jerusalem

b) Prophesied under five kings of Judah

i) Jeremiah's recorded ministry covered over 50 years

ii) Josiah, whom we have discussed previously, was a righteous king who wept when he read the law found when the temple was cleansed that had been lost during three generations of apostasy

iii) The rest of the kings were wicked

iv) The last of the five kings was Zedekiah, who ruled when Babylon conquered Judah

c) Political Situation

i) Jeremiah born about 60 years after Assyria finished carrying the 10 lost tribes into captivity

ii) The Northern Kingdom – Israel – was gone and Judah stood alone

iii) Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem, was a vassal state to Babylon and paid tribute to it.

(1) Judah had traditionally been under the protection of Egypt, but Egyptian power was in decline as Babylon's increased.

(2) For some reason, one of the sons of Josiah, Jehoiakim, kept switching allegiance back and forth between Babylon and Egypt.

(a) Jeremiah and Ezekial both warned him that this would be disastrous, but Jehoiakim withheld tribute payments from Babylon.

(3) Babylonian captivity took place in three stages:

(a) Three months after Jehoiakim died, while his son was King, Jerusalem was besieged by Babylon and fell in 598

(b) After Zedekiah was made king, he revolted and the biggest deportation took place after another siege in 589 – 11 years after the first

(i) Nebuchadnezzar II, besieged Jerusalem again

(c) In 582, a Babylonian-appointed governor of Judah was assassinated and Jews who had not already been deported fled to Egypt.

d) Other prophets who were contemporaries of Jeremiah

i) Zephaniah

ii) Probably Nahum, Obadiah, Habakkuk

iii) In Babylon, the great prophets of the captivity – Daniel and Ezekiel

iv) Lehi

(1) Remember that Lehi prophesied exactly the same consequences for Judah that Jeremiah prophesied.

(2) Both men prophesied in Jerusalem

(3) The Lord lead Lehi and his family out of Jerusalem during the reign of Zedekiah, shortly before the fall of Jerusalem to a Babylonian siege.

(4) The plates of Laban and teachings of Book of Mormon prophets include the teachings of Jeremiah.

(a) READ – 1 Nephi 7:14 – In the wilderness outside of Jerusalem, Nephi is trying to persuade Laman and Lemuel not to return to Jerusalem

14 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord ceaseth soon to strive with them; for behold, they have rejected the prophets, and Jeremiah have they cast into prison. And they have sought to take away the life of my father, insomuch that they have driven him out of the land.

3. Jeremiah's Calling

a) Reading 1 – Jeremiah 1:4–10

4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

7 ¶ But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

i) Jeremiah was fore-ordained to be a prophet – Verse 5 - Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet

b) Reading 2 - The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was” (History of the Church, 6:364).

c) Reading 3 – Elder Orson F. Whitney said: "A prophet's name, place of birth, and the character of his everyday calling, are matters of little moment compared with other things pertaining to him. What of his state and standing before he came on earth? This is a far more important consideration. God's prophets are chosen before they are born, and are sent into the world as He needs them. Their aims are high and holy. They desire the welfare and happiness of the race. Yet almost invariably their motives are misunderstood, and they and their followers are opposed and persecuted." (Saturday Night Thoughts, p14)

d) READ – Jeremiah 1:17-19

17 ¶ Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

4. Many people oppose Jeremiah and try to prevent him from fulfilling his mission

a) Great opposition to Jeremiah

b) Reading 4 – Jeremiah 20:1-6

1 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.

2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.

3 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.

4 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.

5 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.

6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.

c) Reading 5 – Jeremiah 26:7-15

7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

8 ¶ Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 ¶ When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’shouse.

11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

12 ¶ Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.

15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth theLord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

d) Reading 6: Jeremiah 36:1-6, 20-23, 27-29

1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.

3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.

5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord:

6 Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.

SKIP

20 ¶ And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.

21 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.

22 Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.

23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.

SKIP

27 ¶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.

29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?

e) Jeremiah was accused unjustly and put into prison (37:12–15). He was later cast into a dungeon, where he sank into the mire (38:4–6). By order of King Zedekiah, Jeremiah was released from the dungeon and put back in prison (38:7–13).

f) This was very hard for Jeremiah to endure

i) READ Jeremiah 20:14-18

14 ¶ Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.

15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.

16 And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;

17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.

18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

g) The Children of Israel had committed two great evils

i) Reading 7 – Jeremiah 2:13

13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

ii) Reading 8 - Elder Marion D. Hanks said: “Material objectives consume too much of our attention. The struggle for what we need or for more than we need exhausts our time and energy. We pursue pleasure or entertainment, or become overinvolved in associations or civic matters. Of course, people need recreation, need to be achieving, need to contribute; but if these come at the cost of friendship with Christ, the price is much too high.

“ ‘For my people have committed two evils,’ said the Lord to Israel; ‘they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.’ (Jer. 2:13.)

“The substitutions we fashion to take the place of God in our lives truly hold no water. To the measure we thus refuse the ‘living water,’ we miss the joy we could have” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1972, 127; or Ensign, July 1972, 105).

h) How bad was Jerusalem at this time?

i) READ - Jeremiah 5:1

1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

ii) Even more generous that the Lord's offer to spare Sodom if 10 righteous people could be found therein (see Gen. 18:32). Here he offers to save Jerusalem in any righteous can be found there.

i) eremiah’s prophecies that the Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem were fulfilled, as recorded in Jeremiah 39–40. Jeremiah had been in prison during the siege, but afterward the Babylonians freed him and allowed him and a remnant of the Jews to remain in the land of Judah. Johanan, the leader of those who remained, asked Jeremiah to seek the Lord’s will for them and promised to obey it (Jeremiah 42:1–6). Through Jeremiah the Lord told the people to stay in the land of Judah and promised to bless them if they would do so (Jeremiah 42:9–22). But Johanan led the people into Egypt, where most of them continued in their wickedness (Jeremiah 43–44).

5. Jeremiah is strengthened in adversity by his love for the word of God.

a) ASK – How did Jeremiah survive and continue to strive during this terrible 50 years of ministry?

b) Earlier, we read Jeremiah 1:9

i) READ - 9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

c) What did Jeremiah do with the words of the Lord?

i) Reading 9 – Jeremiah 15:16

16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

ii) Reading 10 – 2 Nephi 2:3

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

d) The effect of the words of God upon Jeremiah

i) READ – Jeremiah 20:9

9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

6. Conclusion