1 Nephi 11-15

In these three chapters of the Book of Mormon, Nephi relates more of the marvelous vision which he was shown.  Chapter 12 records how he saw the rest of the Book of Mormon being played out in the lives of his descendants.  We've addressed this in the previous lesson.  The heading to Chapter 13 tells us that he also saw the history of the world following Book of Mormon times:

• The church of the devil set up among the Gentiles (v. 4-9)
• The discovery and colonizing of America (v. 10-20)
• The loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible (v. 20-29)
• The resultant state of gentile apostacy (v.32-34)
• The restoration of the gospel (v. 34-37)
• The coming forth of latter-day scripture (v. 35-36, 39-41)
• The building up of Zion (v. 37

The Great and Abominable Church

"And it came to pass that I beheld the great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it." (1 Ne. 13:6)

What exactly is "the great and abominable church?"

"And [the angel] said unto me: Behold there are two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil." (1 Ne. 14:10)

So does that mean that the LDS Church is the church of the Lamb of God, and all other churches are of the devil?  Yikes!  That would bode ill for the world!

Fortunately, that isn't the case.  We are told in the Doctrine & Covenants,

"Contend against no church save it be the church of the devil."  (D&C 18:20).

Obviously, all other churches cannot be the church of the devil, or this statement would make no sense.  We have been advised by our prophets that other religions contain some truths of the gospel and do much good on the earth.  Our church joins with other churches in many causes, and often supports other churches in their needs.  We are taught respect for all religions. 

In an article in our church-published Ensign on Muhammed, we find this quote by apostle B.H. Roberts:

"While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and it is one of God’s instrumentalities for making known the truth yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place. God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they can comprehend. … All the great teachers are servants of God; among all nations and in all ages. They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God’s children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them.”

This was the second article published in the Ensign on Muhammed.  "Ishmael, Our Brother," can be found in the June 1979 Ensign.  Respectful articles were also published on Buddhism, Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Lutheranism.  In a separate article honoring Martin Luther, President Joseph F. Smith is quoted:

"Calvin, Luther, Melanchthon, and all reformers, were inspired in thoughts, words, and actions to accomplish what they did for the liberty, and advancement of the human race. They paved the way for the more perfect gospel of truth to come.”

President Hinckley was known to invite those of other faiths to, "Bring all the good you have with you, and let us add to it."

At the closing of the April 2011 Conference, President Monson reminded us again, "We are a global church. Our membership is found throughout the world. May we be good citizens of the nations in which we live and good neighbors in our communities, reaching out to those of other faiths as well as to those of our own."

So what then can Nephi's vision refer to?

The Guide to the Scriptures, which is the LDS-written scripture dictionary included in non-English LDS scriptures, but also available in English on-line, defines it as "Every evil and worldy organization on earth that perverts the pure and perfect gospel and fights against the Lamb of God."  In this sense, it may not be confined to a "church" as we know it at all, but may include philosophies, government organizations, drug cartells, cults, cultures, media, etc.--anything whose purpose is to pull people away from Christ.

What will be our escape from them?  They will fall into the pit they have dug for the believers. (1 Ne. 14:3)  When you work for the devil, the pay is not good, and never what you were promised.

The Discovery and Colonizing of America

The Lamanites had been safely separated from the rest of the world by the great oceans for centuries, but when they reached a fulness of iniquity, the Lord bridged that gap and allowed others into His promised land.  He guided Columbus to find America.  Others followed him, going out of captivity, to live in America.  (1 Ne. 13:10-13)  Europeans escaped debtor's prison or serfdom to claim their own land in America.

As prophecied by Nephi, "I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. 

"And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance..."  (1 Ne. 13:14-15)

Okay, knowing how things worked out between the settlers and the native Americans, with the natives being slaughtered, driven off their land, and herded onto reservations, we wonder, could that really have been the Spirit of the Lord, telling the Gentiles to do these atrocities?  Well, these are two different paragraphs--two different subjects.  And as we look more carefully at the scripture, we see that it was not the Lord's plan that the Lamanites be driven and scattered by the Gentiles, but before the Gentiles.  And, indeed, that happened on a terrific scale, in a little-known way:

"Throughout the Americas, diseases introduced with Europeans spread from tribe to tribe far in advance of the Europeans themselves, killing an estimated 95% of the pre-Columbian Native American population.  The most populous and highly organized native societies of North American, the Mississippian chiefdoms, disappeared in that way between 1492 and the late 1600s, even before Europeans themselves made their first settlement on the Mississippi River."  (Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, p. 78)

There is no indication that it was part of the Lord's plan for his children, the Lamanites, to be persecuted by the white settlers.

The Creation of a Free Nation

"I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.  And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.  And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.  And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations." (1 Ne. 13:16-19)

The story of the American Revolution is the story of miracles:  a ragtag, unseasoned, disorganized group of citizen-soldiers won their independence from the world's greatest empire.  The Book of Mormon tells us this was a part of God's plan, to create an environment where the "marvelous work and a wonder" of the Restoration of the Gospel could take place. 

The retreat from the Battle of Long Island at the beginning of that conflict clearly shows the hand of the Lord in the establishment of a free land.  With a fleet of British warships waiting in New York Harbor to attack Manhattan as soon as the tide and winds allowed them up the East River, British and Hessian troops numbering 20,000 surrounded a little American force of 3,000 soldiers trying to hold a four-mile ridge on Long Island.  Behind those troops stood the Brooklyn forts, which held another 6,000 American soldiers.  The Britons pushed them back to the forts, killing or capturing a little less than 1,000, but paused to rest for the night before annihilating the rest of the force.  The British had lost 400.

"The average British regular was in his late twenties, or about five years older than the average American soldier...the average regular had served five or six years in the army, or five or six times longer than the average volunteer under Washington...[but] for most of the redcoats, soldiers and young officers, like nearly all of the Americans, the battle [of Long Island] was...their first."  (David McCullough, 1776, p. 167-168)

If this map is hard to read here,

you can find it on Wikipedia,

under Battle of Long Island.

The American troops were hemmed into an area three miles around and their only chance of survival was to retreat.  Behind them lay the East River, behind that, the security of Manhattan Island.  But as soon as the wind changed, the warships would cut off that escape. 

1,200 men from two Pennsylvania regiments were dispatched across the river to bolster spirits and aid in defense.  After they arrived, a terrible storm arose.  The soldiers were soaked, cold, hungry, and beaten.

"Yet for all the miseries it wrought, the storm was greatly to Washington's advantage.  Under the circumstances, any ill wind from the north-east was a stroke of good fortune.  For as long as it held, Lord Howe's ships had no chance to 'get up' where they could wreak havoc."  (ibid., p. 184)

The storm stopped, but the wind kept up, preventing the warships from coming, but also preventing Washington's troops from retreating. 

About 11:00 p.m., "the wind shifted to the southwest and a small armada of boats...started over the river from New York...In a feat of extraordinary seamanship, at the helm and manning oars hour after hour, they negotiated the river's swift, contrary currents in boats so loaded with troops and supplies, horses and cannon, that the water was often but inches below the gunnels--and all in pitch dark, with no running lights.  Few men ever had so much riding on their skill, or were under such pressue, or performed so superbly... (ibid., p. 188)

The troops withdrew silently, because the enemy was very near.  They covered the wagon wheels with rags, did not speak above a whisper, and stifled their coughs.

"The orderly withdrawal of an army was considered one of the most difficult of all maneuvers, even for the best-trained soldiers, and the fact that Washington's ragtag amateur army was making a night withdrawal in perfect order and silence thus far, seemed more than could be hoped for...

"[The rearguard, those Pennsylvania men] kept busy creating enough of a stir and tending campfires to make it appear the army was still in place, knowing all the while that if the enemy were to become the wiser, they stood an excellent chance of being annihilated."  (ibid.)

At least 11 crossings of the East River were made that night by the mariners.

"But the exodus was not moving fast enough...time was running out.  Though nearly morning, a large part of the army still waited to embark, and without the curtain of night to conceal them, their escape was doomed.

"Incredibly, yet again, circumstances--fate, luck, Providence, the hand of God, as would be said so often--intervened.

"Just at daybreak a heavy fog settled in over the whole of Brooklyn, concealing everything no less than had the night.  It was a fog so thick, remembered a soldier, that one 'could scarcely discern a man at six yards distance.'  Even with the sun up, the fog remained as dense as ever, while over on the New York side of the river there was no fog at all...

"It was seven in the morning, perhaps a little later, when [the last men, the Pennsylvania militia] landed in New York.  'And in less than an hour after,' [reported one soldier] 'the fog having dispersed, the enemy was visible on the shore we had left [behind].'

"In a single night, 9,000 troops had escaped across the river.  Not a life was lost.  The only men captured were three who had hung back to plunder."  (ibid., p. 190-191)  The American army was preserved.  The revolution that was supposed to have been suppressed by this one battle was still alive and eventually succeeded.

The Establishment of Zion

Once the environment of freedom was created in America, the gospel was restored just a few hundred miles from New York City. 

For the first century of its life, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged its members to "gather to Zion," with Zion being first Jackson County, Missouri and then Salt Lake City, Utah.  Those same Britons from whom Washington's troops won their independence, now became the lifeblood of Zion as they converted, emigrated, and replaced apostates.  They colonized the west, along with other European converts.  But once the society of saints was firmly established in the western United States, the next part of Nephi's prophecy began to be fulfilled.  As the forces of the great and abominable church spread over the world to attack the Lamb of God, so did democracy spread throughout the earth.

Although democracy has its origins in ancient civilizations and the tiny island of Corsica implemented a short-lived democratic government system in 1755, the United States formed the first lasting democracy of our day.  The establishment of democracies throughout the world, with freedom and equality as their tenets, spread to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, and eventually Eastern Europe. "In 1950, there were 22 full democracies [in the world].  At the century's end, there were 120, and almost two-thirds of the people in the world could cast a meaningful ballot."  (Daniel Gardner, The Science of Fear, Kindle edition, chapter 1)

Democracy Index 2010

Blue regions on this map of the world

show at least partially-democratic

countries.  Lighter blue countries

are most democratic.

The spread of democracy allowed the spread of the fulness of the gospel to people all over the earth, and the spread of the power of covenants with God.

"I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory."  (1 Ne. 14:14)

How exactly was this great power and glory of the Lamb bestowed upon the people to arm them with righteousness?  Does the phrase "temples to dot the earth" ring a bell?  As Joseph Smith prayed at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple,

"And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them.  And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings, in truth, unto the ends of the earth, that they [the ends of the earth] may know that this is thy work, and that thou hast put forth thy hand, to fulfil that which thou hast spoken by the mouths of the prophets, concerning the last days...

"Remember all thy church, O Lord, with all their families, and all their immediate connections, with all their sick and afflicted ones, with all the poor and meek of the earth; that the kingdom, which thou hast set up without hands, may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth...

"That our garments may be pure, that we may be clothed upon with robes of righteousness, with palms in our hands, and crowns of glory upon our heads, and reap eternal joy for all our sufferings."  (D&C 109:22)

Aba Nigeria Temple

"And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things--

"And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel."  (1 Ne. 14:15-17)

So, in other words, things will only get worse until they get better!  We need not fear the great and abominable church, we need only stay out of it.  The Lord will fulfill his covenants made with his people "scattered upon all the face of the earth" for "there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth." 

As revealed in Nephi's vision, we are the continuation of the history in the Book of Mormon.  Therefore, as we establish groups of Zion in the nations of the world, each becomes a Promised Land and is bound by the Lord's promise, that "Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land."  (2 Ne. 1:20.  See also 1 Ne. 2:20; 1 Ne. 4:14; 1 Ne. 13:15; 1 Ne. 17:13; 2 Ne. 1:9; 2 Ne. 4:4; Jarom 1:9; Omni 1:6; Mosiah 2:22; Mosiah 2:31; Mosiah 29:43; Alma 9:13; Alma 36:1; Alma 36:30; Alma 37:13; Alma 38:1; Alma 45:6-8; Alma 48:15; Alma 48:25; Alma 50:20; Alma 62:51; Helaman 3:20; Ether 7:26; Ether 10:16;

Old Testament Lesson #44 "Every Thing Shall Live Whither the River Cometh"

Ezekiel 43-44; 47

EZEKIEL'S VISION OF THE TEMPLE

Take a moment and read the following verses:  Ezekiel 43:1-12; 44:6-9, 23.  What do these verses tell us about the temple?

• The glory of the Lord fills the temple (43:2, 4-5).
• The temple is "the place of [the Lord's] throne" on earth (43:7).
• The Lord walks in the temple, calling it "the place of the soles of my feet" (43:7).
• The temple is a place where the Lord may "dwell in the midst" of his people (43:7).
• We learn about the laws of the Lord in the temple (43:11).
• There are ordinances that the Lord wants us to perform in the temple (43:11).
• Even the grounds that surround the temple "shall be most holy" (43:12).
• Only those who are worthy should enter the temple (44:6-9).
• In the temple we learn the difference between holy and profane and between clean and unclean (44:23).

THE RIVER FLOWING FROM THE TEMPLE

Read Ezekiel 47:1; 6-12.  What did Ezekiel see coming from the east doors of the temple in Jerusalem?

• "...waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward" (v. 1).  The east doors of the temple symbolize the visitation of God to the earth.  God is thought to come from the east, as the Garden of Eden was eastward.

Where did the water go?

• "...toward the east country, and...down into the desert, and...into the [Dead] sea: which, being brought forth into the sea, the waters can be healed" (v. 8).

What changes will take place in the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea because of the River flowing from the temple?

• Trees will grow along the banks of the river (v. 7, 12).
• The trees will yield fruits and nuts constantly (v. 12).  Is there any variety of tree in the world presently that is ever-bearing, and not subject to seasons?
• Their leaves will never fall (v. 12).  This would be a bit unusual; most fruit/nut trees are deciduous.  Citrus trees are evergreen, but grow in a subtropical climate.  So either the climate or the trees will undergo an enormous change.
• The leaves of the trees will also have healing properties (v. 12).
• Everything that comes in contact with this water will receive vitality (v. 9).
• The waters of the Dead Sea will be healed and there will be fish in the Dead Sea, so many that fishermen will be able to fill their nets (v. 8-10).  This would be a miraculous change.  "Normal marine life cannot live in the Dead Sea, which is six times saltier than the ocean down to about 130 feet and 10 times saltier than the ocean at 300 feet. The name of the Dead Sea in Hebrew, 'Yam ha Maved,' literally means, 'Killer Sea,' and instant death is exactly what happens to any fish that strays into its waters from the River Jordan or other fresh water streams that flow into the Dead Sea. Life does exist in the Dead Sea, though, in the form of two bacterium and one type of algae."  (Lynn Murray, e-how.com)

Latter-day temples frequently use water symbolism

in their landscape design.  This is the reflecting pond

in front of the east doors of the Logan Temple.

(This photo was taken by my daughter,

Camille R. Jensen.  Copyright 2010.

Copying for personal, home, or church use permitted.

This photo is on display at the Logan LDS Institute,

and the Brigham City Seminary.)

UNDERSTANDING THE VISION

The best commentary on any scripture is always another scripture.  If we can match up a symbol from one scripture to a second scripture that has a clear explanation, we can be much more confident that our interpretation is correct than if we merely refer to the opinions of scholars who live thousands of years removed from the time of the writing.  That is the case with this chapter of Ezekiel.  There is a vision very similar to Ezekiel's in the book of Revelation:  "And he shewed me a pure river of water* of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" (Rev. 22:1-3).  The number twelve refers to a perfect Godly government, of course:  the twelve apostles, the twelve tribes of Israel, the priesthood (BibleStudy.org).  Although this is unrelated to Old Testament symbolism, it is interesting that the age at which young men enter into priesthood service in the present-day church is also twelve.

*Note:  Because there are many riverbeds that remain dry except in the rainy, flooding season in the middle east (wadis), there is a distinction for a river that has water running in it, translated here as "river of water."  It is interesting to note this same phrase appearing four times in the Book of Mormon, as in 1 Ne. 2:6.

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? 

• "Water of life."  We can assume, then, that this is the interpretation of the water flowing from the temple in Ezekiel's vision.

What is the "water of life?" 

• This question is answered in the Gospel of John 4:10-14.  Christ is the living water.  His gospel is spiritually life-saving and also leads to eternal life. 
• Like the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea, we can receive healing, increased abundance of life, and even eternal life as a result of partaking of the "water of life" that issues forth from the presence of God in the temple.

Trees grew along the river in both Ezekiel's vision and John's vision.  What does John teach us about these trees?

• They were all the tree of life.

What is this tree of life? 

• In Lehi's vision, "...the tree of life was a representation of the love of God" (1 Ne. 11:25).

How does the love of God heal and give life? 

• The ultimate expression of God's love is the atoning sacrifice of His Son.  Because He suffered and died for us, we can be healed of the wounds of sin and the effects of a fallen earth, if we repent and come to Christ.  As we do so, we can partake of the waters of life which lead to eternal happiness and joy with the righteous, our loved ones, and with God.

(Copyright 2010, Camille R. Jensen

Copying permitted for personal, home, or church use.)

Read Ezekiel 47:2-5.  How deep was the river each time Ezekiel crossed it?  What truth might these verses suggest about the temple? 

• The water of the river represents the "water of life."  As we engage in the work of the temple (each time we cross the river) the power and blessings of the temple increase in our lives.  How can we drink from the water, if we don't go to the river? 
• Wonderful truths are taught in the temple.  When first we attend, our understanding may be only "ankle deep."  As we wade into the "river" again and again, our understanding deepens.  We will never reach the bottom of this source of water, but each time we go to the temple, we can let them "wash over" us.
• The number 1,000 symbolizes divine completeness and the glory of the Father.  The number 1,000 is repeated four times.  Four symbolizes the world and creative works.  In the temple, God's glory and perfection intersect the world He created.

SYMBOLISM IN THE RIVER

How is the river a good symbol for the temple and the truths taught there?  What does a river do/give?  (Here are some ideas, but class members may have better ones.) 

• Polish rocks
• Irrigate crops
• Change the face of the land
• Create a pathway
• Provide means for speedy transportation
• Cleanse
• Provide meat (fish) and vegetation for nutrition
• Soothe with sound
• Deposit fertile soil in a new place
• Quench thirst
• Provide shade trees and fruit trees
• The water in a river remains pure because it is constantly flowing

BIBLE "SCATTERGORIES"

Divide the class into two teams.  Give each team member a paper and pencil.  You can either have the following categories already printed on the papers, or hand out blank papers and list the categories on the board.  When you say "go," each team member must write down one incident in church history, from the Bible to the latter-days, that would fit symbolically in each category.  It can even be a personal or family history incident.  Stop them in 2 minutes.  Call out the categories and have class members share what they wrote.  The object is for each team to have written down the largest number of different incidents.  Award one point for each different answer that is given.  (In other words, if two team members wrote "Sacred Grove" for number one, only one point is awarded to the team for that answer.  If two people on different teams give the same answer, though, each team gets a point for the answer.)  Any answer can be correct if the team member can explain the symbolism for his choice, so encourage creativity!  The high scoring team wins.  (If you award treats to the winners, it's always nice to have smaller "consolation" treats for the other team as well.)

1. A tree or trees
2. The sound of rushing waters
3. A mountain
4. Fishermen
5. Great schools of "fish"
6. A desert (This is the one that is hot and sandy.  The one that you eat is spelled with two S's.)
7. A sea
8. Fruit
9. A river

Possible answers (just to give you ideas):

1. A tree or trees (the First Vision, the Garden of Eden, Lehi's Dream, the Garden of Gethsemane, the parable of the olive trees)
2. The sound of rushing waters (Pentecost, the Kirtland Temple Dedication)
3. A mountain (The Mount of Transfiguration, Hill Cumorah, Ensign Peak, any latter-day temple, the Mount of Olives, Golgatha, Mount Sinai)
4. Fishermen (The New Testament Apostles, missionaries)
5. Great schools of "fish" (The early Latter-day converts in England, Canada, Tonga, Africa, and other areas where congregations were prepared to join the Church as a group--each individual country mentioned can count.)
6. A desert (The Exodus, the travels of Lehi's family, the crossing of the U.S. by the pioneers, the settling of the Salt Lake Valley, southern Utah, and Arizona)
7. A sea (Crossing the Red Sea, the Jaredites' travels, the Nephite emigration, the gathering of the early European pioneers, the missionaries to the South Seas--in fact the travels of any missionary over any ocean today, Christ walking on the water, Peter walking on the water, the Ship Brooklyn)
8. Fruit (The fruit of the Spirit, the converts to the gospel, the growing of fruit trees in the settlements of the western U.S., the planting of fruits and vegetables along the pioneers' path in order to provide for followers, the fruits of the trees in the Garden of Eden, the parable of the olive trees)
9. A river (The washing of Naaman in the Jordan River, the crossing of the North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers by the pioneers, the rescue of Moses from the Nile, the river Laman in the Book of Mormon, the miracle at Fishing River, the baptism of an ancestor in a river)

TAKE-HOME REMINDER

For fairly small classes, a fun visual reminder for each student to take home might be a bottle of water, with a label glued over the original label and printed with a photo of a temple and this scripture:  "Whosever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."  John 4:13-14

(Feel free to copy and print the temple photos in this blog entry for use in your class.  The photographer is my teenage daughter, Camille.)

Old Testament Lesson #42 "I Will Write It In Their Hearts"

Jeremiah 16; 23; 29;31

The Book of Jeremiah, at its most basic, has two themes:  The estrangement of Israel from the Lord leading to grave consequences, and the eventual mercy of the Lord when Israel repents and returns.  Many of the chapters contain these two themes, back-to-back, including the chapters in this reading assignment.

RETRIBUTION AND REDEMPTION

The Lord charges Israel of Jeremiah's day with a greater misconduct than previous generations.  "Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have (1) walked after other gods, and have (2) served them, and have (3) worshipped them, and have (4) forsaken me, and have (5) not kept my law; And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye (6) walk every one after the [stubbornness or hardness] of his evil hearts, that they may not hearken unto me:  Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night: where I will not shew you favour" (16:11-13).  It is interesting that to have a hardened heart was considered worse by the Lord than to abandon true worship and follow after idols!

But in the very next verse, we find a promise of redemption.  It is not to happen right away, but in "the days [that] come," probably the very latter days.  It will be such a great rescue, that it will eclipse the Exodus from Egypt!  Where for thousands of years, the Israelites have uttered their oaths by saying, "As the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt," they will after this time swear, "as 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" (16:14-15).

DETAILS OF THE RESCUE

The Lord explains how the gathering is to be accomplished:  First he will send out the fishers (16:16).  Fishers of ancient times used large nets in which they could reap a massive harvest in one catch.  So was the beginning of the harvest of souls in the early days of the Restoration.  As the missionaries went to England, to Canada, to Wales, to Denmark, large groups of converts joined at once.  Hundreds of investigators gathered at the Benbow Farm in England, for example, studying the Bible together, seeking the true religion, and they joined the Church as a large unit when the missionaries arrived.  A similar event happened in Canada.  So many saints joined the Church in Europe that the Perpetual Emigration Fund was set up in order to finance their gathering.  They traveled across the plains of the United States in huge wagon trains and handcart companies, part of a massive movement.

After the fishers are finished with their work, the Lord will send the hunters.  "They shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks" (16:16).  Today the missionaries in those same countries do not find large groups of religious seekers waiting for them to bring the gospel.  Instead they must hunt among the crowds, tracting door-to-door, finding here one and there one.  It's very common for a missionary to a European country to see only one or two baptisms during his entire mission.  But the hunters are just as important to the Lord's work as the fishers! 

The work of the gathering will spread over the entire earth.  "The [nations] shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit" (16:19).  They will realize that if they make their own gods, they are not gods, they have no power (16:20).  Therefore, at this time ["this once"] they will come to the knowledge of the Lord Jehovah (16:21).

DUALISM IN JEREMIAH

"For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good work toward you, in causing you to return to this place" (29:10).  "The number seventy is another combination of two of the perfect numbers, seven and ten...The product exhibits the significance of each in an intensified form. Hence 7 x 10 signifies perfect spiritual order carried out with all spiritual power and significance. Both spirit and order are greatly emphasized" (BibleStudy.org).

This prophecy can be seen as having two fulfillments.  70 years after Jeremiah, Cyrus freed the captive Israelites.  Many decided to stay in Babylon, the northern Israelite captives having been there for nearly 200 years, and the Judaens having been there for 70 living an agreeable lifestyle, as Jeremiah prophecied (28:4-7).  Ezra 1-6 tells us of the small group who first returned, rebuilt the altar of the temple, and then began an effort to resurrect the temple itself (Alec Motyer, The Story of the Old Testament, p. 163).

However, this prophecy is also being fulfilled in our day through the Restoration of the gospel after the Great Apostacy, as well as in individual lives after their return from personal apostacy.  We each can reap the beautiful promise offered by the Lord:

"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.  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  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" (29:11-14).  Remember that the word "place" often has an underlying meaning of "temple" in the Old Testament.  We can each be returned to the temple from the captivity of our sinfulness if we seek the Lord diligently.

Engraving on the Logan Temple

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR PARENTS

"I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people...I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee [to me]" (31:1, 3). 

Jeremiah 31 is full of beautiful images of the redemption of the Lord and the return of his people.  I see an especially hopeful message to parents of wandering children:  "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Ra[c]hel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not" (31:15).  Rachel was one of the matriarchs of the nation of Israel.  Ramah was the place where the Israelites were gathered before their deportation.  It was north of Jerusalem, possibly near to Rachel's grave.  How many righteous latter-day saint parents have wept as they watched their children being herded off to Babylon by forces beyond their control?  Fortunately, this is never the end of the story.  "Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.  And there is hope [for thy future], saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border" (31:16-17).

"And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord" (31:28).

This promise of the Lord is shown in this oft-quoted statement, repeated most recently by Elder Eyring in October 2009 General Conference:  "Elder Orson F. Whitney, in a general conference of 1929, gave a remarkable promise, which I know is true, to the faithful parents who honor the temple sealing to their children: 'Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold...Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.'"

THE NEW COVENANT

"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" (31:31).  This covenant would not be a law of outward observances, like the Law of Moses (31:32), but a complete transformation of the soul.  This difference is shown in latter-day temple worship.  Beyond offering sacrifices of animals or birds to redeem them from sin, the latter-day templegoers are offering the consecration of not only everything they possess, but their whole beings, not to simply return them to a sinless state, but to elevate them to a godly state.

"After those days [any statement like this usually refers to the latter 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" (31:33).

There will be no more need for missionary work.  "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" (31:34).

How sure is this prophecy?  The Lord tells us.  "If heaven above can be measured [it can't], and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath [they can't], I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done" (31:37).  In other words, Israel will never be cast away permanently.  The redemption of Christ will always be available to her.  This is true even in an individual sense.  Some may think their sins are beyond the reach of the redemption of Christ, that their hearts can never be purified, but the Lord's mercy and power are endless.

JOURNEY BACK TO ZION

The journey that many of us in the latter days must make to reach a state of purification is symbolized in the story of the engraver of the Salt Lake Temple, John R. Moyle.

"John R. Moyle lived in Alpine, Utah, about 22 miles as the crow flies to the Salt Lake Temple, where he was the chief superintendent of masonry during its construction. To make certain he was always at work by 8 o’clock, Brother Moyle would start walking about 2 a.m. on Monday mornings. He would finish his work week at 5 p.m. on Friday and then start the walk home, arriving there shortly before midnight. Each week he would repeat that schedule for the entire time he served on the construction of the temple." (Jeffrey R. Holland, "As Doves to Our Windows," Ensign, May 2000.)

Likely, Brother Moyle would have traveled across the mountain from Alpine to present-day Draper, and on across the Salt Lake Valley to Temple Square.  The journey he took can be followed on Google Maps.  Click on "Get Directions," type "Alpine, Utah" as Point A, "Draper Temple, Utah" as Point B, click on "Add Destination," and type "Historic Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah" as the final destination.  It is a 20-minute winding journey by car from Alpine to Draper today, and another 30 minutes, mostly on the freeway, from Draper to Temple Square, although Brother Moyle's route was probably a little more direct.

Check out the mountains
Brother Moyle would have traversed weekly:

The view from the Alpine side.

Looking back from the Draper side.

"Once when he was home on the weekend, one of his cows bolted during milking and kicked Brother Moyle in the leg, shattering the bone just below the knee. With no better medical help than they had in such rural circumstances, his family and friends took a door off the hinges and strapped him onto that makeshift operating table. They then took the bucksaw they had been using to cut branches from a nearby tree and amputated his leg just a few inches below the knee. When against all medical likelihood the leg finally started to heal, Brother Moyle took a piece of wood and carved an artificial leg. First he walked in the house. Then he walked around the yard. Finally he ventured out about his property. When he felt he could stand the pain, he strapped on his leg, walked the 22 miles to the Salt Lake Temple, climbed the scaffolding, and with a chisel in his hand hammered out the declaration 'Holiness to the Lord.'" (ibid.)

Likewise, we find ourselves maimed by the world as we go about our daily lives.  We must sometimes enlist the aid of loved ones to amputate the damaged, infectious parts of ourselves, our habits of sin, and replace them with new habits, painstakingly carved one day at a time, in order to make that long walk to back to God.  But as we do so, the Lord meets our efforts with the grace of his Atonement, and we are able to climb up the scaffolding to the temple and reach a state of "holiness to the Lord."

This is the promise of the Lord in Jeremiah.  "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the [ends] of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.  They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of [living] waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn" (31:8-9).

Old Testament Lesson #40 "Enlarge the Place of Thy Tent"

Isaiah 54-56; 63-65

CHAPTER 54

"Isaiah 54 and 55 are beautiful chapters of encouragement; chapter 54 portrays the glory of Zion in the last days, and chapter 55 extends an invitation to all people to partake of the gospel.  Building upon the prophecy of the Messiah (chapter 53), these two chapters promise special blessings from the Savior's mission...

"[Chapters 54-58 lay] a foundation for the following eight chapters concerning the great blessings of a Zion society, a millenial reign, and a new heaven and new earth in the last days (chapters 59-66)"  (Victore Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet, Seer and Poet, p. 458).

This chapter was quoted by Christ to the Nephites (3 Ne. 22).

v. 1 The places and peoples that were previously unfruitful in the gospel will produce a great harvest:  "More are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife." 

v. 2-3 "In the last days, or the time in which we now live, the Lord will bring many people to Zion.  They will be so many that they cannot all fit in one place.  Rather than there being only one land of Zion, she will be established in many stakes" (Parry, et.al, p. 479).  The stakes will spread all over the earth, "on the right hand and on the left," and cities that previously had no Latter-day Saints ("the desolate cities") will now be inhabited with them.

v.4-10 Although the House of Israel suffered a temporary "widowhood," or being abandoned by the Lord because of their sins, the Lord is still her "husband" and will not permanently forsake her.  It is just as with the flood at the time of Noah: the Lord promised he would never drown the earth again, and he did not.  So also he has promised that he will not be angry with the House of Israel forever, and he will not.  His love and "the covenant of his peace" are more solid than the very mountains.

v.11-14  Despite the troubles the people have been through, partly because of their wickedness, the Lord will prepare an astonishingly beautiful city for them, in which their children can be taught of the Lord--"taught by the Lord" and/or "taught about the Lord."  (New Revised Standard Version and New International Version both translate this as "taught by the Lord.")  The result of this teaching is great peace for the children.

v.14-17 Evil people will still conspire, but it will not affect those who are near the Lord, who fall under his protection.  The Lord is in total control.

v. 17  President Ezra Taft Benson carried this verse in his wallet (Ensign, July 1994, p. 32).

CHAPTER 55

According to Victor Ludlow (p. 463), this chapter is in chiastic form.  (For more on chiasm, see Should I Not Spare Ninevah? in a previous entry.)

v. 1-3 Invites all to receive the everlasting gospel.
          v. 4-5 Promises help.
                    v. 6-7 Requests a turning back to the Lord.
                               v. 8 States that God's plans and ways are not
                               man's plans and ways.
                                         v. 9 Testifies that the heavens (spiritual
                                         plans) are above the earth (mortal
                                         designs).
                              v. 9 States again that God's plans and ways are
                              not like man's.
                    v.10-11 Declares that some things have already returned
                    back to God.
          v. 12 Promises that we can be led back to God's presence.
v. 13 Invites us to become God's everlasting sign.

CHAPTER 56

v. 1-2 Blessings to those who are obedient to the Lord.
v. 3-8 This is a beautiful passage about how the Lord desires to gather "the outcasts of Israel".  Those who have previously been excluded from the church, eunuchs (castrated slaves) and strangers (foreigners or Gentiles) (see Deut. 23:1-3) are now welcomed and afforded every privilege, even temple privileges, if they will keep the Sabbath and "take hold" of their covenants. Much more detail is available about keeping the Sabbath in chapter 58.
v. 5-8 "Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people," the Lord says.  Note the many, many references to temples in this passage:  "mine house," "within my walls," "a place (sometimes translated 'hand') and a name better than of sons and daughters," "an everlasting name," "my holy mountain," "my house of prayer," "burnt offerings and sacrifices," and "mine altar."  (If you have access to pictures of temples, or can print them off the Internet (see link later in this entry), each time one of these temple phrases is read in the passage, post a picture of one of our latter-day temples, so that the board will be covered with pictures of 8 or 10 temples as you read this verse.  If you plan to do the "Stakes of Zion ABCs" game, you may want to post the pictures of the temples refered to in the game.)
v. 9-12 "A short rebuke to the wicked of the time" (footnote 9a).

CHAPTER 63

v. 1 A question is asked:  "Who is this that cometh from Edom [symbolic of the wicked nations, according to Harper-Collins Study Bible], with dyed garments from Bozrah [a major city of Edom, also according to Harper-Collins]? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?"  Who is the conquering hero?  Jesus Christ gives the answer:  "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save."
v. 2 A second question is asked:  "[Why] art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?"  There is something very striking, very unnatural, about his clothing that draws the attention of the questioner.
v. 3-6 Christ answers again: "I have trodden the winepress alone..their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment."  It is the symbol of the great suffering of the Atonement.  Not coincidentally, geth means "garden" and "semane" means "a press for liquids" (Victor Ludlow, p. 514).
v. 4 Throughout the book of Isaiah, alternating prophecies are found regarding Jehovah's anger towards the wicked (which includes all of us at some time or another), and his mercy towards them when they repent.  In this verse, "The phrases 'day of vengeance' and 'year of redemption' show the ratio of the Lord's vegeance and redemption:  he will execute vengeance for only a day, but his redemption lasts for a year.  In other words, his punishments will be temporary, but his blessings permanent" (Victor Ludlow, p. 519).

The rest of the chapter is a prayer of praise for the Lord.  Some beautiful passages lie here.

v. 9 "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried tham all the days of old.
v. 10 The people rebelled, however, and offended the Spirit, so that he had no choice but to be at enmity with them.
v. 11-13 Note the footnotes which greatly clarify who is speaking and about what.  The people remembered the previous great works of the Lord.
v. 14 As a result of their repentance, the Spirit of the Lord brought rest to them (see footnote 14c), just as a cow naturally heads into the furtile lands of the valley (see footnote 14a).
v. 15-19 The people offer a prayer to the Lord to "look down from heaven" upon them.  Even if they were not connected to their great fathers, Abraham and Israel, they know that God is their Father, and he will care for them forever and ask him to help them regain their inheritance from their enemies.  (Note footnote 17a.)

CHAPTER 64

v. 1-4 The prayer continues, glorifying God and his mighty works, which are beyond the understanding of men. 
v. 5-7 The people, admittedly, have sinned and departed from the Lord's ways.
v. 8 But now they acknowledge that they are nothing more than clay in the hands of the potter.  They are willing to let him shape their lives.
v. 9-12 They acknowledge that they have abandoned Zion and the temple, but they hope the Lord will be merciful to them.

CHAPTER 65

Here is the answer to the prayer.
v. 1-5 The Lord has "spread out [his] hands all the day unto a rebellious people."  They continue in their idolatrous ways, and they reject the Lord, saying they are holier than he is.  Sacrificing in groves of trees was an idolatrous practice.  Brick altars were idolatrous altars.  (The Lord instructed his people to sacrifice on altars of unhewn stone (Exo. 34:1-3).  Trying to communicate with ghosts, and eating pork were also against the commandments.
v. 6-10 So the Lord must mete out judgment.  He will not destroy them all.  A few people shall be "inheritors of [his] mountains (temples)."  Places that were previously troubled (Sharon, the valley of Achor) will now be peaceful pastures.
v. 11-12 The Lord again rebukes the wicked, those that forget "my holy mountain," that feed the idols of fortune and fate (see footnotes 11a and 11b).
v.13-15 Blessings will be given to the righteous, while the wicked will suffer.
v. 16 The sealing power will be available (see footnotes 16a and 16b).
v. 17-25 There will be a new heaven and earth, filled with joy.  No infants will live a life of only days, but will completely fill the life of an old man.  Fairness and justice will reign; people will be blessed in proportion to what they have done.  The Lord will answer their prayers before they are even spoken.  There will be no more predators or carnivores on the earth, but all animals shall live in peace with each other.  "There shall not [anything] hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," suggesting that the entire earth will be as a temple, and all people will dwell in the presence of the Lord.

Here is a chiasm identified in Victor Ludlow's book, p. 528:

v. 8 "Thus saith the Lord...I may not destroy them all" because
some good is still present.
     v. 9-10 Servants and animals dwell in the land.
          v. 11 The wicked warned
               v. 12 War
                    v. 13 The righteous vs. the wicked
                         v. 14 Shouting, crying, howling
                              v. 15 Cursing
                                   v. 16 Former troubles forgotten
                                        v. 17 The Lord will create a  new
                                        heaven and earth
                                   v. 17 Former things not remembered
                              v. 18 Blessing
                         v. 19 Rejoicing, no weeping and wailing
                    v. 20 JST The innocent vs. the sinners
               v. 21 Peace
          v. 22 Chosen ones blessed
     v. 23-25 People and animals at peace on the earth
v. 26 Every being on the earth will do only good, "saith the Lord."

"President Joseph Fielding Smith repeatedly stressed that this chapter of Isaiah does not refer to a celestialized earth.  Instead, the new heavens and earth prophesied by Isaiah will come at the beginning of the Millennium." (Ludlow, p. 529. He gives four references.)

"Verse 20 shows that two characteristics of all people during the Millennium will be a long life and the retention of agency and the capacity to sin."  Most people, in this righteous environment, would choose to come to Christ, but agency still exists.  Sinners (meaning those who sin and do not repent--no one will be perfect yet) living to be 100 years old will be cursed because they will not enjoy the post-earthly period of spirit prison in which to pay for their sins, but will have to suffer for them on the earth before their own resurrections (Ludlow, p. 531).

Isaiah 65 and 66 are in striking contrast to Isaiah 1 and 2, indicating the highly structured form of Isaiah.

Stakes of Zion ABCs
Here is a fun little game to play to emphasize the spread of the Church, and the growth still to come as the gathering of Israel takes place.  I have chosen some countries that were interesting to me, but if you would like to choose others (for example, those in which you have ward members serving missions, or those in which class members have ancestry or special interest), go to cumorah.com, choose "International LDS Database," and then "LDS Country Database."  Click on your country or type it into the "search" bar, and then scroll down through the country's article until you find "Official LDS Statistics."  Or look down below in the first comment where reader CarlH has left a link to the statistics on the Church's website.)


For large classes:  Print up the list of countries, cut them apart, and pass them out among class members.  Have them simply stand up and read them in alphabetical order.


For smaller classes:  Print up the list of countries and keep it to yourself.  Say the letter of the alphabet and have the class members guess which country is on your list.  Toss a small treat to the student who guesses the country.  If no one guesses it within 10 seconds, give the name.  Then have the class members guess how many saints might be in that country.  The class member who guesses the closest gets a small treat.  Tell them the real number, as well as how many congregations, and how many missions and temples are in the country.  Keep the game moving fast.


For competitive classes:  Divide the class into two teams, and play as above, taking turns between the classes, and giving a point to the team who guesses each item correctly.


If you would like to print up photographs of the temples included, you can find them at lds.org.  As you read each country's data, you can have them guess which temple pictured is in that country, if you posted the pictures earlier while reading through Isiaah 56:5-8.  If not, you can post them now as they are mentioned.


A--Albania:  1,730 saints in 10 congregations, 1 mission
B--Botswana:  1,302 saints in 4 congregations
C--Cuba:  50 saints
D--Domican Republic:  98,268 saints in 183 congregations, 3 missions, 1 temple
E--Egypt:  less than 100 saints in 1 branch
F--Fiji:  14,120 saints in 44 congregations, 1 mission, 1 temple
G--Guatemala:  200,537 saints in 428 congregations, 4 missions, 1 temple
H--Hong Kong:  22,939 saints in 42 congregations, 1 mission, 1 temple
I--India:  1,752 saints in 26 congregations, 1 mission
J--Japan:  122,422 saints in 294 congregations, 7 missions, 2 temples
K--Kazakhstan:  125 members in 1 congregation
L--Lebanon:  139 members in 1 congregation
M--Malaysia:  4,626 saints in 19 congregations
N--New Zealand:  96,027 saints in 201 congregations, 2 missions, 1 temple
O--Oman:  no Latter-day Saints
P--Pakistan:  200 saints in 4 congregations
R--Russia:  15,615 saints in 102 congregations, 8 missions
S--South Korea:  80,420 saints in 143 congregations, 4 missions, 1 temple
T--Taiwan:  47,034 saints in 97 congregations, 3 missions, 1 temple
U--Ukraine:  10,394 saints in 49 congregations, 2 missions, 1 temple
V--Vietnam:  100 saints in 2 congregations
W--Western Sahara:  no Latter-day Saints
Y--Yemen:  no Latter-day Saints
Z--Zimbabwe:  16,969 saints in 45 congregations, 1 mission

CONCLUSION

Isaiah 60 offers a glorious call to missionary work, to hasten the coming of the Lord.

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.  (These verses are also found in the Messiah oratorio.)  (Isaiah 60:1-3)

How many of us have seen the Light of Christ manifest in the face of another?  Those who are seeking the truth often recognize a light about the members of the Church, and they are drawn to it.

People of other faiths are also attracted to the light of the temples.  "For years now, they've been flocking to the Freiberg Germany Temple, the LDS Church milestone that 25 years ago became the first Mormon temple operating inside the Iron Curtain. They come to stroll the walkways in solitude or sit on the outside benches to ponder and pray. They gather on the lawns for bridal photos and wedding-party snapshots. They call it 'our temple' — one leader recently boasted that 'Freiberg has become world-famous because of the temple.' Oh, and 'they' are the non-Mormons living in and around Freiberg. And the leader? The current mayor of Freiberg, who joined past and present civic dignitaries and local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a silver-anniversary celebration..."  (Deseret News, Sept. 6, 2010)

"Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

"Then thou shalt see, and [be radiant], and thine heart shall [reverence the Lord], and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea [great multitudes] shall be converted unto thee, the [wealth] of the Gentiles shall come unto thee...

"And the sons of strangers [converts] shall build up thy walls [the city of Zion, and the temples], and their kings shall minister unto thee...Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought...

"The glory of Lebanon [the most beautiful building materials available] shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box [tree] together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary [the temple], and I will make the place of my feet [the temple] glorious...

"Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the [earth] forever, the branch of my planting, the word of my hands, that I may be glorified."  (Isaiah 60:4-5, 10-13, 21)

End class with a challenge for each class member to focus on what he could do to participate in this joyous expansion of missionary work and temple-building, and to increase the Light of Christ in his own countenance that it may be recognized by those seeking it.

Supplement to OT Lesson #37

Isaiah 22; 24-26; 28-30

Note:  The previous blog entry has a complete lesson based entirely on Isaiah 25.  This entry offers additional insights into the other chapters included in the reading assignment.

ISAIAH 22

v.11 refers to the fortifications and preparations for seige made by Hezekiah.  (See a previous entry for more information on this story.)  Although these were entirely effective protection under Hezekiah's righteous rule, if the people do not look unto their Maker, it will not matter how ingenius their fortifications are. 

v.12-13 The Lord called for repentance.  He expected sorrow, weeping, self-abasement in sackcloth and ashes, but instead, the people continued to indulge recklessly in their worldly pursuits, "eating and drinking."  They are unconcerned. (Ludlow, p. 233; Parry, p. 198)

v. 15  Shebna was an actual person, singled out as an example.  He was leader of the king's court, equal to a present-day secretary of state.  (Ludlow, p. 234, Parry, p. 199)

v. 19  This prophecy was fulfilled; Shebna was demoted.  (Isa. 36:3)

v. 20  Eliakim was another real person with a position in the kingdom.  He held the keys to the king's storerooms (v. 22).  His family depended upon his position as their security (v. 24).  He was unsuccessful, however (v. 25).  But his story can also be interpreted as being a type of Christ.  Eliakim means "God shall cause to arise" (see footnote).  He will be priest, king and father (v. 21).  He will hold the keys of the priesthood (v. 22) that will "open, and none shall shut; and...shut, and none shall open."  He will be fastened "as a nail in a sure place" on the cross (v. 23).  As he hung on the cross, so "the glory of his father's house" will hang upon him, and all the children of God, "offspring and issue," will rely upon his merits and position (v. 24).  "In that day" (usually meaning the final days or the end of the world) "the nail that is fastened in the sure place" will be removed, the sorrow and pain that was afflicted upon Christ and those who take up His cross, will be "cut down, and fall; and the burden...shall be cut off" (v. 25).  (Ludlow, p. 235; Parry, p. 199)

CHAPTER 24

v. 1 See D&C 5:19.

v. 2 Twelve groups of people are listed, in six opposing sets, representing all castes and levels of society.  The wrath of the Lord upon the earth will be no respecter of persons.  (Parry, p. 215)

v. 5  Three reasons are given for the devastation:  1) the people have transgressed the laws, 2) changed the ordinance, and 3) broken the everlasting covenant.  This verse was quoted in the introduction to the D&C, D&C 1:15-17.

But, of course, the righteous will be saved:

v.13 They will be few, as the last olives clinging to the tree which must be shaken down, and as the grapes that are left when the harvest is over.

CHAPTER 25

See previous blog entry.

CHAPTER 26

This is a song of praise for the Lord.  The basic theme is:

v. 13-14  Israel admits having previous gods, but now has turned to Jehovah.

v. 15  The promise of the Abrahamic Covenant is being fulfilled; the Lord "hast increased the nation."

v. 19 The dead will be resurrected.

CHAPTER 28

This chapter is replete with interesting imagery about the ways of wickedness, alternating with imagery about Christ and what he offers to those who would accept it.

v. 1-4 Woes to the wicked church members ("drunkards of Ephraim")

v. 5-6 Praise for the Lord who, in the last days, will be glorious and helpful to the righteous.

v. 7-8 Description of the disgusting condition of the wicked

v. 9-13 The Lord reveals his word to those who are spiritually mature ("weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts") or, an alternative interpretation, using the footnotes, he reveals his word to those who have been taught from infancy.  Either way, revelation will be received bit by bit over time.  It is a process.  Those who really desire it must hang on patiently, and learn as they go.  Those who are not willing to do so, will "fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken."

v.14-15  Sinners foolishly make covenants with "death and hell," thinking that, just because they desire it, or just because Satan lies to them about it, or because it is fashionable, they can change the consequences of their actions and avoid punishment and devastation.

v.16-17  The Lord will lay out a sure foundation, however: one that will not fail, one that will function as promised.  This would undoubtedly be the Savior and his Atonement.  (Jacob 4:16-17; Helaman 5:12)

v. 18-20  A return to the previous concept, that false covenants will not stand, no matter how much the people believe in them.  They will be "trodden down" by an "overflowing scourge."  It will be so severe, that it will be troubling just to hear about ("a vexation only to understand the report"), let alone to be involved in it.  Agreements with evil are like beds that are "shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it" and like a blanket "narrower than that he can wrap himself in it."  They will never be successful solutions, comforts, or resting places like the "sure foundation."

v. 21-22  The Lord will do "his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act."  He has determined a trial ("consumption") for everyone "upon the whole earth."  He has a plan that man cannot comprehend, in which to best aid each of these foolish children. 

v. 23  Listen!  This is important!  ("Give ye ear, and hear my voice.")

v. 24-29 And here is the important thing:  The Lord personalizes trying circumstances to exactly match the need of each wandering individual.  God tailors the chastisement to the person, to best prepare him to repent and receive the gospel seed.  He does exactly the right amount of chastening--never too much, never not enough.  "Fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument."  Fitches are little black poppyseeds and would be crushed if threshed.  "Neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin."  If it was, the delicate cumin would be destroyed.  Instead, "the fitches are beaten out [by hand] with a staff, and the cummin with a rod."  Corn (or wheat), however, must be threshed, or there will be no harvest.  "Bread corn is bruised." "When it is necessary to separate the sinful parts of our nature from the divine, he will shake us, but with as little severity as possible to achieve the desired outcome" (Mark Edmond, p. 200).  This shows that the Lord is "wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working."

CHAPTER 29

This is a prophecy of the Book of Mormon, "the marvelous work and a wonder."

v. 1-2 "Ariel" refers to Jerusalem.  (Parry, p. 261)

v. 11 was quoted by Moroni to Joseph Smith in September of 1823.  (Ensign, Aug. 1990, p. 13-16)

v. 11-12 Much more detail on these verses is given in the Book of Mormon version, 2 Nephi 27:6-24.

v.15-17 Those who have been calling good evil and evil good, who have expected positive consequences from wicked works, who have denied the existence of their Creator, are going to see an upset. Things they have turned "upside-down" will shift:  Lebanon, known for its mighty forests, will become a farmer's field.  The fruitful field, in turn, will become a forest.

v.18-24 The chapter closes with a beautiful long about the latter days.  The meek and poor in spirit who come unto Christ (see the Beatitudes in 3 Nephi 12:3-10) will have increased "joy in the Lord."  All of the evil will be overturned and overruled.  Those who have followed Christ ("the house of Jacob") will neither be laid low ("ashamed") nor given cause to fear ("face now wax pale").  When they see Christ this time, they will "sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and [respect and reverence] the God of Israel."  Those that "erred in spirit shall come to understanding," and even those that "murmured" (think: Laman and Lemuel) shall learn the gospel!!!

CHAPTER 30

This chapter continues the theme:  men are grossly wicked, yet the Lord remains ever attendant to bring them back to the truth.

v. 1-11  The people are terriby wicked, and the sources they seek for strength are not the Lord.

v. 12-14 Trusting in sinful ways is extremely dangerous and will always fail.  For a while, it seems fine, like a "high wall" as that around Jerusalem, or as a retaining wall or a dam.  But always, there will come a "breach" which will "swell out" gradually, and then "breaking cometh suddenly at an instant."  Imagine a city wall collapsing and allowing the enemy soldiers to pour into the city, or a dam breaking and flooding over homes and farmlands.  Destruction will always follow wickedness, eventually.  (Parry, p. 279)

v. 15-17 True strength, which is always offered to Israel, is "in returning and rest...in quietness and in confidence."  Returning can also be translated as repenting.  (New International Version; Parry, p. 280). But Israel refuses the sure way, the easy way, the way of faith in the Lord, and instead "flees upon horses," but is always overtaken.

v. 18-20  But God is amazingly patient and ever loving!  He will "wait, that he may be gracious unto you...that he may have mercy upon you."  He will give "the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction," but note that bread and water are sustenance, nourishment!  They are "teachers" and eventually the children of Israel shall see them as such.

v. 21-24  Finally the House of Israel will notice the "word behind [them], saying, This is the way, walk ye in it!"  They will be in tune with the Holy Ghost, and follow its promptings!  (Parry, p. 282)  They will throw out their idols, and they will realize how truly abominable and disgusting their past behaviors were, the vilest of garbage to be thrown away ("a menstruous cloth").  The Lord will then bless them, "give rain to their seed" and "bread of the increase of the earth," replacing the bread of adversity and the water of affliction.

v.25-33 "Upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill" (in other words, in the multitudes of temples around the world) there will be "rivers and streams of waters," the living water of Jesus Christ, flowing abundantly.  This will happen in the day when the wicked are overthrown ("the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall").  We often repeat the prophecy that the sun and moon will be darkened, but seldom this one: that after the slaughter, the light of the moon and the sun will increase exponentially!  In fact, to the degree of a holy perfection:  "sevenfold, as the light of seven days."  The wicked will be violently destroyed, but the righteous, those who "come into the mountain of the Lord" (the templegoers), will be gloriously blessed.

----------------------------

Sources:

Victor Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet
Parry, Parry and Peterson, Understanding Isaiah
Mark Edmond, "Images of Mercy in the Writings of Isaiah," Covenants, Hymns and Prophecies of the Old Testament

Old Testament Lesson #33: Sharing the Gospel With the World

Jonah 1-4; Micah 2; 4-7

The book of Jonah is another beautiful piece of Hebrew poetry, that delivers multiple lessons through its langauge and symbolism.  If you were to ask a class, "What is the major message of the book of Jonah?" you could get many answers that could all be right.  Of course, the title of the lesson involves missionary work.  This blog entry, however, will focus on two different but related themes of the book of Jonah:  being temple-oriented, and receiving peace by forgiving our enemies.

GOING DOWN

The story of Jonah is a katabasis: a journey down.  Jonah went down, down, down: down from Joppa, down into the ship (1:3), down into the bottom of the ship (1:5).  We consider the bottom of the earth to be the ground, but you can get even deeper if you go to the bottom of the sea, which is what Jonah did (2:3-6).  But what's interesting is that Jonah chose to say he went "down to the bottoms of the mountains" (2:6), when clearly he was describing the bottom of the sea ("the waters compassed me about...the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head") (2:5).  Of course, the ocean floor has mountains, but there is a particular reason that Jonah chose to refer to it this way.  Jonah's story is about a journey down from "the presence of the Lord" (1:3, 10) (David Bokovoy).

In the stories of Moses receiving the Law, or Abraham sacrificing Isaac, everything is "up."  They go up to the mountain, which is where they can visit the Lord in a temple-like environment.  The word "mountain" in the scriptures often indicates an outdoor holy place or temple. 

The word for "temple" in Hebrew means literally "the presence of the Lord" (David Bokovoy). Which, of course, makes perfect sense. So you can substitute "temple" for "the presence of the Lord" or for "mountain" in this story and in most of the Old Testament.

Also, the Lord comes to his children "from the east" in scripture (Matt. 24:27; Zech. 14:4-5; Ezek. 43:1).  Moses' tabernacle and Soloman's temple both faced the east (Bible Dictionary "Tabernacle") for that reason.  The garden of the Lord was "eastward in Eden."  Which direction was Jonah running?  West, of course.  The temple and Jerusalem were on the east end of the Mediterranean Sea.  Tarshish, where Jonah was going, is presumed to be in present-day Spain (see Bible Dictionary), on the very far west side of the Mediterranean, as far west as you could go in Jonah's world.  Tarshish was also a worldly place, the center of commerce on the sea, materialistic--once again, the opposite of the temple.

So Jonah was not only running away from his mission, he was running away from the temple and his covenants.

Of course, you can't run away from the Lord, since he controls the elements, and there was a tempest on the sea, which threatened the lives of the sailors.  Jonah confessed to be the fault and the sailors threw him overboard (1:12).  The Lord had prepared a whale to swallow Jonah.  It is no coincidence that Jonah was inside the whale for three days and three nights: the space between the Atonement and the Resurrection (1:17).  Jonah's story is an obvious type of the resurrection of Christ and the power of the Atonement (Matt. 12:39-41), and also a type of baptism.  Jonah was completely immersed in the water, and after the whale spit him out, he had the chance to start over, to become a new man, and to join the Lord's purpose, to preach repentance to Ninevah.

THE PSALM OF JONAH

Jonah's psalm is representative of anyone who has left their covenants, suffered because of their sins, and had the opportunity to return, through the Atonement, to the presence of the Lord.  (Jonah uses the Hebrew poetic form, enallage [en-ALL-uh-gee] in which he begins by referring to the Lord in third person, and ends by referring to the Lord in second person, indicating that their relationship changed during the story, and he drew closer to the Lord.)

"Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.  For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.  Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

"The waters compassed me about, even to the soul [to the death]: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.  I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.  When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple" (2:1-7).

Perfection is a process, though, and Jonah didn't allow God's perfect love to cast out his fear (1 John 4:18).

FORGIVING OUR ENEMIES

Why did Jonah go to such great lengths to purposely run away from the presence of the Lord, from his calling as a prophet, and from his covenants?  Why was he so unhappy about sharing the gospel in Ninevah?

Well, Ninevah was the capitol of Assyria.  The story of Jonah is unique in the Old Testament in that Jonah was called to preach the gospel to enemies of the House of Israel.  Israelites had always been counseled to stay away from the heathen nations, definitely not to marry them, and even, in the time of Joshua, to kill them all before entering the Land of Canaan so that their idolatry would not seep into the culture of the Israelites.  Prophets previous to Jonah had all been charged with calling only Israel to repentance; this was a different thing altogether.  And not only was Jonah called to idolatrous non-Israelites, but to THE great enemy, Assyria!  They were powerful, and they were ruthless and they had caused a great deal of sorrow in Israel over a long period of time.

Jonah's calling to carry the gospel to the enemy has parallels in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon.  In Acts 10, the prophet Peter had a dream about a great tablecloth that came down from heaven with non-kosher foods on it, and he was commanded to eat them.  Then messengers arrived from Cornelius, a Roman who was seeking the truth of the gospel.  The Romans, of course, were ruling over the Jews and oppressing them: enemies!  Peter realized that the Lord was telling him that Cornelius, a Roman and a non-Jew, could be baptized, and a wonderful harvest of Roman souls was reaped that Cornelius had gathered and prepared.

In the Book of Mormon, the sons of Mosiah went on a 14-year mission to the Lamanites, at great peril of their lives (Mosiah 28; Alma 17-26).  They were not the first to try a mission to the Lamanites (see Jacob 7:24), but they were the first to succeed.  A great number of Lamanites joined the Church and became among its most stalwart members.  All of the "sons of Helaman" were a product of this harvest.

Jonah, likewise, had tremendous success, once he decided to go.  120,000 Assyrians repented (if the number is literal and correct) and accepted the gospel (Jonah 4:11).  But Jonah was different than Paul and Ammon: He did not rejoice in his harvest.

THE SAVING OF NINEVAH

Jonah's message was that destruction would be coming after the symbolic 40 days, the Biblical trial period.  Ninevah was such a huge city that it took three days to walk across it (3:4).  Yet even though Jonah only walked a third of the way into the city delivering his message (he was a little half-hearted), word quickly reached the King of Ninevah (3:7-9; note the JST footnotes).  Jonah, undoubtedly, was shocked when the King of Ninevah believed him!  The king took off his royal robe, and repented in sackcloth and ashes, in the Hebrew manner (3:6)!  He required everyone in the land, even the animals!, to do likewise, to pray to the Lord, to fast, and to beg forgiveness.  Where else in the Bible do you find anyone, even the Israelites, going so far as to have the animals fast and sit in sackcloth and ashes?  Remarkable!  This man was sincere!  "Who can tell," he said to his people, "if we will repent, and turn unto God, but he will turn away from us his fierce anger, that we perish not?" (3:9 JST)

God saw their sincere repentance, and forgave them (3:10 JST).

Jonah, however, did not.  Disappointed and angry, he went and made himself a little shelter outside the city, where he could sit in the shadow [away from The Light], with the hope that he would still get to view the destruction of Ninevah (4:1-5).  Perhaps he didn't trust the Assyrians to remain sincere, and was afraid they would change back to their old ways and threaten the Israelites.  If they were all destroyed, the threat would be completely gone.

How long he sat there we don't know, but it was apparently long enough for the little shanty to fall apart so that he was unsheltered.  The Lord, always reaching out, even when we create our own misery, grew a castor bean plant (see footnote for "gourd") over Jonah's head, to shelter him, "to deliver him from his grief."  Castor bean plants can reach 40 feet in height, growing up to 10 feet in one season.  The leaves alone can be 3 feet long.   A caster bean plant would make a quick and excellent shade from the sun.  It had come as a free gift of God's love to him, which he did not have to qualify for on his own merits (4:10).  Perhaps it was even a type of the Atonement, which will comfort us and free us of the bitter abuses others have brought upon us, if we will let it.

But Jonah refused be delivered of his grief, prefering to sulk and stew about Ninevah and hope for vengeance.  So the Lord sent a worm to destroy the plant.  With his shelter removed, Jonah was subject to the "vehement east wind" and the hot sun (both symbols of God), and ironically Jonah, who had been saved from death while running from the Lord's errand, now having completed it with huge success, wished for death to return.  He could not relent and love his enemies as God did.  He could not recognize that the Assyrians could not "discern between their right hand and their left hand" (4:11), or to say it another way, were "only kept from the truth because they [knew] not where to find it" (D&C 123:12).

SHOULD I NOT SPARE NINEVAH?

Jonah seems so hardhearted, refusing the offer of the Lord for freedom from grief through forgiveness. But maybe if we look a little closer, we will see that Jonah was just exactly like us.

James Ferrell has interpreted the book of Jonah to be a rather broad chiasmus (pronounced "ky-AS-mus"), the Hebrew literary tool in which all the lines of the poem lead to the main point, after which they all repeat in reverse order with slight variation.  The central point of the chiasmus, according to Brother Ferrell, is found in Jonah 2:8:  "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy."  What does this mean?

Jonah, being of the House of Israel, as we also are, had a feeling of superiority over the wicked, wicked Assyrians.  Of course!  He was more righteous, right?  He had kept the commandments, he had observed the covenants, he was a prophet or missionary of God.  Jonah and the entire Hebrew nation had been greatly wronged by Assyria.  It was a huge part of their history for many, many years. Likewise, we have each been wronged by some person, or even by some nation. We all have, or we all will; it is a part of the test of life.  Sometimes it is a major part of our life's history.

Jonah's story, and often ours, is a little bit like two parables of Jesus's: the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), and the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16).  In both of these parables, one person or group of people feels that they are more righteous, more deserving than another, because they have been in the household of the Lord longer.  They resent the Lord offering his Atonement to those who did less or who came later.  This is the "lying vanity" central to the book of Jonah.  If Jonah despises Ninevah and considers it to be unworthy of salvation, Jonah makes himself unworthy, and "forsakes his own mercy."  The greater sin is always the sin of being unforgiving (D&C 64:9).

The truth is, we all have fallen short of grace.  "What then? Are we better than they?  No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no not one" (Rom. 3:9-10).  Even one sin casts us out of the presence of God, and we are completely dependant upon the grace of God to sanctify us so that we may return.  Relative righteousness is irrelevant!  "Love and salvation are gifts offered to us, not because we deserve them, but even though we do not...[We] have no cause to feel entitled; [we] only have cause to feel grateful" (James Ferrell).

So Brother Ferrell's chiasmus of the book of Jonah is as follows:

1. The Lord issues a command to Jonah: Preach in
     Ninevah (1:1-2)
     2. Jonah sins by not wanting Ninevah to be saved (1:3-17)
          3. Jonah repents; the Lord saves Jonah (2:1-7; 9-10)
               4. "They that observe lying vanities forsake their
                    own mercy" (2:8)
          3. Ninevah repents; the Lord saves Ninevah (3:1-10)
     2. Jonah sins by not wanting Ninevah to be saved (4:1-3)
1. The Lord asks Jonah a question, "Should I not spare
     Ninevah?" (4:11)

COME TO THE MOUNTAIN OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

Immediately following the book of Jonah, in which the evil Assyrians repent, the book of Micah begins abruptly with a call to repentance--to the Jews, and their mixed-race relatives, the Samaritans! (Micah 1:1-2)  The book of Micah also makes the call to us, the members of the latter-day church, the House of Israel.  Here is the beautiful promise if we repent and turn back to "the presence of the Lord:"

"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills [now we are really going up!] and people shall flow unto it.

"And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

"And he shall judge among many people [maybe our personal enemies], and rebuke strong nations afar off [maybe our national enemies]; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

"But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts [armies] hath spoken it.

"For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever" (Micah 4:1-5).

Today we go up to the mountain of the house of the Lord to participate in the temple ceremonies.  It doesn't matter if we are brand new to the church, life-timers, or returning after repentance, we are all alike there.  It doesn't matter if we are old or young, fat or thin, dark or pale.  It doesn't even matter what language we speak.  Only one thing matters: if we have "unkind feelings" we are "invited to withdraw."

The question at the end of the book of Jonah is not answered by Jonah, in order that we may answer for ourselves. Our answer determines our salvation, as well as our peace and happiness in this life. Will we join with the Lord and rejoice in the sparing of Ninevah (our relative, our ex, our neighbor, our national enemy: that person or people who has caused affliction in our lives)?  Will we free ourselves from the grief and abuse of the past and enjoy the comfort and peace the Atonement brings and sit under the castor bean plant?  Or will we be found with Jonah, on the hill, overlooking the city, suffering in the heat and the wind, refusing to be comforted by the Lord, as we watch hopefully for vengeance to fall?

ADD-ON, JUST FOR FUN

Check out the cutest telling of the story of Jonah that I have ever seen, done by a tiny little girl at the Corinth Baptist Church, at this link.  It's eight minutes long, but absolutely wonderful.


Sources: 

David Bokovoy, Know Your Religion Lecture, Logan, Utah, February 15, 2002, and BYU Education Week Lecture, August 2001.

James Ferrell, The Peacegiver, p. 91-114.