Lifespan

Uncertain, but probably included the last 40 years of the sixth century B.C.

Ministry

Zechariah prophesied in the second to the fourth years of Darius the Persian. He seems to be encouraging his post-exilic citizens of Judah.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown.

Interaction with God

God spoke to Zechariah primarily through vision and the gift of prophecy.

Social Situation

The Jews had returned to their homeland after being exiled to Babylon. They were poor and struggling with drought and consequent hunger. In short, life was not going at all the way they had remembered it was nor how they had envisioned it would be once they returned to Jerusalem.

Key Teachings

Rebuilding the temple is critical in providing the needed spiritual center for the rejuvenation and reconstruction of the Jewish community. Also, in the end, the Lord will come and create a new Jerusalem where He will reign as King.

Prophecies of Christ

“For, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH” (Zech. 3:8).

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zech. 9:9).

“And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (Zech. 11:13).

“And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zech. 13:6).

Living with the Prophet

Zechariah’s people were struggling. They were poor and struggling. And yet God wanted a temple. Their story is much the same as the situation faced in the early 1800s by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Do you ever feel like you have to choose between practical needs and spiritual needs? Those are very difficult times. Do you believe that both needs can be fulfilled by obedience to God’s word?

Sources

Learning Bible, the book of Zechariah

Holy Bible, the book of Zechariah

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Zechariah, the Book of”

Lifespan

Unknown.

Ministry

Mostly unknown. Probably a prophet of Judah who prophesied after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown.

Interaction with God

According to the words of Obadiah, the contents of his book came to him in a vision.

Social Situation

Edom and Judah had been political rivals for a considerable time. The inhabitants of Judah felt that Edom had wronged them on a number of occasions, including denying passage to Moses and the Israelites when they were moving to Canaan. This vision describes how God will take vengeance on Edom and how Israel will return from captivity to rebuild the temple.

Key Teachings

God’s power is sure and will rule when and where He desires. Obadiah also speaks of saviors on Mount Zion, which has reference to salvation for the dead.

Living with the Prophet

The book of Obadiah is only 21 verses long, but it teaches something very important. In verse 15, the text reads: “As thou has done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.” Sometimes this principle is known as the Law of the Harvest, meaning that whatever we reap, we sow. What we do to others will be done to us. Think back on this past week. How have you treated others? Would you like to be treated in the same way? If you are not pleased with the way you answered these questions, change your ways. Now.

Sources

Learning Bible, the book of Obadiah

Holy Bible, the book of Obadiah

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Obadiah, the Book of”

Lifespan

Uncertain beyond 520 B.C.

Ministry

Haggai’s recorded ministry covers only three months (in 520 B.C.) and occurs shortly after Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile. Nothing is known about Haggai either before or after his approximately 90-day recorded ministry. He was an approximate contemporary of Zechariah.

Preparation and Calling

Unknown

Interaction with God

Haggai had a brief ministry in which he encouraged and challenged the recently returned exiles from Babylon to rebuild the temple. His vew was positive and promising, and he prophesied of the value that the temple would have to the community’s spiritual and, perhaps more important to the struggling Judeans, economic prosperity.

Social Situation

The Jewish exiles had recently returned from Babylonian captivity. They were very much in a pioneer mode, rebuilding, planting, struggling with few resources and no established means to turn to. They suffered repeated droughts and failed crops. They were poor, hungry, and struggling to rebuild the glory of yesteryear. And in the center of it all was God’s command to rebuild the temple. The people complained that they did not have the resources, either personally or communally. Haggai responded that they did not have resources because they weren’t faithful in building the temple.

The situation is fascinatingly similar to the beginnings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the mid-1800s in frontier America. Mormon pioneers suffered failed crops, bitter winters, and poverty, yet their prophet called for the construction of a temple in which God’s spirit could be manifest and where the people could properly worship Him. In response to the people’s questions, the prophet pointed to scriptural promises of the Messiah’s reign among His people. Even as Haggai is compared to a second Moses bringing his people out of exile, so was the modern prophet Brigham Young often called “an American Moses.”

Key Teachings

The book of Haggai contains only two chapters, both of which center on the temple. The first chapter is a challenge to the people to pursue the rebuilding the temple, and the second assures the people that the temple will be restored to a glory exceeding its former state.

Living with the Prophet

When God commanded Haggai’s people to rebuild the temple, they felt they did not have enough money to do so. They did not have the faith to take care of God’s commands first. Do you spend your money on self-satisfying computer games and entertainment, or are you actively committed to supporting God’s cause first? True wealth is not founded on a self-serving accumulation of goods and money.

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Haggai, the Book of”

Holy Bible, the book of Haggai

Lifespan

During the early sixth century B.C., probably in the vicinity of 620-570 B.C.

Ministry

A prophet of priestly lineage, Ezekiel received his calling while in Babylonian deportation at approximately 593 B.C. He prophesied for 22 years. Ezekiel’s wife died while they were in exile.

Preparation and Calling

Ezekiel came from a priestly heritage. He seems to have received a good education and proved himself wise, for he was consulted by the Jewish leaders and writes as a man of significant learning.

Interaction with God

Ezekiel received many revelations and had a firm belief in the restoration of Israel and the temple.

Social Situation

Ezekiel was among the vast numbers of Judeans who were deported to Babylon at the beginning of the sixth century B.C. As such they were subjected to living among people who did not worship nor believe as they did. His people (the Jews) longed for their homeland and their temple, and they saw the exile as a heavy burden. Nonetheless, they did not always choose to obey their God. Like children, they longed for what they could not have, but did not choose wisely among the options that they did have.

Key Teachings

Ezekiel taught firmly individual responsibility (Ezekiel 18). Regardless of circumstance, whether in captivity or freedom, each person was to choose his behavior. He was not always optimistic that the people would choose correctly, but he taught clearly of their responsibility to do so.

He also taught that God would be faithful and show boundless grace to those who chose to follow Him. God was holy and devoted to His chosen people.

His vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37) provides a clear testimony of the resurrection.

Prophecies of Christ

“Thus said the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezek. 37:12).

Living with the Prophet

In chapter 18 of his book, Ezekiel teaches that we are each responsible for our actions. We are not responsible for our ancestors’ sins, nor must we be punished for our children’s decisions. Each person must stand up and be accountable for his choices and behavior. Neither family nor society nor God Himself forces you to choose evil! In what areas of your life can you assume greater responsibility? How can you invite God into your life to help you from blaming others for your actions?

Sources:

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Ezekiel, the Book of”

Holy Bible, book of Ezekiel

Lifespan

Born November 14, 1907 in Boise, Idaho.

Died March 3, 1995 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ministry

Howard W. Hunter was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of twelve. At age 51, he was ordained an Apostle by President David O. McKay. From ages 56-64, he was president of the Church’s Genealogical Society, the last two years of which he also served as the Church Historian. In 1988, at age 80, Howard W. Hunter was sustained as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, and was sustained as President of the Church at age 86, where he served for but nine months before passing away. (more…)

Lifespan

Born March 1, 1807 in Avon (Farmington), Connecticut.

Died September 2, 1898 in San Francisco, California.

Ministry

Wilford Woodruff was baptized in an icy stream in New York at the age of 26. He served missions to the southern United States, the eastern United States (twice) and the Fox Islands, Great Britain, and Europe in general. He was ordained an Apostle at age 32 by Brigham Young. At age 80, he led the Church as President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and in 1889 was ordained President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 82. He died at age 91.

Preparation and Calling

Wilford Woodruff served proselyting missions in the southern and eastern United States and in Great Britain. He was mission president over all of Europe. He may have been one of the most successful missionaries in terms of number of converts that the Church has ever had. He led the Church for two years as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles before being ordained as its President.

Interaction with God

President Woodruff was dedicated to saving God’s children, both through missionary work and through the saving ordinances of the temple. He was sensitive to the Spirit and received several visions during his time as prophet. However, he was said: “I have been blessed at times with certain gifts and graces, certain revelations and ministrations; but with them I have never found anything that I could place more dependency upon than the still small voice of the Holy Ghost” (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 45).

Social Situation

Government and social persecution of the Church over the doctrine of plural marriage was the Church’s greatest challenge. After pleading with God for guidance on how to lead the faithful members concerning this persecution, President Woodruff was shown in vision what would happen to the Church if plural marriage was not ended-the federal government would confiscate Church property, including the temples, and bring to end the important ordinances that the Church taught was essential to salvation. That very evening, President Woodruff wrote the inspired document that became known as the Manifesto, which ended plural marriage in the Church.

Key Teachings

Wilford Woodruff was best known for two principle things: a document known as the Manifesto that ended plural marriage for members of the Church, and a dedication to temple and family history work (including dedicating the Manti and Salt Lake Temples).