Queen of Sheba

Solomon was a missionary. Not in the normal LDS understanding of going out preaching the word: instead, Solomon let his fame go out and gather people unto him, and there he preached. Now, Solomon’s fame (“the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD 1 Kings 10:1) is like which Christ tells his disciples to have in the New Testament-“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

Now, there is much gossip concerning King Solomon and Queen Sheba (or the unnamed Queen OF Sheba). Some have suggested that she is one of the women speaking in Song of Solomon. Many Ethiopian Jews claim her contact with Solomon has the starting point of their religious origins.

What caught my eye in this reading, was how Queen Sheba talked about the God of Israel, what her understanding of God was, and His covenant relationship with Israel.

"because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgement and justice" (1 Kings 10:9). Queen Sheba recognized the wisdom of Solomon, his great treasures and the happiness of his servants and citizens-"Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants" (1 Kings 10:8). And she recognized that it was because the Lord loved Israel that He made Solomon king. Which is funny, because God said that He didn't want a king in the first place (1 Sam. 8), and Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba, an affair that the Lord said made David fall from his exaltation (D&C 132:39). Yet, because God loved Israel, He made Solomon king.

Now, I don't know if Queen Sheba knew the whole story, because I think she was completely right. Even though Israel rejected the Lord by wanting a king, they repented, and the Lord did not reject THEM. David sinned in the case of Uriah, but repented, and his son was given audience of God Himself and divine wisdom. Queen Sheba may not have known everything, but she knew that the Lord loved Israel. And if He loved Israel, then He must be a forgiving God. And if He can forgive them, then why in the world not us?

If God could remember His covenant with ancient Israel, then we need not fear that He forgets us, doesn't forgive us, doesn't love us. If God could change Israel's and David's mistakes into the golden age of Israel, then He can make more of our mistakes than we can make of even our greatest successes. We are not forsaken. And even Queen Sheba figured that out after a brief visit.