July 14, 2026

In 2 Kings 18 Hezekiah, the new king of Judah, served the Lord. He removed all the idols including shattering the brass serpent that Moses had made because the children of Israel were worshipping it. This is a good example that even good things can become false idols if we worship them. A couple of examples that come to mind include Saul prioritizing sacrifice over obedience, and the Jews in the time of Christ giving more weight to the law and scriptures than to God. Did you ever think that scripture study could potentially become idolatry? How many biblical scholars are there that don't worship God? "With their lips they do honor me but their hearts are far from me".

Hezekiah was an awesome king. Aside from removing idolatry, the scriptures say there was none like him before or after because he did not depart from the way of the Lord. Now it specifically says kings of Judah, but my mind is still drawn to Saul, David, and Solomon - the great kings of Israel (which Judah was apart of at the time, do technically... Maybe it counts??). These men were amazing, but they did depart from the Lord. On Sunday I was talking with Sister Merrel she said the Old Testament was making her sad because of all the great men going astray. She said that just in time for Hezekiah to show it doesn't have to be that way.

Deuteronomy was written during the reign of Josiah and consisted of major religious and scriptural reform. At this time, the Deuteronomists removed many plain and precious things from the scriptures, including man talking to God face to face (they called Moses a liar). They also had warnings against visionary men and said to kill them. While this was, in part, to warn against false prophets, if we look at Laman and Lemuel through this light (since they would have lived shortly after this reform and it was the major religious viewpoint in their time) it makes sense how and why they respond to Lehi and Nephi.

It's interesting how much this parallels the restoration and story of Joseph Smith. Because the scriptures (New Testament this time) had been edited and redacted through multiple reform, many plain and precious truths were lost from them, resulting in the belief that visions no longer happened.

This is a common theme the adversary broadcasts as far and wide as he can, and the echo spans dispensations. We have history and the Holy Ghost to help us learn the lesson. That's part of why the scriptures repeat the same patterns frequently. I know that God speaks to His children, that has and will never change; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The brass plates most likely had the pure version, hence the restoration.