Jeremiah 16,23, 29, 31 - I Will Write it in Their Hearts

BACKGROUND
Israel - Jacob son of Isaac son of Abraham
12 Tribes - 12 sons of Israel - children of Israel - Abrahamic covenant promised to them
Judah vs Israel

INTRO
The prophet Jeremiah lived through one of the most troubled periods of history. He witnessed the fall of a great empire (Assyria) and the rising of another (Babylon). Jeremiah declared God’s message for forty years, warning of coming disaster and appealing in vain to the nation to turn back to God.  He, like Mormon, was called to labor among a people for whom there was no hope because they refused to repent, and “the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually”. Mormon, after witnessing the destruction of the Nephite nation, cried out for his people. Here was a righteous man, one of the best, lamenting over his people who were so blind, so foolish, so spiritually dead. Jeremiah, too, mourned his people’s wickedness. You may think of Jeremiah as a harsh man as you read his scorching denunciations of the Jewish people and the lives they were living, but he was not. His motivation, like Mormon’s, was love.

Think back and realize that the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt is one of the most miraculous events in the Old Testament

Quote 1 - A prophet does not select where and when he serves. God chooses when and to whom a prophet is sent. One may be an Enoch and build Zion, or a David O. McKay and preside over the Church in times of peace and prosperity. Another may be a Mormon or a Jeremiah and try in vain to save a rebellious and backsliding people. Each has his calling. Each has his time. Each has his lesson for us to learn.

Jeremiah 16
What do you know about the scattering of Israel?

At the death of Solomon, probably about 975 B. C., the kingdom was divided; the tribe of Judah and part of the tribe of Benjamin accepted Rehoboam, the son and successor of Solomon, as their king; while the rest of the people, usually spoken of as the ten tribes, revolted against Rehoboam, thus breaking their allegiance with the house of David; they chose Jeroboam as their king. The ten tribes under Jeroboam retained the title Kingdom of Israel, though the kingdom was likewise known by the name of Ephraim,[915] from its most prominent tribe; while Rehoboam and his subjects were known as the Kingdom of Judah. For about 250 years the two kingdoms maintained a separate existence; after which (721 B. C.), the independent status of the kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and the people were brought into captivity by the Assyrians. The Kingdom of Judah was recognized for over a century longer, after which it was brought to an end by Nebuchadnezzar, who inaugurated the Babylonian captivity.

Jeremiah was commanded to explain clearly to the people the reasons for his actions as well as the reasons for their coming punishment.
What did Jeremiah prophecy that gave Israel any kind of hope?

The Lord showed Jeremiah a vision of the future that put the calamities he had witnessed into a perspective of hope. Like other prophets of his time (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zechariah), Jeremiah was shown that scattered Israel would one day be gathered, that Judah would return to the lands of her possession, and that eventually all of Israel would become great. These visions and prophecies were recorded by Jeremiah and for centuries have provided hope to a nation of suffering people. They hold a very important place in the latter-day work of restoration.

Read v.14-16 (I will bring them again unto their land.  He will send fishers, hunters, etc.)

Quote 2 - Elder LeGrand Richards commented on these verses: "Just contemplate that statement for a few moments. Think how the Jews and the Christians all through these past centuries have praised the Lord for his great hand of deliverance under the hands of Moses when he led Israel out of captivity, and yet here comes Jeremiah with this word of the holy prophet, telling us that in the latter days they shall no more remember that, but how God has gathered scattered Israel from the lands whither he had driven them. And Jeremiah saw the day when the Lord would do this very thing, when he would call for many fishers and many hunters, ‘and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.’ Where do you find those fishers and hunters that we read about in this great prophecy of Jeremiah? They are these 14,000 missionaries of this church, and those who have preceded them from the time that the Prophet Joseph Smith received the truth and sent the messengers out to share it with the world. Thus have they gone out, fishing and hunting, and gathering them from the hills and the mountains, and the holes in the rocks. I think that is more literal than some of us think"

Jeremiah 23
Read v.3 (Lord will bring them again to their folds)

Quote 3 - President Spencer W. Kimball said: "The gathering of Israel is now in progress. Hundreds of thousands of people have been baptized into the Church. Millions more will join the Church. And this is the way that we will gather Israel. The English people will gather in England. The Japanese people will gather in the Orient. The Brazilian people will gather in Brazil. So that important element of the world history is already being accomplished. It is to be done by missionary work. It is your responsibility to attend to this missionary work."

Chapter 23 is primarily a scathing denunciation of the religious leaders of Jeremiah’s. He mentions the following about the sins of the Jewish religious leaders, the priests and the “prophets.”

    (v.11) - Both prophets and priests are profane.
    (v.13) - They prophesied in the name of Baal and led the people into error (see v. 13).
    (v.14) - The prophets are adulterers, liars, and supporters of evil men. They are as evil as Sodom and Gomorrah in God’s sight.
    (v.16) - They speak their own words, not those of the Lord.
    (v.17) - They tell the wicked they can have peace and that there is no evil in what they are doing.
    (v.21) - They called themselves to the ministry and prophesy without revelation.
    (v.31) - They say “Thus saith the Lord” when the Lord has not spoken through them.

Jeremiah29
Jeremiah tells Jews in Babylon to prepare for 70 years of captivity (v.4,10)

Jeremiah31
Read (v.12-14) - “They Shall Not Sorrow Any More at All”

These verses picture the great joy and happiness that will accompany the return of Israel. The promises of great abundance (see v. 12) and rejoicing (see v. 13) and the end of sorrow. Though Judah did not heed Jeremiah’s warning and his dire predictions came to pass, the hope of a brighter day was clearly given here.

Quote 4 - Elder LeGrand Richards said "While the members of the Priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not paid for their services, and thousands of them have left their families for years at a time to do missionary work in the nations of the earth, paying their own expenses and without remuneration from the Church, yet, in their hearts, they feel they are better paid than any other religious leaders in the world, because of the joy and satisfaction the Lord plants in their hearts, which could not possibly be purchased with money. Thus He has satiated ‘the soul of the priests with fatness,’ and His people are satisfied with His goodness."

Read (v.31-34)
What does it mean to have God’s law written in our hearts?
Joseph Smith was once asked how he successfully governed so many people. He said, “I teach the people correct principles and they govern themselves”
How does this statement relate to having God’s law written in our hearts?

What is the extent and purpose of the gathering?
1. Return of the Jews to Jerusalem.
2. Restoration of the Ten Tribes.
3. Assembling in the land of Zion of the people of Israel from the nations of the earth.

D&C 110:11 (1836 Moses restored the keys of the gathering of Israel)
D&C 133:8-9 (Tells us how/where to gather)
D&C 133:14 (Purpose: depart from spiritual Babylon - separate ourselves from wickedness that we may learn the ways of God and serve him the more fully)

D&C 133:26-34 (They who are in the north countries shall no longer stay themselves)
v.32 - Zion should already be established.

As being the tribe of Ephraim, we are charged to bless the families of the earth with the Gospel and gather Israel.




Jeremiah 16:29–30 "The Fathers Have Eaten a Sour Grape, and the Children’s Teeth Are Set on Edge" - This proverb conveyed the idea that children are affected by what their parents are and do

"There is the man who resisted release from positions in the Church. He knew positions were temporary trusts, but he criticized the presiding leader who had released him, complaining that proper recognition had not be given; the time had not been favorable; it had been a reflection upon his effectiveness. He bitterly built up a case for himself, absented himself from his meetings, and justified himself in his resultant estrangement. His children partook of his frustrations, and his children’s children. In later life he ‘came to himself,’ and on the brink of the grave made an about-face. His family would not effect the transformation which now he would give his life to have them make. How selfish! Haughty pride induces eating sour grapes, and innocent ones have their teeth set on edge.

“Eight lovely children had blessed the temple marriage of a man and woman who in later years were denied a temple recommend. They would not be so dealt with by this young bishop. Why should they be deprived and humiliated? Were they less worthy than others? They argued that this boy-bishop was too strict, too orthodox. Never would they be active, nor enter the door of that Church as long as that bishop presided. They would show him. The history of this family is tragic. The four younger ones were never baptized; the four older ones never were ordained, endowed, nor sealed. No missions were filled by this family. Today the parents are ill at ease, still defiant. They had covered themselves with a cloud, and righteous prayers could not pass through. “Sour grapes! Such unhappy food!” - Spencer W. Kimball

ISAIAH 54-56, 63-65 - Enlarge the Place of thy Tent

STAKES OF ZION
Isaiah 54:2

What does the tent mentioned represent? (The Church of Jesus Christ.)
What do the tent stakes represent?

President Ezra Taft Benson said: “The term stake is a symbolic expression. Picture in your mind a great tent held up by cords extended to many stakes that are firmly secured in the ground. The prophets likened latter-day Zion to a great tent encompassing the earth. That tent was supported by cords fastened to stakes. Those stakes, of course, are various geographical organizations spread out over the earth. Presently, Israel is being gathered to the various stakes of Zion”

D&C 101:20–21

The first stakes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were organized in Kirtland, Ohio, and in Clay County, Missouri, in 1834. As the Church grew, more stakes were added as commanded by the Lord . Today there are hundreds of stakes located throughout the world.

Region            Temples     Missions    Stakes        Districts    Wards     Branches
World               170            406             3,104           554            22,083      7,381
United States    81             120              1,533               9            12,065      1,936
Utah                  17                 9                573                1              4,633         330
Outside U.S.     89             286              1,571            545            10,018      5,445

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/statistics/units/

Back to Isaiah 54:1-2

What do you think is the meaning of the phrase “Enlarge the place of thy tent”?
What other counsel is given regarding the tent, or Church?

Isaiah’s Counsel                                                         What We Can Do
Stretch the tent curtains and lengthen the cords.        Serve as full-time missionaries; share the                                                                                          gospel with friends and neighbors.
Strengthen the tent stakes.                                          Strengthen our local stakes.

What can we do to strengthen the stake in which we live? (Develop personal spiritual strength, influence our families and friends to do the same, serve our member and nonmember neighbors, and accept calls from priesthood leaders to serve in the Church.)
How can stakes bless people’s lives? (see D&C 115:5–6.)
What examples have you seen where stake of Zion is a place of defense and refuge?

Groups of people whom the Lord wants to come to him and find safety in the gospel:
    A. All who thirst (Isaiah 55:1–3)
    B. The wicked who will repent. (Isaiah 55:6–7)   
    C. Strangers who do not know the Lord. (Isaiah 56:3, 5–8)

A) ALL WHO THIRST
Isaiah 55:1-2
2 Nephi 9:50-51
    What kind of thirst is referred to in these verses? (Spiritual thirst)
    Who does the water represent? (Jesus is the living water and the bread of life)
    What is this call to all who thirst? (Come unto Christ, Receive Salvation)
    How much does it cost?
2 Nephi 2:4 - Salvation is free
    What is Salvation?
D&C 6:13 - Salvation if greatest gift   
    What happens when we try to satisfy spiritual thirst by spending money and effort on temporal things?
    What kind of effort is needed in this life to obtain salvation?
        * The invitation to come unto Christ and obtain those gifts without money and without price suggests not that they can be obtained without effort but that one does not need the goods of this world to obtain them.   
    What is the price we pay for salvation?

Elder Marion G. Romney explained what price is required: “When earth life is over and things appear in their true perspective, we shall more clearly see and realize what the Lord and his prophets have repeatedly told us, that the fruits of the gospel are the only objectives worthy of life’s full efforts. Their possessor obtains true wealth—wealth in the Lord’s view of values. I conceive the blessings of the gospel to be of such inestimable worth. The price, is within the reach of us all, because it is not to be paid in money nor in any of this world’s goods but in righteous living. What is required is wholehearted devotion to the gospel and unreserved allegiance to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A half-hearted performance is not enough. We cannot obtain these blessings and be like the rich young man who protested that he had kept the commandments from his youth up but who went away sorrowful when, in answer to the question, ‘What lack I yet?’ Jesus said unto him,‘If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor … and come and follow me.’ (Matt. 19:21.) Evidently he could live everything but the welfare program. There can be no such reservation. We must be willing to sacrifice everything. Through self-discipline and devotion we must demonstrate to the Lord that we are willing to serve him under all circumstances. When we have done this, we shall receive an assurance that we shall have eternal life in the world to come.”
           
SECOND COMING       
Isaiah prayed fervently for the Second Coming of the Savior, which would bring retribution for the wicked and great rejoicing for the righteous
Isaiah 64:1–4
    How does this message increase your desire to endure to the end in serving the Lord?
   
MILLENNIUM
The closing chapters of Isaiah’s record present a beautiful picture of the Millennium
Isaiah 65:17–25
What conditions will exist during the Millennium?
    A.    The Lord will create new heavens and a new earth (v.17).
    B.    There will be great joy and no more weeping for the Lord’s people (v.18–19).
    C.    People will not die young; they will live to be 100 years old (v.20).
    D.    People will enjoy the fruits of their own labors (v.21–23).
    E.    Prayers will be answered immediately (v.24).
    F.    There will be no enmity among beasts (v.25).

It is my prayer that we will be dedicated to help strengthen the stakes of Zion and prepare for the Second Coming and the Millennium.