Monday, April 22, 2019

Jeremiah 27:12-13 as a Parallel to the Background of Official Declaration 1


In the book of Jeremiah we read the following:

I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? (Jer 27:12-13 NRSV)

What is interesting is that there is a parallel to the background of OfficialDeclaration 1 as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants—when God’s people are faced with destruction, there is an allowance (in the time of Jeremiah, to serve the king of Babylon in order to survive; in the case of OD-1, to cease the practice of plural marriage to allow the Church to continue to exist).