“He Trusted in the Lord God of Israel”

Thoughts to Keep in Mind

In the desert of Sinai, Moses gathered the children of Israel at the foot of a mountain. There the Lord declared that He wanted to turn this group of recently liberated slaves into a mighty people. “Ye shall be unto me,” He said, “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). He promised that they would flourish and prosper, even when surrounded by larger, more powerful enemies.

All this would happen not because the Israelites were numerous or strong or skillful. It would happen, the Lord explained, if they would “obey [His] voice indeed, and keep [His] covenant” (Exodus 19:5). God’s power, not their own, would make them mighty.

Yet the Israelites didn’t always obey God’s voice, and over time they stopped keeping His covenant. Many worshipped other gods and adopted the practices of the cultures around them. They rejected the very thing that made them a distinct nation—their covenant relationship with the Lord. Without God’s power protecting them, there was nothing to stop their enemies.

Several times between about 735 and 720 BC, the Assyrians invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel, home to ten of the twelve tribes, and took thousands of the Israelites captive into various parts of the Assyrian Empire. These Israelites became known as “the lost tribes,” in part because they were removed from their homeland and scattered among other nations. But they were also lost in a deeper sense: over time they lost their sense of identity as God’s covenant people.

Eventually many people in the Southern Kingdom of Judah also turned away from the Lord. The Assyrians attacked and conquered most of that kingdom too; only Jerusalem was miraculously preserved. Later, between 597 and 580 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple, and took many people captive. About 70 years later, a remnant of Judah was allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Many, however, stayed in Babylon.

The Destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuzar-adan, by William Brassey Hole, © Providence Collection/licensed from goodsalt.com

As time passed, Israelites from all the tribes were “scattered … with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not” (Zechariah 7:14). Some the Lord led away to other lands. Others left Israel to escape capture or for political or economic reasons.

We call all these events the scattering of Israel. And it’s important to know about the scattering for several reasons. For one thing, it’s a major topic of the Old Testament—many Old Testament prophets were witnesses of the spiritual downfall that led to the scattering. They foresaw it and warned about it. Some of them even lived through it. That’s helpful to remember when you read the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and other prophets in the latter part of the Old Testament. With this context in mind, when you read their prophecies about Assyria and Babylon, idolatry and captivity, destruction and eventual restoration, you will know what they’re talking about.

Understanding the scattering of Israel will help you understand the Book of Mormon better too, because the Book of Mormon is a record of a branch of scattered Israel. This record begins with Lehi’s family fleeing Jerusalem around 600 BC, just before the Babylonians attacked. Lehi was one of those prophets who prophesied about the scattering of Israel. And his family helped fulfill that prophecy, taking their branch of Israel and planting it on the other side of the world, in the Americas.

The scattering of Israel, however, is only half the story. The Lord doesn’t forget His people, nor does He abandon them, even when they have abandoned Him. The many prophecies that God would scatter Israel were accompanied by many promises that He would one day gather them.

That day is today—our day. The gathering has already begun. In 1836, thousands of years after Moses gathered the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, he appeared in the Kirtland Temple to give Joseph Smith “the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:11). Now, with the direction of people who hold these keys, the tribes of Israel are being gathered from every nation where the Lord’s servants are able to go.

Moses, Elias, and Elijah Appear in the Kirtland Temple, by Gary E. Smith

President Russell M. Nelson has called this gathering “the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it.”

How can we help? What does it mean to gather Israel? Does it mean restoring the twelve tribes to the land they once inhabited? Actually, it means something much greater, much more eternal. As President Nelson explained:

“When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. …

“Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that.”

This happens, as Isaiah said, “one by one” (Isaiah 27:12) or, as Jeremiah predicted, “one of a city, and two of a family” (Jeremiah 3:14).

Gathering Israel means bringing God’s children back to Him. It means restoring them to their covenant relationship with Him. It means reestablishing the “holy nation” He proposed to establish so long ago (Exodus 19:6).

As one who has made a covenant with God, you are part of the house of Israel. You have been gathered, and you are a gatherer. The centuries-long epic story of the covenant people is building to its climax, and you are a key player. Now is the time when “Jesus will say to all Israel, ‘Come home.’”

This is the message of the gatherers: Come home to the covenant. Come home to Zion. Come home to Jesus Christ, the Holy One of Israel, and He will bring you home to God, your Father.

See Deuteronomy 28:1–14.

See 2 Kings 17:6–7; 2 Chronicles 36:12–20.

See 2 Kings 17:1–7. The ten tribes that were taken captive by Assyria were Reuben, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Manasseh. The tribe of Levi was spread throughout the other tribes’ territories so they could perform their priestly responsibilities.

See 2 Kings 19; Isaiah 10:12–13.

See 2 Kings 24–25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 39; 52.

See Ezra 1; 7; Nehemiah 2.

See 2 Nephi 1:1–5; Omni 1:15–16.

See 2 Kings 25:22–26; Jeremiah 42:13–19; 43:1–7.

In AD 70, Jerusalem and its temple were again destroyed, this time by the Romans, and the remaining Jews were scattered throughout many nations.

See Jeremiah 29:18; Ezekiel 22:15; Hosea 9:17; Amos 9:9; 1 Nephi 1:13.

See 1 Nephi 15:12.

See 1 Nephi 1:13, 18–20; 10:12–14.

See Isaiah 5:26; 27:12; 54; Jeremiah 16:14–15; 29:14; 31:10; Ezekiel 11:17; 34:12; 37:21–28; Zechariah 10:8; 1 Nephi 10:14; 22:25; 3 Nephi 16:1–5; 17:4.

Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” (worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018), Gospel Library.

Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel.”

See 2 Nephi 30:2.

“Now Let Us Rejoice,” Hymns, no. 3.

Chapter 6

Each of us can come to enjoy the blessings of immersing ourselves in the scriptures.

When Spencer W. Kimball was 14 years old, he heard Brigham Young’s daughter Susa Young Gates speak at a stake conference on the subject of reading the scriptures. He recalled: “She gave a rousing talk on the reading of the scriptures and making them our own; then she stopped her dissertation to ask this mixed congregation, about a thousand of us, ‘How many of you have read the Bible through?’

“… An accusing guilt complex spread over me. I had read many books by that time, the funny papers, and light books, but my accusing heart said to me, ‘You, Spencer Kimball, you have never read that holy book. Why?’ I looked around me at the people in front and on both sides of the hall to see if I was alone in my failure to read the sacred book. Of the thousand people, there were perhaps a half dozen who proudly raised their hands. I slumped down in my seat. I had no thought for the others who had also failed, but only a deep accusing thought for myself. I don’t know what other people were doing and thinking, but I heard no more of the sermon. It had accomplished its work. When the meeting closed, I sought the large double exit door and rushed to my home a block east of the chapel; and I was gritting my teeth and saying to myself, ‘I will. I will. I will.’

“Entering the back door of our family home, I went to the kitchen shelf where we kept the coal oil lamps, selected one that was full of oil and had a newly trimmed wick, and climbed the stairs to my attic room. There I opened my Bible and began on Genesis, first chapter and first verse, and I read well into the night with Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel, and Enoch and Noah and through the flood even to Abraham.”¹

Approximately one year later, Spencer finished reading the Bible: “What a satisfaction it was to me to realize I had read the Bible through from beginning to end! And what exultation of spirit! And what joy in the over-all picture I had received of its contents!”² The experience made a lasting impression, and later in life he referred to it often in general and area conferences.

President Kimball continued to enjoy the blessings of scripture study throughout his days and encouraged others to do likewise. Elder Richard G. Scott, later a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, recalled: “Elder Spencer W. Kimball supervised our area when I was mission president. I observed how well he understood and used the Book of Mormon in his inspiring messages to members and missionaries alike. … At a missionary zone meeting on one occasion, he said, ‘Richard, you used a scripture from the Book of Mormon today that I had never thought of using in that way.’ That was the careful preparation for a very significant lesson he wanted me to learn. He then added, ‘And to think that I have read that book more than seventy-six times.’ He didn’t have to point out specifically that I knew very little about the scriptures, and that I needed to spend a lifetime in pondering and applying them. That single comment has motivated me to a lifelong goal of increased understanding of the sacred word of God.”³

Sometimes it seems we take the scriptures too much for granted because we do not fully appreciate how rare a thing it is to possess them, and how blessed we are because we do have them. We seem to have settled so comfortably into our experiences in this world and become so accustomed to hearing the gospel taught among us that it is hard for us to imagine it could ever have been otherwise.

But we need to understand that it has [not] been [many] years since the world emerged from the long night of spiritual darkness that we call the Great Apostasy. We need to sense something of the depth of the spiritual darkness that prevailed before that day in the spring of 1820 when the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith—a darkness which was foreseen by the prophet Nephi and described as “that awful state of blindness” in which the gospel was withheld from man. (See 1 Ne. 13:32.) …

… The fact that I was not born in the times of spiritual darkness in which the heavens were silent and the Spirit withdrawn fills my soul with gratitude. Truly, to be without the word of the Lord to direct us is to be as wanderers in a vast desert who can find no familiar landmarks, or in the dense darkness of a cavern with no light to show us the way to escape. …

… Isaiah made direct reference to the end of darkness and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon [see Isaiah 29:11–12]. …

And thus began the marvelous work, “even a marvellous work and a wonder” which the Lord promised he would proceed to do. (See Isa. 29:14.)

Since the beginning of the restoration of the gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith, [millions of] copies of the Book of Mormon have been printed and distributed. … An untold number of Bibles have been printed, far outstripping all other published works in quantity. We also have the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. In addition to our access to these precious works of scripture, we have, to an extent unknown at any other time in the history of the world, the education and the ability to use them, if we will.

The ancient prophets knew that after the darkness there would come light. We live in that light—but do we fully comprehend it? With the doctrines of salvation easily within our grasp, I fear that some are still overcome with the “spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear.” (Rom. 11:8.)

… I ask us all to honestly evaluate our performance in scripture study. It is a common thing to have a few passages of scripture at our disposal, floating in our minds, as it were, and thus to have the illusion that we know a great deal about the gospel. In this sense, having a little knowledge can be a problem indeed. I am convinced that each of us, at some time in our lives, must discover the scriptures for ourselves—and not just discover them once, but rediscover them again and again.⁴

The story of King Josiah in the Old Testament is a most profitable one to “liken … unto [our]selves.” (1 Ne. 19:24.) To me, it is one of the finest stories in all of the scriptures.

Josiah was only eight years old when he began to reign in Judah, and although his immediate progenitors were extremely wicked, the scriptures tell us that “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” (2 Kings 22:2.) This is all the more surprising when we learn that by that time (just two generations before the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.) the written law of Moses had been lost and was virtually unknown, even among the priests of the temple!

But in the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah directed that the temple be repaired. At that time Hilkiah, the high priest, found the book of the law, which Moses had placed in the ark of the covenant, and delivered it to King Josiah.

When the book of the law was read to Josiah, he “rent his clothes” and wept before the Lord.

“Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us,” he said, “because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.” (2 Kings 22:13.)

The king then read the book before all the people, and at that time they all made a covenant to obey all the Lord’s commandments “with all their heart and all their soul.” (2 Kings 23:3.) Then Josiah proceeded to clean up the kingdom of Judah, removing all the idols, the groves, the high places, and all the abominations that had accumulated during the reign of his fathers, defiling the land and its people. …

“And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.” [2 Kings 23:25.]

I feel strongly that we must all of us return to the scriptures just as King Josiah did and let them work mightily within us, impelling us to an unwavering determination to serve the Lord.

Josiah had the law of Moses only. In our scriptures we have the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness; and if a taste is sweet, in fulness there is joy.

The Lord is not trifling with us when he gives us these things, for “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke 12:48.) Access to these things means responsibility for them. We must study the scriptures according to the Lord’s commandment (see 3 Ne. 23:1–5); and we must let them govern our lives and the lives of our children.⁵

Every lesson in ethical standards and in proper spiritual living is found in the standard works. Here will be found the rewards of righteousness and the penalties of sin.⁶

We learn the lessons of life more readily and surely if we see the results of wickedness and righteousness in the lives of others. … To come to know Job well and intimately is to learn to keep faith through the greatest of adversities. To know well the strength of Joseph in the luxury of ancient Egypt when he was tempted by a voluptuous woman, and to see this clean young man resist all the powers of darkness embodied in this one seductive person, certainly should fortify the intimate reader against such sin. To see the forbearance and fortitude of Paul when he was giving his life to his ministry is to give courage to those who feel they have been injured and tried. He was beaten many times, imprisoned frequently for the cause, stoned near to death, shipwrecked three times, robbed, nearly drowned, the victim of false and disloyal brethren. While starving, choking, freezing, poorly clothed, Paul was yet consistent in his service. He never wavered once after the testimony came to him following his supernatural experience. To see the growth of Peter with the gospel as the catalyst moving him from a lowly fisherman—uncultured, unlearned, and ignorant, as they rated him—blossoming out into a great organizer, prophet, leader, theologian, teacher. …

Our children may learn the lessons of life through the perseverance and personal strength of Nephi; the godliness of the three Nephites; the faith of Abraham; the power of Moses; the deception and perfidy of Ananias; the courage even to death of the unresisting Ammonites; the unassailable faith of the Lamanite mothers transmitted down through their sons, so powerful that it saved Helaman’s striplings. Not a single one came to his death in that war.

All through the scriptures every weakness and strength of man has been portrayed, and rewards and punishments have been recorded. One would surely be blind who could not learn to live life properly by such reading. The Lord said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39.) And it was this same Lord and master in whose life we find every quality of goodness: godliness, strength, controls, perfection. And how can students study this great story without capturing some of it in their lives?⁷

Here [in the standard works] are the biographies of the prophets and of leaders and of the Lord himself, giving example and direction so that men can, by following those examples, be perfected, happy, full of joy, and with eternity their goal and expectation.⁸

There are still many of the Saints who are not reading and pondering the scriptures regularly, and who have little knowledge of the Lord’s instructions to the children of men. Many have been baptized and received a testimony, and have “gotten into this straight and narrow path,” yet have failed to take the further required step—to “press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end.” (2 Ne. 31:19, 20; italics added.)

Only the faithful will receive the promised reward, which is eternal life. For one cannot receive eternal life without becoming a “doer of the word” (see James 1:22) and being valiant in obedience to the Lord’s commandments. And one cannot become a “doer of the word” without first becoming a “hearer.” And to become a “hearer” is not simply to stand idly by and wait for chance bits of information; it is to seek out and study and pray and comprehend. Therefore the Lord said, “Whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.” (D&C 84:52.)⁹

The years have taught me that if we will energetically pursue this worthy personal goal [to study the scriptures] in a determined and conscientious manner, we shall indeed find answers to our problems and peace in our hearts. We shall experience the Holy Ghost broadening our understanding, find new insights, witness an unfolding pattern of all scripture; and the doctrines of the Lord shall come to have more meaning to us than we ever thought possible. As a consequence, we shall have greater wisdom with which to guide ourselves and our families.¹⁰

I ask all to begin now to study the scriptures in earnest, if you have not already done so.¹¹

I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns. I find myself loving more intensely those whom I must love with all my heart and mind and strength, and loving them more, I find it easier to abide their counsel.¹²

I find that all I need to do to increase my love for my Maker and the gospel and the Church and my brethren is to read the scriptures. I have spent many hours in the scriptures. … I cannot see how anyone can read the scriptures and not develop a testimony of their divinity and of the divinity of the work of the Lord, who is the spokesman in the scriptures.¹³

Few of the billions [on] earth can walk with God as did Adam and Abraham and Moses, yet, in the world in which we live, the scriptures are available to nearly every soul, and, through them, men can become intimately acquainted with their Heavenly Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and with conditions and opportunities and expectations of life eternal.¹⁴

No amount of human study can find out God, but he has revealed himself to his servants the prophets, and they have taught us of his nature. We can each have a confirmation of the truth through our own fasting and prayer. The theological storms around us find us calm in the center of tempest with a simple, sure knowledge of the Father and the Son derived from the ancient and modern scriptures and affirmed by the Spirit. In this knowledge we have hope of eternal life.¹⁵

Consider these ideas as you study the chapter or as you prepare to teach. For additional help, see pages v–ix.

Ponder the stories on pages 59–61. How do these stories influence you? Ask yourself how you are doing in reading, understanding, and applying the scriptures. Consider your personal goals for scripture study.

As you review the section beginning on page 61, imagine your life without the scriptures. How would your life be different? What are some consequences of taking the scriptures “too much for granted”?

Why is it insufficient merely to have a few favorite scripture passages “floating in our minds”? (page 62). What do you think it means to discover the scriptures for yourself and to “rediscover them again and again”?

President Kimball encouraged us to liken the story of King Josiah to ourselves (pages 62–64; see also 2 Kings 22–23). What similarities and differences do you see between your life and the lives of King Josiah and his people?

Think of some “lessons of life” you have learned through scripture study. (For some examples, see pages 64–66.)

Review the fourth paragraph on page 66. What are some scripture passages that have helped you find answers to your problems and peace in your heart?

Read the first and second paragraphs on page 67. How has scripture study affected your relationship with God? your relationships with family members? your service in Church callings?

Related Scriptures: Amos 8:11–12; 1 Nephi 19:23; Alma 37:8; D&C 1:37; 18:33–36

“Read the Scriptures,” Friend, Dec. 1985, inside front cover; see also “What I Read as a Boy,” Children’s Friend, Nov. 1943, 508.

Children’s Friend, Nov. 1943, 508.

“The Power of the Book of Mormon in My Life,” Ensign, Oct. 1984, 9.

“How Rare a Possession—the Scriptures!” Ensign, Sept. 1976, 2, 4.

Ensign, Sept. 1976, 4–5.

“The Power of Books” (written with Camilla E. Kimball), Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1963, 729.

The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 131, 132–33.

Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1963, 729.

Ensign, Sept. 1976, 2.

“Always a Convert Church: Some Lessons to Learn and Apply This Year,” Ensign, Sept. 1975, 3.

Ensign, Sept. 1976, 5.

The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 135.

The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 135.

Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1963, 730.

Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 67.

As a young man, Spencer W. Kimball determined to read the entire Bible.

“I am convinced that each of us, at some time in our lives, must discover the scriptures for ourselves—and not just discover them once, but rediscover them again and again.”

Scripture Helps

Wickedness in the Northern Kingdom of Israel continued. The Assyrians conquered the Israelites and captured many of them, and Israel’s homeland was repopulated with other people from the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians also invaded the Southern Kingdom of Judah and attacked Jerusalem. King Hezekiah asked the prophet Isaiah to pray for his people. The Lord, through Isaiah, told the people not to be afraid. The Lord defended the city, and the Assyrians retreated. Subsequent kings in Judah practiced idolatry, and the Lord removed His protection. When Josiah became king, he used the book of the law to call the people to repentance. After Josiah was killed in battle, the next four kings led Judah back into wickedness. During the reign of King Zedekiah, Jerusalem was destroyed, and many people were captured and taken into Babylon.

Note: The citation of a source not published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not imply that it or its author is endorsed by the Church or represents the official position of the Church.

2 Kings 16:7

Throughout the first half of the first millennium BC, Assyria was a dominant power in the ancient Near East, particularly during the eighth and seventh centuries BC. Assyria’s capital was generally located in places throughout Mesopotamia, in the modern country of Iraq. The Old Testament frequently mentions Assyria’s conflicts and exchanges with the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Assyria’s name may come from Asshur, one of the sons of Shem. Asshur was also the name of both the chief god of the Assyrians and their capital city. The Assyrians had a reputation for viciously desolating the lands and torturing the people they conquered. They also often deported large portions of a conquered population to other parts of their empire to weaken them.

Bible Maps, no. 5, “The Assyrian Empire”

2 Kings 16:7–9

During the reign of King Ahaz, Judah and many other nations faced the threat of being conquered by the growing Assyrian empire. The kings of Israel (Pekah) and Syria (Rezin) wanted King Ahaz and the people of Judah to join them in an alliance to resist Assyria’s dominance. When Ahaz refused, Israel and Syria threatened to go to battle against Judah and replace Ahaz with a leader who would join their alliance.

From the book of Isaiah we learn that the Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to counsel Ahaz about this matter. Isaiah encouraged Ahaz and the people of Judah to rely on the Lord for deliverance from the armies of Pekah and Rezin. He also encouraged Ahaz not to seek help from Assyria. However, Ahaz disregarded Isaiah’s counsel and asked the king of Assyria for protection.

Ahaz persisted in his apostasy after he made an alliance with Assyria. He made unauthorized changes to the furnishings and ordinances of the temple and instituted the practice of idolatry throughout the Kingdom of Judah.

2 Kings 17:5–23

Because the people of the Northern Kingdom disobeyed the Lord’s laws, embraced idolatry, and rejected the prophets, they lost the Lord’s protection and were eventually conquered by the Assyrians. While many were killed during the Assyrian conquests, others were spared. Some of these survivors migrated to the Southern Kingdom and joined the population of other Israelites residing in Judah. Some remained in Israel and eventually intermixed with the foreign people the Assyrians relocated there. This mixed group became known as the Samaritans. Still other survivors were taken into exile in Assyria in large numbers, and they eventually became lost to history. This group is often referred to as the lost tribes of Israel, and their scattering is part of what the scriptures call the scattering of Israel.

There is much we do not know about the fate of the lost tribes of Israel. But Jesus Christ taught that they were “not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them.” The Savior also promised that He would visit the lost tribes after His Resurrection. In the Book of Mormon, the Lord spoke of a record of the lost tribes that would come forth at a future time. The scriptures teach that “the restoration of the Ten Tribes” will be an important part of the latter-day gathering of Israel.

2 Kings 17:24–41

After the Assyrians relocated foreigners from other parts of the empire to live in Samaria, a series of lion attacks began to plague the land. The Assyrians believed these attacks occurred because the newcomers did not worship Jehovah. In response, the king of Assyria brought back an exiled Israelite priest to live among the people and teach them the ways of the Lord.

Over the next few centuries, the foreigners who had been brought into Israel continued to worship their own gods along with Jehovah. Eventually this mixed population of Israelites and foreigners came to predominantly identify themselves as children of Israel and became known as Samaritans. The Jews of later years refused to accept the Samaritans because of their mixed ancestry and what the Jews viewed as improper religious practices. This rejection led to hostility between the two groups, which was evident both after the Jewish exile and during the life of Jesus Christ.

2 Kings 18:4

The brass serpent created by Moses when the Israelites were bitten by poisonous snakes in the wilderness had been preserved for centuries. At some point, the Israelites began burning incense to it. King Hezekiah wanted to eliminate idol worship. So he destroyed the brass serpent and all other forms of idol worship that had been prevalent during the reign of his father, Ahaz, in the Kingdom of Judah.

2 Kings 18:7–13

As part of the treaty King Ahaz established with the king of Assyria, the Kingdom of Judah was subservient to Assyria and required to pay a large annual tribute. This arrangement continued through the reign of Hezekiah until around 705 BC, when Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria following the death of their king. A few years after Judah’s revolt, the new Assyrian king, Sennacherib, mobilized a huge army to invade the Kingdom of Judah. The Assyrians conquered many cities of Judah on their way to attacking Jerusalem, the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.

Some of the cities of Judah conquered by Assyria in their attempt to destroy Jerusalem (see Isaiah 10:28–32).

2 Kings 19

King Hezekiah’s reign coincided with the ministry of the prophet Isaiah. After hearing the Assyrians’ threats against his kingdom and people, Hezekiah went to the temple and prayed mightily to God. He also sent messengers to seek Isaiah’s counsel and to ask him to pray for the people. Isaiah reassured Hezekiah’s messengers that the Lord would protect Jerusalem against the mighty Assyrian army, echoing his prophecy recorded in Isaiah 10. Isaiah later sent word to Hezekiah that the Lord had heard the king’s prayers and further reassured him that the Lord would defend Jerusalem against the Assyrian army. Isaiah’s promise was fulfilled when a plague struck the Assyrian camp, and Judah was spared.

2 Kings 22:8

Most scholars believe that the book of the law was a version of Deuteronomy, although it could have included more of the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy). The words of the book had a great impact on King Josiah. He later instituted major religious reforms to reverse the evil and idolatrous practices cultivated by his grandfather, Manasseh, and his father, Amon.

Illustration of King Josiah reading the book of the law to the people, © Providence Collection/licensed from goodsalt.com

2 Kings 22:12–14

Huldah was known as a prophetess, a term sometimes used in the Bible for women who had the spirit of revelation and prophecy. She is one of only a few women called a prophetess in the Bible. King Josiah’s servants went to Huldah for spiritual guidance regarding the book of the law that had been found in the temple. In response, she prophesied about the coming destruction of Israel. It is unknown why King Josiah’s servants went to Huldah to inquire of the Lord rather than to other prophets who were in Jerusalem at the time. But the fact that they went to her demonstrates her spiritual stature among the people.

2 Kings 23:3

After reading the words of the book of the law, Josiah and his people made a covenant to live according to the words of the book “with all their heart.” The people then “stood to the covenant,” meaning they pledged to keep the covenant with the Lord. This was likely part of a formal covenant-renewal ceremony like the one Moses and the children of Israel performed before entering the promised land.

2 Kings 24:1

Babylon, the capital city of the region known as Babylonia, was located in today’s southern Iraq. The scriptures indicate that Babylon was founded by Nimrod shortly after the Flood. Over the course of millennia, Babylonia was inhabited and controlled by various people. By 750 BC, Babylonia came under the control of the Chaldeans, whose rise to power coincided with the decline of the Assyrian Empire. After the fall of Assyria, King Nebuchadnezzar II established the Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean Empire in Babylonia. It was during his reign (605–562 BC) that the Kingdom of Judah was conquered and much of Jerusalem was destroyed, around 586 BC. The name Babylon appears numerous times throughout the scriptures, often as a symbol of wickedness and worldly corruption.

Bible Maps, no. 6, “The New Babylonian Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt”

2 Kings 24:12–16

Jehoiachin, Josiah’s grandson, had reigned in Judah for only three months when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem for the first time, eventually conquering it around 598 BC. Jehoiachin’s surrender to the Babylonians suggests a pragmatic decision to save the city from destruction. The Babylonians took many wealthy, educated, and skilled people back to Babylon as captives to disable Judah from being able to wage war. The prophet Ezekiel was among these exiles. The Babylonians also took with them most of the king’s riches and the temple’s sacred and precious items.

2 Kings 24:17–19

After King Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon, his uncle Mattaniah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar changed Mattaniah’s name (which means “gift of Yahweh”) to Zedekiah (meaning “Yahweh is my justice/righteousness”). This was perhaps Nebuchadnezzar’s way of implying that what he was doing to Jerusalem was just. Regardless, Nebuchadnezzar’s appointing of a new king and renaming him demonstrated that the kingdom was under Babylonian control.

Lehi, the first prophet of the Book of Mormon, lived at Jerusalem during the first year of Zedekiah’s reign. The Lord warned Lehi to flee Jerusalem with his family before the city was destroyed. The Lord then led them to the promised land in the Western Hemisphere.

Lehi Prophesying to the People of Jerusalem, by Del Parson

2 Kings 25:1–21

In response to Zedekiah’s rebellion, Babylonian armies tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned the temple, and carried away many of the remaining people to Babylon. These events, along with the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel almost 150 years earlier, were part of the scattering of Israel.

“The ancient Israelites were scattered because they rejected Jehovah and were not faithful to their covenants with Him (see Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 4:23–27). This scattering happened over time, as the Israelites were conquered by other nations and carried away into captivity (see 2 Kings 17:6–23; 25:1–12; 1 Nephi 22:3–5). Even more tragically, many of them lost their sense of identity as God’s covenant people (see 2 Nephi 6:8–11).”

While the scattering of Israel included invasion and deportation, the Lord saved some of the righteous from destruction, such as Lehi and his family. In His wisdom, the Lord ultimately used the scattering of Israel to bless the nations of the earth.

God also promised that He would gather scattered Israel in the last days. President Russell M. Nelson taught that the latter-day gathering of Israel is “an essential prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord” and “the most important work in the world.”

2 Kings 25:6–7

The biblical account reports that Nebuchadnezzar’s army “slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes.” We learn from the Book of Mormon that one of Zedekiah’s sons, Mulek, survived and escaped the destruction of Jerusalem. The Lord directed Mulek and others to the promised land in the Western Hemisphere sometime after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem. Hundreds of years later, some of Lehi’s descendants found Mulek’s descendants and joined them in Zarahemla.

David H. Madsen, “No Other Gods before Me,” Ensign, Jan. 1990, 48–52

Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 79–82

Topics and Questions, “Gathering of Israel,” Gospel Library

Paul K. Browning, “Gathering Scattered Israel: Then and Now,” Ensign, July 1998, 54–61

People Thanked God, © Lifeway Collection/licensed from goodsalt.com

Shaphan Brings the Scrolls to Josiah, by Robert T. Barrett

King Josiah / Yoshiyahu Cleansing of Idols, by William Brassey Hole / Lebrecht History / Bridgeman Images

The Flight of the Prisoners, by James Tissot

See Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament: An Illustrated Reference for Latter-day Saints (2009), 284; J. D. Douglas and Merrill C. Tenney, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, rev. ed. (2011), “Asshur,” “Assyria,” 132–34.

See Guide to the Scriptures, “Assyria,” Gospel Library.

See Isaiah 7:1–2. See also Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 282. These two kings had previously attempted to coerce Judah into joining their coalition during the reign of Jotham, Ahaz’s father (see 2 Kings 15:37–38).

See Isaiah 7:6. See also 2 Kings 16:5.

See Isaiah 7:3–17.

See 2 Kings 16:7.

See 2 Kings 16:10–18; 2 Chronicles 28:19–26.

See Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 288–91.

See Guide to the Scriptures, “Israel,” Gospel Library.

3 Nephi 17:4.

See 3 Nephi 16:1–5.

See 2 Nephi 29:11–13.

Articles of Faith 1:10. See also Jeremiah 3:18; 16:15; 31:8; Doctrine and Covenants 110:11; 133:26.

See Ezra 4; Nehemiah 6:1–14; John 4:9. See also Guide to the Scriptures, “Samaritans,” Gospel Library.

See Numbers 21:8–9.

The word nehushtan means “bronze serpent-thing” (Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds., The Jewish Study Bible, 2nd ed. [2014], 743, note on 2 Kings 18:4).

See Earl D. Radmacher and others, eds., NKJV Study Bible, 3rd ed. (2018), 565–66, note on 2 Kings 18:13.

See 2 Kings 18:13.

See 2 Kings 18:17–37.

See 2 Kings 19:2–5.

Compare 2 Kings 19:6–7 with Isaiah 10:28–34.

See 2 Kings 19:20–34.

Both 2 Kings 19:35 and Isaiah 37:36 report that in a single night, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were killed by an angel of the Lord. The Joseph Smith Translation of Isaiah 37:36 clarifies that some survivors awoke in the morning to find the dead corpses (see Old Testament Revision 2, 107, josephsmithpapers.org). It has been suggested that the number of 185,000 Assyrian casualties could have been exaggerated to emphasize the Lord’s power in the miraculous deliverance of Judah (see Michael D. Coogan and others, eds., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version, 5th ed. (2018), 571, note on 2 Kings 19:35).

See Barker and others, NIV Study Bible, 637, note on 2 Kings 22:8.

See Bible Dictionary, “Josiah.”

See Guide to the Scriptures, “Prophetess,” Gospel Library.

The others are Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), and Anna (Luke 2:36). Isaiah also called his wife “the prophetess” (see Isaiah 8:3).

See 2 Kings 22:14–20.

See Barker and others, NIV Study Bible, 638, note on 2 Kings 23:3.

See Joshua 8:30–35; see also David Rolph Seely, “The Restoration as Covenant Renewal,” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson (2005), 319–20; Kerry Muhlestein, Scripture Study Made Simple: The Old Testament (2017), 291.

See Guide to the Scriptures, “Babel, Babylon,” Gospel Library. See also Holzapfel and others, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament, 316–21.

See Radmacher and others, NKJV Study Bible, 576, note on 2 Kings 24:12.

See 2 Kings 24:12.

See Berlin and Brettler, The Jewish Study Bible, 757, note on 2 Kings 24:12–16. The description of Nebuchadnezzar carrying away “all Jerusalem” and “ten thousand captives” may have been exaggerated, since the people of Judah still had sufficient numbers to rebel again just a decade later.

See Bible Dictionary, “Ezekiel.”

See Bible Dictionary, “Zedekiah.”

Douglas and Tenney, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “Mattan” and “Zedekiah,” 908, 1555.

See Barker and others, NIV Study Bible, 644, note on 2 Kings 24:17.

See 1 Nephi 1:4.

See Guide to the Scriptures, “Lehi, Father of Nephi,” Gospel Library.

Topics and Questions, “Gathering of Israel,” Gospel Library.

See 1 Nephi 15:12; 19:24.

See Guide to the Scriptures, “Israel,” Gospel Library.

Russell M. Nelson, “Let God Prevail,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 92.

2 Kings 25:7.

See Omni 1:12–19; Mosiah 25:2; Helaman 8:21.