KnoWhy #451 - Why Did Some in Lehi’s Time Believe that Jerusalem Could Not Be Destroyed? (1 Nephi 2:13)

Jerusalem miraculously survived an invasion attempt by Assyria, the greatest empire in the world, in 701 B.C. At that time, God promised King Hezekiah of Judah that He would “defend this city [Jerusalem], to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.” For this, and several other possible reasons, when the Babylonian armies laid siege to Jerusalem about a hundred years later, there were many in the city who firmly believed it could not be conquered. Laman and Lemuel had believed similarly when their own father was called to be a prophet of God. Although many prophets, including their father, were prophesying to the contrary, they did not “believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets” (1 Nephi 2:13).