Two Prophets In Jerusalem

The very first page of The Book of Mormon introduces us to a man named Lehi. Besides being the father of Nephi, he was a prophet in Jerusalem during the time of the Biblical king Zedekiah. In fact, the fourth verse in the book says that there were other prophets like him “prophesying unto the people that they must repent”. Have you ever wondered who any of these prophets were?

Thankfully, you don’t need to look any further than the Bible to know one of them. His name is Jeremiah. He was a prophet during the fall of Jerusalem and witnessed the wickedness of the people result into their own destruction because they would not listen to the prophets. Nevertheless, he was influential and, as we will discover, he had a huge impact on the people of The Book of Mormon.

(Please feel free to follow this timeline as you read this article.)

The Teachings of Jeremiah and Lehi

Every day, Jeremiah rose up early and urged the people to repent. He strove to bring them closer to their God. However, they did otherwise; they “walked in the counsels and in the imaginations of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward” (Jer. 7:23-25).

In that very same city, Lehi did the same and the Lord warned him, in 1 Nephi 2, that the people sought to take away his life and that he should take his family into the wilderness. As he was a very obedient person, he did so and without question. He packed up his family, a few things, some tents, and departed immediately.

During their time as citizens of Jerusalem, Jeremiah and Lehi spent their time obediently teaching the people. Yet, they were continuously rejected for speaking the word of God which was that

• God had not forgotten them
• They were wicked and needed to repent
• Their sins would keep them from good things
• Jerusalem would be destroyed
• The Messiah would come to redeem them

Jeremiah’s Imprisonment

Jeremiah was imprisoned and forced to witness the continuous wickedness of his people. Disheartened, he still trusted in the Lord, saying “the Lord is with me as a [pull_quote_left]My persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail[/pull_quote_left]mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail” (Jer. 10:11).

Jeremiah could not be silenced as many of his prophecies had been preserved in the brass plates which were later taken by Nephi from Laban (1 Nephi 5:13). After obtaining the plates, Nephi and his family continued in their journey but he and his brethren made one last trip back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael’s family.

It can be supposed that Jeremiah had been imprisoned during that time as the news of Jeremiah’s arrest was spoken of only after Nephi had returned to his father in the wilderness (1 Nephi 7:14). Yet, Laman and Lemuel still wanted to return as they didn’t believe in the prophets’ words that the city would be destroyed. However, the entire family still continued their journey to the Promised Land.

Did Their Prophecies Come True?

Few people listened to these prophets words, warning of Jerusalem’s destruction. They would not repent and, because of that, everything that was prophesied came true. Zedekiah and the people were captured, the walls were broken down, and Babylon took over.

Meanwhile, Lehi and his family were safe in the Promised Land, unaware of what was happening but trusting that the word of Lord would be fulfilled; and it was. [pull_quote_left]They trusted that the word of the Lord would be fulfilled; and it was. [/pull_quote_left]However, it would only be their descendants who would discover that about 300 or so years later when Mosiah discovered the people of Zarahemla who had originally been lead there by one of the sons of Zedekiah named Mulek.

Now, the Bible tells us that all of Zedekiah’s sons were slaughtered in front of their father before his eyes were taken out. Yet, one theory tells us that Mulek is really a nickname and that he is Malchiah, the son of Hammelech (translated as “son of the king” and, therefore, the “son of Zedekiah”).

If that theory is true then Mulek, along with his brothers, put Jeremiah down into a dungeon to sink in the mire. Once he was saved by Ebed-melech, the Ethopian, Zedekiah started to listen to his prophecies. During this time, there must have come a point of repentance for Mulek because soon after his father and brothers would be taken, but the Lord would spare him and guide him to the Promised Land.

Mosiah must have rejoiced inside when he found the descendants of Mulek and their records. To him, it was much more than the discovery of a new people; it was a sure witness from God that all of what the prophets before him had said about Jerusalem and its destruction was true.

What Happened to Jeremiah?

There is a place in Ireland known as “Jeremiah’s Tomb”. Legend says that that is where the prophet escaped to, but whether or not the story is real we will probably never know and it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that we have a God who was merciful enough to preserve Jeremiah and Mulek.

Like them, we have the sure knowledge that we will be taken care as well of if we repent and are obedient to God. That doesn’t mean that we won’t face hardship. After all, Jeremiah was the “wailing prophet”. But it does mean that God will be on our side. How has God shown you that he is on your side because you chose to do what was right?