Isaiah class 6

Thoughts from the sixth of ten classes, Thursday, November 12, 2009

The passages from Isaiah most quoted in the Book of Mormon (primarily by Nephi, Jacob, and the Savior) are chapters 48–55. They all refer to events in the last days. Interestingly, Isaiah 53, the one chapter that is clearly about the Savior, is not quoted (except as paraphrased by Abinadi) because that chapter has nothing to do with the last days. Book of Mormon writers, knowing that their writings would come forth in the last days, actually talk a lot about the last days.

Isaiah is pretty much the only Old Testament frame of reference to the last days that the Book of Mormon writers had.

There are relatively few Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament as we have it today. The Book of Mormon at least is pretty much silent on them. Given that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ, and that one of its central purposes is "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations" (Book of Mormon title page), then it is curious that it would not have quoted more Messianic prophecies unless they were pretty much absent from the record. Some Messianic prophecies that are quoted, such as by Zenock and Zenos, do not appear in our current Old Testament.

It is important, however, to remember that another one of the Book of Mormon's central purposes is "that they [the house of Israel] may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever" (Book of Mormon title page). The Isaiah passages, together with prophetic commentary on them by Nephi, Jacob, and the Savior, speak much about the covenants of the Lord with His people and that because of those covenants they will not be cast off forever. That is what the prophecies concerning the last days are all about. And why they figure so prominently in their writings.

The Prophet Joseph Smith understood that he was just laying a foundation, the beginning of restoration. The Lord's latter-day servant, still yet to come, is also a restorer. The Savior's quoting of Isaiah in 3 Nephi 21 makes clear that this all comes at the end of the last days. We need to tie down to what scriptures actually say.

In a revelation the Lord gave in September 1832, the Lord spoke of a condemnation resting upon His people for treating lightly the things they had received, particularly the Book of Mormon (see D&C 84:54–58). President Ezra Taft Benson applied the same warning against the Latter-day Saints in the day that he presided over the Church. Perhaps a part of our condemnation for treating these things lightly is our ignoring Isaiah, whose teachings figure so prominently in the Book of Mormon.

Isaiah, given the way it is constructed, is a whole tapestry; all the threads run together. We cannot take bits and pieces out of context. One remarkable things the Book of Mormon writers do is to take different parts of Isaiah and treat them as one single scenario. That is a key to understanding Isaiah.

We started on a list of events that all happen together, that are all a part of one scenario, that occur in the last days.

1. A great and marvelous work (Isaiah 29: 14 / 1 Nephi 14:7)
   
2. Covenants of the Lord (Isaiah 54:10 / 1 Nephi 14: 5, 8, 17)
   
3. Fighting against Zion (Isaiah 29:8 / 1 Nephi 22:14, 19; 2 Nephi 6:12–13; 2 Nephi 27:3)
   
4. The house of Israel being nourished by the gentiles (Isaiah 49:22–23 / 1 Nephi 22:8)
   
5. The Lord making bare His arm (Isaiah 52:10 / 1 Nephi 22:10–11) ["Arm" signifies divine intervention, the revealing of the Lord's servant]
   
6. An endowment of power (Isaiah 52:1; Isaiah 51:9 / 1 Nephi 14:14 and 22:17)
   
7. Conversion of the house of Israel to the gospel (Isaiah 52:7–8)

We did not finish our list because we ran out of time.