Lesson 44: “Every Thing Shall Live Whither the River Cometh”

Study the following scriptures:

1. a. Ezekiel 43:1–12; 44:6–9, 23. Ezekiel is shown a vision of the temple in Jerusalem.
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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.

Lesson 43: The Shepherds of Israel

Study the following scriptures:

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
   
3. c. Ezekiel 37:1–14. Ezekiel sees a vision in which many dry bones are given life.
   
4. 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 in Their Hearts” – Scriptures and Quotes

Reading 1 - Deuteronomy 4:32–35

Reading 2 - Jeremiah 16:14–16

Reading 3 – Jeremiah 23:1–8

Reading 4 - President John Taylor said:  "There is no man that believes in the literal fulfilment of the revelations of God through the prophets who does not believe that the Lord will in the latter days gather a people together out of every nation under heaven, and that he will also gather the dispersed of Judah—the Jews—that have been trodden under the feet of the Gentiles for the last 1,800 years." (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p113)

2 Nephi 30:7

Reading 5 - Elder Orson F. Whitney said:  "The God of Israel has set his hand to gather his elect and prepare the world for the sanctifying reign of righteousness. He will accomplish what he has undertaken, using for that purpose every means consistent and available. Christ died to save the souls of men, and save them he will—by mild measures whenever these will avail; but by stern methods if necessary, after the mild have proved ineffectual. First, the 'fishers,' with gentle, kind persuasion. Then the 'hunters'—war, commotion and destruction. Such is the divine program." (Saturday Night Thoughts, p184)

Reading 6 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie:  "In due course the Lost Tribes of Israel will return and come to the children of Ephraim to receive their blessings. This great gathering will take place under the direction of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for he holds the keys of 'the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.'  (D&C 110:11) Keys are the right of presidency the power to direct; and by this power the Lost Tribes will return, with 'their prophets' and their scriptures to 'be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.'" (Mormon Doctrine, p458)

Numbers 11:29

Reading 7 – Jeremiah 31:31-34

Reading 8 – Ezekiel 11:17-20

2 Corinthians 3:2-3

Mosiah 4:2-3

Reading 9 - Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said: “And one day, we will fully see through the darkness into the light. We will understand His eternal plan, His mercy, and His love. (quoting Luke 18:8) When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?’

Perhaps as members of the Church trust with all their hearts, transform their hopes and beliefs into action, and seek to align themselves with the will of the Lord, the answer to the question the Savior asked 2,000 years ago will be a resounding ‘Yes, He will find faith. He will find faith among those who take upon themselves His name. He will find it among those who are living His divine principles’” (“Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?”; Sunday Afternoon, October 6, 2002).

Lesson 41: I Have Made Thee This Day … an Iron Pillar

Lesson 41: “I Have Made Thee This Day … an Iron Pillar” – Scriptures and Quotes

Isaiah 65:17

1 Nephi 7:14

Reading 1 – Jeremiah 1:4–10

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).

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)

Jeremiah 1:17-19

Reading 4 – Jeremiah 20:1-6

Reading 5 – Jeremiah 26:7-15

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

Jeremiah 20:14-18

Reading 7 – Jeremiah 2:13

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).

Jeremiah 5:1

Jeremiah 1:9

Reading 9 – Jeremiah 15:16

Reading 10 – 2 Nephi 2:3

Jeremiah 20:9

Lesson 37: “Thou Hast Done Wonderful Things” – Scriptures and Quotes

As a source of knowledge, the scriptures are not the ultimate but the penultimate. The ultimate knowledge comes by revelation…. A study of the scriptures enables men and women to receive revelations…. because scripture reading put us in tune with the Spirit of the Lord.  Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Scripture Reading and Revelation,” to BYU Studies Academy, 29 January 1993, 3-4, also at "Mormonism 101" lecture at Harvard University Law School, spring, 2010

It just may be that my salvation (and yours also!) does in fact depend upon our ability to understand the writings of Isaiah as fully and truly as Nephi understood them. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign, Oct 1973

Reading 1 – Isaiah 22:22

John 14:6

Reading 2 – Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:  "In ancient Israel, David was a man of blood and battle whose word was law and whose very name was also a symbol of power and authority. Accordingly, when Isaiah sought to convey a realization of the supreme, directive control and power resident in our Lord, the Son of David, he spoke these words in the Lord's name: 'And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.' (Isa. 22:22.) Centuries later, speaking of himself, our Lord said to John: 'These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.' (Rev. 3:7.) Thus, the key of David is the absolute power resident in Christ whereby his will is expressed in all things both temporal and spiritual." (Mormon Doctrine, p409)

Reading 3 – 2 Nephi 9:41

Reading 4 – Isaiah 24:21-22

Reading 5 - President Ezra Taft Benson said:  "There were two grand divisions in the world of spirits. Spirits of the righteous (the just) had gone to paradise, a state of happiness, peace, and restful work. The spirits of the wicked (the unjust) had gone to prison, a state of darkness and misery." (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p37)

Isaiah 42:5-7

Reading 6 – Doctrine and Covenants 138:29-31

Isaiah 49:9-10

Reading 7 - Isaiah 25:1–4; 32:1–2

Reading 8 - President Harold B. Lee said, “the Master was telling us that those same storms [having quoted Matthew 7:24-27] are going to fall upon the house of every one of us, rich or poor, good or bad. The only ones who will not fall will be those who have founded their lives upon the Rock—meaning divine testimony of the mission of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (“Message to Students,” Ninety-sixth Annual Commencement Address and Message, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1971, 18-19)

Isaiah 28:16

Reading 9 – Helaman 5:12

Isaiah 30:19-21