Before I Formed Thee
In the manual: Come, Follow Me lesson 43, “Before I Formed Thee in the Belly I Knew Thee,” on Gospel Library
Start
Before Jeremiah was born, the Lord already knew him. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Read Together
Jeremiah was the son of a priest from Anathoth, a small town near Jerusalem (Jeremiah 1:1). The Lord called him in the days of King Josiah, more than 600 years before Christ (Jeremiah 1:2).
4Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
What It Teaches
Verse 5 uses three verbs. The Lord knew Jeremiah, sanctified him, and ordained him, all before his birth. To be sanctified is to be set apart for a holy purpose.
Jeremiah was one of many. The Lord showed Abraham the spirits of many noble and great ones before the world was made. He told Abraham that he was one of them, chosen before he was born (Abraham 3:22–23).
Jesus Christ was chosen first of all. Peter wrote that he “was foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:19–20). He knew his mission before he came, and he helps each of us find ours.
President Russell M. Nelson taught the same truth about each of us. “Your Heavenly Father has known you for a very long time.”
President Russell M. Nelson, “Decisions for Eternity,” General conference, October 2013
Talk About It
What does it mean to you that Heavenly Father knew you before you were born? How could remembering it change a hard day?
Take to Church
The Lord knew Jeremiah before he was born and had work for him to do. He knew each of us too, and he has work for us.