Huldah - Developing Talents (6)

Read D&C 88:118. Discuss what it means to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” Improve your personal study habits by doing such things as learning how to choose and read good books or being prepared for school each day -Developing Talents #6

We met next to our local public library. We did our opening stuffs and I started of by reading D&C 88:118. Then I gave the lesson:

Huldah

Huldah’s story is told twice in the Bible. It’s in 2nd Kings and in 2nd Chronicles.  Huldah lived at the same time as Lehi! You remember when Lehi was in Jerusalem, he had a vision, what did he see? (Jerusalem being destroyed)

Huldah was different from most people  living during her time because she could read. Not even the king could read! She must have had to study hard and practice over and over again in order to learn to read. When she grew up she married a man called   Shallum who was the "keeper of the wardrobe", which could have reference to either the King's wardrobe or the priestly vestments of the temple. Together they lived in the part of Jerusalem called the Mishneh.

Huldah was probably a teacher. Huldah was literate and educated in a time when women were not suppose to be educated. She was a wife, and probably a mother, who had cultivated her mind and had sought after knowledge. Her searching after knowledge and understanding, both spiritual and secular, placed her in a position where God could use her to help His people repent and come unto Him.

In her time, the Jerusalem temple has been used for bad things. The King, King Josiah (who couldn’t read) ordered the temple to be cleaned out and repaired so that it could be used as a temple again. While they were cleaning out the temple they found a book. The scribe read it to Josiah. It was about all the bad things that would happen to Jerusalem because the people were so wicked. When Josiah heard the words he tore his clothes because he was so upset. He went to Huldah and gave her the book.

Huldah read the book. Because she had studied so much, she knew the book was scripture- the book was the word of God. The Holy Ghost then gave Huldah the Gift of Prophecy, She told Josiah that Jerusalem would be destroyed just like the book said, but that because Josiah was trying to be good, God would wait until Josiah had died. 35 years later Jerusalem was destroyed, and it happened after King Josiah and died, just like the scriptures and Huldah said it would.

Huldah is a great reminder that women too must seek after spiritual knowledge. God expects each of his daughters to study the scriptures and meditate upon their teachings. He expects each daughter to have her own testimony, one that is firmly founded upon the truths of the scriptures and from personal revelation.Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: "We need more women who are gospel scholars.

Not only does God bless women with the gift of prophecy, he expects them to cultivate it and to seek for it. The Apostle Peter declared on the Day of Pentecost: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: "And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17–18 ,see also Joel 2:28–29).

We had a short (Very short, they were tired of sitting) discussion about how Hulah read from the best books and learned all she could and we should, too. Then we went to our public library where I had scheduled a tour for our group!

The librarian was great! She took us to each part of the library and explained what their age group could do in each part. She took us behind the scenes and we got to see how the machine automatically sorts the books. After that she showed us how to search for books on the library catalog and we let the girls lose to find books and read! It was a great big reading party!

We had one mom come early with her daughter so she could get her daughter a library card, and two other girls brought their library cards with them.

I'd say it was a really smooth activity! It was a huge success and everything went great!

As they were leaving the librarian handed out free book marks and I gave out my hand-out:  (Taken from womeninthescriptures.com)

Huldah

Facts about her:

• She dwelt in the college, also known as the "Mishneh" or "second section" of Jerusalem. This is a geographical suburb of Jerusalem between the inner and outer wall;
• She was married to Shallum who was the "keeper of the wardrobe", which could have reference to either the King's wardrobe or the priestly vestments of the temple;
• She is a prophetess;
• She would have been contemporaries with Jeremiah, Zephanaiah, Nahum, and Lehi;
• She was literate. Which would have been an extraordinary thing for a woman at that time, not even the King was literate;
• The king sent the high priest Hilkiah, the scribe Shaphan, Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Asaiah, the King's servant to seek her wisdom concerning the book of the law that was found in the temple;
• She verified that the scrolls were the word of God, and that their prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem would come to pass (which they do 35 years later), but says that because King Josiah had a "tender heart" and had humbled himself before God, he would not be alive to see the destruction;
• She was the first to declare scripture to be holy. Up until this time written words had not been declared to be the word of God;
• She is the last (recorded) woman prophet before Judah falls to the Babylonians;

Speculations about her:

• Mishneh (the area where she lived) means " a repetition" in Hebrew, and it is thought that this would have been a place where the oral tradition was preserved and taught;
• According to Jewish tradition she had a school in Jerusalem where she taught the oral tradition;
• She might have been a relative of Jeremiah, because they were both descendants of Rahab;
• Jewish tradition says that she co-preached with Jeremiah, admonished and teaching repentance to the women, while he taught the men;
• In Jerusalem, in the Second Temple, there is the "Gate of Huldah" which may or may not have any connection with her.

Questions to think about:

• Why would Josiah seek out Huldah instead of Jeremiah, Lehi or the other male prophets?

• How had she learned to write? Who took the time to teach her? A father? Brother? Mother? Did she teach her daughters?

• Are you a prophetess?

• How can women of the church be better gospel scholars?

• How can you become a Gospel Scholar?