The Mountain of the Lord's House, Zion and Jerusalem - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Twelve (2 Nephi 12 and Isaiah 2)

Nephi begins his transcription of 14 consecutive Isaiah chapters from the brass plates to his small plates with Isaiah 2. Not all prophets are seers, but Isaiah was. Much of his prophecy is shared in the form of descriptive visions. The first image he shares is of something called the “mountain of the Lord’s house” (verse 2). Now, just as with the Apostle John’s Book of Revelation, it’s an interesting exercise to think about what Isaiah might be describing in his day when he is seeing ours, without the modern vocabulary available to describe what’s before his eyes.

Most Latter-day Saint leaders and scholars have concluded that the phrase “mountain of the Lord’s house” refers to temples. Isaiah’s prophecy says that these temples will be established in the last days in the top of the mountains, and “all nations shall flow unto it.” In these last days, we have witnessed the construction of many temples around the world that have attracted people who want to know more about them and the people who worship there. Some of these people ultimately become baptized and are able to make sacred covenants within the temple. Many observers remark that this passage seems especially applicable to the Salt Lake City temple, viewed by many as the flagship temple of the Church. Of course, it was built in an area of high elevation (“in the tops of the mountains”). Many members of the Church from around the world come to visit the temple and worship there, and more still outside of the Church come to admire the temple’s exterior and the visitors center and surrounding complex (“all nations shall flow unto it”).

Verse 3 expands upon the idea of the temple as “mountain of the Lord” and “house of the God of Jacob” by describing some of its functions. It is a place where the Lord can teach us of His ways and we can walk in His paths. Then a very significant passage says that “out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” We can read this symbolically. Many of us know in the Bible that Zion and Jerusalem are names for each other, so once again we can conclude that instruction and commandments for our daily lives can come from holy places (such as the temple) that remind us of the Holy Land.

But there’s a literal interpretation as well. According to Joseph Smith and other latter-day prophets, Zion is actually the name of a place separate from Jerusalem, sometimes known as the New Jerusalem. It actually represents the American continent. If we think of Zion as America, it seems appropriate that the reference to it is made at this point in the Book of Mormon, because Nephi has showed us in his story how the American continent is a promised land for some of the Lord’s covenant people in a similar way that the land of Israel and Jerusalem are for others.

The Church teaches that verse 3 prophesies directly about the state of ultimate order that will exist on the earth after the time of Christ’s Second Coming, during the thousand-year period known as the Millennium where the influence of evil will be banished. During that time, Jesus will personally reign upon the earth and will send forth his word from Jerusalem, the same place he lived, taught, died and was resurrected. He will have another “capital” in Zion (America) from which the law will go forth. What is the law? Perhaps it is synonymous with the word of the Lord, since we know that whatever the Lord says is true and generally can be seen as a type of law. But there is another meaning as well. America has a special significance that will apparently persist to some extent even after Jesus comes to reign as the place where the best, most inspired system of law was established under the Constitution of the United States.

Isaiah goes on in verse 4 to very succinctly refer to the judgment Jesus will exercise over the people when He comes. One thing he will do is help the people understand the undesirability and futility of violence. In this beautifully poetic passage, they beat their swords into plow-shares, with nations learning how to grow and cultivate things instead of destroying them.

As the chapter continues, a familiar theme emerges from Isaiah’s words that is in line with Jacob’s sermon to the people that Nephi recorded in 2 Nephi 9-10. This theme is that all people go astray from God and His commandments in one way or another, and thus need saving. As Isaiah continues, he tells his audience to avoid false saviors (soothsayers and idols) and warns against pride, or those that “boweth not down.”

Isaiah uses repetition to drive home that the day of the Lord will affect everyone everywhere. It’s not something to be avoided, but to be prepared for, as the Lord is good and wants us to be able to prepare. That’s precisely why Isaiah and Nephi are making sure we know to be ready.

As Nephi transcribes Isaiah’s words, we observe something truly amazing. Verse 16 contains three clauses linked by commas: “And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.” The verse is saying that the great day of the Lord will extend everywhere, even to the ships carrying goods around the known world and those docked in far distant lands such as Tarshish (thought to be Spain or perhaps somewhere in India). Keep in mind that Joseph Smith translated Nephi’s transcription into English as we now have it. If you look at the corresponding verse in the Book of Isaiah in the King James version of the Old Testament, you will find the second and third clauses, but not the first. And if you refer to the old Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the corresponding verse has the first and third clauses but not the second. So what? So Joseph Smith’s translation somehow managed to incorporate a clause that had somehow been lost between the time the Septuagint was copied and the King James version of the Bible was published. It’s been said that there was no way that the young Joseph Smith had access to a Septuagint. If that is true, his ability to translate a clause he had no reason to know had been missing from English-language Bibles reinforces the genuine nature of his visions, translations, and prophetic calling. It reinforces everything he did and claimed to be.

The chapter ends with a very provocative question: “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Isaiah is saying, “Don’t look to man as your point of reference. He’s nothing special. He’s not God, and you don’t answer to him.” This thought carries over into the next chapter.

You can read the entire chapter, and the corresponding chapter from Isaiah, at the following links: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/12?lang=eng and https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/isa/2?lang=eng.

Proving the Coming of Christ - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Eleven (2 Nephi 11)

After having recorded some of his younger brother Jacob’s teachings over the previous five chapters (2 Nephi 6-10), Nephi tells us that even though Jacob shared many other things with his people (the Nephites), what Nephi has recorded is enough for now.

Nephi then lets us know that he is going back to the words of Isaiah. Why? Because Nephi’s soul delights in Isaiah’s words (verse 2). One very important reason for this is that Isaiah saw the Redeemer (Jesus Christ), just as both Nephi and Jacob have seen Jesus in visions. This brings us back to the law of witnesses (verse 3). By sharing the words of two men who have had these experiences in addition to himself, Nephi magnifies the power and credibility of what he shares. And Nephi assures us that many more than three have been or will be able to testify of the reality and power of Jesus Christ. Based on this explanation, we understand better why Nephi features some of Jacob’s preachings referencing Isaiah in the record Nephi keeps, intermingled with some of Nephi’s own words, extracts from other prophecies of Isaiah, and his father Lehi’s final testimony and blessings to his posterity.

To this point, Nephi has included material from Isaiah—again, presumably taken from the brass plates Nephi took from Laban in Jerusalem and brought with his family to the Promised Land—comprising about four full chapters (according to how Isaiah’s words were organized into chapters and verses in the King James Bible). Now, Nephi will copy 13 consecutive chapters of Isaiah’s teachings onto the limited space Nephi has on the smaller plates, as a statement to us of (1) the sacredness and importance of Isaiah’s teachings in understanding the mission of Jesus Christ at the core of the Lord’s plan of salvation for us, and (2) Nephi’s conviction that what Isaiah wrote accurately represents Nephi’s own understanding both of specific events that will take place regarding Christ and of these events’ greater meaning.

Nephi clearly wants us to liken the words of Isaiah unto ourselves and our own circumstances (verses 2 and 8). These words were relevant in the centuries before Christ’s mortal birth when they were first revealed, and are perhaps even more relevant in our day as we look forward to Christ’s Second Coming and are both witnesses of and participants in the great work of the gathering of the Lord’s covenant people—the house of Israel.

In the final verses of the chapter (4-7), Nephi seems to adopt a directness in addressing his audience that we haven’t seen from him to this point. It’s in the spirit of the words of Jacob he just shared with us. Previously, Nephi has written much about the things he has seen and how they were explained to him by Lehi or by angels or the Spirit of the Lord. But now he is finding his own voice in relaying to us the significance of what he has seen, heard, and felt first-hand. As he sees it, his ultimate responsibility, and joy, is “proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ” (verse 4), and “that save Christ should come all men must perish” (verse 6).

Nephi goes on to testify, much like Paul in his letter to the Galatians about 600 years later (in Galatians 3:21-29), that the law of Moses instituted hundreds of years earlier among the Israelites, along with all other things God has revealed from the time of creation, points to the coming of Christ, for the purpose that we might be able to recognize Him when He comes for our own salvation.

The centerpiece of this newly direct approach to telling us the bottom line of what Christ’s reality means for us is Nephi’s statement in verse 7:

“For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.”

According to this statement, the existence of Christ is absolutely essential for there to be a God. To my understanding, Nephi is saying that God’s whole purpose is to give his people a pathway to salvation and to progress in knowledge, virtue, and righteous power. In other words, to provide a Savior. To be a Savior. Otherwise what’s the point? Someone who simply is there to provide an ecosystem and then presides and observes at a distance without an active concern and plan for the individuals inhabiting his creation is more like a zookeeper or a kid with an aquarium than a serious Supreme Being. As the Lord states in another fundamentally important scripture from our Church, which comes from an inspired translation of the books of Moses in the Old Testament, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Thankfully, through the accounts of Nephi and the other witnesses, we know that God is not detached, arbitrary, or imaginary. Heavenly Father in fact is real, and has a son, Jesus Christ, who resembles and represents Him perfectly—in fact is God Himself—and intervenes in the right places and right times to unlock the door to us to eternal life, salvation, and happiness, which can be fully realized in God’s presence.

You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/11?lang=eng

Our Next Choice Matters, However Far Away We Seem from the Lord - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Ten (2 Nephi 10)

After a day of pretty intense preaching, Jacob pauses, and then comes back the following day. He informs the Nephites that on the evening in between, an angel provided him additional information, including that the Savior would be known by the name of Christ. Christ, a Greek word, means “the anointed one,” and has the same meaning as the Hebrew word Messiah.

He then explains how facts surrounding the Atonement of Christ have very specific real-world consequences for the Lord’s covenant people, also known as the people of Israel. The Atonement not only has a direct effect on each individual’s spiritual destiny—his or her ability to access immortality and return to God’s presence—but it also is rooted in historical events that influence various branches of Israel and the people (often known as Gentiles) with whom the Israelites interact.

The sacrifice required to atone for human sin is the voluntary death of a sinless being. The crucifixion of Christ brings this to pass. In a way that we may have trouble fully understanding, it is necessary for Jesus to suffer and die on the cross, but it is still an ugly act that makes us mourn for those who were prideful and envious enough to bring it to pass. Probably as a result of Jacob’s study of the brass plates and the prophecies of his father and brother, combined with his own revelatory experiences and angelic visitations, Jacob reveals to the Nephites that some Israelites will be scattered as a result of the wickedness that played a part in leading the Romans to crucify Christ.

However, it is important to note that whatever consequence is to befall any particular branch of Israel, that consequence does not justify any blanket condemnation on our part. For Jacob says in verse 7 that the Lord anticipates the restoration of favor and blessings upon His covenant people, which is the same restoration Jacob referred to in the earlier chapters when he was quoting Isaiah’s poetic language.

According to Jacob’s prophecy, Isaiah’s words will be majestically fulfilled. Once again, Jacob is reminding the Nephites, who have spent a generation establishing a new civilization half a world away from Jerusalem, that their story remains intertwined with the larger story of Israel. It may take centuries, but God’s plan is still very much alive and well. Through a long process, the people of Israel will be gathered from all kinds of places around the world (the “isles of the sea” in verse 8), and the Gentiles will play a leading part in helping to restore the Israelites to a place of earthly and spiritual glory.

As part of this process, Jacob makes specific reference to this land (the Americas) as a land of liberty unto the Gentiles without any kings (verse 11). This seems to anticipate the United States and the establishment of republican—as opposed to monarchical—rule on the American continent. The Lord says that He will fortify this land against all other nations. In doing so, Jacob raises a voice of warning to those who would try to obstruct either the restoration of Israel or the system of American republicanism. It is not out of vengeful wrath, but out of a need to protect the righteous Jews and Gentiles who will form His community of Zion in the latter days. As a result, we learn that the following will perish:

• Those who fight against Zion (verse 13) 
• Those who would establish despotic rule in America (verse 14)
• Those who work “secret works of darkness” (verse 15)

What is the Lord teaching the Nephites (and us) through Jacob? Mainly that trial and affliction is not meant to be a curse for the Lord’s covenant people, but a way of strengthening them to help bring forth something glorious. He reassures this group of people, whose fathers journeyed to this far-off place, and then fled from their first settlement because of their angry brothers and cousins, that they are in fact not abandoned, but being prepared to carry out the Lord’s plan. And those who try to obstruct that plan will ultimately fail, even if they seem to temporarily gain the upper hand. Thus, doing good is not in vain, and doing evil is.

And the most important time is now. The most important choice in their (and our) lives is the next one. Jacob tells them in verse 23: “Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.” And what makes it possible for us to choose between these paths? The Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is powerful to save, and is, above all, a sign of God’s grace, his free gift of love to us (verse 24). Giving us that something extra that we just couldn’t muster by ourselves.

You can read the entire chapter at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/10?lang=eng

Jacob's Foundation of Hope: Infinite Atonement and Resurrection - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Nine (2 Nephi 9)

Nephi continues recounting a sermon that Jacob delivers to the Nephites. After Jacob calls the people’s attention in previous chapters to their part in the larger story of the scattering and regathering of the different family branches of Israel, and draws from passages of Isaiah to tie this in with the role of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) in redeeming different Israelite branches, Jacob is now ready for a direct appeal to the Nephites. It seems that he has concerns about their moral state, though we don’t receive a direct statement yet of any particular wrongs. But he does not hold back on the need for them to build up their capacity for faith, hope and obedience through Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection.

The chapter is so chock full of Jacob’s doctrinal statements and exhortations to his people that the best way to concisely present a summary is to focus on some high points. He starts in verse 4 by saying that our flesh must waste away and die, but that we will see God in our bodies. Undoubtedly this triggers curiosity among his audience. How can we both die and then later have a body when we are with God?

Jacob proceeds with the sensibilities of both a poet trying to paint pictures with words, and a philosopher trying to prove his point with precise logic. First, he explains that death came into the world by reason of the fall of man (which we know as the choice Adam and Eve made to take their chances on the highs and lows of a mortal existence). If there is death, then to be with God again there has to be a resurrection, right?

It is only through an “infinite atonement” that such a resurrection can take place (verse 7). What does Jacob mean by an infinite atonement? Well, first, the concept of atonement is to bring us into harmony (make us “at one”) with God. And its infinite nature means that the atonement must be able to have full sway to make up for everything that we have ever done to separate ourselves from God through our sins. Infinite in this case also means that the atonement applies to every person who ever was, is and will be.

Jacob then talks about what he refers to as two different types of death. The first type is our physical death—the separation of our body and spirit. Death does not mean that we cease to exist, just that our existence cannot be perceived through the physical senses of others experiencing mortal life. Our bodies are inaccessible to us for a certain period of time.

                                                                                                   
The second type of death that Jacob discusses he also refers to as “hell.” It is very important to recognize that in this case, hell is not what our culture describes—a final destination for bad people who are eternally denied the opportunity to dwell with God. Rather, it is a place where our spirits will temporarily dwell without the ability to progress toward God. In other places in the scriptures, we learn that in most cases, the final state of the soul is one of some kind of closeness to God, though exactly how close will depend on how fully we accept and apply the Atonement.

Verse 12 is extremely important to Jacob’s overall sermon. Much of what he said and quoted from Isaiah in earlier chapters promises the people that the Lord can deliver them from captivity. Now Jacob shows us very specifically what that means. Verse 7 establishes that the infinite atonement of Christ enables the resurrection of Christ. Somehow, by accepting the burden of everyone else’s sin through his own sinless sacrifice, Jesus receives the power to have his spirit and body joined together after he initially “gave up the ghost” on the cross at Calvary. And through this process, Jesus ensures that every single man and woman will have their bodies and spirits brought together again. Hence, the Resurrection becomes a resurrection for all. Death (the separation of body and spirit via the grave) is overcome, and Hell (the obstruction of our hearts’ yearnings to progress back to our Heavenly Father) is as well. Jacob teaches that if these two things are not overcome, Satan would ultimately have power over us. By rejecting God’s plan for humanity, which hinges on love and agency (free will) rather than compulsion, Satan fell from God’s presence as a disembodied spirit. That the Father and Son have glorified, incorruptible bodies joined with their spirits shows us that this is the model of happiness for us to strive for. Left without that opportunity because of his own rebellion, Satan is desperate to have others join in his misery.

Satan won’t be able to prevent our resurrection. Christ’s Resurrection ensures that all those who were born on the earth ultimately receive an incorruptible body. And as verse 15 tells us, we will stand in our resurrected body before Jesus Christ (the Holy One of Israel). But what happens from there, and to what degree we are freed from Satan, does depend on how we have put the Atonement of Christ to work in our lives. Verses 13-14 show that we will have a “perfect knowledge” that the judgment we are receiving—whether we are able to dwell closer with God or will remain out of His presence due to unworthiness—is something that we will know to be correct.

Jacob explains how marvelous it is to have the chance of salvation Jesus provides us. He looks forward to the time (between 500-600 years from that point) when Jesus will suffer for the sins of all. The only things asked of us are (per verses 23-24) faith, repentance (turning repeatedly away from sin), baptism and endurance. How tragic it is when we fall short of the blessings Christ has earned for us because we don’t do these relatively simple things. Jacob says as much when he talks in verse 28 about how so many ignore God’s counsel by assuming (wrongly) they know better. Verse 29 communicates a powerful truth: “But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.”

Jacob continues by warning his audience to avoid all kinds of sin, and pleading with them to approach the Lord by the straight and narrow way he has taught. We know that the Lord employs many servants, but Jacob tells us something important in verse 41 when he says that Christ is the only one patrolling the gate into His kingdom. He does not delegate that duty because it is only He—aside from ourselves—who truly knows our hearts and who loves us with the perfect love we so desperately want and need.

From there, we hear familiar, prophetic words of encouragement: Prepare, hearken, come, remember, give thanks, let your hearts rejoice. Jacob exhausts himself in promising his people that the Lord will find a way to preserve the descendants of Lehi and restore them to righteousness, so much so that he ends his discussion for the day and invites the people to come back tomorrow to hear more from him.

You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/9?lang=eng

Waking Us Up to Who We Really Are - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Eight (2 Nephi 8 and Isaiah 51-52:1-2)

Jacob continues Isaiah’s account in this chapter. To review, previously Isaiah established that the Lord had power to deliver his covenant people, the Israelites, from those who would harm them, even after many generations had gone by and both the Israelites and their tormentors might have reason to doubt.

Here, Isaiah wants to share his vision with the Israelites so they can know what lies ahead if they can just put their faith and trust in God’s power to deliver. In explaining this, Isaiah shows that the Lord doesn’t simply settle scores on behalf of his people. He looks to have the “enemy” join the ranks of the “chosen” if at all possible, and when the time comes for everything to be set right, there’s a spectacular way of life that He is waiting to help us embrace.

So if the previous chapter was about convincing Israel of the Lord’s power to prevail over their hardened foes, this chapter is about showing them that the victory and regathering is not a single event, but a way to transport the Israelites to a more inspiring realm of existence than they thought possible. In verse 3, we are told that the Lord will make Israel’s “wilderness like Eden,” and “her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”

Underpinning it all are Isaiah’s confident proclamations that in this new realm, the Lord’s judgment and law will reign. Verse 4 states that “a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light for the people.” Clearly, the implication is that God, having perfect knowledge, will lead us in the right path if we trust Him enough to follow His commandments, even if it’s hard to see the end from the beginning.

He comes back to the previous theme that His power is greater than that of mortals, telling His people that the tyrannies and injustice that seem so permanent in our world will vanish when the time is right at the Lord’s command (verses 6-10, and several more verses throughout the chapter). In verse 10, he reminds them (and us) that there’s already precedent for this, by referring them back to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt by the parting of the Red Sea.

There is this powerful and at the same time tender and serene passage in verse 16 that perfectly captures what Isaiah is communicating:

“And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my people.”

This runs completely against the caricature of the God of the Old Testament as a severe, wrathful, distant ruler. No, instead Isaiah paints a picture of a gentle nurturer and protector who gives shade and safety to His people, and patiently plants and lays the foundations for the lands where He wants us ultimately to dwell.

What does He ask in return? For us to wake up to who we really are. In three places (verses 9, 17, and 24) we read the call: “Awake, awake!” We are His children, his heirs, and can function right here and right now as His “arm” and his “strength” (verses 9 and 24). We should look up to His qualities to define ourselves rather than emulating the petty selfishness and intrigues of so many in the world. The Lord, through Isaiah, has just shown us the fruitlessness of acting in such a reproachful way, with the end result distance from rather than closeness to the true source of happiness—the Lord Himself. He wants us to “shake thyself from the dust” (verse 25) and “put on thy beautiful garments” (verse 24).

Speaking for the Lord, Isaiah refers to two specific places that he seems to expect will be especially holy—Zion and Jerusalem. From leaders of my Church, we have been taught that someday, through the power of Jesus Christ, righteousness will flow from these places to fill the earth. In several cases, prophets through the ages have referred to Zion and Jerusalem as the same place, and “Mount Zion” is a geographical area located in present-day Jerusalem. But the prophets of our Church teach that another place called Zion will be established to work in parallel with Jerusalem. This Zion is related to the Zion that is found in the account of Enoch (Enoch is Methuselah’s father and is mentioned in Genesis 5) that was revealed to Joseph Smith. In this account, “Zion” refers to a community of people so holy and unified in righteousness that they were elevated or “translated” from earth to heaven. Enoch’s translation is mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:5).

Another specific reference in this chapter is to “two sons” who will come unto Jerusalem at a time when there will be “none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth” (verse 18). Because this passage discusses Jerusalem facing desperate circumstances (“famine and the sword” – verse 19), one possibility is that these two sons are the two witnesses mentioned by the Apostle John (about 750 years after Isaiah and 600-some years after Jacob) in Chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation. In 1832, the prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation stating that the two witnesses in Revelation 11 are “two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish nation in the last days, at the time of the restoration, and to prophesy to the Jews after they are gathered and have built the city of Jerusalem in the land of their fathers.” Revelation 11 envisions that these witnesses will prophesy for 1,260 days (around 3½ years) and miraculously protect “the holy city” after a siege or attack on Jerusalem of similar duration (42 months). Then, after the two prophets are killed and their enemies delight, they will return to life 3½ days later and ascend to heaven in the midst of a destructive earthquake (Revelation 11:7-13). The prophecy in Revelation itself directly references the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah (who preached in around 520 B.C., around 600 years before Revelation) of two olive trees that represented two “anointed ones” who stand by the Lord (Zechariah 4:11-14).

You can read the entire chapter, and the analogous chapters/verses from Isaiah, at the following links: https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/8?lang=eng and https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/isa/51?lang=eng and https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/isa/52?lang=eng.

Isaiah Shares the Secret of True Power - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Seven (1 Nephi 7 and Isaiah 50)

In the previous chapter, Jacob established himself as a teacher very much after the pattern of his brother (and current temporal and spiritual leader) Nephi, and their deceased father Lehi.

Jacob’s topic is the destiny of his people, the Nephites, who are a scattered branch of Israel, and he now plunges into a passage from Isaiah to remind them of their identity. Jacob’s quotes from Isaiah come from the brass plates his family brought from Jerusalem, which Nephi also used in some chapters near the end of the book of 1 Nephi.

The key thing that distinguishes the tribes of Israel from everyone else is their very special relationship with God. Why is God interested in “delivering” them from their trials and their tormentors? Because He is bound to the people of Israel by the covenant He made with their ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). How is God bound? By the love, goodness and absolute reliability that define Him.

Isaiah is writing in a style that we call “messianic,” meaning that he takes on the voice of the Lord as though there is no separation between the two of them. In the chapter’s first verse, he reassures the Nephites that despite their sins and other shortcomings, the Lord has not abandoned them. Isaiah compares the Lord’s relationship to His people as a husband to his wife, and says that the Lord has not and will not “divorce” them even though the Nephites have distanced themselves from Him and become in debt to others through their sins.

By reminding the Nephites that they remain bound to the Lord, Isaiah lays a foundation of hope. He then explains how the Lord will honor His continuing covenant with His people by referring to the Lord’s power. After all, if God can dry the waters of the earth at a word, or darken the skies (verses 2-3), He can surely help His sons and daughters get back on the right path.

This power seems to me to be the power of example that Jesus Christ provided us by his life on earth. In verses 4-5, Isaiah (again, speaking messianically) refers to having the “ear” and the “tongue” of the learned. The reference teaches us that although Jesus was beset by temptation, He made every effort to listen to what His Father wanted Him to hear, largely so that He could take lessons from what He heard and then speak to men and women as a true and authorized representative of His Father. If we interpret these verses as also describing Isaiah’s characteristics, we realize that Isaiah is telling us that God gave Isaiah some very specific gifts (in particular, an ability to communicate in timeless, sacred poetry) to inspire the people of Israel.

Beyond the power of example, Jesus exercised power in a way very different than we are accustomed to seeing ordinary people use it. Instead of grabbing glory for Himself by conjuring a miracle of earthly force against the ruling Romans or Jewish elite, or seeking to gain favor with the people of Judea and Galilee by satisfying their appetites for comfort, position and wealth, Jesus humbly endured the full injustice of being tried, tormented, and crucified for doing good and teaching truth. He “gave his back to the smiter” without losing his bravery and dignity (verses 6-7). It’s still hard for us mere mortals to fully understand the process by which Jesus’ humble suffering led to Him gaining ultimate power—the same power that His Father has. But it’s clear that through His endurance, He displayed a type of strength unmatched by any other human. A strength born of love for His fellow men and women that somehow qualified Him to receive all power from the Father. Only faith beyond words, and God’s own grace, can help us accept what our minds find difficult to comprehend about the mechanics of the Atonement of Christ.

Having established that God has all power, in the chapter’s final verses Isaiah warns those who oppose the Lord or His people that their efforts are doomed to frustration and unhappiness. He goes even further in verses 10-11 to say that those who try to do things their own way, who are unwilling to acknowledge their need for the light only God can provide them, shall “walketh in darkness” and “lie down in sorrow.”

As ever with prophecy, it is a warning joined with a message of hope, a lamp showing the way toward happiness and salvation.  A way defined by our willingness to follow the pattern Jesus Christ established: a life of love for God and other people exemplified by sacrifice, sharing with others what we believe or know to be true, and openness to hear and follow God’s continuing direction.

You can read the entire chapter and the analogous chapter from Isaiah at the following links: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/7?lang=eng and https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/isa/50?lang=eng.

Will We Be Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem? - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Six (2 Nephi 6)

Nephi decides now to include a sermon to the people from his brother Jacob, whom he had recently ordained as a priest. It once again shows Nephi’s understanding of the power of multiple witnesses. Earlier, he had previously relied heavily on the words of their father Lehi to bolster his own, and now turns to Jacob for this help. At the same time, we imagine Jacob growing into this role as another strong representative of God to the Nephite people.

A few things tell us of how closely Jacob has paid attention to Lehi and Nephi. In verse 3, Jacob mentions that he has taught the people his father’s (Lehi’s) words. And, in verse 4, he indicates that he is going to share the words of Isaiah because Nephi has instructed him to do so. Here, we learn that Jacob is deferring to Nephi as the overall spiritual leader. Jacob’s use of Isaiah’s teachings adds yet another powerful witness to his message to the people, and builds upon the pattern we have already seen Nephi use of going back to Isaiah again and again to reinforce important points about the coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and the scattering and gathering of different branches of the house of Israel as part of God’s plan under Christ.

The specific teaching Jacob shares (in verses 7-8) is from Isaiah 49:22-23, which is something Nephi previously shared with his family just after their arrival in the New World (in 1 Nephi 21:22-23). This shows us the importance of periodic repetition in our teaching. Just because we’ve already heard something before doesn’t mean that we don’t need to hear it again. Sometimes we don’t catch the full meaning the first time we hear it. Other times, the meaning changes for us depending on where we are in our lives. In any event, important truths bear repeating because we need to recognize that they don’t change. Here, Jacob is teaching the people of a new generation, about 30 years on from Nephi’s earlier mention of the teaching, and much has happened in the intervening time.

In this case, Jacob shares and expounds upon Isaiah’s prophecy that the Gentiles will play an important role in helping scattered portions of the people of Israel regather and regain their strength. It seems pretty clearly to refer to the days in anticipation of the Lord’s Second Coming. We sense that whatever the prophecy’s significance to the Nephites 2,600 years ago, it is very significant to those of us who read it today with the perspective of events that have taken place since then. For this reason, I surmise Nephi felt inspired to include this chapter in his record, knowing it would come forth to the people of our time.

As referenced in earlier chapter summaries, the whole story of the discovery and colonization of America, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and restored gospel out of these historical events, are directly responsible for opening the door to the gathering of scattered Israelites. Particularly the descendants of the Nephites and Lamanites on the American continent, who have in all likelihood forgotten their heritage.

The imagery of Isaiah’s words is meant to show how the Lord’s power eclipses that of what men and women can do by themselves. It is interesting that Jacob alludes to the fact that the Nephites now look upon his brother Nephi as a king or protector (verse 2), and just a few verses later uses Isaiah to demonstrate that earthly kings and queens will be nursing fathers and mothers to the lost people of Israel when they are rediscovered. The message seems undeniable: a person’s earthly title and power (including Nephi’s) are much less important than the roles they play in carrying the Lord’s plan forward.

In expounding upon Isaiah’s words, Jacob is not merely interpreting them based on conjecture. He boldly states that the Lord has shown him in vision how the prophecy will be realized. Having demonstrated that he has sought a direct witness from the Lord of the truth of these things, Jacob shows himself to be very much a kindred spirit with Lehi and Nephi. In fact, you may remember that Lehi alluded to Jacob’s direct experience with revelation in the parting words he shared with him in 2 Nephi 2:3-4. With the forceful authority of this direct knowledge, Jacob talks of the capture of Jerusalem, the eventual return of its people, the coming of the Messiah and His rejection and crucifixion, and another scattering and eventual regathering of Israel.

Jacob goes on to describe the role of the Gentiles in this process. The implication is that once Israel (the Lord’s covenant people) is scattered, the Gentiles exercise a certain degree of control and dominion over these covenant people. But lest the Gentiles mistakenly think that their control over Israel is permanent, Isaiah and Jacob warn them that the Lord will look after his people and regather them. The Gentiles can choose whether to aid this process or to resist it. Aiding it means to be able to partake in the very same blessings that the Israelites are entitled to. Resisting it is a dead end that leads to frustration and misery. The key here seems to be humility and openness to the idea that we don’t know everything and should look for ways to help our fellow men and women, especially the downtrodden.

Jacob goes back to Isaiah’s own words to put an exclamation point on the message in the chapter’s final verses (verses 16-18, which are very similar to Isaiah 49:24-26). In addition to words of woe for those who oppose God, Isaiah powerfully insists that the Lord can deliver His people out of any plight in which they find themselves. It doesn’t matter how strong their captors or tormentors may seem. This is both abundantly hopeful to those of us who at times feel lost or burdened, and a warning to those of us who may be tempted to get ahead in life on the backs of others. There’s a good chance that each of us has found himself or herself in both situations at different times in our lives.

You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/6?lang=eng