Lesson 137

Jeremiah 1–6

Prepare to Learn

Prepare your mind and heart to be taught by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit will teach you as you wisely exercise your agency and make an effort to learn.

Begin your study with prayer.

Have you ever come in late during a movie or play? Sometimes missing the first part of a performance makes the rest of the performance difficult to understand.

Watch this video, and listen for how knowing what happened in the premortal life can help us better understand the purpose and meaning of our mortal lives.

Your Life’s Purposes

What are some things you hope to accomplish during your life? Do you think there are specific tasks God sent you to earth to accomplish?

God revealed to a prophet named Jeremiah truths about his mission on the earth. Look for truths in Jeremiah 1 that can help you understand your life’s purposes.

Jeremiah’s Calling

We learn in Jeremiah 1:1–3 of a revelation that Jeremiah received in the 13th year of the reign of King Josiah, who ruled over the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Read Jeremiah 1:4–5, looking for what Jeremiah learned about his relationship with God.

Quiz 1

1. The Lord told Jeremiah that one of his life’s purposes was to

   1. raise a large family.

   2. be a prophet.

   3. free Judah from captivity.

Foreordination

From Jeremiah 1:4–5 we can identify the truth that before we were born, our Heavenly Father knew us and we existed as His spirit children. Jeremiah 1:4–5 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider marking this passage in a distinctive way so you can locate it more easily.

Jeremiah’s experience of being ordained to be a prophet before he was born is known as foreordination. Read the following statement to understand what foreordination means:

“The doctrine of foreordination applies to all members of the Church, not just to the Savior and His prophets. Before the creation of the earth, faithful women were given certain responsibilities and faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood duties. Although you do not remember that time, you surely agreed to fulfill significant tasks in the service of your Father. As you prove yourself worthy, you will be given opportunities to fulfill the assignments you then received” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 70).

What does Jeremiah 1:4–5 teach about foreordination?

Responsibilities and Duties

From Jeremiah 1:4–5 we can identify the truth that before we were born, we were given specific responsibilities and duties to perform during mortality.

You can learn from your patriarchal blessing about some of the specific responsibilities and duties you have been given. If you have not yet received your patriarchal blessing, you can begin now to prepare to receive it. If you are a young woman and have not yet completed Individual Worth value experience number 2 in the Young Women Personal Progress booklet ([2009], 30), consider doing so now. Completing this value experience will help you prepare to receive a patriarchal blessing.

1. Do one of the following:

• If you have received your patriarchal blessing, describe how you felt as you learned about some of the responsibilities and duties the Lord has given you. (Remember to not share anything too personal or sacred.)

• If you have not yet received your patriarchal blessing, talk to a parent, a leader, or your bishop about when it is appropriate to receive a patriarchal blessing, how you can know if you are ready to receive it, and what you need to do to receive it. Write about what you learned. What can you do to prepare to receive your patriarchal blessing?

Jeremiah’s Concern

After being called to be a prophet, Jeremiah told the Lord, “I cannot speak: for I am a child” (Jeremiah 1:6). Jeremiah doubted his ability to preach to the people.

Read Jeremiah 1:7–10, looking for what the Lord promised Jeremiah that might have been comforting to him.

What truth can you identify from Jeremiah 1:7–10 about what the Lord will do for those He calls to His work?

The Lord’s Help

A truth we can identify from Jeremiah 1:7–10 is that when God calls us to do His work, He will help us do what He has asked.

2. Answer the following questions:

• As a baptized, covenant-keeping member of the Church, what are some examples of the work the Lord has called you to do?

• When has the Lord helped you or someone you know to do His work?

Additional Help from the Lord

As recorded in Jeremiah 1:11–16, the Lord revealed to Jeremiah that because of the Jews’ wickedness, a nation would come from the north and conquer them.

Imagine if you were in Jeremiah’s position and had been commanded to tell the people that they would be conquered by another nation if they did not repent. What worries would you have? What help would you want from the Lord?

Read Jeremiah 1:17–19, looking for additional ways the Lord promised to help Jeremiah.

Other Prophets

The Lord promised Jeremiah that He would be with him and would deliver him (see Jeremiah 1:19).

Jeremiah was not the only prophet called to preach repentance to the people at this time. Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and Lehi (see 1 Nephi 1:4, 18) were some of the other prophets commanded to tell the Jews that they needed to repent of their wickedness or they would be conquered by another nation.

Cisterns

As recorded in Jeremiah 2:1–12, the Lord declared through Jeremiah that His people had loved Him when He had delivered them out of Egypt and given them a promised land. Now, however, the people had gone astray by worshipping idols, had “defiled [the] land” (verse 7), and had become so evil that in worshipping the false gods Baal or Molech, they sacrificed their own children by fire (see Jeremiah 7:31).

Read Jeremiah 2:13, looking for “two evils” the people had committed. It may be helpful to know that the Lord referred to “cisterns,” or large containers that hold water, as a symbol of the people’s spiritual condition.

Quiz 2

1. “The fountain of living waters” represents , and the broken cisterns represent .

   1. the Restoration; apostasy

   2. Jesus Christ; false gods

   3. an artesian well; drought

2. According to Jeremiah 2:13, the “two evils” that the people had committed were and .

   1. oppressing the poor

   2. serving other gods

   3. forsaking the Lord

A Fountain of Living Water

The Guide to the Scriptures explains that “living water” is “a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings. As water is essential to sustain physical life, the Savior and His teachings (living water) are essential for eternal life” (“Living Water,” scriptures.lds.org).

During the Savior’s mortal ministry, He met a Samaritan woman at a well and asked her for a drink of water. In His brief conversation with her, He said, “But whosoever drinketh 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 4:14).

In what ways is Jesus Christ like a fountain of living water to you? What does He provide that is necessary for you?

Two Sisters

As recorded in Jeremiah 2:14–3:5, the Lord taught that the people’s wickedness would bring them great sorrow and that the false gods they had chosen would not save them (see Jeremiah 2:27–28). In Jeremiah 3, Judah and Israel are symbolically compared to two sisters and Judah is chastised for not learning a lesson from the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians.

How can seeing others suffer for their wrong decisions help you choose the right?

A Prophecy and a Promise

Although wickedness does bring suffering, the Lord is merciful and will fulfill His promises to the house of Israel. We are witnessing the fulfillment of many of Jeremiah’s prophecies 2,500 years after they were given.

Read Jeremiah 3:12–19, looking for promises the Lord is fulfilling as He gathers those of the house of Israel in our day.

Quiz 3

1. Match the prophesies from the verses in Jeremiah 3 to their fulfillment in the last days.

Verses 12–14	Jerusalem will once again be a righteous city and the throne of the Lord.
Verse 15	Those who repent will be gathered into Zion.
Verse 16	The entire house of Israel will worship the Lord and receive their lands of inheritance.
Verse 17	The Lord will establish a new covenant, the gospel, on the earth.
Verses 18–19	Church leaders will teach knowledge and understanding of the gospel.

Consequences of Not Repenting

As recorded in Jeremiah 4–6, through Jeremiah, the Lord pled with the people to repent and “return unto me: and … put away thine abominations” (Jeremiah 4:1). Jeremiah lamented the miseries of Judah and declared, “I am pained at my very heart” (Jeremiah 4:19). He warned the people about the consequences they would experience if they did not repent (see chapter headings for Jeremiah 5 and 6; Jeremiah 5:25).

Although God loves us and wants to spare us unnecessary pain, we bring pain upon ourselves when we sin. The Lord allowed the Israelites to suffer many of the consequences of their wickedness (see Jeremiah 2:17; 4:18; 7:19). However, He also promised that He would not allow the people to be completely destroyed (see Jeremiah 5:9–10, 18).

What can you learn about the Lord’s mercy from these chapters in Jeremiah?

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s Love for You

Heavenly Father gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, because of His extraordinary love for each one of us. Jesus Christ demonstrated His love for us by suffering for all of our sins and offering us forgiveness each time we repent. As we offer to Him a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He offers us His grace and mercy, and our hearts can be changed so that we no longer have a desire to sin. Prayerfully ponder what choices you can make starting today to more fully invite the Savior’s help and to become more like Him.

Doctrinal Mastery Review: Exodus 20:3–17

Today’s doctrinal mastery review will be about the Ten Commandments. Paragraph 9.4 in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document teaches that the Ten Commandments are a vital part of the gospel and are eternal principles that are necessary for our exaltation. You can find the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:3–17.

Take a few minutes to study the order of the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments guide us in our relationship with God, and the last six guide us in our relationships with other people. When you think you are ready, try to arrange the commandments in order from memory.

Quiz 4

1. Match the number on the left with the commandment on the right.

1	“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
2	“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
3	“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
4	“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”

2. Match the number on the left with the commandment on the right.

5	“Thou shalt not steal.”
6	“Thou shalt not covet.”
7	“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
8	“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
9	“Thou shalt not kill.”
10	“Honour thy father and thy mother.”

Answer Key

Quiz 1: (1) b

Quiz 2: (1) b; (2), b, c

Quiz 3 (1) 1-b, 2-e, 3-d, 4-a, 5-c

Quiz 4: (1) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b; (2) 1-f, 2-e, 3-c, 4-a, 5-d, 6-b