The Prophet Jeremiah

“Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should have a special interest in the life of Jeremiah because of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon account begins in 600 B.C., when Lehi is called to warn the inhabitants of Jerusalem concerning its destruction (see 1 Nephi 1:18). It says there were many other prophets in that same year warning the people that unless they repented the city would be destroyed (see 1 Nephi 1:4). 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.” (Monte S. Nyman, The Words of Jeremiah [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], 2)

“Because the book of Jeremiah includes so much biographical material (though some of it is only fragmentary), more is known about his life than that of almost any other Old Testament prophet…

“In the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, Jeremiah was taken before the princes of Judah and accused of being ‘worthy to die’ for having prophesied against Judah. But as he faced his accusers in the temple courtyard, Jeremiah fearlessly repeated his prophecy. His life was spared, however, because of the intervention of a high-ranking officer (see Jeremiah 26). It was probably during Jehoiakim's reign that Jeremiah was placed in stocks overnight for prophesying against Jerusalem and all Judah's cities (see Jeremiah 19-20). This was a punishment to bring public scorn and ridicule upon an offender. It was apparently effective in Jeremiah's case, because he said he would refuse to speak in the name of Jehovah (that is, to prophesy) anymore. However, the Spirit acted so strongly upon him that he could not restrain himself. The actions of the people around him further precipitated his return to the Lord, as he realized that the Lord was with him and that his enemies would be confounded. Perhaps Jeremiah here recalled the teaching of his predecessor Isaiah that ‘no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper’ (Isaiah 54:17; see also D&C 71:9; 109:25). Nevertheless, Jeremiah still cursed the day he was born…

“At the beginning of Zedekiah's reign, Jeremiah went into the land of Benjamin to purchase some land. He was there arrested and accused of deserting to the Chaldeans. In spite of Jeremiah's denial, he was beaten and put in prison, where he remained for ‘many days.’…

“Zedekiah then sent for Jeremiah and asked if the Lord had any word for him (Zedekiah). Jeremiah took this opportunity to ask why he had been imprisoned, and he asked that the king not send him back to the dungeon where he had been kept. Zedekiah commanded that Jeremiah be placed in the court of the prison and given a daily ration of bread as long as there was bread in the city. This was a big concession in light of the treatment he had received in the past (see Jeremiah 37:11-21).

“While Jeremiah was given this freedom, he still continued to prophesy. Certain princes, therefore, went to the king and said that Jeremiah was weakening their soldiers' morale and should be put to death. The spineless Zedekiah relented to their wishes, and Jeremiah was lowered into a dungeon of mire, into which he sank. While there, he had no water. Again someone interceded for Jeremiah, and the king allowed him to be confined to the court of the prison until Jerusalem was taken. The deplorable conditions of the miry dungeon are shown by the number of men employed in pulling Jeremiah out of the prison and the method they used (see Jeremiah 38:4-13, 24-28).

“We cannot be certain how long Jeremiah was incarcerated, but it seems from the fragmentary account, that he spent nearly the entire eleven years of Zedekiah's reign in confinement in the court of the prison. This conclusion is drawn from the fact that Lehi left Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah; Jeremiah was already in prison when Nephi and his brothers returned to get the family of Ishmael, and he was not released until the city fell to Babylon in the eleventh year. At the time of Jerusalem's destruction, Nebuchadnezzar gave Jeremiah the opportunity to go wherever he wanted, and he chose to stay among the people in his own land (see Jeremiah 40). Following some internal problems, the people desired to go to Egypt, but Jeremiah prophesied against that action. They disregarded Jeremiah's prophecy, and went into Egypt, taking the now aging prophet with them (see Jeremiah 41-43). It is not known how long they remained in their homeland before going to Egypt, or how long Jeremiah was in Egypt, because this episode concludes the record of the life of the prophet from Anathoth.

“There is no record of his personal afflictions or trials after he chose to remain in Judah with his people, but certainly his life was one of persecution and discouragement. However, the assurance that what he was doing and what he had done were commanded by the Lord must have been the consolation which kept him going and enabled him to endure to the end. Jeremiah was a major figure among the people of Judah and Benjamin. His role may be compared to that which Isaiah played before the ten tribes were taken captive. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied of the future restoration of Israel, and these prophecies are being fulfilled in this day. Jeremiah's prominence is also indicated in the Book of Mormon. He is the only prophet named among the many who preached in Jerusalem in 600 B.C.” (Monte S. Nyman, The Words of Jeremiah [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], 2-8)

Jeremiah 1:1 Anathoth in the land of Benjamin

“Anathoth, a little town in the land of Benjamin, lies three miles northeast of Jerusalem and may be viewed from Mount Scopus at the north end of the Mount of Olives. From this small town came one of the Lord's chosen servants, a man who was ‘ordained ... a prophet unto the nations’ even before his birth (Jeremiah 1:5). One important element in Jeremiah's prophecies is their graphic description of the destiny of the people of Judah and Benjamin, the two tribes who remained after the other Israelites were taken captive into the north by the Assyrians.” (Monte S. Nyman, The Words of Jeremiah [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], iv - 2)

Jeremiah 1:2-3 in the days of Josiah… unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah

“According to the superscription of the book of Jeremiah (1:1-3), Jeremiah's ministry began in the thirteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah, and continued through the eleventh year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, at which time Jerusalem was destroyed and her captives carried away to Babylon. This passage also lists Jehoiakim as another king during whose reign Jeremiah received the word of the Lord. Actually, Jeremiah prophesied during the reign of five kings of Judah; however, two of these reigned for only three months, which is probably why they were not listed in the superscription. If the recorded biblical chronology of this period is correct, the length of Jeremiah's ministry exceeded forty-one years. Book of Mormon dating shows that Jeremiah's call came in about 630 B.C. As Josiah reigned for thirty-one years, Jeremiah's call in the thirteenth year of Josiah would show that he prophesied for about nineteen years while Josiah was king. Jehoahaz succeeded his father, Josiah, and reigned for only three months, being replaced by his brother, Jehoiakim, who then reigned for eleven years. Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin, who was taken captive by the king of Babylon after three months and ten days and was replaced by Zedekiah. Lehi was called in the first year of Zedekiah, and the Book of Mormon account begins in 600 B.C. (see 1 Nephi 1:4). The combined reign of the first four of these kings would be about thirty years, and would place the beginning of Jeremiah's ministry at around 630 B.C. The traditional dating of Jeremiah's call is around 626 or 627 B.C., but the Book of Mormon dating is more precise.” (Monte S. Nyman, The Words of Jeremiah [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], 2 - 3)

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly… I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet

No scripture in the entire Bible teaches the doctrine of foreordination better than Jer. 1:5. How much plainer can the doctrine be stated? The Lord, in his own words, declares Jeremiah was ordained before he was born—that is Foreordination—plain and simple.

Furthermore, most Bible and Torah readers across the world disregard the doctrine of a pre-mortal existence. Jeremiah’s foreordination refutes that idea. How could he be sanctified? How could he be ordained before he was formed in the belly if he didn’t exist before he was born? This single passage is key in teaching two major doctrines, Foreordination and Pre-mortal Existence, doctrines lost on most believers in Jehovah.

Pre-mortal Existence

“I had just returned from my mission and was working for six weeks before returning to college. My last day on the job I worked with Ned, an older man I had not worked with before. We spent the day making deliveries around the city, and at the end of the day, very tired, we rode in silence back to the plant.

“Finally Ned looked over at me and said: ‘I feel I should tell you something. I continue to have a feeling that I lived before I was born.’ I smiled, and he continued: ‘Now, there you go, laughing at me like everyone else.’

‘I’m not laughing at you.’

‘Well, you’re smiling.’

‘I am smiling because you are correct.’

“’How do you know that?’ Ned asked. ‘I’ve told that to quite a number of clergymen, and they all tell me there is nothing to such a feeling.’

“’When you go home, read the first chapter of Jeremiah,’ I told him, recalling the words of the Lord to the Old Testament prophet: ‘Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee’ (Jer. 1:5).

“By this time we had arrived back at the plant, so we talked no further. I went home, had supper, and decided to go to a movie. I drove around town until I saw one I thought would be good and went in.

“During the intermission I went into the lobby to get some refreshments. There was Ned, with his wife. They came over to me, and he said, ‘I want you to meet my wife, Belle.’ Then he explained to her that I was the fellow he had been talking about. He looked at me and said, ‘We want to go to church with you next Sunday. You do go to church, don’t you?’

“I assured him I did, and he asked me which church I attended.

“’The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—the Mormon Church,’ I replied.” (Larry M. Arnoldsen, “I Have a Feeling That I Lived Before I Was Born,” Ensign, Oct. 1998, 60)

“That the ancient prophets knew of the doctrine of man’s premortal existence is clear. (See Abr. 3; Moses 3–4; Gen. 2:4–5; Jer. 1:5.) The doctrine also circulated among early Christians but was declared anathema in the fifth century A.D. 32 An early Christian poem known as ‘The Pearl,’ for example, begins: ‘In my first primeval childhood … I was nurtured in the royal house of my Father. … Then my parents sent me forth from our home in the East (the source of light), supplied with all necessities. … They removed from me the garment of light … and they made a Covenant with me, and wrote in my heart, lest I go astray.’

“Nevertheless, at the time of Joseph Smith, little trace of the doctrine had survived. No part of man was thought to have existed eternally, for God was said to have created all things out of nothing. Most Christian churches today do not teach that mortals existed as spirits prior to their mortal births. They generally acknowledge that Christ existed before his birth and that God created other beings who exist in the universe but who do not become mortal. The most common view is that God creates a person’s spirit at the time of his or her mortal birth. This view interprets biblical passages that suggest premortal existence as referring to Christ or saying that all things existed only in the mind and plans of God before their actual creation.

“Joseph Smith, however, restored the doctrine of man’s premortal existence. The doctrine can be both comforting and unsettling—comforting in that it tells us we are literally of the family of God with unlimited potential; unsettling because it tells us that we are responsible for what we are now and for what we will become.” (Donald Q. Cannon, Larry E. Dahl, and John W. Welch, “The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: The Godhead, Mankind, and the Creation,” Ensign, Jan. 1989, 31)

Dallin H. Oaks

The gospel teaches us that we are the spirit children of heavenly parents. Before our mortal birth we had “a pre-existent, spiritual personality, as the sons and daughters of the Eternal Father” (statement of the First Presidency, Improvement Era, Mar. 1912, p. 417; also see Jer. 1:5). We were placed here on earth to progress toward our destiny of eternal life. These truths give us a unique perspective and different values to guide our decisions from those who doubt the existence of God and believe that life is the result of random processes. (“The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72)

Foreordination

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. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 365)

Howard W. Hunter

God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jer. 1:5.) At another time God reminded Job that “all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7) before there was yet any man or woman on the earth God was creating. The Apostle Paul taught that God the Father chose us “before the foundation of the world.” (Eph. 1:4.)

Where and when did all of this happen? Well, it happened long before man’s mortal birth. It happened in a great premortal existence where we developed our identities and increased our spiritual capabilities by exercising our agency and making important choices. We developed our intelligence and learned to love the truth, and we prepared to come to earth to continue our progress. (“The Golden Thread of Choice,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 17)

LeGrand Richards

The Lord has his own way of calling prophets. He knew them before they were ever born here in mortality. We read in the Book of Abraham that the Lord stood in the midst of the spirits, and among them there were noble and great ones—and they couldn’t be noble and great if they hadn’t done something to make them noble and great. The Lord said of them: “These I will make my rulers; … Abraham, thou art one of them; thou was chosen before thou wast born.” (Abr. 3:22–23.) Isn’t that a beautiful thought? The Lord stood in the midst of those spirits, and there were some there who became his prophets here in mortality.

We read about Jeremiah when he was called to be a prophet. He couldn’t understand it, and the Lord said: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jer. 1:5.) The Lord couldn’t have ordained him if he didn’t exist, and he wouldn’t have ordained him before he was born if he hadn’t done something in that spiritual life to prepare him to become one of the Lord’s mouthpieces here upon this earth. The same thing is true with the Prophet Joseph. (“Call of the Prophets,” Ensign, May 1981, 31)

Brigham Young

It was decreed in the counsels of eternity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, that he, Joseph Smith, should be the man, in the last dispensation of this world, to bring forth the word of God to the people, and receive the fulness of the keys and power of the Priesthood of the Son of God. The Lord had his eyes upon him, and upon his father, and upon his father's father, and upon their progenitors clear back to Abraham, and from Abraham to the flood, from the flood to Enoch, and from Enoch to Adam. He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from its fountain to the birth of that man. He was fore-ordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation. (Discourses of Brigham Young, selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1954], 108)

Bruce R. McConkie

All those who receive the Melchizedek Priesthood in this life were, as Alma teaches, “called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God,” because they were among the noble and great in that premortal sphere. (Alma 13:3.)

And Paul says that through this law of foreordination, which he calls the doctrine of election, there came to the whole house of Israel “the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.” (Rom. 9:4.) He says that the faithful members of the Church, those “that love God” and “are called according to his purpose,” are foreordained “to be conformed to the image of his Son,” to be “joint-heirs with Christ,” and to have eternal life in our Father’s kingdom. (Rom. 8:17, 28.)

He says also of members of the Church that God “hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love,” and that we were foreordained to become the children of Jesus Christ by adoption, thus gaining a “forgiveness of sins” in this life and an inheritance of eternal glory in the life to come. (Eph. 1:7.)

Our revelations, ancient and modern, abound in pronouncements relative to the law of foreordination, both as it applies to specific individuals called according to the foreknowledge of God to special labors in mortality and as it applies to the blessings promised that host of valiant souls who are born in the lineage of Israel and who hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and come into his sheepfold on earth.

Christ himself is the great prototype of all foreordained prophets. He was chosen in the councils of eternity to be the Savior and Redeemer. Of him Peter said he was “a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet. 1:19–20), as the one who should come in the meridian of time to work out the infinite and eternal atonement. For 4,000 years all the prophets testified of his coming and proclaimed his goodness and grace. (“God Foreordains His Prophets and His People,” Ensign, May 1974, 72–73)

Jeremiah 1:6 I cannot speak: for I am a child

Jeffrey R. Holland

A memorable account of the power of [inspired] teaching comes from the life of the prophet Jeremiah. This great man felt the way most teachers or speakers or Church officers feel when called—inexperienced, inadequate, frightened. “Ah, Lord,” he cried, “behold, I cannot speak: for I am [but] a child.”

But the Lord reassured him: “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee. … Therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them.”

So speak unto them he did, but initially not with much success. Things went from bad to worse until finally he was imprisoned and made a laughingstock among the people. Angry that he had been so mistreated and maligned, Jeremiah vowed, in effect, never to teach another lesson, whether that be to an investigator, Primary child, new convert, or—heaven forbid—the 15-year-olds. “I will not make mention of [the Lord], nor speak any more in his name,” the discouraged prophet said. But then came the turning point of Jeremiah’s life. Something had been happening with every testimony he had borne, every scripture he had read, every truth he had taught. Something had been happening that he hadn’t counted on. Even as he vowed to close his mouth and walk away from the Lord’s work, he found that he could not. Why? Because “his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (Jer. 20:7-9) (“A Teacher Come from God,” Ensign, May 1998, 27)

Jeremiah 1:14-16 they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem

How humiliating! Babylonian princes mocking the establishment of Jerusalem! They set up their chairs like thrones because none was strong enough to oppose them. Who could remove the thrones of the princes? They must be destroyed. Would Baal be able to do it? Where was the strength of Jerusalem?

All the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.

And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night… (Jer. 39:3-4)

Jeremiah 1:8, 17-19 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee

“The people's response to Jeremiah was anything but positive The men of Anathoth, Jeremiah's home town, sought his life (see Jeremiah 11:21), leading him to cry unto the Lord to know why the wicked prospered (see Jeremiah 12:1). He further lamented over his being born ‘a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth’ (Jeremiah 15:10). His enemies devised ways to oppose his counsels and sought to take his life (see Jeremiah 18:18, 23).” (Monte S. Nyman, The Words of Jeremiah [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], 3 - 4)

Jeremiah 1:19 they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee

“When the Babylonians finally came and surrounded the city, Jeremiah… counseled individuals that they could survive by surrendering to the Babylonians. Such advice weakened the hands of the defenders and made Jeremiah look as if he were a traitor. (Jer. 38:2–4.) Yet only God knew what was coming and could tell them how to survive.

“In the final days of the siege, Zedekiah desperately asked Jeremiah for advice. Jeremiah promised him his life and the city’s salvation if he would give himself up to the Babylonians. Otherwise, the city would be destroyed. Yet Zedekiah kept the advice secret for fear of his own people, and Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled. (Jer. 38:17–27.)

“The widespread hostility to and rejection of divine messages made it a hard time to be an authentic prophet. Even the priestly men of Anathoth, Jeremiah’s hometown, repeatedly made attempts on Jeremiah’s life, saying, ‘Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand.’ (Jer. 11:21.) The plotters even involved his brothers and the house of his father. (See Jer. 12:6.)

“Jeremiah was horrified at the variety of plots being made against him: ‘I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living.’ (Jer. 11:19.)

“Another time, when he had promised that the temple and city would fall, the priests and prophets brought him to trial before the princes and accused him of treason, demanding his death. But, like Abinadi, he replied,

I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.

But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. (See Jer. 26:8–15.)

“Once again, the Lord delivered Jeremiah out of their hands, as he had promised…

“The constant harassment, mockery, and ridicule became at times a burden almost too heavy for Jeremiah to bear. He wondered aloud, ‘Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?’ (Jer. 20:18.) On the other hand, he empathized with the suffering his people were about to experience: ‘Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!’ (Jer. 9:1.)” (Keith H. Meservy, “Jerusalem at the Time of Lehi and Jeremiah,” Ensign, Jan. 1988, 25)

“Jeremiah’s efforts provided a timeless example for all people. Although Jeremiah did not bring Judah to repent, and he did not avert the destruction of Jerusalem, the beneficial consequences of his life have been incalculably great. Jeremiah’s unwavering dedication to the Lord and his own personal brilliance are obvious in his forceful and moving denunciations of sin. (see Jer. 2; Jer. 7; Jer. 13; Jer. 16–17; Jer. 19.) Consequently, while the worship of Baal is today only a historical curiosity, Jeremiah’s writings continue to be meaningful. Jeremiah’s message far transcends the evils against which it was directed and continues to influence us in situations that Jeremiah himself might not have fully expected. Can anyone question whether Jeremiah, although persecuted and possibly martyred by the worshippers of Baal, achieved the final victory?

“In one sense, our problems today, like Jeremiah’s difficulties of twenty-five centuries ago, may have no immediate solution. Our challenge is to engage these problems with all the resources with which we have been blessed, with totally unwavering dedication to the Lord. We can be uncompromising in resisting evil. We can strengthen our families. We can seek to be led by righteous persons, and we can inform them of our views on current issues. We can extend to all people the opportunity to hear the truth and to unite in its support.” (K. Codell Carter, “Dark Clouds of Trouble,” Ensign, July 1980, 29)

Jeremiah 2:2 Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth

“The symbolic betrothal of the bride (the house of Israel) to the Bridegroom (Jehovah) took place in the Sinai wilderness after the Exodus. There, characteristic of Hebraic betrothal, the Lord entered into a covenant relationship with Jacob’s descendants. Jehovah renewed the Abrahamic covenant with the children of Israel and laid this proposition before them:

If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation (Ex. 19:5–6).

“…In consideration of the gross infidelity of the unrepentant bride, the Bridegroom finally set aside the betrothal covenants with a humiliating and symbolic public divorce of the Northern Kingdom (Israel)—the Assyrian conquest of Israel. But Judah did not learn a lesson of fidelity from her sister’s humiliation.

Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery [or idolatry] I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also (Jer. 3:6–8).

“For their wickedness the Jews also were divorced publicly, as it were, via the Babylonian captivity. The gods, or symbolic lovers, to whom they turned for help did not come to their aid: ‘All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not’ (Jer. 30:14; see Jer. 30:10–17); ‘Among all her lovers she [Judah] hath none to comfort her’ (Lam. 1:2). Recalling the former ardor the Israelites had for him, the Lord says: ‘I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness’ (Jer. 2:2). And reaffirming his fidelity, the Lord tells the house of Israel, ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth’ (Amos 3:2).

“Patiently and with great love, the Lord vowed to win back his bride. Though the betrothal had been temporarily suspended, this ‘divorce’ was not to be permanent. There was to be a separation, so to speak, for a time, but the door was left open for reconciliation in the day that the bride experienced remorse and repented of her adulterous ways.” (Richard K. Hart, “The Marriage Metaphor,” Ensign, Jan. 1995, 24-27)

Jeremiah 2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?

Bruce R. McConkie

Israel was scattered because she apostatized; because she broke the Ten Commandments; because she rejected the prophets and seers and turned to wizards that peep and mutter; because she forsook the covenant; because she gave heed to false ministers and joined false churches; because she ceased to be a peculiar people and a kingdom of priests. When she became as the world, the Lord left her to suffer and live and be as the world then was.

"Hath a nation changed their gods?" Jehovah asked his people. Have they accepted gods "which are yet no gods"? he asked. "My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit," he said. "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, and that can hold no water." (Jer. 2:11-13.) Israel forsook Jehovah, from whom living waters flow, and worshipped other gods. Israel no longer drank the living water, which, if men drink, they shall never thirst more. Rather she made her own churches, her own cisterns—"broken cisterns," false churches—which can hold none of the waters of life. (The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 187)

Jeremiah 2:13 they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns

“Jehovah pronounced a scathing denunciation upon most of mankind: "My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13). All people thirst for the living waters, even those who do not know they do. And, unfortunately, many spend endless hours and needed strength in digging their own wells or searching for water when the cooling draught of the Redeemer is within easy reach.” (Robert L. Millet, An Eye Single to the Glory of God: Reflections on the Cost of Discipleship [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1991], 4)

George Teasdale

I would like to encourage all men to be kind to themselves, and to worship the living and true God. Come out of your broken cisterns, that hold no water; cease your idolatrous practices and the worship of an imaginary God, without body, parts or passions; and come to the light of the glorious Gospel of the Son of God. We have done this, and I tell you it is glorious. (Conference Report, April 1901, Second Day—Morning Session 37 - 38)

Joseph B. Wirthlin

The Lord provides the living water that can quench the burning thirst of those whose lives are parched by a drought of truth. He expects us to supply to them the fulness of the gospel by giving them the scriptures and the words of the prophets and to bear personal testimony as to the truth of the restored gospel to alleviate their thirst. When they drink from the cup of gospel knowledge, their thirst is satisfied as they come to understand our Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness.

As at Jacob’s well, so today the Lord Jesus Christ is the only source of living water. It will quench the thirst of those suffering from the drought of divine truth that so afflicts the world. The words of the Lord to ancient Israel spoken by the prophet Jeremiah describe the condition of many of God’s children in our own day: “My people … have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out … broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” 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.

On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, the Savior, now returned to Jerusalem, extended this timeless, universal invitation: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” (John 7:37)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie defined living water as “the words of eternal life, the message of salvation, the truths about God and his kingdom; it is the doctrines of the gospel.” He went on to explain, “Where there are prophets of God, there will be found rivers of living water, wells filled with eternal truths, springs bubbling forth their life-giving draughts that save from spiritual death.”

The Lord has declared that “whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” We are blessed to live in a day when prophets and Apostles live on the earth. Through them we are refreshed continually by an abundant stream of eternal truth that, if obeyed, brings the living water of the Lord into our lives. Echoing those Samaritans who listened to the Savior at Jacob’s well, we, too, can say with faith and with firm conviction, “We have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” (“Living Water to Quench Spiritual Thirst,” Ensign, May 1995, 19)

Jeremiah 2:16 the children of Noph and Tahapanes

Biblical Atlases don’t identify the land of Noph. Tahapanes is felt to refer to the land of Goshen in Egypt (Jer. 43:7-8). If Tahapenes refers to rural Egypt, we may safely assume Noph is a rural area in the land of Assyria (see v. 18, 36-37). The Israelites are chastised for trusting Egypt and Assyria instead of the Lord, “for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences (thy allies Egypt and Assyria), and thou shalt not prosper in them” (v. 37).

Jeremiah 2:17, 19 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself?... Thine own wickedness shall correct thee

The reason the wicked will not complain to God at the judgment bar is because they will be convicted of their own guilt (see 2 Ne. 9:14; Mormon 9:4-5). They will understand that they have brought judgment upon themselves. They know they deserve what they get. The Lord can fairly ask them, “Hast thou not procured this unto thyself?”

Brigham Young

The earth is pure in and of itself, having kept the law of its creation; and mankind have actually brought on themselves all the sin, all the distress, all the anguish, pain, sickness, and death that are upon the earth.

Since man has brought this upon himself, who but man can effect a restoration from sin to purity? From death to life? If I injure my neighbor in any way, I am the only person that can make restitution and obtain the forgiveness of my injured friend, neighbor, or brother. When a child revolts from under a good parents' control, it is the place of that child to return to his father, like the prodigal of old, and reinstate himself in the friendship and good feelings of his injured parent.

Mankind have forfeited the right they once possessed to the friendship of their Heavenly Father, and through sin have exposed themselves to misery and wretchedness. Who is to bring back to the sin-stained millions of earth that which they have lost through disobedience? Who is to plant smiling peace and plenty where war and desolation reign? Who is to remove the curse and its consequences from earth—the homestead of mankind? Who shall say to the raging and contending elements, "peace, be still?" and extract the poison from the reptile's tooth, and the savage and destructive nature from beast and creeping thing?

Who placed the dark stain of sin upon this fair creation? Man. Who but man shall remove the foul blot, and restore all things to their primeval purity and innocence? But can he do this independent of heavenly aid? He can not. To aid him in this work heavenly grace is here; heavenly wisdom, power, and help are here, and God's laws and ordinances are here; the angels and spirits of just men made perfect are here; Jesus Christ our Great High Priest, with Prophets, Apostles, and Saints, ancient and modern, are here to help man in the great work of sanctifying himself and the earth for final glorification in its paradisiacal state. All this will be accomplished through the law of the Holy Priesthood. (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886], 10: 301)

James E. Faust

Indeed, moral standards must be maintained. In large measure, those who are disobedient punish themselves. As the Lord said through Jeremiah: “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee.” (“The Weightier Matters of the Law: Judgment, Mercy, and Faith,” Ensign, Nov. 1997, 54)

Jeremiah 2:35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me

Part of rebellion from God is denial. Hypocrisy thrives on it. The proud raised to be religious must convince themselves they are in the right. This, of course, is the danger of believing that “all is well in Zion” when in reality, the covenants hang by a thread (2 Ne. 28:21).

Laman and Lemuel were contemporaries of Jeremiah. They were swimming in the river of denial just as Jeremiah prophesied, “we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people” (1 Ne. 17:22). Oh really? In reality, Jehovah had caught Israel playing the harlot and with blood on her skirts, meaning she was guilty of both adultery and murder—adultery with Canaanite idols and murder of innocent prophets.

Jeremiah 15:2 thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death… to the sword… to the famine… to the captivity

Josephus

The king of Babylon… sent an army, and besieged Jehoiachin in Jerusalem… gave orders to his generals to take all that were in the city captives, both the youth and the handicraftsmen, and bring them bound to him; their number was ten thousand eight hundred and thirty-two; as also Jehoiachin, and his mother and friends. And when these were brought to him, he kept them in custody, and appointed Jehoiachin's uncle, Zedekiah, to be king…

Now in the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, on the tenth day of the tenth month, the king of Babylon made a second expedition against Jerusalem, and lay before it eighteen months, and besieged it with the utmost application. There came upon them also two of the greatest calamities at the same time that Jerusalem was besieged, a famine and a pestilential distemper (i.e. a great political unrest), and made great havoc of them. And though the prophet Jeremiah was in prison, he did not rest, but cried out, and proclaimed aloud, and exhorted the multitude to open their gates, and admit the king of Babylon, for that if they did so, they should be preserved, and their whole families; but if they did not so, they should be destroyed; and he foretold, that if any one staid in the city, he should certainly perish by one of these ways,—either be consumed by the famine, or slain by the enemy's sword; but that if he would flee to the enemy, he should escape death. Yet did not these rulers who heard believe him, even when they were in the midst of their sore calamities; but they came to the king, and in their anger informed him what Jeremiah had said, and accused him, and complained of the prophet as of a madman. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book X, 7:1, 4)