With a Great Shout

In the final chapter of 2 Kings we read this sad account of the destruction of Jerusalem, “And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire” (2 Kings 25:8-9). The Come, Follow Me lesson this week questions, “When the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, they plundered the temple and burned it to the ground. How do you think you might have felt if you had been among the Jews who witnessed this?” Surely for any who still loved the Lord it was a devastating blow to see the ultimate symbol of their worship go up in flames. Any Saints of our dispensation who happened to be left behind in Nauvoo surely experienced a similar feeling when the Nauvoo Temple likewise was burned. How heartbreaking that must have been for Lucy Mack Smith in particular. I can’t imagine the grief she felt in 1848 when she saw the building Hyrum and Joseph had labored so hard with all the Saints to build go up in flames. She had stayed back in Nauvoo and remained there until she passed away in 1856 and so she must have seen their precious temple be destroyed. Perhaps her feelings in that day were not unlike those exiled Jews as they thought of the former days: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1).

                But, notwithstanding the great sorrow in both these time periods, we rejoice that the Lord did not forget and never will forget His people. I have to wonder if when Solomon’s temple was going down in flames Nephi’s temple was not being built up at the very same time. He wrote, “And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things;… But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine” (2 Nephi 5:16). And many decades later the temple in Jerusalem was indeed rebuilt and the people rejoiced greatly: “And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid” (Ezra 3:11). When it was finally finished we read, “And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy…. And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful” (Ezra 6:16,22). Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, a temple of the Lord was again brought forth in Jerusalem, and in our day another temple rose up in Nauvoo and we all rejoiced at the goodness of God in bringing back that glorious house. It was dedicated on the anniversary of Joseph and Hyrum’s deaths in 2002, and President Hinckley prayed these powerful words at its dedication: “We love Thee, Father. We love Thy Beloved Son. Smile with favor upon us. Strengthen our resolve to walk acceptably before Thee at all times. Increase our dedication to Thy will. Keep ever bright in our memories the solemn covenants into which we have entered with Thee. May Thy blessings attend us, and all who seek to live Thy commandments. Praise be to Thee, Thou great Elohim, Thou who dwellest in the heavens and governeth the universe. Thou art our Father and our God, to whom we may come in prayer. To Thee we lift our voices in adoration and worship.” While we mourn for the tragedies and difficulties of the past, we give thanks to the Lord for the hundreds of houses of God that now dot the earth and bring the power of heaven into the lives of God’s children everywhere.