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Top 3 Book of Mormon Differences in 1 Nephi 20-21 vs Isaiah 48-49 | Search Hack 3

By
Skyler Hunter
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Learn to hack the top 3 Book of Mormon differences in 1 Nephi 20-21 vs Isaiah 48-49 with Search Hack 3! Did you know the Isaiah passages are not quite the same?

What Can we Learn by Comparing the Book of Mormon to the King James Bible?

Challenge

1 Nephi 20-21 is where the reading gets tough. Nephi quotes Isaiah 48-49, which reads more ambiguously because of the plethora of symbols Isaiah uses for subjects like Christ, his servant, and Israel. Why does Nephi quote from Isaiah for a full two chapters, after settling in the promised land? He tells us in chapter 19, saying, “remember the Lord thy Redeemer” v18. Nephi reads Isaiah to his family so his posterity might remember Christ’s coming in 600 years and rely on him. He writes Isaiah so we might remember and rely on Christ, thousands of years after his coming, and gather the house of Israel.

Teach

But when Nephi quotes Isaiah, there are key differences between their manuscripts. Lets explore the meaning of a few of these key differences, by comparing 1 Nephi 20-21 side by side with Isaiah 48-49 KJ Bible.

Point out top 3 differences:

  1. In the beginning of Nephi 20, Isaiah defines the house of Israel as those who “are come forth from the waters of Judah.” The book of Mormon version adds “or out of the waters of baptism.” In this case, joseph smith added that phrase as prophetic clarification of what “the waters of Judah” means. We know this because book of Mormon translations did not include this phrase until the 1840 edition. Nephi Hacks IsaiahLast time we highlighted references to Christ in red. This time, use pink on Joseph’s additions, because it is close to the red of Christ, in that it has righteous prophetic origin. underline instead of highlight, denoting Joseph or Nephi is speaking these words, instead of someone referring to them.
  2. In the next verse, Isaiah says the children of Israel “do stay themselves upon the God of Israel”. The BOM version says they “do <NOT> stay themselves upon the God of Israel”. Based on the context, Nephi’s reading makes much more sense because the Lord chastises Israel for forgetting him. This discrepancy is most likely a scribe error passed into the KJ bible.
  3. Later in chapter 21 there’s a bigger change. Nephi adds 48 words to verse 1, saying the house of Israel is “broken off,” “driven out,” and “scattered abroad.” This happened because of “the wickedness of the pastors of my people.” Nephi’s additions seem to be a huge clarification for who the “isles” of “people from afar” are in Isaiah’s version. Thus providing us with a better understanding of the House of Israel.

Think

As you study, ask yourself who made each change and what are they trying to tell us?

YOU DECIDE

Isaiah 41 & Ministering in the Lord’s Way

By
Gregorio Billikopf
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“Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand… The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!” —How Firm a Foundation

My wife Linda and I have the great privilege of serving as Temple and Family History Consultants for the Coordinating Council of Osorno in the south of Chile. On 21 April 2018, we participated in a discovery day in the Valdivia Stake, which was about three hours from our home in Llanquihue. We strongly felt the Spirit of Elijah at that beautiful meeting. Several brothers and sisters prepared delicious dishes with family recipes and also shared memories.

We said our goodbyes with strong feelings of gratitude towards the local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and traveled back home. Typically, my wife drives. We took advantage of the opportunity to talk about our upcoming travels, to delight in the hand of the Lord and in His work, and to make calls related to our calling.

When we were less than an hour from home, the right front wheel fell off into what seemed like a hole (there was only one lane as the other had been closed for repairs). It was dark and it had started to rain.

Linda tried to control the vehicle as it began to spin first to the left and then to the right. A few seconds later the car flew out toward the right side leaving the road behind. It is interesting to consider everything we think about at times like these. I considered, “This cannot be happening as I had specifically prayed for Father’s protection.” I felt the Spirit reassuring me that the Father was still protecting us.

We flew through the air doing a full turn and eventually landed with the driver’s side on the ground. No one must have seen us fly off the road since no one came to rescue us. We were trapped.

My cherished eternal companion and I reassured each other. We had suffered a good scare but were fine. Soon, we realized that because of the darkness and the distance from the highway, that no one would see us.

I made several calls and sent our location via GPS through WhatsApp. When we thought that perhaps no one would find us, my wife started crying. We were in a hole about ten to fifteen meters from the road, with the headlights pointing away from the highway and obscured by bushes of some kind.

Linda had suggested that I get out of the car to try and fetch help. I could not even open my door. The weight of my body was against the seat belt, with the force of gravity making it impossible for me to move.

After 45 minutes, which seemed like an eternity, I could discern that someone was aiming a flashlight at the car. “They’re here!” I told my wife, “they’ve found us!”

The paramedics asked if we were okay. With one hand against the window, I signaled that we were fine. I was surprised when they managed to open the door, as I thought it was stuck shut. It was the force of gravity that had not allowed me to open it.

After the paramedics opened the door, I saw the face of a ministering angel, our Puerto Montt Stake President, Sergio Vargas.

President Vargas looked at me in a most penetrating way, offering his muscular arm and his help. And then he uttered the words which penetrated deeply into my soul:

“Jamás lo soltaré”. (“I’ll never, no never, no never” let you go!)

At that moment, I wept. It was not for fear, but because I felt the Savior speaking to me. Telling me He would never ever let me go. 

The word jamás is very special and not found in all languages. In English, the closest word is “never.” Jamás is a Biblical expresión, לְעוֹלָם לֹא, not ever. The best way to translate it is to repeat the word never, as in I’ll “never, no never, no never.” In Hebrew, the double repetition of a word gives it force, and a triple repetition (emphatic Semitic triplet) gives it the deepest profundity.

President Vargas had pronounced the words with power and authority. I felt the presence of not only my dear President Vargas, but I also perceived that at that moment it was my Savior and Redeemer speaking to me. I immediately remembered one of my favorite scriptures from Isaiah:

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness… For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee” (Isaiah 41:10, 13).

Back in the car, President Vargas offered me the strength of his arms. Helping him, in turn, was my dear brother Cristian Carrillo. When I took off my seatbelt I fell towards my wife, but I extended both hands to President Vargas who took them in his and lifted me with strength.

The Savior extends His arms towards us continually, inviting us to turn unto Him (שׁוּבוּ). But we must accept that invitation if we wish to be redeemed. We are always given that moral agency to accept or decline. Our Savior, if we accept that tender invitation, tells us: “I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!“

Without help, I could not have left the car. Similarly, on our own merits, we cannot be saved. Once I was free of the car, I was able to walk to the ambulance where I had to wait for Linda to arrive. I wanted to offer moral support to my wife but was not permitted to leave. The rest of the cavalry would arrive soon. Also present were my dear branch president President Ferroggiaro, Sister Carol Mansilla and brother Lucho Piña. They had all come to the rescue despite the dangerous weather and road conditions. Many others had been praying for us from Llanquihue and elsewhere—prayers that were answered.

The paramedic had had an interesting and positive encounter with LDS missionaries that day (“they are always smiling,” he shared), and I had the chance to share the Gospel with him while we waited for Linda. Another 45 minutes elapsed before she was released and came to the ambulance, which she also did walking. What joy! The Church members accompanied us to the hospital, took us back home, helped us, and ministered to us in various ways. We felt loved, we felt ministered.

At the April 2018 General Conference, Elder Larry Y. Wilson taught that when we are in the midst of a storm, on a ship that is about to sink, that this is not the time to try to recognize the voice of the Spirit for the first time. When I saw my beloved President Vargas, one of the reasons I was so touched by the words “I’ll never, no never, no never let you go!” is because the person who pronounced them had repeatedly extended his ministering arms to us, especially during the years leading up to our oldest son’s death from Cholangiocarcinoma (liver cancer). It seemed that every time we got news of David’s deteriorating health, President Vargas “just happened” to call.  

When a brother or sister needs to be rescued either physically or spiritually, that may not be the best time to start ministering. It is vital that we really manage to love those people we minister to. In the new program announced by President Russell M. Nelson, we must learn to be ministering angels so that when a brother or a sister needs to be rescued, we may say, “I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!“

[Translation note. I wrote this article immediately after the accident. I feel this experience was a gift from Heavenly Father and an opportunity to speak of the Savior’s love. As I began to translate into English, I made the connection with the hymn, “How Great a Foundation.” I was thinking, how can I possibly express the idea of “Jamás” into English? So I began with “never, oh ever.” And as I did, I thought of the favorite LDS & Christian hymn, one which is based on precisely the verses in Isaiah I had quoted in my Spanish original.]

Robert Kay: A Jewish Latter-day Saint Shares How the Book of Mormon is God's Word

By
Search Isaiah
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Ken: Hi everybody, Ken Krogue here with Robert Kay. I had a chance to see Robert present several different times and I was absolutely enthralled. You’ve got a unique perspective and I’m going to go ahead and ask him to tell us a bit about his background that makes him, especially when we’re studying Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, when the Nephites talked about the way of manner of the Jews, that’s where you came from, right?

Robert: That’s correct.

Ken: Tell us about it.

Robert: So, my birth father is from New York, and they come from an Ashkenazi family out of Europe that came over from Poland. My mother’s family, my mother’s mother is a Sephardic Jew from Portugal and not many people realize that in the south there are many people of Sephardic lineage settled in the south. In fact, my mother’s grandfather was one of the first people to establish a synagogue in a little town of Jasper, Alabama.

Ken: Oh, my heavens.

Robert: And so, I grew up primarily in the south. My mother’s husband was basically…

Ken: I don’t hear any southern accent.

Robert: Yes, I’ve been out west long enough to get rid of my accent? I have a little one every now and then.

Ken: It was my mission in South Carolina, that’s where I met my wife, Crystal. And I can bring out some south in the mouth if I need to.

Robert: Okay, okay. My mom, I moved her out here now with me. So, if I were to bring her here, she would charm you with her southern accent. But, not many people realize that many Jews, Crypto Jews as well, settled in the southeast, changed their names. My last name is Kay; however, our original name was Cohen, or actually a Polish version thereof, technically Ukrainian version thereof and it’s actually would have been the original, Kway, and it was traditional Cohen. At the same time, like my mother’s family, many people who have the Richardson Line at the South East are actually Jews who came in from Portugal and then they changed their name. So, a lot of people changed their names because of persecution.

Ken: You a member of the church?

Robert: I am a member of the church now. So, when I came into the church, it was through a family member originally.  How I really came to discover that, what the church was and primarily the Book of Mormon was from the Book of Mormon itself. So, I discovered the Book of Mormon itself on a bookshelf from a missionary copy of the Book of Mormon in a library in the south. The cover was torn off and I didn’t know who this was. At the time that I found this, I was also finishing up studies in the Talmud. My father made me read all these volumes at the Talmud, at 13 and from 13 to 15. So, I’m finishing up that, I’m also learning at the same time foundations of Hebrew, which for me at the time was torture.  A child is tortured but as you become an adult, you begin to appreciate the torture your parents do. But, I found out later it was a real gift.

Ken: Wonderful. So, you used that gift in all of the presentations that I’ve seen you present, It’s amazing.

Robert: Well, thank you. It was not always a gift. We were taught under discipline not to ever reveal who we were, especially in the south. There was, especially my grandmother was like fifties and sixties and many of the tensions down there, whether it be racial tensions or whatnot, was not something that you advertised. To this day my mom was like, she doesn’t like me telling people, however I have sisters who are literally practicing in Orthodox and Judaism in different states. And so, it gave me a good cultural blend of seeing Mormonism, a little bit of Christianity, as well as a world of Judaism that I was taught by my father and somewhat of his father. And then when I was in my twenties, I felt a very strong need to return to that understanding. Because the very things I saw in the Book of Mormon that converted me, were the very things I wanted to know more about. That’s when I’m going, okay, I need to go back to that. And that was when I did that, many things from the Book of Mormon began to open up.

Ken: Wow, now you’ve got a blog out. Tell us about your blog.

Robert: So, I do have a blog. It’s called mormonyeshiva.blogspot.com and so Yeshiva is like a school. So, I did get to attend one of those. I call it the yeshiva of Dad and Granddad who basically put you through the ringer and having to write endless papers. All the while you have to keep this quiet among people because it was very difficult in the southeast. It’s not very popular to let people know that, you know, you’re a Jew. And so, finally I mean, even when I joined the church, I was scared.

Ken: Has it been a challenge being in the church with that background?

Robert: Actually, the church has probably been the most welcoming place. It was a place where I felt a best of both worlds because I never felt at home in Orthodox Judaism and I never felt at home in Christianity.

Ken: How come, what was missing?

Robert: I wasn’t raised in the environment like my grandparents were, of observance to the extent of having separate kitchens, those kinds of things. We were raised to understand cusha? law, but cashroute? from a rabbinic perspective is very different than what you read from law of the Torah. So, that aspect of having that rabbinic tradition, I see it as being thankful not to be so immersed and exposed to it, but not living in it. That is a part. Even my nieces and nephews to this day who are in an Orthodox observant family, had that same struggle. It’s the cultural aspect can feel, especially to children, a little strangling, but at the same time, it’s also very rich. Now the Christian aspect. So, my mother’s mother was a Sephardic Jew. She married a Christian minister, which was normal in the south. Intermarriage was quite normal. And, so having that aspect of my grandfather teaching us about Christianity and about Christ, and I believed that because he also raised me for a part of my life. And so, having those two aspects, it was both a struggle in this, as a trying to determine who you were, where you fit in because you didn’t feel like you fitted in anywhere. And then at the same time as I grew older, I began to realize having exposure and those kinds of things was actually a gift, because I couldn’t tell the bishop in the ward. I was scared, and I was scared my father would find out. At the same time, I was scared my grandfather, my mother’s father would find out I joined the lds church or that I was the active there. And so, with them, it was difficult. But finally, as I got older and I really got into the church and went through some personal struggles, it was opened up to me was the fact of the church itself has a lot of good people. Every church does. But the lds church actually is more closely aligned. The people, the lds church, I think are more closely aligned and have more in common with families who are in a Jewish observant, Jewish home and Jewish practices than they realize.

Ken: Wow, that’s beautiful. Well, there’s a lot of things you’re going to be sharing that are more closely aligned than we realize. I’ve been so excited to see.  Now you’ve been approached, I mean, as you know in Book of Mormon, one of the things that I’ve been actually quite concerned about is this ongoing, I hate to say the word – battle between the Geography question, where did the Book of Mormon happen. What about the DNA question? And you’ve actually been approached by groups from both parties, the Mezzo guys, the Heartland guys and you’ve got a bit of a scholarly background, but you’ve chosen not to really go down there. If you could maybe talk about that a little bit if you don’t mind.

Robert: Sure. So, I’ve been approached, I’ve done a couple of conferences for the heartland model. I’ve been approached by some gentleman who are involved, I guess with the Mezzo model and I tend to stay away from that for taking a firm position either way. While I tend to believe…

Ken: We’re the same way, by the way. We don’t care if it happened in North America, South America, Central America, we know it happened.

Robert: Yes. And while I tend to believe, or it makes in some ways a little more sense for the North American, they also have some good arguments too. But to me, you’re living here for a 1000 years and migration didn’t take place one way or the other?

Ken: Yeah, that’s got to be the case.

Robert: Exactly. So, at the end the day I look at it and say, well, what is more important? Is it the actual location? It is important, yes. But what is more important is the covenant message in the Book of Mormon. That is what we need more because whether I live in the United States or Mexico or South America, we’re all interrelated somehow.

Ken: Beautiful. So, two advanced degrees, talk about some of your schooling, if you don’t mind.

Robert: Okay. So, well my first schooling, I basically got my MBA in business as any true Jew would. But then what I wanted to do a number of years ago was to, I really had always wanted to go back and study in depth Semitic cultures and specifically Jewish studies, which while I was able to do partially with Jerusalem University and the University of Chicago, a program that they had, which I was able to tag on to my masters. Having family who are observant Jews also enabled me to talk to many observant orthodox rabbis. And, what I enjoyed was being able to learn from the varying traditions. So, people often think there’s only one Jewish tradition, actually, there are many Jewish traditions. And each tradition has preserved its own uniqueness, whether you have a Jews out of Poland or Ukraine, those of who are more of your Ashkenazi nature, who preserved more of the Lurianic tradition of Isaac Luria, that came that direction. Very unique tradition. A lot of teachings that are very similar to those things we find in the Book of Mormon and that in Judaism attributes to ancient day. And there’s the Sephardic tradition and other traditions that feed into that as well. And then I have family who are what we call Mizrahi Jews, and they are from the middle east; Iran, Iraq, Pakistan. And I’ve recently, because of a death in the family, had an opportunity to go, and we all met in California and while I was there I spent a week there and I was able to spend time with family members who are from the Middle East and we were able to discuss their tradition. I learned things, and I have a nephew who is from Ethiopic background for example, even I mean, we always wonder about the full valet of the different traditions of what they preserve. But I was talking to them about some of the names in the Book of Mormon such as Moroni. Well, in this case they present, well we have a word called Maroni. It means the fire of the mountain or the heart of the fire. And they said it’s still a name that is preserved in their tradition now yet in the Ashkenazi tradition. And you don’t hear anything about that, or even the Sephardic Jewish and you don’t hear anything about that.

Ken: You’ve done a lot of research. I mean you’ve spent hours and hours and hours and years, but yet you’ve chosen not to really go down the path of the typical scholarly model.  Maybe talk about that, I mean they’ve got some constraints thereunder.

Robert: Well, I mean many of the…I have a lot of respect for the scholars and the professors and intellectuals. They also in my opinion, probably have some balancing acts that they have to walk. And so, I respect that they have to walk these things because they may be teaching at an institution, they may be trying to teach to a broader audience without getting too technical or too deep. Whereas by not going down that road and wanting to understand the uniqueness of each of the traditions, I have no desire to publish or perish. I had no desire to really spend time in the intellectual circles. Strangely enough, I love sharing these things. I find things in the scriptures that give me that I call that an Aha moment, that life that comes into you and you’re like, ah, I can see an eternal truth here. And then when I begin to see that, not only in the Book of Mormon, in the Torah and in other ancient, disciplines that are preserved by Judaism, I’m going, okay, if it’s here and if it’s here over, well then to find it with Joseph Smith, a person who is a non-Jew in a nonobservant culture in the 18 hundreds, shows me the hand of God.

Ken: That’s beautiful. Well, we’ve had a chance to interview so many wonderful scholars. We just, the other day we’re visiting with Joseph Spencer and we met with Ann Madson and Victor Ludlow, and it’s been just a wonderful thing to learn the different perceptions. There’s a lot of very different perceptions about the same thing, but you bring a new one. I know in the book of Mormon it talks about the ways and manners of the Jews are necessary to even understand what Nephi was thinking and particularly why he put in those Isaiah chapters. Our research is showing that’s one of the toughest obstacles for people to get through, are those Isaiah chapter. So, I think we’ve mentioned searchisaiah.org is our project and we’re really grateful you’ve been willing to join us and particularly everybody, what Robert’s willing to help us with in the near future. We’re going to start building some courses on how to learn and the way and manner of the Jews. Could you just give us a bit of an overview of what that even means?

Robert: Sure. So, we have to begin with the premise that Lehi and Nephi were Jews and that is probably the biggest misunderstanding. The term Jew, what does it mean? When we talk about a Jew, a lot of people believe that, okay, that means they’re just from the tribe of Judah. That’s actually not correct. By the time of Lehi, the northern kingdom had been gone for almost 200 years. The 10 tribes who were referred to as the 10 tribes were gone. But many of the residents of that northern kingdom fled to the southern kingdom for protection. So, you had a confederacy, a conglomerate of all these remaining remnants of these tribes in the southern kingdom. And they became collectively referred to as Jews. Okay, so like in my family, so I have a line that is Judah. I have a line that is also a [inaudible 00:15:53.21]line. So, if that’s the case, what am I? So, to a Jew, they’re going to say, well, you’re all Jews. You’re all from the southern kingdom, yet I’m not fully from Judah. And so, it’s one of those things that when you look at, that basic premise changes a lot, because if Lehi and Nephi are Jews and they’re working with the scriptures of the Jews, then they’re also learned in mannerisms and the pattern in which those scriptures are recorded. And there is a science and a discipline, a scribal sign and a discipline to the whole thing.

Ken: And you’ve been able to learn in the way of three or four different orders of the Jewish background.

Robert: Yes, and I have family members. If I have a question, some are in Israel, some are in California, some are in New York, I can call them up or text them and say, have you ever heard anything like this before? Tell me what you know about this. And what’s interesting is that you will see two different perspectives from two different traditions and yet they both have commonalities.

Ken: Wow. Now everybody, I hope if you haven’t already, that you’ll go out and you’ll take the Isaiah challenge. It takes about a minute and it asks you what level you’re at in terms of studying the scriptures. Level 1, now this is for our book of Isaiah, is you just skip it, you skip the Isaiah chapter, but that’s level 1. Level 2 is just skim it. Level 3 is you read it, 4 is study, 5 is search and 6 is search diligently, which is what Christ commanded us to do in 3rd Nephi and then level 7 is to feast upon it. Now I was so enthralled because when I saw you present, you talked about four basic levels of actually studying and it was just beautiful. We’ve had you give us a full presentation already on that, but can you just give us a quick summary of those 4.

Robert: Sure. So, there’s an acronym used in Judaism; Prds? And, the idea is…

Ken: Like, p a r…

Robert: P a r d e s. Okay, but they of course with the importance being on the continent.

Ken: The continent. So Prds?

Robert: Prds. So, [inaudible 00:18:14.29] is your literal level. So, here’s what I tell people, and this is, I understand the level one, literal, like you’re reading a book. So, if you’re going to read a book, obviously we do not speak the king’s English. And the Book of Mormon is drawing upon an older English that we’re not as familiar with. So, what I usually tell people to do, is don’t be afraid to look at a more modern translation while you read the Isaiah, so they can kind of give you an idea because we don’t have kerchiefs anymore. We don’t have these things.

Ken: We’re really stuck in that King James English as a latter-day saint culture, aren’t we?

Robert: We are. And there are good things about the King James, but because we don’t speak the King’s English or even Shakespearean English, what is helpful is to look at an alternate translation such as your English versions, your new living translations, and read them alongside. If you’re not reading for comprehension, it’s not going to do you much good.

Ken: So what level is comparative or side by side of those 4 levels?

Robert: So that would be your first shot level. So comparative, but right now to start with, I’m going to be reading at my literal level. So, if I need a literal translation to know historically what is going on, I need to understand the words that I’m reading. So, what I tend to do is, there are several things online, Esau, Blue Letter Bible, where you can pull up two screens together. You can read the King James version on one, you can read even the Hebrew on the other and you can read Standard Living Translation and you can go back and forth. Because translator bias plays a huge role, and their approach. So, to understand Isaiah, you want to at least understand who he is speaking to. So, it’s very literal. When you first literally read it,  take off your Christ’s glasses. Take your Christianese glasses off, and put your Torah glasses on and say, this was given at a time when both kingdoms existed, both northern and southern existed. This prophecy literally has something to do with them. So, let’s understand what its literal application was at that time. That’s your first literal level.

Ken: So, your level one is ‘P’ literal.

Robert: So, [inaudible 00:20:33.20], there is more of your allegorical meaning. This has to do with metaphors. It’s also a technique used in Judaism where I may refer to something, a part of a scripture and yet refer to the whole thing of the scripture, so for example, if I were to say something like, love God, and you were to say, yeah, that’s the greatest commandment. But if I were to say that toward a Jew, [inaudible 00:21:00.09] the Lord our God, The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength. So, the idea being, a prophet will often quote a portion of scripture and it occurs also in the Book of Mormon. They quote a portion referring you to back, it’s in their culture, it’s kind of understood, I say this word, oh, you know I’m referring to this and those are things that are in our culture that we kind of skip by

Ken:  And you mentioned earlier, it always goes back to the Torah.

Robert: It goes back to the Torah, That’s their baseline. So, if you have the baseline, you have the key to unlock it. Like for example, when they talk about praying in the name. Okay, we in our culture say, literally say this in the name of the Lord. That’s our literal thing, but in a Hebrew culture, when we pray in the name, we’re talking about in the manner of this person, so if I pray after a manner of a Rabbi, when the disciples said, teach us how to pray, and they teach us how to pray in the name. It’s not just praying, saying in the name of the Lord, it’s, I’m praying in the manner in which, or after what he would ask for. Ideally, the best way to define it would be, I’m praying to fulfill his commandments. So, whatever you ask in the name, whatever you ask to fulfill God’s commandments, he will give you. So, level 3 is drosh.  Drosh is using teachings or prophecies from sages in Israel that had been drawn upon to teach something in the present. So, in a sense Nephi is using this particular technique. These events that occurred in Isaiah already occurred once before. So now he’s taking specific portions and now he’s applying those teachings, those recorded prophecies to something that his people, his descendants will experience. And so now it’s understanding, okay, this is the pattern that occurred here.

Ken: That’s why Isaiah can be so challenging because all of his metaphors and types and shadows were all historical, but then he grabs them and has them be a symbol at counterpart to our day.

Robert: Exactly. So, like when I was redoing the Isaiah translation in the book of Mormon, I came across the idea of the hypocritical nation.

Ken: Wait, you’ve done an Isaiah translation of the Book of Mormon, a Hebrew translation?

Robert: A Hebrew roots translation of the Book of Mormon.

Ken: Tell us what that means. I’m jumping ahead, but this is cool.

Robert: Okay, so what I did was I… the Book of Mormon originally had no punctuation. It was the printers that added it. But if this is a truly Israelite book, it should be able to follow the scribal laws that can be applied without actually having the plates. And people say, but wasn’t it written in reformed Egyptian? And I said well, reformed Egyptian understand, still exist to this day. Even in Yemen, we have Egyptian demotic characters, but their Hebrew words are  written in Egyptian demotic. And it’s there. They’re even calling it in Israel, reformed Egyptian, yet they’re not Mormon. So, I suspect that the book of Mormon was something similar. There are even legends that the original Torah was written in Hebrew but was written in Egyptian with Hebrew words.

Ken: Wow. So, what you’re saying is, you stripped out the punctuation…

Robert: Stripped out the punctuation.

Ken: And put words and concepts back to their Hebrew origin?

Robert: Well, what I did is, I took it back. I took out all the punctuation first, then what I began to do is use some of the scribal laws to allow the text to speak for itself. So, for example, in Hebrew, many things are written in what we call block pictures or block logic. So, it paints a picture for you and the commencement of a new word picture is, and it came to pass. So, every seat where you see that, and it came to pass, is the commencement of a new thought or a drawing of the new picture.

Ken: And the existing structure doesn’t always align with that.

Robert: Exactly. Because I think when we look at the traditional Book of Mormon, it’s written, I think to follow the pattern of many Bibles to enable a person to search back and forth very easily. But sometimes, things are chopped where they should not be chopped up. Ideas and an entire picture are broken up where they should not, which should not have been broken.

Ken:  That aligns also with the chiasm contained within the [inaudible 00:25:36.13]

Robert: Yes, and I didn’t even do it for that reason. I was not looking for chiastic structures. It fell into place using those scribal laws. Now, like I said, not all could be used, but what was nice is, when I started look at word joiners, sometimes it was called [inaudible 00:25:48.00] that give me the natural breaks in the Hebrew. What was nice about it was that the parallelisms and the chiastic structures began to present themselves with very little… I did it just for the cost of printing and I literally did it just so that I could share it with other people because I wanted to see the book of Mormon for English speakers but placed into a format that was as close as an English speaker could get, because we don’t have the original…

Ken: Where do we get a copy of this if we want?

Robert: You can just go to Amazon for the cost of printing and it’s ‘Voices from the Dust.’ It was so large, I could not put it into one volume. It really was. So, 1st Nephi through the words of Mormon are one volume, then you have Mosiah and Alma are the second and largest volume, and then you have a healing him to the end as the third volume. So, three volumes, available right now on Amazon.  Like I said, and it’s only for the cost of printing. The reason I did it that way is I always look at it that I don’t want to charge for God’s word. I mean, Amazon may have to charge for it, but for the printing…

Ken: So, we’re at three levels; P, R, D. Tell us about the fourth level.

Robert: So, sod is the highest and the deepest level. Sod has to do with those things that are referred to the divine council. It has to do with the progression or ascension of man. Man returning to the presence of God and how the instructions of how and what to do that.

Ken: So, is this the mystery, the greater things?

Robert: Partly, these are the mysteries. How it’s expressed in Israel’s, no one can reveal to you the sod level. What they can give you, are the keys to unlock the sod level, but to truly understand the sod level of the scriptures, it must be experienced. Revelation. So, for example, Nephi can listen to his father’s rendition of his vision, but Nephi had a sod level experience when he experienced that vision.

Ken: Like what Joseph Smith said, where he said, you can get more by staring into heaven for five minutes than you can by reading every book ever written on [inaudible 00:28:09.11]. That’s what we’re talking about.

Robert: That’s exactly what we’re talking about. So, what is encapsulated in there is, imagine a book, whether it be Isaiah or the book of Mormon, written in truly a Jewish fashion, so easy that a child could understand it, but layered with the most sublime knowledge designed to elevate man here on Earth, designed to bring back those conditions that we read about in 3rd Nephi, when the Lord comes to his people. He’s teaching you how to create those conditions of holiness but written in a truly Jewish form in also a symbolic form so that a person reading and has no real sincere desire won’t be condemned, but for those who do have a sincere desire and seek, they’ll be filled.

Ken: Now, we’ve got Isaiah on the brain right now, we’re so immersed in Isaiah, but we particularly wanted to bring out the Isaiah chapters in the book of Mormon. And we’ve talked about Christ, himself and 2nd Nephi 23, commanded us to search diligently. That sounds like a lot what we’re talking about here. This is the level to find the real meanings he’s trying to give us, the real blessings. I don’t think there’s any other book of scripture where Christ, himself has commanded us to do that, is there?

Robert: Well, no, not that I know of, but I will tell you this, it’s also important to understand the nature of Isaiah. Isaiah in Judaism, and of course, this is up for debate by some Rabbis, but traditionally it has been part of what we call [inaudible 00:29:44.07] literature,  [inaudible 00:29:47.03], or the idea of literature that teaches a person how to enter into the presence of God. So, it’s written at all four layers at the same time. So, when people say it’s either this or this or this, and I go, yes, it’s all of them. And it’s done in such a manner that it’s like you really have to unlock it. But it’s also done so simply. So, imagine for example, you’re reading the book of Mormon, and you begin to read an Isaiah scripture. You understand that the very first thing that he’s doing is that Nephi is literally giving something here regarding instruction that he wants you to know. That’s the literal reading. So, you’re going to read the historical pattern and you’re going to get that there’s a pattern there. Then you’re going to realize, okay, what has been, shall be again. This cycle will repeat.

Ken: It’s that history versus our day.

Robert: Exactly. So, when cycles repeat, it won’t happen 100% the same way, but the pattern will repeat, and it will have a specific application to the person or persons who is to receive the record. So, in this case, these Isaiah chapters on the 2nd level are meant to teach a remnant of Jacob on this continent. A prophetic picture of what they will experience from their destruction, to their scattering, to their restoration as a nation. They were written to all of us. And each party’s role in that. But then on top of that, just like that, but wait, there’s more. But then on top of that, then you have in that those recorded writings of Isaiah, there are teachings from a drosh level that are borrowed from an even more ancient source. That comes with the searching, where does this source come from? What is he talking about? Is there a teaching from ancient Israel, more ancient than Isaiah, that we can draw from to help us understand that 3rd level? What is the principle that he’s trying also to communicate?

Ken: Well remind everybody, we bring up what we call Nephi’s journey, So, Lehi’s father has… this was about to be destroyed. Once the family get away, they go out in the wilderness just outside of Jerusalem. Come back three times, get the plates, go back, get the family of Ishmael. Then they go out into the wilderness.

Robert: A place of correction.

Ken: Okay, interesting. Eight years I’ve tried, it’s about a seven-month journey, it didn’t take eight years and he’s allowed to see the tree of life vision that his father saw and then an angel even comes and walks them through it. So, there’s like three walkthroughs in this tree of life journey here. And then he sees basically the same vision of John The revelator. But he said, “I was forbidden to say more.” So here he is, if what you’re saying is he’s trying to write for us, warn us, prepare us. He saw, but then he couldn’t tell us. And then all of a sudden everything stops with his narrative and he has to go build a ship or to make tools and sail to America…

Robert: Or what seems to be stopping. See, now this is where an understanding of ancient Hebrew science comes in.

Ken: So, there might be more to this, more levels of this.

Robert: So, a lot of times we read little statements, ‘and my father dwelled in a tent.’ Now we think, okay, Lehi, he’s camping, but the reality is, that is what we call an ancient marker. Anytime there is a temple teaching, you will be prefaced with,’ and my father dwelled in a tent.’ The michgan in the wilderness was a tented dwelling. Okay, my father dwelled in a tent, is referring me back to the Michgan in the wilderness. The Tabernacle in the wilderness. So, He’s given me a teaching on all those…

Ken: Brace yourselves, we’re going deep here.

Robert: Brace yourselves. Other words for those who have eyes to see, if he says, and my father dwelled in a tent, you know that there’s something right around that scripture he’s teaching you, that is to help you ascend to the promise land.

Ken: Some of the things you’ll guide us through in our little…

Robert: Sure, I can certainly share those things.

Ken: That would be beautiful. And then, so he’s wondering out there in the wilderness and all of a sudden, he gets to America, builds his ship, gets to America and the next thing he does is quote Isaiah. I mean, 1st Nephi, 20 and 21 is Isaiah 48 and 49. There must be something really important in there.

Robert: Well, and besides the very first three levels, then you miss the most important level, which is the sod. So, imagine he’s giving you a literal interpretation, he’s giving you a prophetic for-warning. He’s also teaching you key principals, but then, now comes the mystery of the heavenly. What knowledge is Isaiah, that particular portion of Isaiah, which is actually some of the most ancient teachings and important teachings that teach us how to connect with Heaven, that are encoded at that point. In other words, it’s not by happenstance. Their ancient knowledge encoded meant to both conceal as well as to reveal. If we understand that it’s meant to do that, not to trip anybody up, but so that a person out of mercy would not be condemned, who was insincere.

Ken: It’s almost like a parable.

Robert: Yes, imagine a parable while it has that other dimension. It also contains principles of, I know this sounds strange to us, principles of Math, principles of Geometry, principles for lack of a better word, I call a spiritual Science; that helps us in understanding if I were to restore people, what conditions would I want to be there. And those particular sections of Isaiah contain specific instructions that an Israelite, who is trained in that discipline would recognize.

Ken: Wow, that’s what you did, then you had the chance to grow up, trained in several disciplines in the manner and the ways of the Jews as it was your family culture. Will you take us through that culture? Will you help us as if we were your kids? I’m just excited. What a rare opportunity.

Robert: Well, I can certainly share, yeah, I’d be happy to share. The biggest things I look at is that these are things that have helped me. If they help someone, I think this is the biggest, like we’ve talked about it, about intellectualism that exist. There’s a difference between a person that’s in the publish or perish, and I understand that world as well. But the biggest part is I would rather share with you if you find value in it and it helps you, great. And if you don’t, you are always welcome to disregard. Strangely enough that even amongst some of the earliest teachings of the Jews at that same principle that the Book of Mormon reiterate has taught, it’s given to many to know the mysteries of God. Nevertheless, there laid under a strict command to impart only that portion. Now what is that portion? Well in the Israelite mind, and that was what was taught to me. It’s what you’re willing to receive. And if you’re willing, if any person is willing to receive, not to covet, but to bestow upon another, then more is given. So, if I’m here to receive from God, to bestow upon somebody else, then I receive more.

Ken: I see. So, if you give, you receive more. The more you give, the more you receive.

Robert: Yeah, and that’s the underlying principle behind loving God and loving your neighbor. I’m receiving from God to love you, therefore, I’m loving God because I’ve loved my neighbor.

Ken: A beautiful loop that continues to… Well, this is fascinating, so we’re going to invite Robert back. We’re going to roll up our sleeves, get more into a workshop style, and have him guide us through the ways and manners of the learning of the Jews of Israel. Is that okay?

Robert: Sure, sounds like a plan.

Ken: Thanks everybody for joining us today. Anything else you’d like to add, Robert? In fact, how about this? What’s the first thing we should do or start thinking just to get started, to prepare ourselves? I’m probably putting you on the spot, but where do we start?

Robert: I always tell people to start with simple words. Simple words such as faith and hope and charity. Don’t assume that you understand the meaning.

Ken: So, an open mind, I know all about an open mind.

Robert: What would a Jew’s definition of faith be? What would a Jew’s definition of hope be? I mean, Jews wrote the Book of Mormon. Maybe we should consider finding out what their definitions are.

Ken: So, the precepts or the thought processes we may have had, we might want to open them up and look again.

Robert: Just tweak them.  Mormonism has a lot of amazing gifts. It’s not about one over the other. It’s about bringing the two together and taking the richness from both worlds.

Ken: Adding more to what we already have.

Robert: Exactly.

Ken: Thank you for spending time with us today. We’re going to be back. Next time we get together, we’re going to roll up our sleeves and jump in and learn as best we can along the lines of what Robert spent his whole life doing.

Robert: It sounds great.

Ken: Thanks again.

Robert: Thank you, sir.

Ken: You bet

BYU’s 3D Jerusalem Tour How The Temple Helps Us Understand the Times of Isaiah

By
Darryl Alder
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Months ago I visited a Book of Mormon conference where I took a 3D tour of Herod’s temple. I walked upstairs to the Temple Mount and into the Court of the Gentiles, and then I found myself in the Court of the Women walking to the doors of the Court of the Priests. In this inner court was the laver (or what little remained of the Sea of Brass in Jewish tradition) and the Altar of Sacrifice. Up some additional steps, I was in the inner court with the table of shewbread, Menorah, and the altar of incense. Behind this was the Temple Veil. I nearly gasped as I crossed the threshold into the Holy of Holies.

While this Temple is not Solomon’s Temple as it was in Isaiah’s Day, it is at the same location and uses a similar footprint. Stepping out of the temple into the Antonio Fortress, I found what I was looking for as I scanned Jerusalem 360°: the Pool of Siloam at the far end of the old city.

Understanding the Times of Isaiah in 3D
Pool of Siloam

You may be wondering why was I looking for this pool. Well, it’s part of a lesson I am teaching this Sunday: Lesson 30: “Come to the House of the Lord” in the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Course. In this lesson, King Hezekiah refurbishes Solomon’s Temple and builds a water conduit under the city known as Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This tunnel empties into the Pool of Siloam and I wanted to know where it was in respect to the Temple and Pool of Bethesda. The ViritualScriptures.org app helped with that:

Bad King, Good King, Back to Bad King

By way of background, Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, was not a righteous king. He refused counsel from Isaiah (Isa. 7) and struck an alliance with the king of Assyria to resist the advance of Israel and Syria. He also fostered idolatry copying the Assyrian form of worship.

Hezekiah, on the other hand, took counsel from the prophet Isaiah, becoming both a political and religious reformer (2 Kgs. 18:1–21:3; 2 Chr. 29:1–33:3; Isa. 36–39). He did away with idolatry and reopened the temple with all its forms of worship and sacrifice.

With the assistance of Isaiah, his early reign was prosperous, for he was winning battles against the Philistines (2 Kgs. 18:8; 2 Chr. 28:18) on the East and refusing to pay tribute to Assyria (2 Kgs. 18:7) in the North.

Assyria subjugated Syria and Syria, then invaded Judah in 701 BC, taking every city except Jerusalem

However, soon afterward Assyria, who had invaded Syria and Israel, began an incursion into Judah. First, under Sargon, as mentioned in Isa. 10:24–32 (see also Isa. 20:1). Then under the leadership of Sennacherib (2 Kgs. 18:13–19:7), Assyria took one city after another until, in 701 BC, its war machine was at the gates of Jerusalem.

Hezekiah’s is a sophisticated engineering feat that zigzags 1770 feet through limestone rock, bringing the waters of Gihon spring inside the walls of Jerusalem to the pool of Siloam.

The terror of this advancing army prompted Hezekiah to construct an underground water conduit in preparation against the siege of Jerusalem. It was an engineering wonder: there were two teams working, one from each end, zigzagging through a third of a mile of limestone rock, and meeting in the middle.

The LDS Bible Dictionary records this “…dramatic account of the meeting of the workmen is told by an inscription carved in stone near the Siloam end of the tunnel. (when does quote end?) It reads:

‘The boring through is completed. Now this is the story of the boring through. While the workmen were still lifting pick to pick, each toward his neighbor, and while three cubits remained to be cut through, each heard the voice of the other who called his neighbor, since there was a crevice in the rock on the right side. And on the day of the boring through the stonecutters struck, each to meet his fellow, pick to pick, and there flowed the waters to the pool for a thousand and two hundred cubits, and a hundred cubits was the height of the rock above the heads of the stonecutters.’”

As God had promised, however, the tunnel was not needed. Isaiah prophesied that if King Hezekiah and those in Jerusalem trusted in God, he would defeat the Assyrian army for them. In 2 Kings 19, we read:

6 …Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

32 …Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.

34 For I will adefend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

In the night before the army was to attack, the enemy camped at Nob so close that they Assyrians shouted threats in Hebrew at those inside the walls. During the night the city was delivered leaving us with the most humorous verse in all the Old Testament”:

35 ¶ And it came to pass that night, that the aangel of the Lord went out, and bsmote in the camp of the cAssyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

It was not a happy ending for Sennacherib the king of Assyria who returned to Nineveh, defeated by God. Hezekiah lived another year before dying and passing the throne on to his wicked son Mannasseh (2 Kgs. 20:21–21:18; 23:12, 26; 24:3; 2 Chr. 32:33; 33:1–20, 23; Jer. 15) who killed Isaiah by sawing him “asunder” in the hollow of a cedar.

King Solomon’s Temple in 3D

Though the final version of King Solomon’s Temple is not complete, there are helpful introductory images in 3-D:

I also found the 3D images of the Tabernacle helpful, since Solomon’s temple was patterned it:

According to the LDS Bible Dictionary, Solomon’s temple was laid out similar to the tabernacle, but with dimensions twice that of the Tabernacle. King David had gathered the materials for construction (gold, silver, iron, copper, timber, and stone as we learn in 1 Chr. 22:14), but actual construction and credit of the accomplishing the work goes to his son, King Solomon.

Under Solomon’s rule, the kingdom of Israel enjoyed its most golden age. However, his sons split the kingdom which led to the decline of both Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Judah was responsible for the temple, but in less than 200 years and a dozen kings, the temple fell into disrepair and was seriously desecrated “by Athaliah (2 Chr. 24:7), Ahaz (29:5, 16), and above all, Manasseh (2 Kgs. 21:4–5, 7). It was cleansed by Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:16) and Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:4, 6, 12). Finally, it was burned to the ground and utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kgs. 25:9), all that was valuable in it being carried to Babylon (25:13, etc.).”1

Using 3D Apps for Personal Study

Along with the Church’s Study Helps, I found this new app useful in understanding the Temple and city layouts for my lesson this Sunday.

The ViritualScriptures.org download is available for your desktop and handheld devices. Using the interactive maps, you can zoom from a bird’s-eye view right into the buildings on the Temple Mount. It really helps you get a feel for things as they were in a 360° simulation; making it extremely fun, engaging, and educational for all ages.

Footnotes

1 LDS Bible Dictionary, Temple of Solomon

Search Hack 2 | FORBIDDEN chapter: Isaiah 53 | Search Hack 2

By
Skyler Hunter
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Challenge

Isaiah 53 is a monumental chapter of scripture often called “the forbidden chapter” among Jews. Throughout all of Isaiah the prophet prophesied of many things like destruction, freedom from bondage, and salvation.

Teach

Chapter 53 specifically is when Isaiah prophesies of Christ. It is left out of the Jewish Torah because of arguments and great confusion in the synagogue’s. This confusion can mean the difference of being a Jew or a Christian. Isaiah 53 is also well quoted by modern LDS apostles like Elder Holland – “Isaiah is by every standard the Messianic prophet of the Old Testament” – but Isaiah 53 is perhaps most famous for Handel’s Messiah, which, you all hear at Christmas.
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Isaiah is a confusing book because Isaiah speaks in a sort of code that makes it hard to tell who he’s referring to. To understand it, you should study it rather than just read it.
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The gospel library app for your phone and tablet has great study tools – let’s apply them to Isaiah 53. In this chapter Isaiah is referring to someone using the pronoun “he”. It is difficult to discern who “he” is until verses three and four that say “he is rejected of men a man of sorrows” and “he hath borne our griefs”. Then verse 5 says “he was wounded for our transgressions” and “with His stripes we are healed”.
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Now we can tell Isaiah’s referring to Christ and we can use the red highlight tool every time he refers to Christ (as red is the standard for Christ). Using the highlight tool to discern who Isaiah is referring to in different parts of the book is crucial to understanding his timeless message.

Challenge

We’ve just studied the most controversial chapter in Isaiah. Some faiths refer to Isaiah as the fifth gospel after Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Why do you think that is? You decide.
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Isaiah Reveals Ways to Remember Christ for Easter in Mosiah 14 and Isaiah 53Isaiah Reveals Ways to Remember Christ for Easter in Mosiah 14 and Isaiah 53

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Victor Ludlow, Author of “Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet” Part 1 (of 3)

By
Search Isaiah
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Ken: Hello everyone, this is Ken Krogue from SearchIsaiah.org. We have Victor Ludlow here with us today. We want to take some time with several different episodes that we’re going to spend with Victor.

Victor, you were one of the very first scholars in the LDS Church to focus on Isaiah; you were one of the first teachers at BYU that taught Isaiah. Tell us about your background and how you even got involved with talking about Isaiah?

Victor: I did my undergraduate studies at BYU in history minoring in Hebrew. Then did my graduate studies at Harvard and Brandeis Universities in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. All with the idea of coming back to BYU to help develop a Near Eastern Studies program and have some good experiences so I could teach the standard works especially the ancient scriptures.

I was asked to primarily teach Old Testament with some  Book of Mormon as well. Just a couple of years in I was teaching a graduate seminar for a master’s program. We had four seminary teachers and Institute teachers. It was called “Prophets of the Old Testament,” so it was the prophetic books of the Old Testament. It was just a one-semester class.

As we would meet for the first time and talk about what a challenge it would be even just to handle those books of the Old Testament in a one semester. Of course, what were they most interested in, and it was apparent that they wanted to spend more and more time proportionate to all the Old Testament prophetic books on Isaiah specifically. We would spend well over half the class on Isaiah, and the other got to spend less time on; they wanted more time on Isaiah. Well, I think they just sensed teaching, whether the Book of  Mormon. The Old Testament, or even the New Testament, that Isaiah was an important  Old Testament prophet.

This carried over into the other scriptures. So if they were going to study the prophets of the Old Testament, the one for most that had teachings and gospel insights would probably be Isaiah.

At any rate, we had undergraduate students that wanted to take it, and I’d petition the Dean they said no this is just for you to teach the graduate students. So a semester or so later I came back to the Dean again is it possible that we could have a separate class on the prophets of the Old Testament or just on Isaiah for undergraduate students. A one-hour class so with only meet 15 hours during the semester.

That was in the mid-1970s. We offered it as a special topics class: the writings of Isaiah. It soon became so popular we needed to add a second section and everything else. It was just that popular that eventually it was developed into a two-hour class with many sections.

I would teach it but other faculty members, some of whom you’ve had here on some of your series,  started teaching sections of it as well. Then it began to spread out into various Institutes around the Church.

Once I was invited to be a guest professor at BYU-Hawaii because they wanted me to come and mainly teach that class so that their students and faculty there could be exposed to a better understanding of Isaiah. So they could offer it for their students there in the future.

It’s just developed over the ages, and then it led to other projects. I received the commissioner’s research fellowship when Jeffrey R. Holland was the church commissioner. They wanted me to write some resource material on Isaiah for the church office building for their curriculum writers and for any of the Brethren that wanted to use it.  That became the book Isaiah Prophet, Seer, and Poet.  Later that was cleared to be used at the Institutes and all throughout the church.

Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet

Ken: Let’s talk about that book. Isaiah: Prophet, Seer and Poet.  You wouldn’t think those three topics would go together; everyone knows about prophet and seer, …but poet?

Victor: Well yes, like you say obviously he was a prophet. One who taught and warned and testified. That’s what a prophet does.

He was a magnificent seer not only in the key events and issues of his time but of the Savior’s first coming and of those times leading up to his second coming.

But the means by which he wrote was in poetry. Primarily very little prose. Almost all of his book, nearly all of the 66 chapters, are in poetry. That’s how he presented his material, the format. Partially because the ancients were primarily an oral learning society.

Ken: I see. How did the poetry fit in?

Victor: Well think of words, say like in LDS hymns. You may not have a hymn book, but if you’re in a setting where they want to sing a hymn, you can sing along because you know the hymns;  they are in poetry; they are in music. So you’ve had the repetitions, and you can recall them.

That’s how they learned. They rarely would have written copies of the prophetic words. They certainly didn’t have internet or anything like that to look it up. They had to carry it around up here (pointing to head). It came primarily through the ears not through the eyes as they heard it.

Ken: How did how did the King James translators do with making sure the poetry survived in the translation?

Victor: Well for one the King James translation itself, little over four hundred years ago was prepared primarily to be read from the pulpit. Not read in the home because most the people were illiterate. So that’s why it has such a beautiful cadence and a rhythm. So it could be read, but it wasn’t a poetic style that has to do with sounds.

When we usually think of poetry, we think of the rhyme, stressed and unstressed, and meter, and all of these elements. It was called semantic parallelism. The semantics of something has to do with the meaning of something. It is not the sound, but it’s the idea’s message, the sense.

Now a good translator, if they are translating from one language to another, they are not concerned about how many syllables there are and whether they rhyme or not. They want the message to get across.

Any translation, not just the King James scholars, but any modern English translation or other foreign language translations like German, French or Spanish, they try to get those messages across. Then once you know about these patterns of this semantic parallelism, they’ll jump out at the page, and you’ll recognize it, whatever language you’re reading it in.

Synonymous parallelism occurs when a theme in the first line repeats itself in the second line but in slightly different words. For example:

(a) he was wounded for our transgressions,
(a’) he was bruised for our iniquities (Mosiah 14:5/Isaiah 53:5).

Here’s another:
(b) for my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and
(b’) for my praise will I refrain from [cutting] thee . . . off (1 Nephi 20:9/Isaiah 48:9).1

Ken: I just read Unlocking Isaiah. You went into some depth about the different kinds of parallelism that occurs within Isaiah.  I had no idea I was lucky to understand the phrase parallelism. Then you gave me five or six variations on that. Can you just give us a quick overview of the different, not too in-depth, but kinds of parallelism?

Hebrew Parallelism: Synonymous 

Victor: Well, it is usually in couplets.  There are different ways these couplets connect with each other. They may be two different ways of saying the same message, like two different words that can be synonymous, like car and automobile. There are two different words but they mean the same thing.

Antithetic parallelism results when a thought in the second part of a couplet contrasts with a theme in the first. For example:

(a) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
(b) Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit (2 Nephi 24:14–15/Isaiah 14:14–15).

Here’s another:
(a) Say unto the righteous that it is well with them; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
(b) Wo unto the wicked, for they shall perish; for the reward of their hands shall be upon them! (2 Nephi 13:10–11/Isaiah 3:10–11).

Here’s a noted example found in Isaiah but not in the Book of Mormon:
(a) If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the earth:
(b) but if you refuse and disobey, you will be devoured by the sword (Isaiah 1:19–20).2

Well, with these parallelisms there is usually a phrase or a verse or part of a verse and then it’s repeated again. If it’s the same message twice that would be a synonymous parallelism.

Hebrew Parallelism: Antithetic

On the other hand, when they contrast with each other, like in the book of Proverbs there’s a lot of antithetic parallelisms.

Like an antonym; opposite good and evil, happy and sad, the good man does this, the fool does that.

So two parallel ideas but contrasting with each other would be an antithetic parallelism.

Emblematic parallelism is when the ideas or concepts from two halves of one line or from two different lines are compared by means of a simile or metaphor. For example (with emblematic parallels shown in italics and comparative prepositions in bold):

(a – a’) All we, like sheep, have gone astray (Mosiah 14:6/Isaiah 53:6).

Another example:
(a – a’) Then had thy peace been as a river,
(a – a’) and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea (1 Nephi 20:18/Isaiah 48:18).3

Hebrew Parallelism: Emblematic

Another favorite common type is called emblematic parallelism. This is where one presents a symbol, then that symbol, the emblem, carries over into the other line. So then it’s usually joined with an English word like “thus and thus” is like this and that or “as” such and such is as thus and thus this and that.

Ken: So when you learn these tools you can start seeing what Isaiah was trying to share with us in the meaning.

Victor: Right, sometimes the meaning comes into focus if you hear it, and you hear it again.  The little more complicated types, they might have five or six types of parallelism.

A classic example from the New Testament, because it’s not just in the Old Testament, but through other writers of the Old Testament, you take the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount of the Savior: Blessed, blessed, blessed, they’re  beatitudes, so he’s trying to get a message across when he does it with eight different steps of… the world does this, but you have heard this, but if you do this…sort of thing, and that shows up later in the Sermon on the Mount as well, so it’s these parallelisms. By the time you put them together where it’s just two of them or a few of them or maybe a half a dozen or more of them…oh, okay, I think it’s finally starting to sink in.

Ken:  So, it takes a little bit more work than just reading it like a novel, doesn’t it?

Victor:  That’s right. Although it helps, like in some of the more modern English translations, if the poetry is printed in a poetic style. So, you see this stanza, this stanza, then you can immediately see, oh these belong together, and these belong together and then you can jump into it and try to tag what the message is.

Ken:  So, you can get copies of Isaiah that are written in more of a poetic format than they might find in the King James?

Victor: Yeah, because King James is just printed like it’s all prose.

Ken:  I see. Any come to mind that are your favorites? In fact, I understand you were pretty tied to the original Luther Bible having served a mission in Germany?

Victor:  I loved it. Luther did a marvelous job. Joseph Smith was very impressed with that translation. He was aware of it, he thought it was the best available at the time.

There were some excellent English ones. The New International version, there’s even a new King James version, there’s a number of them that any of them help because you don’t read them to replace the King James, but to compliment.

It’s kind of like having two eyes. We’ve got one neck, one chin, one mouth, one nose, but two eyes, and we don’t need them to see shape, we don’t need them to see color, but they give us depth perception.  Even though the eyes are fairly close together, they see things from two slightly different perspectives and it gives us depth perception. So, two similar, but different English versions of a particular verse, we see it from two different perspectives.

Ken:  So, there’s the surface reading where you just read it and then a comparative reading where you start comparing different versions, different expressions. So, there are many levels in Isaiah isn’t there? And, I remember, Nephi himself said he was taught in the way in the learning of the Jews.

The Manner of the Jews

Victor:  The manner of the Jews.

Ken:  Can you talk a little bit about that? What does that mean?

Victor:  Well, it would help to know Hebrew, but Leman and Lemuel knew Hebrew, but they didn’t understand.  It’s to appreciate that when a prophet is speaking as inspired through the spirit from the divine, that there are some key messages that are delivered. But those messages have to be filtered through our own perspective, background, learning experience, righteousness, sensitivity and so forth.

Now, Isaiah met a challenging audience of his time, of some great noble fellow prophets like Micah, King Josiah, and others. And yet there were bitter enemies of righteousness, even among the Jewish community.

Similarly, Jesus, when he’s teaching has great diversified types of people that he’s trying to communicate, not just in age and education, but spiritual and religious background. So, they each faced similar challenges, but they used two different ways of approaching that.

Jesus taught in parables. Simple. You can quickly and easily identify a moral lesson to the parable, but you have to stretch a little bit to see, well. Is there also a higher spiritual lesson in this particular parable and what might it be so that we’re not out in left field when the parable really should have us on a soccer field? So, he started with the simple parables, challenges us to build and search.

Likewise, Isaiah facing a similar challenge in complex audience, he spoke deliberately at this higher, sophisticated, poetic level. And so, we have to search and study and evaluate, and then we gradually begin to understand. But as we understand it, then we begin to appreciate the powerful message that is there.

Ken:  So, Lehi saw Jerusalem in flames and being destroyed. And he sent his family back to get the plates. They had to go back three times. They went back again for the family of Ishmael. Then they went out into the wilderness, eight years. And I’ve looked on Google maps. So that wasn’t an eight-year journey. I’m a slow walker, but we could have done it in half a year.

There were some things out there in that wilderness period of time that Nephi was learning.  He saw the vision of the Tree of Life that his father saw. An angel taught him about it. He saw visions of our day. He saw John the Revelator and, or rather his vision.

But yet in first Nephi 14, he was forbidden to tell us and then we don’t hear a lot more of the things he saw. Then he builds a ship, sails over here, and then all of a sudden, he inserts Isaiah. It’s like out of nowhere. Two full chapters. And then we have a little bit more commentary and then a big chunk of 2nd Nephi between Jacob and Nephi, is back to inserting Isaiah.

You know, just last week, President Oaks was quoting Christ where he said, we’re commanded to search diligently. It’s hard. Why was Isaiah inserted? Why’s it so important to our day, but so hard to read?  Was Nephi trying to tell us something?

Victor:  Well, he introduces it and then tells us different ways and reasons why Isaiah is important, and the Savior commands us to search Isaiah.

Isaiah again was a seer, a marvelous seer, not only of the early house of Israelite history of his own time but the key events of the Savior’s ministry as he came on earth. And then some of these key events of his second coming that are highlighted also in Isaiah, and important events leading up to that second coming.

In fact, in the scriptures, there are more prophecies about events leading up to the second coming, very few leading into, seeing into the second coming and that thousand years. We really aren’t quite sure what it’s really going to be like, but we get all these prophecies, from John and Isaiah and other Old Testament, New Testament prophets, even Joseph Smith, about these events leading up to the second coming.

Isaiah is one of the key ones that gives us those key events and issues and challenges leading up to the second coming so that we can better understand him, understand them, as we live in those time periods. But also maybe begin to appreciate how these things connect and although there may be some great times, there was also some dreadful times, but they’re part of the same seeing, leading up to the second coming.

Ken:  You’ve spent a big portion of your life studying and teaching Isaiah.  What has Isaiah and his writings meant to you?

Victor:  That’s a good question.  I see a man, although, we don’t know much about his personal family background, obviously well educated, a master of the Hebrew language. I mean he is to Hebrew, like Shakespeare is to English, like Goethe is to German. I mean a genius of composition and expression. It’s just very unique. But more than that, he has this keen visual insight starting with his very own calling, recorded in chapter six or chapter 16 in 2nd Nephi where he’s told to be difficult. Even deliberately difficult in his expression.

Ken:  Wow, and he did it.

Victor:  Oh, he’s done a good job. He’s done it. But, so that people can read it and they know the words. But you string them together and try to connect them and get the message out of it, that’s not so easy.  But that pondering is rewarded according to our diligent, intellectual and spiritual efforts in understanding.

Ken:  So, we have to pay the price.

Victor:  You have to put in the intellectual and spiritual energy to get the message out. And then with that, then it becomes easier and easier to understand because you recognize his patterns. You build upon this and that, and that leads to this and that, and all of a sudden, he’s not intimidating. Challenging still, yes, but he shouldn’t intimidate.

Ken:  Oh, wonderful. Well this great book, Isaiah: Prophet, Seer and Poet… well both are great books, that book is on it’s like 15th printing?

Victor:  Oh, no it’s way past that.

Ken:  People didn’t think it was going to do as well as it’s done?

Victor:  Not initially, no.  But I mean, now you can, even if they don’t have it in stock, say at a Deseret book outlet or whatever, you can order it and every couple of weeks they electronically print more copies. Copies on demand: they’ll print it, bind it, ship it to you and, within two weeks.

But any rate. No, they questioned it when I had the Commissioners Research Fellowship and I had written an 1100-page manuscript during that year that they wanted to publish the material. Not all of it, but one of the editors went through the whole 1100 pages.

I reviewed them with him, and we sat down for a few days together. The two of us with our copy side by side, and it was amazing how often we agreed, well this part here, these three pages, we could condense it down to just this material here. Then we can skip this and do this and so that we would still retain, say 85 percent of the essential insights. But not have as many illustrations or examples, and just concentrate it.

Originally, they were planning to do 2000 copies, which for the time was very satisfying. But it was going to be the most expensive book they had printed up to then because I had alternate English translations for each chapter of Isaiah as a part of it. That way they could read the King James and be exposed to some of these other English translations.

And so, they thought, oh, we’ve got to do at least 3000 copies or we’re not going to make any money. And of course, they have to make money because they’re not subsidized by tithing or anything else. But they got a ridiculously cheap offer to print by a new printing press down in the south that had these big new printing presses and all these rolls of paper without much business. And so, they were quoting a ridiculously low per volume pricing. But you had to do, like in their case, at least 5,000 copies. But they realized the price per unit was so small, even if they only sold 3000, they’d still make money.  If they sold all 5000 then they really…well they sold 5,000 copies in about five weeks.

Ken:  Oh, my heavens. Wow. They went to town.

Victor:  And so, it hasn’t sold of course, that well since then, but especially every four years as we study Isaiah in the Old Testament, we have a revived interest and then intervene in every other year in between as we get a third of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.

That’s when we again get that feeling that, okay, maybe I better try to tackle it this time. You know, the word Isaiah, just to hear it, it’s kind of like hearing words like dentists, taxes, IRS. I know. I know, but oh, that hurts thinking about it, but again, it doesn’t need to be intimidating.

Ken:  Well thanks everybody. In our next episode with Victor, we’re going to talk about how to get ready. We’re coming into the Sunday school season again where Isaiah is about to be taught. So that’s our next episode. Join us. We’ll talk to you again soon.

Footnotes

1–3 Victor Ludlow, Unlocking Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book

Top 20 Books on Isaiah: LDS Authors-Paperback

By
Isaiah Labs
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The Top 20 Books On Isaiah - Isaiah Labs on SearchIsaiah.org for July 2018
The first 10 of the Top 20 Books On Isaiah - Isaiah Labs on SearchIsaiah.org for July 2018

The team at Isaiah Labs recently introduce our latest research project, Top 15 Books on Isaiah on Kindle. Now we introduce the Top 20 Books on Isaiah in Paperback (or Hardback, do people still buy hardback books?)

The LDS authors who wrote the ‘Top 20 Books on Isaiah’ are listed below. We checked out Amazon, Deseret Book, and Barnes And Noble, and sad to say, Amazon is the only site that publishes their sales rankings. So thanks Amazon for these rankings!

The ‘Top 20 Books on Isaiah’ as of July 12, 2018:

Rank-Pprbck BooksAuthorStars# ReviewsBook Rank
1Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 1David J. Ridges4.944236,842
2Isaiah Made Easier - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsIsaiah Made EasierDavid Ridges4.84499,246
3The Old Testament Made Easier Part 3David J. Ridges4.741190,630
4Verse by Verse, Old Testament: Volume TwoD. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner4.517376,748
5Making Isaiah Plain- Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah Labs Making Isaiah PlainRandal Chase4.54465,571
6Understanding Isaiah - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsUnderstanding IsaiahJay Parry, Donald Parry4.639497,194
7Isaiah Decoded - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsIsaiah DecodedAvraham Gileadi4.571498,963
8Isaiah For Airheads - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsIsaiah For AirheadsJohn Bytheway4.647561,061
9Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsApocalyptic Commentary of the Book of IsaiahAvraham Gileadi4.912727,662
10Book of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from the Book of Mormon - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsBook of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from the Book of MormonAvraham Gileadi4.521769,877
11Verse by Verse: The Book of Mormon: Volume One: 1 Nephi through Alma 29D. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner4.529844,715
12The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi's Record - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsThe Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi's RecordJoseph Spencer4.312856,017
13Studies in the Book of MormonAvraham Gileadi4.720879,591
14Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsIsaiah Speaks to Modern TimesCleon Skousen4.517915,238
15Unlocking Isaiah in the Book of Mormon - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsUnlocking Isaiah in the Book of MormonVictor Ludlow4.46935,779
16Windows on the Prophecy of Isaiah - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsWindows on the Prophecy of IsaiahAvraham Gileadi4.55977,889
17Isaiah: Prophet, Seer and Poet - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsIsaiah: Prophet, Seer and PoetVictor Ludlow521,003,241
18Making Sense of Isaiah - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsMaking Sense of IsaiahTerry Ball and Nathan Winn4.491,019,266
19Book of Mormon Made Easier Parts 1, 2, and 3David J. Ridges541,099,875
20The Literary Message of Isaiah - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsThe Literary Message of IsaiahAvraham Gileadi4.781,527,243
xxVisualizing Isaiah - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsVisualizing IsaiahDonald Parry1,644,976
xxThe Book of Isaiah Analytical Translation with Comprehensive Concordance - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsThe Book of Isaiah Analytical Translation with Comprehensive ConcordanceAvraham Gileadi531,693,156
xxThe End from the Beginning: The Apocalyptic Vision of Isaiah with Isaiah Translation - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsThe End from the Beginning: The Apocalyptic Vision of Isaiah with Isaiah TranslationAvraham Gileadi4.3161,961,251
xxIsaiah for Today - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsIsaiah for TodayMark E Petersen522,215,045
xxIsaiah, Plain and Simple: The Message of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon- Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsIsaiah, Plain and Simple: The Message of Isaiah in the Book of MormonHoyt Brewster, Jr.532,297,955
xxUnlocking Isaiah - Top 20 Books on Isaiah Paperback - Isaiah LabsUnlocking IsaiahReg Christensen4.662,567,350
  1. The top author for books in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah is David Ridges with “Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 1.”
  2. Our newest author in the ranking is Joseph Spencer (released on Oct 18, 2016, called “The Vision of All: Twenty Five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi’s Record“.)
  3. The author with the most books (6) in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah is Avraham Gileadi with “Isaiah Decoded“, “Book of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from the Book of Mormon“, “The End from the Beginning: The Apocalyptic Vision of Isaiah with Isaiah Translation“, “Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah“, “Windows on the Prophecy of Isaiah“, “The Literary Message of Isaiah.”
  4. The author with the most reviews (422) is David Ridges with “Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 1.”
  5. The four authors of books in The Top 20 Books on Isaiah tied with the most stars (5.0) are Hoyt Brewster with “Isaiah, Plain and Simple: The Message of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon“, ” Victor Ludlow with “Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet“, “Isaiah for Today” by Elder Mark E. Peterson, and “The Book of Isaiah Analytical Translation with Comprehensive Concordance” by Avraham Gileadi.

8 Ways to Increase My Favorite Book on the ‘Top 20 Books on Isaiah’

  1. Do a thoughtful review of a book you purchase through Amazon.
  2. A good idea is to write your review and save it in Microsoft Word and you can then use that same review on other sites.
  3. Review and comment on other reviews on books about Isaiah (so the whole category grows.)
  4. Share your favorite book through social media.
  5. Tell others about your favorite book.
  6. Share your favorite author through social media
  7. Tell others about your favorite author.
  8. Ask Deseret Book, Cedar Fort, the Hebraeus Foundation, and other publishers to make their purchase data available so we can publish it along with Amazon!

How ‘Top 20 Books on Isaiah’ Rankings have Changed

Rankings have changed quite a bit over the last six months since January of 2018. Here are a few examples:

  1. “Isaiah Made Easier” by David Ridges rose from its #5 slot at 200,893 to #1 at 215,829 (but the entire category fell in overall purchase ranking on Amazon, hence the lower Amazon ranking.)
  2. “Isaiah For Airheads” by John Bytheway rose from #6 at 205,847 to #2 at 265,876.
  3. “Isaiah Decoded” by Avraham Gileadi fell from its #1 slot at a ranking of 101,909 to #3 at 269,439.
  4. “The End from the Beginning: The Apocalyptic Vision of Isaiah with Isaiah Translation” by Avraham Gileadi fell from its #2 slot at a ranking of 157,304 to #5 with 688,508.
  5. “Understanding Isaiah” by Jay and Don Parry fell from its #3 slot at 170,775 to #9 at 759,370.
  6. The average ranking of the Top 20 Books on Isaiah fell from 588,004 to 879,855 in the last six months. Come on everyone, start reading (and reviewing!)

‘Top 20 Books on Isaiah’ Other Interesting Facts

  1. Deseret Book is tied with Hebraeus Foundation is the top publishers in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah (each has 7.)
  2. Cedar Fort has the top-ranked book in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah with “Isaiah Made Easier” by David Ridges.
  3. The oldest book in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah is “Understanding Isaiah” by Jay and Don Parry having been published in 1998.
  4. The most expensive Paperback Book still selling well in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah is “Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah” by Avraham Gileadi.
  5. The least expensive Paperback Book selling well in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah is “Isaiah Made Easier” by David Ridges for $14.46, (which is also the top-ranked book on Isaiah this month… a connection perhaps?)
  6. Honorable Mention includes “Great Are the Words of Isaiah” by Monte Nyman at 1,598,501, and “Commentaries on Isaiah in the Book of Mormon” by Douglas Bassett at 4,384,256.
The Top 20 Books On Isaiah - Isaiah Labs on SearchIsaiah.org for July 2018
The first 10 of the Top 20 Books On Isaiah – Isaiah Labs on SearchIsaiah.org for July 2018

How ‘Top 20 Books on Isaiah’ Works

Amazon publishes a really cool section about every book it sells called ‘Product details.’ Here are the Product details on The Book of Mormon Made Easier, Parts 1, 2, and 3 by David Ridges, (David is our reigning champion with books that focus on Isaiah, though we didn’t include it here in the Top 20 Books on Isaiah, because it isn’t specifically just about Isaiah. Don’t worry, we have entire other lists coming that includes Non-LDS, Book of Mormon, and Old Testament Commentaries that include Isaiah.):

Product details

The bundle package with Book of Mormon Made Easier Parts 1, 2, and 3 is the best deal on all three best selling books by David Ridges. Here is the listing of The Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 1, which is the single bestselling book which talks about Isaiah (the similar parts in the Book of Mormon.)

Is Joseph THE Smith in Isaiah?

By
Search Isaiah
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Is Joseph THE Smith in Isaiah?

In Gerald N. Lund’s Ensign article, “A Prophet for the Fulness of Times,” he states that Joseph Smith was “the founder of the Lord’s kingdom in preparation for the Second Coming. He was what no other prophet could have been—an Elias, or forerunner, opening the dispensation that culminates the history of the world prior to the Lord’s triumphal reign on earth.”

Elder Lund focused on three areas of the Prophet Joseph’s contributions:  Joseph Smith

  1. A Conduit for Scripture
  2. Pioneer of Work for the Dead
  3. Harbinger of the Second Coming

As a “conduit for scripture” Joseph was responsible for producing 900 pages of scripture.  Elder Lund notes that “before Joseph Smith, the world had only the 1,590 pages of the Bible; through this one man, the Lord increased our scriptural library by more than half.”

In this 1997 article (so numbers have increased since then) Elder Lund concludes that “if we could count every living member since Joseph Smith organized the Church, the total would probably be in the range of 20 or 25 million.”  Yet, “to fully appreciate the number of people who have received saving ordinances during Joseph Smith’s dispensation, …we must consider those who have received ordinances vicariously through the great work for the dead.” Since 1840 (when Joseph received these revelations), “many million temple ordinances have been performed in behalf of the dead. Judging by the magnitude of temple work in this dispensation, Joseph Smith has indeed been Heavenly Father’s greatest mortal instrument for restoring the means to save His children through Jesus Christ (see D&C 135:3).”

“By establishing the Church, Joseph Smith laid the groundwork for the Savior’s return to earth. Restoring the truth of God, translating the Book of Mormon, receiving priesthood keys and ordinances, organizing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sending missionaries to proclaim the gospel worldwide, building temples and starting work for the dead, sealing his testimony with his blood—all these efforts were necessary to prepare Jesus Christ’s people for the state of affairs that will be ushered in at his coming.”

“Joseph Smith said; ‘no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done’ (History of the Church, 4:540).

“Speaking through Isaiah in a passage that was later quoted by the Savior to the Nephites, the Lord said, ‘Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work’ (Isa. 54:16; 3 Ne. 22:16).”

Elder Gerald N. Lund deduced that “Joseph was surely the smith who forged the instrument by which the Lord’s people continue to prepare individually and collectively for the Savior’s return—and that instrument is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”  Do you agree? Is Joseph the smith?

To read more of the article go to:  https://www.lds.org/ensign/1997/01/a-prophet-for-the-fulness-of-times?lang=eng

Search Hack 1 | Christ Commands Us to Search Isaiah in 3 Nephi 23:1

By
Skyler Hunter
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Hack the book of Isaiah with all-new Search Hack series! 1-2 minute videos that hack into controversial scripture topics, and teach study tools. In this first one, Christ tells us to search Isaiah in 3 Nephi 23:1 of the Book of Mormon. In this verse, Christ is visiting the Americas after his resurrection. He says “And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah. For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles.” (2 Nephi 23:1-2). Watch this first Search Hack to learn more about the importance of Isaiah.

Challenge

The book of Isaiah in the Old Testament is purposefully difficult to read because of the many powerful truths and prophecies it contains. But that’s exactly why we are commanded to search it.

Teach

In 3 Nephi 23:1 the resurrected Christ is visiting the Nephites in the Americas. He says “a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.” Isaiah is the only scripture Christ himself tells us to search.

And Jesus wasn’t the only one. Nephi, Jacob, and Abinadi collectively quote 19 full chapters of Isaiah, plus other select passages. You can download the study bookmark pdf in the description that shows where these sections of the Book of Mormon are. Then, in your library app, use the tag tool and write Isaiah in the tag, then make the tag brown, to denote the passage is quoting Isaiah—whether it’s a full chapter or verse.

Isaiah was also quoted up to 70 times in the new testament and 5 times in April 2018 general conference.

The last First Presidency Christmas Message  quotes “or unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Read more at mormonlite.org

Think

As you study Isaiah, ask yourself, how can we apply Isaiah to things happening in our day?

YOU DECIDE

Don't miss the next Search Hack!

Don't miss the next Search Hack!

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How can we keep Christ’s commandment and study Isaiah? Here are some 10 Ways to Boost Your Study of Isaiah

This Search Hack mentioned a helpful pdf. Download the free Study Bookmark here:

Isaiah in the Book of Mormon Bookmark and Cheatsheet

“But the Word of our God shall stand for ever” Isaiah 40:8

By
Gregorio Billikopf
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I was in love with Isaiah 40:8, as the sweet words would ring through my mind, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Until one day, I came to know exactly why I loved this verse so very much. Let us take this journey together, beginning with Isaiah 40:3 (although we could also profitably consider Isaiah 40:1-2, as well as Isaiah 40:9). It is my hope that the Spirit will whisper to you what it has whispered to me.

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3

Painting of Ibn Ezra
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages

Ibn Ezra says: “These words are addressed to all nations.” The voice that cries in the wilderness is also one that invites all to come unto Christ—“whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38) for “Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound” (D&C 88:66).

These verses continue to clarify that if we are faithful, we shall see God: “And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:67–68).

This verse lays out the first hint regarding the coming verses which all of Christendom loves but often does not understand, which culminates in verse eight. We hear a voice crying in the wilderness; it is the voice of John the Baptist. He was sent as an Elias to prepare the way of the Lord in the meridian of time. And then in the latter-day, through the restoration of the Priesthood, he helped lay out the way for the Second Coming.

What is John the Baptist and the Prophet Joseph Smith proclaiming in their role as Elias? That the time has come! That the Savior is about to make His presence known! The light would shine in darkness yet the darkness would not comprehend it (John 1:5). In contrast, in the latter-day, the whole world would see the glory of the Lord and comprehend it together.

This verse is frequently and correctly quoted as an allusion to the Lord’s first coming. In the meridian of time John the Baptist was asked: “Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” (John 1:22b–23).

Keith explains that these verses have a strong application to the Second Advent: “While, therefore, the Baptist is to be regarded as the voice, what he did cry is not to be limited to the coming of Christ in his days.”

Conferring of the Aaronic PriesthoodOn 15 May 1829, John the Baptist also played a vital role in the Restoration by conferring the Aaronic Priesthood upon the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.[1] John the Baptist acted through the spirit of Elias,[2] preparing the way for the conferring of the Melchizedek Priesthood and all things that had to be restored before the Second Coming.

In Doctrine and Covenants we read: “Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one sent down from on high, who is mighty and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth, yea, whose voice is unto men—Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth. Yea, a voice crying—Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom” (D&C 65:1–3).

“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:” Isaiah 40:4

“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low:” In 3 Nephi 8, we read of the great geological upheavals at the time of the death of our Saviour. In the Second Coming, the scene will likewise be one of great cataclysms. Beside the physical changes, the low and humble followers of Christ shall be exalted while the prideful made low.

“And the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:” Henderson has: “That עָקֹב is not to be taken in the acceptation of hill or acclivity, but in that of crooked, is evident, both from the primary meaning of מִישׁוֹר,[3 its opposite.” Speaking of the Second Advent, President Joseph Fielding Smith felt that this scripture along with Isaiah 54:10 and others support the fact that “The land of Zion and the land of Jerusalem shall be turned back into their own place and the sea be driven back to the north, and the earth be as it was before it was divided.”[4]

“And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it].” Isaiah 40:5

The hints about the meaning of Isaiah 40:8 continue to mount. ¶ “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” The glory of the Lord will be revealed in many ways, including the restoration of His Church. When the Savior comes for the second time, in that day will His glory be made fully manifest. “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (cf. Habakkuk 2:14). Wade says that the Glory of the Lord is “the visible splendour that indicated the Divine Presence.”

“And all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it].” Henderson says regarding all the flesh: “בָּשָׂר, flesh, is used metonymically of all animated beings, but especially of man; hence כָּל־הַבָּשָׂר, or כָּל־בָּשָׂר, means all mankind.”

As we turn to Luke 3, the JST has, “As it is written in the book of the prophet Esaias; and these are the words, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight. For behold, and lo, he shall come, as it is written in the book of the prophets, to take away the sins of the world, and to bring salvation unto the heathen nations, to gather together those who are lost, who are of the sheepfold of Israel; Yea, even the dispersed and afflicted; and also to prepare the way, and make possible the preaching of the gospel unto the Gentiles; And to be a light unto all who sit in darkness, unto the uttermost parts of the earth; to bring to pass the resurrection from the dead, and to ascend up on high, to dwell on the right hand of the Father, Until the fulness of time, and the law and the testimony shall be sealed, and the keys of the kingdom shall be delivered up again unto the Father; To administer justice unto all; to come down in judgment upon all, and to convince all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds, which they have committed; and all this in the day that he shall come; For it is a day of power; yea, every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (JST Luke 3:4–11).

Elder McConkie[5] points us to: “For as the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be” (JS–Matthew 1:26).

“The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh [is] grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field:” Isaiah 40:6

Painting of Joseph Addison Alexander
Joseph Addison Alexander was a Biblical Scholar at the Princeton Theological Seminary in the early 1800’s. He published multiple books on the writings of Isaiah

Alexander writes: “That two distinct speakers are here introduced, seems to be granted by [almost] all interpreters . . . There is a pleasing mystery, as Hitzig well observes, in the dialogue of these anonymous voices, which is dispelled by undertaking to determine too precisely who the speakers are. All that the words necessarily convey is, that one voice speaks and another voice answers. Interpreters are universally agreed that the last clause contains the words which the second speaker is required to utter [i.e., proclaim].”

A voice is heard, “Cry!”  This is a command to speak out or proclaim a message that comes from God Himself. A second voice—received by a disciple of Christ—inquires, “What shall I cry?” While we are not sure which prophet is receiving this message—Isaiah or John the Baptist or Joseph Smith—at the end, the command has been delegated to each disciple of Christ to proclaim the divinity of our Savior and the restoration of His Church. We are to proclaim these truths fearlessly and humbly.

The voice said, Cry. The Targum has, “The voice of one crying, Prophesy!” And he said, What shall I cry? The Targum has, “He answered and said, What shall I prophesy?”

“All flesh [is] grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field:” Cheyne, leaning on Weir, shows us a similar expression, found in Isaiah 2:22b: “man, whose breath is in his nostrils.” Ibn Ezra quoted from Psalms: “As the flower of the field, ‘which flourisheth in the morning and groweth up, but is cut down and withereth in the evening’ (Psalm 90:6).”

Rashi, in Rosenberg, has: “All those who are haughty—their greatness shall be turned over and become like grass.” Speaking of the haughtiness of some of the leaders of the United States at the time of Joseph Smith we have (D&C 124:3–10):  “. . . for they are as grass, and all their glory as the flower thereof which soon falleth” (D&C 124:7b).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell warns: “… we might myopically conclude that ‘all flesh is grass’ (Isaiah 40:6) … Isaiah’s words, however, pertain not to man’s worthlessness but to the transitoriness of this second estate.”[6]

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass.” Isaiah 40:7

Mankind is represented by a fading flower and withering grass. Mankind is upon the earth for an instant. The breath of the Lord—represented poetically as the dry, hot sirocco winds of the Middle East—is sufficient to cause these to wilt. The key to understanding Isaiah 40:8 is to contrast it to Isaiah 40:7.

We must focus on the fact that flowers and grass represent man, who often in his pride thinks he has dominion of all things in heaven and upon the earth. Yet we read in Doctrine and Covenants: “As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints” (D&C 121:33b).

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it:” Instead of spirit, the Peshitta has breath. This, once again, leads us to think of the hot, dry and devastating sirocco winds.[7]

That God has control of all of the elements is clear to me. In 1988, when Chile was experiencing a strong drought, I had prayed to the Father for rain, only to be told not to pray for rain—but to know when to pray for rain—as this was the Lord’s doing.

The grass and the flowers are left in wilted condition by the spirit of the Lord, or wind of the Lord, יהוה רוּחַ.

Surely the people [is] grass. The Targum has, “Surely the wicked among a people are considered like grass.” The Peshitta also makes the comparison, “this people is like grass (Lamsa) / herb (BPE). The meaning of the text is that the people may be compared to grass.

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:8

As I mentioned in the introduction, for the longest time I loved this scripture without knowing why. If mankind is represented by the grass and the flowers, what is the representation of the word? I ask that you read and ponder it carefully before continuing.

The flower and the grass are chosen to represent a short lifespan, and represent the life of man. But the word of our God, וּדְבַר־אֱלֹהֵינוּ, “shall stand for ever.” So what does the Word stand for, I ask again?

I believe this clause has at least two beautiful meanings:

(1) what the Lord has spoken will come to pass, “my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38b).

(2) Is not the expression word used in a special way in another scripture? “In the beginning was the Word (λογος), and the Word (λογος) was with God, and the Word (λογος) was God” (John 1:1).

So what does the Word stand for, I ask yet again?

The Word is the very Messiah, the Son of God the Eternal Father, even Christ Jesus who shall stand forever. I know this to be true with the deepest sentiment of my being. I bear the most solemn witness of this, that the Word represents Christ, the Holy One of Israel. This was revealed to me by the Holy Spirit years ago as I pondered over this scripture.

It is through Messiah that we can obtain comfort (Isaiah 40:1). In Spanish, the expression word is translated as “verb”, and Christ is called el Verbo Divino, or the Divine Verb. Please note that in Hebrew, there are no capital vs. lower case letters as they are all the same.

The Hebrew text (BHS) uses the expression “but-word-our Elohim,” (וּדְבַר־אֱלֹהֵינוּ) in contrast to the word of the Lord דְבַר־יהוה) ) “word-Yahweh” (e.g. Genesis 15:3; Isaiah 1:10). 1 Peter 1:24–25 needs to be considered with this understanding and the following capitalization: “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (see also, AMP version in 1 Peter 1:25 and LITV in Isaiah 40:8). The Word that was preached unto you is Christ.

Alexander suggests: “The quotation in Peter confirms the supposition, here suggested by the context, that the words have reference to the preaching of the gospel, or the introduction of the new dispensation.” No doubt Alexander is correct, but the greater meaning is the announcement of the Word Himself, it is He who would stand forever.

Alexander continues: “[Peter] adds, and this is the word which is preached (εὐαγγελισθέν) unto you.” Once again, yes, but the more perfect Word is Christ Himself, “This is the Word which is preached unto you.”

Gill succinctly states, in referring us to Paul’s words and interpreting these to equate the Word with Christ: “and this is the word, which by the Gospel is preached unto you] – who seems to distinguish the word from the Gospel, by which it is preached, and to intend Christ the essential Word; who stands or abides for ever as a divine Person; in his office as Mediator, being Prophet, Priest, and King forever.”

Rawlinson, in Isaiah 40:6 well has: “The speakers … contrast the perishable nature of man with the enduringness and unchangingness of God. The point of their discourse is that ‘the Word of the Lord endureth for ever,’ and therefore the preceding promises (Isaiah 40:2, 5) are sure.” And then adds here in Isaiah 40:8: “Amid all human frailty, shiftingness, changefulness, there is one thing that endures, and shall endure—God’s Word.”

Luther, Calvin, Kay, Ironside and others also capitalize “The Word of our God,” but invariably mean the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Keith says, regarding these verses: “One voice should be represented as announcing the approach to earth of the King of righteousness.”

Gladly, Simeon says: “The ‘word of God’ here spoken of, may be understood as relating to Christ, who is often called by this name, and whose immutability is mentioned by the Psalmist in this very view (Psalm 102:11–12, 26–27). These verses provide additional proof: “My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations … They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.”

Wordsworth, almost alone among the Gentile authors, boldly testifies: “… therefore the Word which ‘endureth for ever was made flesh’ (John 1:14) by the operation of the Spirit, and God was ‘manifested in the flesh.’ The Word, which is here contrasted with the Voice, is (in the highest sense) the Eternal Word, Who became Incarnate for us, and Whose Advent was heralded by ‘the Voice of one crying in the wilderness,’ and Who animates the written Word, and speaks in it.” Has the Spirit confirmed these truths to your heart and mind? Do you wish to rejoice and weep for joy?

The expression “but-word-our Elohim,” וּדְבַר־אֱלֹהֵינוּ is a clear instance where God the Eternal Father is mentioned in relationship to His beloved Son. Word and Elohim are title-names. Isaiah knew that the Scriptures would be corrupted by the hands of men, and left, along with the other prophets of God, hidden testimonies in verses like this. Yes, indeed, the Son of our Heavenly Father will stand forever! Even Christ Jesus! [8]

Please also note that Isaiah 40:9 also gives the context as that of the appearing Word, Behold your God!

Notes 

[1] JS–History 1:72.

[2] TPJS, pp. 335–336.

[3] Straight (KJV).

[4] Smith, Joseph Fielding. Church History and Modern Revelation. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Council of The Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1946.

[5] McConkie, Bruce R. Bruce R. McConkie. The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man, pp. 418–419.

[6] Maxwell, Neal A. But for a Small Moment. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1986. p. 88.

[7] I note that J. D. Michaelis (in Alexander) came to the same conclusion, calling it the “east wind.”

[8] It was after I was so inspired to understand Isaiah 40:8 that I looked at the footnotes of the LDS 1984 Holy Bible and found: “TG: Jesus Christ: Messenger of the Covenant.” It was probably Elder Bruce R. McConkie who put that note there. I was thrilled to have a second confirmation of the inspiration I had felt.

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