Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
Before the creation of the earth, faithful women were given certain responsibilities, and faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood duties. President Russell M. Nelson has emphasized that today's generation has been foreordained and saved to come down at this time. In this video, we will discuss the doctrine of foreordination and better understand the challenges that Jeremiah faced as he taught the people to turn their hearts back to God and overcome their "backsliding."
The angel Moroni quoted these15 verses from Jeremiah to Joseph Smith on his first visit…
Moroni “explained many … prophesies.” And in the 1842 Wentworth Letter, Joseph Smith wrote that Moroni taught him “that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel, in all its fulness to be preached in power, unto all nations that a people might be prepared for the millennial reign.” (‘Moroni’s Message to Joseph Smith’- Ensign, August 1990, pg. 13-16)
Jeremiah had been ministering to the Jewish people for about thirty years at that time and was certainly one of these many prophets. In fact, as the scriptures indicate, he was probably the chief prophet of this time period. (Nyman, 2.)
“It was Jeremiah's privilege (or burden) to predict and then live through the fall of Judah to Babylon. He is one of the few prophets who have been allowed to see the fulfillment of his major prophecies come to pass. One of the first things the Lord told Jeremiah was, "I will hasten my word to perform it" (Jeremiah 1:12). Jeremiah, 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 2:15). Mormon, after witnessing the destruction of the Nephite nation, cried out for his people (see Mormon 6:17-19). 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 stern, 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” (CES Old Testament Manual, 2:235) .
Jeremiah has seven major sections:
Joseph Smith: “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose I was ordained to this very office in the Grand Council.” (Teachings p.365)
“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)
President Russel M. Nelson: “You are one of God's noble and great spirits, held in reserve to come to this earth at this time. In your premortal life you were appointed to help prepare the world for the greatest gathering of souls that will precede the Lord's second coming. You are one of a covenant people. You are an heir to the promise that all the earth will be blessed by the seed of Abraham and that God's covenant with Abraham will be fulfilled through his lineage in these latter days. (Ensign, Nov. 1990, p. 73)
“As a reminder that the Lord would fulfill Jeremiah's prophecies, the almond tree was given as a symbol; the Hebrew letters of its name (dqv shqd) are the same letters as the word for "be alert, wakeful"; thus whenever Jeremiah saw that tree (which is the earliest tree to bloom in Israel), he would be reminded of the promise that the Lord would be attentive to his prophecies and fulfill his words (Jer. 1:11-12; BD, "Almond").” (Rasmussen, 541.)
President Thomas S. Monson: “If any … within the sound of my voice feel unprepared, even incapable of responding to a call to serve, to sacrifice, to bless the lives of others, remember the truth: “Whom God calls, God qualifies” He who notes the sparrow’s fall will not abandon the servant’s need.” (General Conference Apr 1987)
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “Too many of our Heavenly Father’s children spend their precious lives carving out broken cisterns of worldly gain that cannot hold the living water that satisfies fully their natural thirst for everlasting truth. (Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 23)
Elder Marion D. Hanks: “The substitutions we fashion to take the place of God in our lives truly hold no water. To the measure we thus refuse the living water we miss the joy we could have.” (General Conference Apr 1972)
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “The Savior's promise to that woman extends to all of our Heavenly Father's children. By living the gospel of Jesus Christ we develop within ourselves a living spring that will quench eternally our thirst for happiness, peace, and everlasting life. The Lord explains clearly in the Doctrine and Covenants that only faithful obedience can tap the well of living water that refreshes and enlivens our souls: 'But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.’” (D&C 63:23, italics added.) (Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 23)
Theodore M. Burton: “Everybody knows that more people live in a city than live in a family. Why then didn’t the Lord say one of a city and two of a family? It was because of this promise of priesthood heritage. The family to which we belong is more important than where we live.” (Ensign, May 1975, pg. 70)
President Spencer W. Kimball: “When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? It could be ‘remember.’ Because all of [us] have made covenants…our greatest need is to remember.” (Circles of Exaltation [address to religious educators, Brigham Young University, 28 June 1968], 8).
“Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”
President James E. Faust: “Do some of us seek to justify our taking of shortcuts and advantage of others by indulging in the twin sophistries, “There isn’t any justice” and “Everybody does it”? There are many others who seemingly prosper by violating the rules of God and the standards of decency and fair play. They appear to escape the imminent law of the harvest, which states, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Worrying about the punishment we think ought to come to others is self-defeating to us. Brigham Young counseled that unless we ourselves are prepared for the day of the Lord’s vengeance when the wicked will be consumed, we should not be too anxious for the Lord to hasten his work. Said he rather, “Let our anxiety be centered upon this one thing, the sanctification of our own hearts, the purifying of our own affections” (in Journal of Discourses, 9:3). (Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 10).
Elder Legrand Richards: “Where do you find those fishers and hunters that we read about in this great prophecy of Jeremiah? They are [the] 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!" (Conference April 1971)
“This passage on how the second gathering of Israel will take place is very descriptive. First the Lord will send for many fishers; then he will send for many hunters. Fishing in the days of Jeremiah was done with nets and schools of fish were caught. In the early days of the Church, the missionaries went to the various locations and preached to congregations, or invited all interested people to assemble in the local schoolhouse, church, or community hall. Oft times whole groups of people were converted…The hunting period would follow the fishing period of missionary work. Hunting is done on a one-on-one basis (except with shotguns, where occasionally two or three birds may be shot with the spread of one shell, but even then the hunter must sight in on only one of the birds, and the others fall with that one). Jeremiah's prophecy is thus noting a change from the teaching of groups to the teaching of individuals or families, as is presently done.” (Nyman, 56.)
Elder L. Tom Perry: "Now the demand for increased numbers of full-time missionaries is greater than ever before. And again we issue the call for every worthy young man to heed the voice of the prophet to serve as a full-time missionary. Many young women have a desire to serve a full-time mission, and they are also welcome in the Lord's service. This responsibility is not on them as it is on the elders, but they will receive rich blessings for their unselfish sacrifice. The Lord is pleased [with] their willingness to bring souls to him. (Conference April 1992).
Teaching Thoughts:
The angel Moroni quoted these15 verses from Jeremiah to Joseph Smith on his first visit…
- Jer. 16:16
- Jer. 30:18–21
- Jer. 31:1, 6, 8-9, 27–28, 32–33
- Jer. 50:4–5 (‘Moroni’s Message to Joseph Smith’- Ensign, August 1990, pg. 13-16)
Moroni “explained many … prophesies.” And in the 1842 Wentworth Letter, Joseph Smith wrote that Moroni taught him “that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the gospel, in all its fulness to be preached in power, unto all nations that a people might be prepared for the millennial reign.” (‘Moroni’s Message to Joseph Smith’- Ensign, August 1990, pg. 13-16)
Jeremiah had been ministering to the Jewish people for about thirty years at that time and was certainly one of these many prophets. In fact, as the scriptures indicate, he was probably the chief prophet of this time period. (Nyman, 2.)
“It was Jeremiah's privilege (or burden) to predict and then live through the fall of Judah to Babylon. He is one of the few prophets who have been allowed to see the fulfillment of his major prophecies come to pass. One of the first things the Lord told Jeremiah was, "I will hasten my word to perform it" (Jeremiah 1:12). Jeremiah, 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 2:15). Mormon, after witnessing the destruction of the Nephite nation, cried out for his people (see Mormon 6:17-19). 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 stern, 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” (CES Old Testament Manual, 2:235) .
Jeremiah has seven major sections:
- Opening prophecies against Judah (1-12)
- Messages about Judah’s exile and suffering (13-20)
- Messages of judgment (21-29)
- Messages of future hope (30-33)
- Messages of judgment (34-35)
- Narratives about Jeremiah’s suffering (36-45)
- Prophecies against the nations (46-51)
- Appendix: the fall of Jerusalem (52). (adapted from Dorsey, Literary Structure of the Old Testament, 237)
Joseph Smith: “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose I was ordained to this very office in the Grand Council.” (Teachings p.365)
“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)
President Russel M. Nelson: “You are one of God's noble and great spirits, held in reserve to come to this earth at this time. In your premortal life you were appointed to help prepare the world for the greatest gathering of souls that will precede the Lord's second coming. You are one of a covenant people. You are an heir to the promise that all the earth will be blessed by the seed of Abraham and that God's covenant with Abraham will be fulfilled through his lineage in these latter days. (Ensign, Nov. 1990, p. 73)
“As a reminder that the Lord would fulfill Jeremiah's prophecies, the almond tree was given as a symbol; the Hebrew letters of its name (dqv shqd) are the same letters as the word for "be alert, wakeful"; thus whenever Jeremiah saw that tree (which is the earliest tree to bloom in Israel), he would be reminded of the promise that the Lord would be attentive to his prophecies and fulfill his words (Jer. 1:11-12; BD, "Almond").” (Rasmussen, 541.)
President Thomas S. Monson: “If any … within the sound of my voice feel unprepared, even incapable of responding to a call to serve, to sacrifice, to bless the lives of others, remember the truth: “Whom God calls, God qualifies” He who notes the sparrow’s fall will not abandon the servant’s need.” (General Conference Apr 1987)
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “Too many of our Heavenly Father’s children spend their precious lives carving out broken cisterns of worldly gain that cannot hold the living water that satisfies fully their natural thirst for everlasting truth. (Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 23)
Elder Marion D. Hanks: “The substitutions we fashion to take the place of God in our lives truly hold no water. To the measure we thus refuse the living water we miss the joy we could have.” (General Conference Apr 1972)
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “The Savior's promise to that woman extends to all of our Heavenly Father's children. By living the gospel of Jesus Christ we develop within ourselves a living spring that will quench eternally our thirst for happiness, peace, and everlasting life. The Lord explains clearly in the Doctrine and Covenants that only faithful obedience can tap the well of living water that refreshes and enlivens our souls: 'But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.’” (D&C 63:23, italics added.) (Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 23)
Theodore M. Burton: “Everybody knows that more people live in a city than live in a family. Why then didn’t the Lord say one of a city and two of a family? It was because of this promise of priesthood heritage. The family to which we belong is more important than where we live.” (Ensign, May 1975, pg. 70)
President Spencer W. Kimball: “When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? It could be ‘remember.’ Because all of [us] have made covenants…our greatest need is to remember.” (Circles of Exaltation [address to religious educators, Brigham Young University, 28 June 1968], 8).
“Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”
President James E. Faust: “Do some of us seek to justify our taking of shortcuts and advantage of others by indulging in the twin sophistries, “There isn’t any justice” and “Everybody does it”? There are many others who seemingly prosper by violating the rules of God and the standards of decency and fair play. They appear to escape the imminent law of the harvest, which states, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Worrying about the punishment we think ought to come to others is self-defeating to us. Brigham Young counseled that unless we ourselves are prepared for the day of the Lord’s vengeance when the wicked will be consumed, we should not be too anxious for the Lord to hasten his work. Said he rather, “Let our anxiety be centered upon this one thing, the sanctification of our own hearts, the purifying of our own affections” (in Journal of Discourses, 9:3). (Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 10).
Elder Legrand Richards: “Where do you find those fishers and hunters that we read about in this great prophecy of Jeremiah? They are [the] 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!" (Conference April 1971)
“This passage on how the second gathering of Israel will take place is very descriptive. First the Lord will send for many fishers; then he will send for many hunters. Fishing in the days of Jeremiah was done with nets and schools of fish were caught. In the early days of the Church, the missionaries went to the various locations and preached to congregations, or invited all interested people to assemble in the local schoolhouse, church, or community hall. Oft times whole groups of people were converted…The hunting period would follow the fishing period of missionary work. Hunting is done on a one-on-one basis (except with shotguns, where occasionally two or three birds may be shot with the spread of one shell, but even then the hunter must sight in on only one of the birds, and the others fall with that one). Jeremiah's prophecy is thus noting a change from the teaching of groups to the teaching of individuals or families, as is presently done.” (Nyman, 56.)
Elder L. Tom Perry: "Now the demand for increased numbers of full-time missionaries is greater than ever before. And again we issue the call for every worthy young man to heed the voice of the prophet to serve as a full-time missionary. Many young women have a desire to serve a full-time mission, and they are also welcome in the Lord's service. This responsibility is not on them as it is on the elders, but they will receive rich blessings for their unselfish sacrifice. The Lord is pleased [with] their willingness to bring souls to him. (Conference April 1992).
Teaching Thoughts:
- Foreordination: Before the creation of the earth, faithful women were given certain responsibilities and faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood duties.
- President Nelson’s emphasis on chosen generation saved to come down at this time. Why were we saved to come at this time? What is God inviting us to do today?
- Know, see and do – what can help us today to overcome our “backsliding?”