General Conference Review: Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage

Yesterday was my first Sunday as a new Relief Society Teacher - teaching a 45 minute lesson to the adult women of the church. In our ward 4th Sundays we teach from the talks given at the previous General Conference. This Sunday I was asked to base my lesson on a talk given by Elder Quentin L. Cook titled “Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage” Since General Conference is coming around again soon I also thought it would be a good time to review this and some of my other favorite talks from the October 2013 General Conference. Although the lesson was amplified by the other sisters I’ll do my best here to record some of the things I learned as I prepared and shared this lesson.

Before we really get into what Elder Cook discusses about bondage I thought it would be helpful to have a brief look the time in which Jeremiah lived and who he was.

Here are some things I learned about Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah (this is not meant to be a complete list - just some highlights to gain a better understanding of what was happening)

• they lived in a time of tumult and war
• they worshiped many idols that they had adopted from the surrounding cultures and even had placed idols in the Holy Temple of the Lord
• they participated in all forms of immorality
• the poor were forgotten
• they had “professional prophets” whom the people and kings would go to seeking advice and were paid in essence to tell the people what they wanted to hear.
• the people had so far turned from God that when a true prophet did preach to them, they were deemed false, laughed at, ignored, and condemned to imprisonment and even death.
• Elder Cook’s talk referenced some quotes from the Lord about the state of the people in Jerusalem, “My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. …They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed … out … broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”6 Speaking of the calamities to come upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Lord lamented, “[For them] the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and [they] are not saved.”7

If we look at some of these characteristics of the people that lived in Jerusalem, we can see at least some similarities between then and now. We also live in a time of tumult where there are wars, violence, and uncertainty. Even though in modern times our idols have changed and many people would not characterize their habits as worshiping an idol, many things have taken the place of worshiping our Father in Heaven and could be looked at in the same light. The commandments of the Lord have largely been altered and ignored and many forms of immorality are becoming more commonplace.It’s shockingly sorrowing to see just how many poor we still have that would benefit from someone to help lift them from their poverty. In modern times we may not look to prophets for advice from God on how to improve our lives but the multitude of self-help gurus who provide “answers” on life that fit with whatever makes a person feel good without having to change themselves is plentiful. Meanwhile most of the world today are completely ignorant as to the fact that we even have true and living prophets that are teaching the word of God. I would say that the modern world has much in common with that of Jerusalem just before 600B.C.

Now let’s take a look at Jeremiah (again, not a complete list, just some quick reference points)

• Jeremiah is the central figure and author of the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations in the Old Testament.
• Jeremiah was a Levite from the town of Anathoth (a town of the priests that was a few miles northeast of Jerusalem among the people of the tribe of Benjamin)
• Jeremiah was called to be a prophet around the year 627B.C.
• Jeremiah was young when he was first called to teach the people.
• Jeremiah was the leading prophet of his time, serving with other prophets from the scriptures such as Habakkuk and Zephaniah, as well as Lehi from the Book of Mormon.
• He saw at least four Kings of Judah on the throne.

The scriptures give us some insight to Jeremiah’s feelings and thoughts at the time that he was called to be a prophet. His immediate reaction is of inadequacy because of his young age. Although each of us have different weaknesses (or more often perceived weaknesses) we all have times where we feel that our best just won’t be enough.

We can all take some comfort from the words of the Lord to Jeremiah. The Lord says, “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...Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee” Jeremiah 1:5,7-8. Something I found out when I researched this, is that the translation of “knew” from Hebrew connotates much more than a casual acquaintance, but a very personal and intimate knowledge of someone. We are the Lord’s children, He knew us in the Heavens before we were born, He already knows our strengths and weaknesses even better than we do. When He gives us a mission it isn’t because He was playing “eanie, meanie, miney, moe”- it’s because for one reason or another we are needed for the job. More than that, because He knows our weaknesses, He promises to be with us and help us to succeed.

So back to the talk from Elder Cook. He bases his remarks around a Psalm. Specifically Psalm 137. The first verse to this Psalm is beautiful and heartbreaking in its poetic imagery. It reads, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.” Can’t you just imagine the daughters of the people of Jerusalem sitting by the river, weeping together, captives in a foreign land so far from all of the hopes and dreams?

When I first read this I was reminded of a story from the LDS pioneer heritage. Even when times were at their absolute worst on the trials heading west the pioneers would ring out the song

Hymns, Come, Come, Ye Saints

1. Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;

But with joy wend your way.

Though hard to you this journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day.

'Tis better far for us to strive

Our useless cares from us to drive;

Do this, and joy your hearts will swell—

All is well! All is well!

2. Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?

'Tis not so; all is right.

Why should we think to earn a great reward

If we now shun the fight?

Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.

Our God will never us forsake;

And soon we'll have this tale to tell—

All is well! All is well!

3. We'll find the place which God for us prepared,

Far away in the West,

Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;

There the Saints will be blessed.

We'll make the air with music ring,

Shout praises to our God and King;

Above the rest these words we'll tell—

All is well! All is well!

4. And should we die before our journey's through,

Happy day! All is well!

We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;

With the just we shall dwell!

But if our lives are spared again

To see the Saints their rest obtain,

Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell—

All is well! All is well!

So what made the difference? The answer is both literal and symbolic. The daughters of Jerusalem had chosen to forfeit Zion for the false riches of Babylon, they worshiped their gods and idols and ultimately were overthrown by them. Jeremiah, Lehi’s family, and the pioneers chose to keep their mind on Zion - on the Lord’s laws and the building up of His kingdom. The former’s choices resulted in their figurative and literal captivity while the later’s resulted in freedom (even when their physical freedoms were sometimes limited).

If we wish to remain free from bondage we must avoid anything that would limit our ability to choose for ourselves. Elder Cook’s talk warns us against four different types of bondage that would impair our freedom by taking away our ability to choose for ourselves.

The first warning he speaks of are addictions. Things like drugs and alcohol and even poor spending and eating habits limit our abilities to think and choose for ourselves because we allow the addiction to control our choices for us. The list of things that we can be addicted to is endless. I have known two couples that have tirelessly worked as Addiction Recovery Program Missionaries and they have testified often of just how much addictions of any nature can affect our entire lives and the freedom that can come as we conquer them and replace them with good habits.

The second type of bondage Elder Cook mentions I call the time wasters. They are the things that we aren’t really addicted to and often in lesser quantities could be fine or even good but that take away from time that we need to do things of greater importance. I know many people who wish for more time in a day and truthfully even when we fill our days with good things, good people will always wish there was more time to do more good so when we waste away our time on things that really don’t matter it is a form of bondage as well. He says specifically to beware of things that threaten our family relationships.

The third type of bondage was false ideologies or philosophies of men that contradict gospel truths. There are many of these out there. Too many to even begin to list. Satan has been at work trying to break down gospel truths and make them seem irrelevant and outdated and he’s succeeded in many areas. One area of special concern that Elder Cook noted was the many differing opinions on the role of women. He said, “There are many voices now telling women how to live.19 They often contradict each other. Of particular concern are philosophies that criticize or diminish respect for women who choose to make the sacrifices necessary to be mothers, teachers, nurturers, or friends to children...Now, let me say unequivocally that I am thrilled with the educational and other opportunities that are available to women. I treasure the fact that the backbreaking work and domestic drudgery required of women has been reduced in much of the world because of modern conveniences and that women are making such magnificent contributions in every field of endeavor. But if we allow our culture to reduce the special relationship that children have with mothers and grandmothers and others who nurture them, we will come to regret it.”

The fourth type of bondage that Elder Cook mentioned was forces that would violate sincerely held religious principles. I am grateful to live in the United States of America where we believe in freedom of religion. Still, I know that many other people around the world are not so fortunate and even here in recent events we have seen how tenuous it can be. Elder Cook says, “we must work to improve the moral culture that surrounds us. Latter-day Saints in every country should be good citizens, participate in civic affairs, educate themselves on the issues, and vote.” I believe that when we do our best to help maintain freedom we will be blessed no matter what the end results will be - but we must do our best.

Remaining aware and vigilant against bondage in any of its forms is important for us and for future generations who need the very best we can offer of ourselves.

So what are some things we can do to be more like Jeremiah and avoid bondage even when times are the hardest? It probably depends a lot on what our individual weaknesses are so I would say we need to do some soul-searching to figure out what weaknesses we have and turn to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for help in overcoming them. As Jeremiah was assured, I know that They love us and that They want to help us be free and will help us to remain so if we are humble enough to just keep our eyes and our hearts focused on Them.