Lesson 155

Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai

Prepare to Learn

Prepare your mind and heart to be taught by the Holy Ghost. He will teach you as you wisely exercise your agency and seek to learn.

Begin your study with prayer.

Sometimes people become disappointed or discouraged when the plans they make for their lives are different from the Lord’s plans for them. Will you trust in the Lord even if things in your life don’t go the way you want them to?

Athelia was determined to be a dancer. Listen as she shares how health problems forced her to reconsider her plan. She discovered that the Lord had something very different in mind for her life.

Four Prophets

Look for Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai on this diagram.

In this lesson, you will study the teachings of these four prophets.

Evils of Our Day

Look at this image, and imagine that the arrows represent the evils and perils that threaten us in our day.

1. What are some of the evils that threaten us?

Nahum

As you study the prophecies of Nahum, look for truths that will help you find protection against modern-day evils.

The prophet Nahum prophesied during the time of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian army had already destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel and had attempted to conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. More than 100 years earlier, the people of Nineveh had repented when the prophet Jonah had preached to them. During the time of Nahum, the people of Nineveh had again become wicked.

Read Nahum 1:1–8, looking for words and phrases that describe the attributes and nature of God, including His power and His being slow to anger.

What truth can we identify in verse 7 about what the Lord will be for those who trust in Him?

Our Stronghold

One truth we can identify from Nahum 1:7 is that the Lord is a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who trust in Him.

A stronghold is a fortress or position that provides a strong defense against attacking forces.

2. Answer the following questions:

• How can the Lord be a stronghold in the day of trouble? In what ways have you witnessed the Lord being a stronghold for those who trust in Him?

• How can you trust in the Lord more completely so He will be a stronghold for you in the day of trouble?

Habakkuk

The prophet Habakkuk may have lived sometime between the fall of the northern tribes of Israel (721 BC) and the destruction of Jerusalem (587 BC). Habakkuk learned that the Lord would use a wicked people (the Babylonians, also known as the Chaldeans) to destroy the kingdom of Judah (see Habakkuk 1:1–11). This troubled Habakkuk, and he asked the Lord why He would use a wicked people to destroy His chosen people (see Habakkuk 1:12–17).

Read Habakkuk 2:1, looking for what Habakkuk said he would do as he waited for an answer from the Lord.

What can you do to follow Habakkuk’s example when you are seeking answers to your questions?

The Lord’s Answer

The Lord answered Habakkuk kindly and encouraged him to be patient, assuring him that in time the wicked Chaldeans would also be punished (see Habakkuk 2:2–8).

Habakkuk 2:19–20 records the Lord’s teaching that idols have no life-saving characteristics but that in the temple we can find the living God, who can save us from death and sin.

In Habakkuk 3, we can read a prayer of praise from Habakkuk to the Lord.

Read Habakkuk 3:17–19, looking for what Habakkuk learned from his dialogue with the Lord. A hind is a deer, which can travel easily across rocky and uneven terrain.

How do these verses relate to the truth that the Lord is a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who trust in Him?

Zephaniah

The prophet Zephaniah probably lived during the time of Jeremiah, Lehi, and other prophets. He too warned the kingdom of Judah of approaching destruction. Zephaniah’s prophecies also apply to the latter days and warn of the calamities (disasters and difficulties) to come before the Second Coming of the Savior.

Read Zephaniah 2:3 and 3:8, 19, looking for principles that can help us to be prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming.

Quiz 1

1. Match the passage on the left with the corresponding principle on the right.

Zephaniah 2:3	If we will wait upon the Lord, He will deliver us from our sorrows, afflictions, and captivity.
Zephaniah 3:8, 19	As we seek the Lord, we can be protected from harm in the day of His judgment.

Protection and Deliverance

We can identify the following principles from Zephaniah 2:3 and 3:8, 19: As we obey and meekly seek the Lord, we can be protected from harm in the day of His judgment. If we will wait with trust and patience upon the Lord, He will deliver us from our sorrows, afflictions, and captivity.

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency taught that to “wait upon the Lord” means to hope for or anticipate (“Waiting upon the Lord” [Brigham Young University devotional, Sept. 30, 1990], speeches.byu.edu).

How do you think these principles can help us to be prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming?

Our Preparation for the Second Coming

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then a member of the First Presidency, counseled us on how to prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming. You can read the text of this video here: “Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 106.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then a member of the First Presidency, counseled us on how to prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming.

“We are the Saints of the latter days. Inherent in our name is the commitment to look forward to the Savior’s return and prepare ourselves and the world to receive Him. Therefore, let us serve God and love our fellowmen. Let us do this with a natural confidence, with humility, never looking down on any other religion or group of people. Brothers and sisters, we are charged with studying the word of God and heeding the voice of the Spirit, that we may ‘know the signs of the times, and the signs of the coming of the Son of Man’ [D&C 68:11].

“We are, therefore, not ignorant of the challenges of the world, nor are we unaware of the difficulties of our times. But this does not mean that we should burden ourselves or others with constant fear. Rather than dwelling on the immensity of our challenges, would it not be better to focus on the infinite greatness, goodness, and absolute power of our God, trusting Him and preparing with a joyful heart for the return of Jesus the Christ?” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 106).

Write in your study journal or in your Notes on LDS.org something you can do to prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming.

The Temple

Photography by Jeanine Fry Ricketts

3. What are some circumstances that may prevent people from worshipping in the temple as often as they could? (List at least three.)

Haggai

Haggai was a prophet who lived among the Jews when they returned to Jerusalem after their 70-year captivity in Babylon. When they arrived in Jerusalem, the Jews put great effort into rebuilding the temple, the city, their homes, and their lives. However, after a time, because of opposition from the Samaritans and their own lack of interest, they stopped working on the temple for several years (see Ezra 4:1–5, 24). Haggai encouraged the Jews to continue rebuilding the temple (see Ezra 5:1–2; 6:14).

Read Haggai 1:5, 7, looking for a phrase that is used in both verses.

Our Dedication to the Lord—“Consider Your Ways”

Many Jews had furnished their homes with fine wood, but they had neglected building the temple (see Haggai 1:1–8). Through Haggai, the Lord invited the Jews to “consider [their] ways” and rededicate themselves to rebuilding the temple. The people accepted the invitation and “came and did work in the house of the Lord” (Haggai 1:14).

Read Haggai 2:4–9, looking for how the Lord would bless the Jews for their efforts to rebuild the temple.

What principle we can learn from verse 9 that can help us understand an important purpose of temples?

The House of the Lord

One principle we can learn from Haggai 2:9 is that when we are in the house of the Lord, He can give us peace.

Read the following counsel by President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018) about the blessings of worshipping in the temple:

“My brothers and sisters, in our lives we will have temptations; we will have trials and challenges. As we go to the temple, as we remember the covenants we make there, we will be better able to overcome those temptations and to bear our trials. In the temple we can find peace” (Thomas S. Monson, “Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 93).

4. Answer one of the following questions:

• How do you think serving in the temple brings peace? What can you do to be worthy to enter the temple?

• When has the Lord given you peace as you have been in the temple or as you have been involved in doing family history? What can you do to make worshipping in the temple or doing your own family history a priority?

Important Phrases

Reflect on the following phrases you studied in this lesson, and consider what you will do differently because of what you have learned today:

“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7).

“I … will watch to see what he will say unto me” (Habakkuk 2:1).

“Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth” (Zephaniah 2:3).

“In this place [the temple] will I give peace” (Haggai 2:9).

Answer Key

Quiz 1: (1) 1-b, 2-a