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Scripture

Zedekiah and His Children

reveals that one of those sons escaped and migrated to the Americas. His descendants, the people of Zarahemla, lost their faith because they had no records. They regained their faith when they united with the Nephites.

Obedience

Whose Words Shall Stand?

Two groups of people, centuries apart, faced precarious circumstances and pledged to follow God’s guidance sought by a prophet. The remnant of Judah rebelled against the guidance from Jeremiah. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies followed the guidance given by Ammon. In both cases, they learned by experience that God’s words will stand.

Covenants

They Shall All Know Me

Jeremiah described a future time when the children of Israel would have a strong covenant relationship with God. That covenant would be characterized by internalized law, belonging, firsthand knowledge, and forgiveness. King Benjamin’s people entered this kind of relationship with God, and so can we.

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COME, FOLLOW ME

  • A New Spirit Will I Put within You

    The Vision of Ezekiel (detail), by Francisco Collantes. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Public domain

    Ezekiel, who lived in captivity in Babylon, saw many visions representing renewal and healing. In a particularly striking one, he sees a valley full of dry bones, representing the scattered and captive house of Israel. God asks, “Son of man, can these bones live?” and Ezekiel humbly replies, “O Lord God, thou knowest.” God commands Ezekiel to prophesy their restoration, and after he does, Ezekiel observes the sinews, flesh, and skin growing back upon the bones and wind breathing life into the bodies. “Behold, O my people,” God says, “I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:1-14).

    It’s a dramatic symbol of the reemergence of Israel, which at that point looked like it was finished. It also parallels the Book of Mormon’s descriptions of the literal resurrection of the body, such as this one from Amulek:

    The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

    Alma 11:43

    Ezekiel not only described restored bodies but also changed hearts. Speaking on behalf of God about the gathering of Israel, he prophesied:

    A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

    Ezekiel 36:26; see also Ezekiel 11:19

    The Book of Mormon doesn’t use the phrases “a new heart” or “a new spirit,” but it does speak of hearts being miraculously transformed by God:

    • “The Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent…has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2).
    • “According to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart” (Alma 5:12).
    • “They did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil” (Alma 19:33).

    (See also Helaman 15:7-8.)

    So according to Ezekiel, God can renew both our bodies and our hearts, and the Book of Mormon confirms this doctrine. Even though Book of Mormon authors likely didn’t have access to Ezekiel’s writings, we can find strong parallels between the doctrines they taught.

    This week, as we study Ezekiel, let’s look for strong connections with the foundational doctrines taught in the Book of Mormon.

FEATURED POSTS

  • A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    Book of Mormon authors made it clear how much they were leaving out as they wrote this “abridgment” of their history. Here’s a diagram showing how many words are dedicated to each of the 103 decades in the book.

  • Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Following His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ visited a group of people in the Americas. He taught them principles to help them deepen their discipleship, and He expanded their perspective by teaching them about God’s global, multigenerational work.

  • Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    In March, 2019, I studied 20 different names or titles of Jesus Christ which appear in the Book of Mormon. I was particularly interested in the way each name was used, both in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible.