Ezra 1 - 7

In just a few verses at the end of the last chapter of 2 Chronicles of Judah -

"...them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia..." (Old Testament 2 Chronicles 36:20)

Then the prophecy of Jeremiah is mentioned -

until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years." (Old Testament 2 Chronicles 36:21)

And in the very next verse, the 70 years is fulfulled and -

"...in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up." (Old Testament 2 Chronicles 36:22 - 23)

Cyrus, though not of Israel, must have been of the character to receive the inspirations of the Holy Ghost even to the point that he testifies -

"Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah." (Old Testament Ezra 1:2)

In response to this charge -

"...Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem..." (Old Testament Ezra 1:5)

You can sense that Cyrus is on a mission as he challenges those that choose not to go up to Jerusalem, that is -

"...whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." (Old Testament Ezra 1:4)

In addition -

"...Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
8 Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth..." (Old Testament Ezra 1:7 - 8)

Many years before, Isaiah prophecied of the works of Cyrus saying -

"That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." (Old Testament Isaiah 44:28)

And -

"THUS saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut..." (Old Testament Isaiah 45:1)

I wonder how Cyrus must have felt when probably the religious leaders of Judah showed him Isaiah's prophecies of his proclamation. Probably much like Joseph Smith as he translated the Book of Mormon regarding the prophecies of Joseph. Parley P. Pratt once described the character of the Prophet Joseph Smith with -

“the boldness, courage, temperance, perseverance and generosity of a Cyrus.” (Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt [Deseret Book Company, 1938], p. 46.)

President Wilford Woodruff said -

“Now I have thought many times that some of those ancient kings that were raised up, had in some respects more regard for the carrying out of some of these principles and laws, than even the Latter-day Saints have in our day. I will take as an ensample Cyrus. … To trace the life of Cyrus from his birth to his death, whether he knew it or not, it looked as though he lived by inspiration in all his movements. He began with that temperance and virtue which would sustain any Christian country or any Christian king. … Many of these principles followed him, and I have thought many of them were worthy, in many respects, the attention of men who have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 22, p. 207.)

The words of Orson Whitney brings much of the life of Cyrus to light -

“Perhaps the Lord needs such men on the outside of His Church to help it along...they are among its auxiliaries, and can do more good for the cause where the Lord has placed them, than anywhere else. … Hence, some are drawn into the fold and receive a testimony of the truth; while others remain unconverted … the beauties and glories of the gospel being veiled temporarily from their view, for a wise purpose. The Lord will open their eyes in His own due time. God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of His great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous for any one people. … We have no quarrel with the Gentiles. They are our partners in a certain sense.” (Conference Report, April 1928, p. 59.)

President Ezar Taft Benson said -

"God, the Father of us all, uses the men of the earth, especially good men, to accomplish his purposes. It has been true in the past, it is true today, it will be true in the future." (Ezra Taft Benson, “Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints,” Ensign, July 1972, 59)