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This week we begin to dip our toe into Isaiah with some prophecies about the restoration that will commence before the Second Coming. We also get Jacob’s explanation of these scriptures.
1 Nephi 17:45
D&C 124:39
D&C 107:3
JST Genesis 14
Alma 13
2 Nephi 25:7
Mormon 8:23
3 Nephi 23:1-3
3 Nephi 20:11
2 Nephi 25:5
2 Nephi 21:10-12
D&C 113
D&C 76:31-39
D&C 20:32
Moroni 8
It really is amazing to me how little people care about the Isaiah chapters. Even as a teenager I noticed that chapters like Isaiah 52 and 53 are cited countless times. For example, Isaiah 52 is quoted at least three times in the book of Mormon and once in the D&C. Meaning it shows up in three of the standard works. One of the times is actually Moroni blending several verses of Isaiah into one and is the fourth to last verse of the entire book of Mormon:
31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
He is mixing together themes from Isaiah 52:1 and Isaiah 54:2 among other scriptures.
Isaiah 52 among other sections of Isaiah are also quoted by Jesus which talks about the marred servant establishing Zion in fulfillment of the promises made to the fathers in 3 Nephi 20 and 21:
29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father.
30 And it shall come to pass that the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto them;
31 And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name.
32 Then shall their watchmen lift up their voice, and with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye.
33 Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance.
34 Then shall they break forth into joy—Sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Father hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
35 The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father; and the Father and I are one.
36 And then shall be brought to pass that which is written: Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
37 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
38 For thus saith the Lord: Ye have sold yourselves for naught, and ye shall be redeemed without money.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.
40 And then shall they say: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!
41 And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.
42 For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
44 As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—
45 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
46 Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance.
Also interestingly the name for the city of Nauvoo actually comes from Isaiah 52:7. It is the Hebrew word for beautiful that is used in the phrase “how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” It is a rare word that only occurs three times in the Masoretic text: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4998.htm
I don’t think that it is a cooincidence that Joseph named the city Nauvoo when God says in section 124:2 that it is a “stake which I have planted to be a cornerstone of Zion, which shall be polished with the refinement which is after the similitude of a palace.”
So Isaiah is everywhere in the Book of Mormon, in the D&C, and of course in the New Testament as well, besides its original place in the Old Testament. And yet we skip the “Isaiah Chapters” because they require effort and “don’t apply to us.” A prophet a prophet we have a “living prophet” and need no words of dead prophets.
I once had a friend tell me that she wanted to study Isaiah, but was scared to really dig into it because everyone she knew who did a serious study of Isaiah ended outside the mainstream LDS church, even if they were still attending. I have noticed several commenters on this blog over the past year mention an interest in learning from Isaiah, which might be further confirmation that she was on to something.
Has anyone else noticed a similar pattern?
Ranae,
Yep…. Through an in depth look into Isaiah I have personally experienced an awakening to the reality of the covenant curses the church has taken upon itself and that we’ve likewise inherited. I now cannot un-see what I’ve seen. I can’t ignore the hypocrisy anymore. I can’t act apologetically towards the implications of what happened in “church history” any more.
I’d say if your friend values her sense of security “on the Old ship Zion” then she should definitely avoid Isaiah. However, if she’s after truth, then jump in (off the boat) and ditch the carnal security of the life preserver…
Do you have any thoughts on the significance of how the Lamanites “did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey”? (2 Ne. 5:24) I know it was evidence that they had fully rejected the Law of Moses, but it seems to be more than that because it was also mentioned in Enos 1:20 (feeding upon beasts of prey… and many of the did eat nothing save it was raw meat) and also in Jarom 1:6 (and they loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts).
I found an article describing the attributes of the animals that were forbidden in the Law of Moses which explained the forbidden animals may have been a constant reminder of characteristics they needed to avoid in their lives (ex. animals the chew the cud and have parted hooves are steady and stable on rocky ground and ruminate [on the word of God] where horses can slip easily; rabbits are promiscuous; fish with fins and scales swim together where other sea creatures dwell in the darkness and scavenge; pigs are sloppy and gluttonous, etc.). http://anxiouslyengaged.com/symbols-of-christ-in-the-law-of-moses/
I am just curious if anyone has additional information about the idea that we incorporate the attributes of our food into our own nature, which is relevant in understanding the sacrament as well.
2 Ne 9:53 has in interesting phrase…”how great his condescensions unto the children of men”. We know from other verses in scripture that the “condescension” of Christ refers to when he was born in the meridian of time. Do you believe he also walks among his people in other times and places? This concept would be consistent with JST Matt. 23:39 “For I say unto you, that you shall not see me henceforth, and know that I am he of whom it is written by the prophets, until ye shall say, Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord…”
It could also be consistent with his parable from D&C 88:51-61 where a man works an hour with each of his servants laboring in his field. These verses are prefaced with “I say unto you, he hath see him; nevertheless, he who came unto his own was not comprehended. The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not; nevertheless, the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him. Then shall ye know that ye have seen me, that I am, and that I am the true light that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound.”