Who was Jeremiah and what did he have to say to the children of Israel in the time after Isaiah? We can better understand the prophesies for our day by better understanding the man and the pain he felt from his calling as a prophet. Jeremiah 1-20 introduces us to the next complicated character in this part of the bible, and how we can tie his words to the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and our modern day.
Segment 1
Scriptures:
Jeremiah 16:2,4 (Jeremiah will live alone)
Jeremiah 20:7-10 (Jeremiah’s calling weighs on him)
1 Nephi 1:4 (Prophecies of destruction)
Study Helps:
Jeremiah! The man, the book, the bullfrog… by Ben Spackman
Segment 2
Scriptures:
Isaiah 36, 2 Kings 18 (Assyria invades)
2 Kings 24-25 (Zedekiah is king, the temple is ransacked)
Segment 3
Scriptures:
Jeremiah 1:11-12 (Word play poetry)
Jeremiah 27:2 (Make a yoke)
Jeremiah 18:1-12 (Mold us like clay)
Amos 3:6 (Misfortune in a city)
Study Helps:
Understanding Old Testament Poetry by Kevin L. Barney
Segment 4
Scriptures:
Jeremiah 23:18-22 (Stand in the counsel of God)
Psalm 82:1 (The congregation of God)
1 Kings 22:15-19 (God with the host of heaven)
Isaiah 6:5-8 (Isaiah in the presence of angels)
Genesis 1:26 (Let us make man)
Amos 3:7 (God’s secrets)
1 Nephi 1:8 (God’s throne with angels)
Words of the General Authorities:
The Lord has never sent judgments upon any generation that we have any knowledge of until he has raised up prophets and inspired men to warn the inhabitants of the earth. This is the course the Lord has dealt with all men from the days of Father Adam to the present time. (Wilford Woodruff, Discourse delivered at the Salt Lake Stake Conference Jan 9, 1881, also recorded in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, Chapter 19: Following the Living Prophet)
Study Helps:
Examining Six Key Concepts in Joseph Smith’s Understanding of Genesis 1:1 by Kevin L. Barney
Segment 5
Scriptures:
Jeremiah 7:2-16 (Jeremiah’s Temple Talk)
1 Nephi 2:13 (The prevailing wisdom that Jerusalem was invincible)
Matthew 21:13 (The temple is not a den of thieves)
Matthew 23:23 (There are priorities in the gospel)
Jeremiah 1:10 (Rooting out, to later plant)
Jeremiah 26:11-14 (The priests and prophets turn on Jeremiah)
Words of the General Authorities:
The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins. (David A. Bednar, “Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins”, April 2016 General Conference)
Segment 6
Scriptures:
Jeremiah 11:19 (A lamb led to the slaughter)
Jeremiah 23:1-4 (The shepherds failed the sheep)
Ezekiel 34:2-11 (Shepherds have a job to do)
John 10:14-16 (Other sheep)
3 Nephi 15:17,21 (One fold and one shepherd)
Words of the General Authorities:
[a student] is a fire to be ignited…As teachers, we are to be spiritual arsonists. Our lessons are to be incendiary devices. (Jeffrey R. Holland, at the Seminaries and Institutes Annual Training Broadcast, delivered on June 12, 2019, as recorded in Church News)
Read the transcript here.