I was gathered by the Book of Mormon

I was born in Chile in 1954. My parental grandfather was a Lithuanian Jew and my grandmother, a German Jew. My mother’s side of the family is Chilean. I was raised Catholic but thought that the Lord’s true Church would be a missionary oriented one.

Isaiah Testifies of Christ

Between my first reading of the Book of Mormon and my baptism three months later, the missionaries encouraged me to write my questions on the margins. I accepted that challenge and filled my Book of Mormon with questions and notes. I am a very slow reader but over the years devoured the writings of as many of the modern-day prophets as I could get my hands on, as well as the scriptures. It did not take long to fill the margins of my scriptures with notes, quotes and testimonies.

My interest in the Hebrew Scriptures grew after I joined the Church. In my personal journal I talk about studying the great Prophet Isaiah as early as 1983. While the writings of Isaiah and the Prophets have always held a special appeal for me, it was in 1996, while reading the Book of Mormon, that the words of our Savior sank deep into my heart: “And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yeah, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah” (3 Nephi 23:1).

I was somewhat surprised and asked myself: why did the Lord want me to study Isaiah? The Savior also admonished: “Search the prophets” (3 Nephi 23:5b), נְבִיאִים‎ or Nevi’im (the Jewish Scriptures are divided into three major categories, the Law, the Prophets and the Writings).

These admonitions turned into a labor of love. I wrote Isaiah Testifies of Christ (which is now in its 3rd edition), above all, as one of reflections for myself. When the margins of my scriptures could no longer hold my notes, my wife suggested that I keep a separate journal. It is my hope to revise the book from time to time, as I gain additional insights. I already feel it is in need of a fourth edition.

While Isaiah Testifies of Christ was also written for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have an interest in the Prophet Isaiah, I hope that our friends from other faiths may find some value in these pages. I also hope this book will help my Jewish family on both sides of the veil to come unto Christ. I wish to share with you how the Book of Mormon helped me come to Christ.

The Godhead

When I was about thirteen, our religion teacher at Saint George’s College (despite the title, a school from 1st to 12th grade) in Santiago taught us that the Trinity was a mystery; that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit were one and three in a way that could not be explained. In fact, she explained that it would be easier to empty the Pacific Ocean with a bucket, into the sand by the beach, than to understand this great mystery.

As I rode the trolley bus on the way home, I was inspired by the Holy Ghost whose words came to me something like this: “It is really a simple thing: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct beings but one in purpose.” While I was still thinking about what all this meant, I saw myself at home, asking my Father for permission to go to the farm in San Javier (then about five hours south of Santiago by train) for the long weekend. While my parents always gave permission, on this occasion my father explained that I could not go and gave several reasons. Then he invited me to ask my mother if I did not like his answer.

I turned around to do exactly that, to go and ask my mother, and remembered that she had given me the same answer and invited me to ask my father if I was not satisfied with her response. It was made clear to me, that just as my parents where two distinct individuals yet one in purpose, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost were one in perfect purpose and unity.

I was so excited I could not wait to share my newly gained knowledge with my parents. When I burst with my newly acquired news, my father had been sitting on a rocking chair and had been chatting with my mother while she was in her bed. “If I told you this was the greatest blasphemy against the Catholic Church, would you still say this?” he asked. As much as I looked up to my parents and did not want to offend them I could not deny what I had felt. Later I came to know that I had received a witness from the Holy Ghost.

Some of the words that came to me were the same as those expressed by the Prophet Joseph Smith when he said he could not deny that which was of God. So much so, that when years later I read the Joseph Smith’s account of the first vision, my first reaction was, “He copied me!” No sooner had this thought crossed my mind, I realized that the Prophet had lived over a century before.

Report on the Mormons

In 1970, when I was fifteen, a religion teacher gave us an assignment to write about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our school was being bought by the Mormons and we were moving to another location in Santiago. This American priest told us, “You Chileans think that the only church is the Catholic Church.” Even though I had once accompanied my father to a synagogue in New York, I thought to myself, “Yes, of course.” “Well,” the Priest continued: “I want each of you to write a report on the Mormons.”
I told my father about this report. He said that I was in luck as the LDS Mission Home was only two blocks from our home. But, he warned, “Be careful, they will try and convert you.”

The Elder who answered the door was polite, but to my surprise had me wait outside and did not preach the Gospel to me (later, I found out that it was because of my young age and the Church’s desire not to split families). The Elder soon returned and gave me some nice magazines with photographs, as well as a book. I cut and pasted the photos and wrote a report. I also opened the book but I found it less interesting as it was mostly print matter with little art or photos.

I finished the report and turned it in. To my surprise the Catholic Priest announced to the whole class—in a bitter voice—that because I had done such a good job on the report that I would get a 7 (perfect score in Chile, where 4 is passing) and the rest of the class would get no more than a 5. When I got back home I discarded the magazines and was about to do the same with the book, but I felt prompted to open it one more time.

At that time the Book of Mormon paperbacks had the Angel Moroni on the cover and the promise from Moroni 10:4–5 inscribed in the first inside page. I read: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
As I read these words I was filled with the Spirit of the Holy Ghost. I instantly knew it was the Holy Ghost that was testifying to me of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The warmest and sweetest feeling overcame me, and enveloped me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. Sadly, my reaction was, “But I don’t want to be religious.” I really did not comprehend the joy of discipleship. I had a stony heart.

I was gathered by the Book of Mormon

This episode was one of my last memories in Chile before my whole life would be thrown into chaos. Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile and shortly thereafter my father, as an American born Jew, did not feel we could stay in Chile. Years later I found out that my father’s first choice was to go to Portugal but we ended up going to the USA because he could not find a flight to Portugal.

We settled in New Canaan, Connecticut, and after finishing High School I moved to California, to study agriculture. At the University of California, Davis, I met an interesting Latter-day Saint student, Randy Homrig. He gave me another copy of the Book of Mormon which I filed along with my many books. I remember not agreeing with anything Randy had to say—except when he spoke about the Church. Then, the Spirit would bear witness of the truthfulness of my friend’s comments.

During the Christmas vacation of my sophomore year (1973-1974) I returned to Connecticut to spend the holidays with my family. I packed my hand baggage with lots of dressage books (one of the equestrian disciplines). Then I added some textbooks in case I would finish the horse books. As I was leaving my dormitory, out of the corner of my eye the Book of Mormon caught my eye as if to say, “Take me!” In my mind I thought, “Fine, if I read my horse books, and my textbooks, I will read the Book of Mormon and added it to my carry-on handbag.

Once on the plane I pulled out a book, all excited with the prospect of reading about dressage. But the last would be first (Matthew 20:16). As I contemplated what seemed like a mistake, the Spirit said, “Read me!” After four days I finished the Book of Mormon.
My stony heart of three years earlier was softened in the process and I was filled with indescribable joy and a heart of flesh.

At one point I felt the presence of the Savior and I imagined Him with outstretched arms beckoning me to come unto Him. His message was something to the effect that He would show me the truth of all things if I would become His disciple. But He also warned me that it would be better if I had never known Him than to follow for a while and then get bored of the Gospel. At that very moment I made the choice of following Christ. I was so thrilled that I ran into my brother Nicolás’ room with the Book of Mormon in my hand, telling him this was a true book. My parents later told me that I scared my brother into being a good Catholic.

I called the Stake missionaries when I got back to California. I received the discussions from Randy Homrig and Phil On: two on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, and two on Friday. When they taught me the LDS view on the Godhead and I immediately consented, they exchanged surprised glances. I asked to be baptized, but was informed that I needed to first meet with the Branch President of the UCD Branch.

President Hill asked me what my parents thought about my joining the Church. I told him that they had asked that I talk to a Catholic Priest. President Hill invited me to be obedient to my parent’s request. I made the appointment and the Catholic Priest told me that it was so obvious that I believed that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true, that I was a hypocrite if I did not join the Church.

On Sacred Ground

So, I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church on 9 March 1974, at the age of 19. My parents returned to Chile soon after. My father went all over Chile saying that the worst thing that could have possibly happened had taken place, that his son had joined the Mormon Church. A year later he told me that he went back and told the same people that this was the best thing that ever happened, so big was the change for good that he saw in me.

The Santiago, Chile Temple was dedicated in 1983 and became the 24th operating temple.

My fiancée Linda Marsing and I were married in the Oakland Temple in 1976. And guess what happened to my school in Santiago, where I had been given the assignment to study the LDS Church? There, today stands the Santiago, Chile Temple (it was dedicated in 1983 and became the 24th operating temple).

I worked for the University of California for almost 34 years and my specialty was labor productivity and mediation of deep-seated interpersonal conflicts. I developed several models which I felt were inspired by the Lord. As an academic of the University of California and visiting Professor of the Universidad de Chile, I had many opportunities; including travel to speak in all continents save Antarctica. I suppose the penguins did not need any help in either labor productivity or conflict management. Linda and I had the opportunity to spend all three of my career Sabbaticals in Chile. After retiring in 2014, I was able to return back to Chile with Linda.

I have loved each one of my jobs and my life’s work. I have been a dressage rider and instructor, an amateur radio operator, and a soccer referee. I have always loved the scriptures, but since about 1996 my love for the scriptures has occupied much of my free time.

As I write this I can look out the window and see Lake Llanquihue and multiple snow covered volcanoes and a rainbow. I feel as if I live in the Garden of Eden. I can see the hand of the Lord and His tender mercies [חֶסֶד] and how they have blessed my life.
The Book of Mormon originally led me to Christ and to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No book has had as great an impact for good in my life. Its positive influence has been on-going, most especially since I accepted President Ezra Taft Benson’s 1986 challenge to sup daily from its pages.

Today, my most treasured possession is the knowledge that Jesus is the very Messiah that my Jewish ancestors had been waiting for; that Christ has restored His Church once again upon the earth. That it is through Christ that we can return once again to live with our Father in Heaven. As I read the Book of Mormon and see the promises made to my Lamanite ancestors, I am also filled with gratitude untold. I count myself as one who lived “unto the outmost parts of heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:4), when the Lord found me and gathered me. I found Christ while reading the Book of Mormon. God found me when I was not looking.

If you haven’t read my series on understanding the gathering of Israel here’s part 1…

“The Gathering of Israel: Nothing of Greater Importance!“

McConkie’s 7 Crucial Doctrines in Isaiah

Jacob Krogue

Bruce R. McConkie gave a talk titled Ten Keys to Understanding Isaiah and said “Isaiah’s chief doctrinal contributions fall into seven categories: (a) restoration of the gospel in latter days through Joseph Smith, (b) latter-day gathering of Israel and her final triumph and glory, (c) coming forth of the Book of Mormon as a new witness for Christ and the total revolution it will eventually bring in the doctrinal understanding of men, (d) apostate conditions of the nations of the world in the latter days, (e) messianic prophecies relative to our Lord’s first coming, (f) second coming of Christ and the millennial reign, and (g) historical data and prophetic utterances relative to his own day.

In all of this, once again, the emphasis is on the day of restoration and on the past, present, and future gathering of Israel.“

He later continued, “Isaiah is everywhere known as the messianic prophet because of the abundance, beauty, and perfection of his prophetic utterances foretelling the first coming of our Lord. And truly such he is. No old world prophet, whose inspired sayings have come down to us, can compare with him in this respect. Moreover, the first coming of the Messiah is past, and so even those among us who are not overly endowed with spiritual insight can look back and see in the birth, ministry, and death of our Lord the fulfillment of Isaiah’s forecasts.

But if we are to truly comprehend the writings of Isaiah, we cannot overstate or over-stress the plain, blunt reality that he is in fact the prophet of the restoration, the mighty seer of Jacob’s seed who foresaw our day and who encouraged our Israelite fathers in their spiritually weary and disconsolate state, with assurances of glory and triumph ahead for those of their descendants who would return to the Lord in the last days and at that time serve him in truth and righteousness.”

15 Prophecies about Joseph Smith

Jacob Krogue

Is Isaiah 11 about Joseph Smith or Jesus Christ

The following 15 prophecies relate to Joseph Smith and his mission in this life. Comment with questions or epiphanies! Check out this commentary on Isaiah 11 to decide if it’s about Jesus Christ or Joseph Smith.

George A Horton begins – “I am sometimes asked if there is any evidence in the Bible that foretells the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I usually reply that the only sure evidence of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s divine calling is a personal witness from the Holy Ghost. Still, there are many references to the Prophet in the Bible that confirm that testimony.”

Isaiah 11:1

“There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”

Isaiah 11:10-12

“In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people. …

“And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

JST, Gen. 50:27, 30-31, 33

“Thus saith the Lord God of my fathers unto me [Joseph, son of Jacob], A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins. …

“And unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins … to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them in the last days;

“Wherefore the fruit of thy loins shall write, and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written … shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to a knowledge of their fathers in the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.

“And out of weakness shall he be made strong, in that day when my work shall go forth among all my people, which shall restore them, who are of the house of Israel, in the last days.

“And that seer will I bless, and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise I give unto you; for I will remember you from generation to generation; and his name shall be called Joseph, and it shall be after the name of his father; and he shall be like unto you; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand shall bring my people unto salvation.”

Ezekiel 37:16-17

“Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one ^astick, and ^bwrite upon it, For ^cJudah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and ^dwrite upon it, For ^eJoseph, the ^fstick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become ^aone in thine hand.”

JST, Isaiah 29:20-22

“Behold, it shall come to pass, that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book, Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show them unto the learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee.

“And the learned shall say, Bring hither the book and I will read them; and now because of the glory of the world, and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God. And the man shall say, I cannot bring the book for it is sealed. Then shall the learned say, I cannot read it.

“Wherefore it shall come to pass, that the Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say, I am not learned. Then shall the Lord God say unto him, The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.”

Malachi 3:1-3

“Behold, I will ^asend my ^bmessenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly ^ccome to his ^dtemple, even the ^emessenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

But who may ^aabide the ^bday of his ^ccoming? and who shall ^dstand when he appeareth? for he is like a ^erefiner’s ^ffire, and like fullers’ ^gsoap:

And he shall sit as a ^arefiner and purifier of silver: and he shall ^bpurify the ^csons of ^dLevi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an ^eoffering in righteousness.”

Matthew 11:10

“For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my ^amessenger before thy face, which shall ^bprepare thy way before thee.”

John 1:23

“He said, I am the ^avoice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ^bstraight the ^cway of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.”

Daniel 2:44

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

Isaiah 40:3-5

“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.

“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:

“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.”

Jeremiah 30:21

“Their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.”

John 1:22

Joseph Smith Translation (John 1:22), John the Baptist’s response is slightly different:

“They asked him, saying; How then art thou Elias? And he said, I am not that Elias who was to restore all things. And they asked him, saying, Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.” (Italics added.)

Deuteronomy 18:15

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;”

Matthew 24:14

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come”

Revelations 14:6-7

“I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

“Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

These scriptures were collected by George A. Horton, Jr. – he was the associate director of the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. If you’d like more details and explanation go here.

Again – please comment with questions or epiphanies! Do you think these are truly are prophecies about Joseph Smith? Did we miss any?

The Dead Sea Scrolls—70 Questions and Answers

Darryl Alder

Don Parry and Stephen Ricks—Dead Sea Scrolls for Mormons

Understanding Isaiah is challenging for Jew and Christian alike, but the Dead Sea Scrolls have a special place for Mormons who are trying to understand this book. Two BYU scholars, Donald Parry and Stephen Ricks, renowned for their work with the Dead Sea Scrolls, coauthored a “FAQ” for Mormons called The Dead Sea Scrolls: Questions and Responses for Latter-day Saints.

The question I stopped at longest was “What is the Great Isaiah Scroll?” (see below). There I quickly learned that though it was worn from use (just as our scriptures get worn out) it is the best preserved of all the scrolls. It contains all the chapters of our modern Book of Isaiah and to our gain, it is the oldest record of the words of Isaiah anyone has ever found from antiquity.

The Great Isaiah Scroll can help Mormons understand Isaiah better (Photographs by Ardon Bar Hama)

This scroll is the largest among all the Dead Sea Scrolls at 24 feet in length and it is about 10 inches wide.

It is organized in seven parts with 54 columns that preserve all 66 chapters of the Hebrew version of the Book of Isaiah.

Compared to the source documents used for our own King James Book of Isaiah, it is nearly one-thousand years older than the oldest manuscripts used to produce our modern Book of Isaiah. This means the Jews of Jesus time were using all the same verses we use in our modern Bible.

So when it comes to understanding Isaiah, next to the Book of Mormon, this may be our best resource.

Here is a sampling of the “FAQs” in Parry and Ricks’ book:

What is the Great Isaiah Scroll?

Recovered from Cave 1 in 1947, the Great Isaiah Scroll contains the comeplete text of the book of Isaiah. Photograph by John C. Trevor, PhD.

The Great Isaiah Scroll was one of the initial seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered, and because of its beauty and completeness, it is perhaps the most famous of the biblical scrolls. It was found wrapped in a linen cloth and concealed in a large clay jar in Cave 1. Containing all sixty-six chapters of the book of Isaiah, the scroll consists of seventeen pieces of sheepskin sewn together to form a scroll measuring 24.5 feet in length and 10.5 inches in height. The scroll was prepared in approximately 150 BC.

The scribe who copied the book of Isaiah onto the scroll was quite careless in his work, erring in numerous places. The first error is located in the first line of text, where the scribe misspelled Isaiah’s name.

Great Isaiah Scroll facsimile photo showing an example of cancellation marks (dots) below the text and corrections made above it.

He corrected his own errors on a number of occasions by writing the corrections between the lines or in the margins. The scroll contains numerous scribal markings that may mark passages that were important to the Qumran community. The scroll shows much evidence of use, as it was well-worn before it was stored in the jar. This scroll is extremely important to the study of the Bible because it is approximately one thousand years older than other Hebrew copies of Isaiah. Although most of the readings of the scroll l are the same as those of the traditional Hebrew Bible (the Masoretic Text), there are a number of important variant readings that have been included in modern translations of Isaiah.

For example, Isaiah 33:8, as translated in the King James Version of the Bible, reads:
The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.

The Isaiah scroll reads:

The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the witnesses, he regardeth no man.

The Isaiah scroll reads witnesses rather than cities, thus presenting a more accurate, superior reading.

Does the text of the Great Isaiah Scroll support the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon that differ from those in the King James Bible?

The Book of Mormon contains lengthy quotations from Isaiah (see, for example, 2 Nephi 12—24). In many instances the wording of corresponding Isaiah passages in the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) and in the Book of Mormon differs. To date, no one has completed a comprehensive study comparing the Isaiah scroll from Cave 1 with the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon Isaiah. In 1981, however, John Tvedtnes¹ conducted a serviceable preliminary study by comparing the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon with those in the KJV, the Hebrew Bible, the scrolls found at Qumran (notably the Great Isaiah Scroll, which contains all sixty-six chapters of Isaiah), and other ancient versions of Isaiah. Several readings of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon are supported by the Isaiah scroll. The following representative examples of these parallels have been adapted from Tvedtnes’s work.

1. In many cases passages in the Isaiah scroll and in the Book of Mormon contain the conjunction and, which is lacking in the corresponding King James Vession (KJV), text. Compare the following:

KJV, Isaiah 3:9 “and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not”

Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 3:9 “and they declare their sin as Sodom, and they hide it not”

Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 13:9 “and doth declare their sin to be even as Sodom, and they cannot hide it”

2. Second Nephi 24:32 lacks the word one, which appears in Isaiah 14:32. The Book of Mormon version thus makes messengers the subject of the verb answer. The Hebrew Bible uses a singular verb, but the Isaiah scroll uses the plural, in agreement with the Book of Mormon:

KJV, Isaiah 14:32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation?”

Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 14:32 “What shall then answer the messengers of the nations?”

Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 24:32 “What shall then answer the messengers of the nations?”

3. In the KJV, Isaiah 48:11 reads, “for how should my name be polluted?” while 1 Nephi 20:11 reads, “for I will not suffer my name to be polluted.” The Isaiah scroll supports the Book of Mormon by having the verb in the first person, as follows:

KJV, Isaiah 48:11 “for how should my name be polluted?”

Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 14:32 “for I will not suffer my name to be polluted”

Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 20:11 “for I will not suffer my name to be polluted”

4. In the KJV, Isaiah 50:2 reads, “their fish stinketh, because there is no water,” and the Isaiah scroll reads, “their fish dry up because there is no water.” Second Nephi 7:2 essentially preserves the verb stinketh from the KJV and the phrasal verb dry up from the Isaiah scroll: “their fish to stink because the waters are dried up.”

5. Often a singular noun in the KJV is represented by a plural noun in the Book of Mormon. One example of this appears in Isaiah 9:9, where the KJV reads “inhabitant” and 2 Nephi 19:9 reads “inhabitants.” The Isaiah scroll supports the reading of the Book of Mormon with its reading of “inhabitants”:

KJV, Isaiah 9:9 “and the inhabitant of Samaria”

Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 9:9 “and the inhabitants of Samaria”

Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 19:9 “and the inhabitants of Samaria”

These examples of variant readings in which the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon agree with the Isaiah scroll but not with the KJV could be multiplied.

While these were the only questions in their book that dealt directly with Isaiah, here a few of the other seventy questions and answers in their book:

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The Dead Sea Scrolls comprise hundreds of “texts discovered between the years 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. …Unfortunately, most of the scrolls are fragmentary, having been damaged over the centuries by the natural elements and, as it appears in some cases, by individuals who trampled them underfoot.”

How were the scrolls discovered?

“In 1947 (some accounts say 1945) Muhammad ed-Dhib (“Muhammad the Wolf”), a young Arab boy was walking in the hills northwest of the Dead Sea, possibly in search of a stray goat, when he discovered a small cave opening and tossed small stones inside.” He threw a second stone that broke something, which frightened him a way. “… Regaining his courage and returning with a companion,” they “succeeded in penetrating the tiny opening to the cave now known as Cave 1,” discovering “a cache of clay jars, some of which contained several scrolls in a near-perfect state of preservation. He returned with several scrolls that were eventually passed on, through middlemen, to scholars who identified the scrolls as Jewish and dating to around the time of Christ.”²

Where were the scrolls discovered?

“The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in eleven caves north and south of an ancient site called Qumran… located one kilometer inland from the northwestern side of the Dead Sea.”³ The LDS Bible Dictionary reviews the find and contents succinctly.

What types of texts were discovered among the scrolls?

“The scrolls, most of which are fragmentary, belong to a variety of text types, including parts of our Old Testament: “Genesis, Exodus, 1 and 2 Samuel, Isaiah, and Malachi, to name a few. The fragmentary remains of every book of the Hebrew Bible except the book of Esther have been discovered among the scrolls.”

Why are the scrolls so important?

“The scrolls have been called the most important manuscript find of this century because they have greatly increased our knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism (450 BC—AD 70), the Hebrew language, and various religious texts.” Since their discovery, “more than seven thousand books, articles, dissertations, and other writings, as well as television documentaries and news stories, have focused on them.”

“The scrolls significantly enhance scholarly research in many areas, including the following:

1. Ancient writing and scribal practices
2. How words were spelled anciently
3. Different handwriting styles
4. Old Testament studies, including the history and transmission of the biblical text and variant readings in the text
5. The making of ancient scrolls from leather or papyrus
6. Linguistic studies in the languages of Hebrew and Aramaic
7. Apocryphal and pseudepigraphic studies
8. Religious groups and their ideas within Palestinian Judaism
9. Ancient methods of biblical interpretation
10. The history of Jewish groups from 250 BC to AD 70
11. Background studies of the pre-Christian era

How have the biblical scrolls and fragments influenced the English translation of the Bible?

Many contemporary translation committees of the Bible pay special attention to the Dead Sea Scrolls biblical texts and incorporate many new readings into their translations. …According to Harold Scanlin, a translation adviser for the United Bible Societies, “Every major Bible translation publish ed since 1950 has claimed to have taken into account the textual evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls.^“4…It is anticipated that the translation committees will accept more variant read ings from the biblical scrolls and fragments in the coming years.

If you would like to read all 70 questions and answers click on this: The Dead Sea Scrolls: Questions and Responses for Latter-day Saints and if you want to make a more personal more comprehensive comparison, try purchasing Opening Isaiah—a Harmony, by Anne Madsen and Shon Hopkin.

In their book, Madsen and Hopkin help Mormons in their understanding Isaiah by comparing the King James Version (KJV) alongside the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), The Book of Mormon (when it quotes Isaiah), The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), the The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the New International Version (NIV). Highlighting differences and similarities in translations side by side.

Here is a sample of their work:

Madsen and Hopkin “make no claims about which version of the text is superior.” They allow us as Mormons “to compare and contrast these different versions and translations” for ourselves, as they explained. “Although the harmony shows numerous changes across the columns, in our view,” they wrote, “the overall consistency of Isaiah’s message is miraculously preserved.”

This Harmony of Isaiah has helped in my understanding Isaiah; I use it often. How will you use the Dead Sea Scrolls in your own quest of understanding Isaiah?

¹ John Tvedtnes, “The Isaiah Variants in the Book of Mormon” (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1981).
² Stephen Pfann mentioned this in a personal conversation with Stephen Ricks, 31 May 1993.
³ Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 3rd ed. (London: Penguin, 1987), xiii.
⁴ See Harold Scanlin, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Modern Translations of the Old Testament (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1993), 26

3. The Gathering of Israel and the Book of Mormon

Gregorio Billikopf

Read part 1 and part 2 to this series

There are multiple references throughout the Holy Scriptures where the Lord reminds His people Israel of the Abrahamic covenant which was reiterated in Rain in Due Season and elsewhere, through the expression your God, my People. Here are but a few examples. In each of these cases it can be assumed that the readers of the scriptures were intimately aware of the theological ellipsis involved:

“And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:7, emphasis added).

Speaking of a day to come: “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33, emphasis added).

“That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 14:11, emphasis added).

“And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:27–28, emphasis added).

“And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” (Zechariah 8:8, emphasis added).

Allusion is made to other portions of the Rain in Due Season scriptures, also. For instance, in Daniel 9:7–11, we read Daniel’s acknowledgement that the children of Jacob had failed to keep the covenant and had thus suffered the promised consequences or curses:

“O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him” (Daniel 9:7–11, emphasis added).

Ezekiel 36

I find Ezekiel 36:16 ff. particularly interesting, because it is as if the Lord is reminding the children of Jacob about Rain in Due Season just before speaking about the vital role to be played by the Book of Mormon in helping to gather Israel from every corner of the globe: a role which is again spoken off in Isaiah 66, and elsewhere.

“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man” (Ezekiel 36:16–17a). The Lord shares His titles with His servants. The Savior is the Son of Man, for His Father is the Man of Holiness (Moses 6:57; 7:35). “When the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman” (Ezekiel 36:17b). In other words, the Lord is telling them that they did not keep the covenant.

“Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them” (Ezekiel 36:18–19). Because of Israel’s apostasy, she was scattered as promised.

“And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:23–24).The Lord is here speaking of the gathering that would come to pass after the blessings and cursing as mentioned in Deuteronomy 30:1–6, Rain in Due Season.

Numerous spiritual blessings are enumerated next: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean [compare to the temple ordinance in Numbers: ‘And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them’ (Numbers 8:7a)]: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you [possibly an allusion to being confirmed and the reception of the Holy Ghost—GB]: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:25–27).

Among the promised blessings will be a return to the lands consecrated to Israel, including the Holy Land, “And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezekiel 36:28, emphasis added).

In the next verses the Lord touches upon other promises made in Rain in Due Season, such as crops instead of famine, the reconstruction of the waste places, etc.

The Promised Book of Mormon

We finally come to the glorious punchline. How will Israel be gathered in fulfillment of the many promises made in Rain in Due Season and elsewhere in the Jewish Bible? Let us move on to Ezekiel 37:15, an often quoted scripture which I hope we will better understand in its richness.

“The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man” (Ezekiel 37:15–16a). Once again, the Lord shares His own title with Ezekiel. “Take thee one stick, and write upon it” (Ezekiel 37:16b). The prophets of God were often asked to act out the prophetic word: for instance, by cooking on cow dung (Ezekiel 4:12, 15); going ‘naked’ or wearing only the undergarments (Isaiah 20:3); burying a sash or girdle in the river (Jeremiah 13:4) and so on.

Now the Prophet Ezekiel is asked to take a stick, or rather, a piece of wood, and literally write upon it. The word עֵץ translated as stick in our KJV, means tree, or in this context, rather, wood (Gesenius, BDB, halot] or tablet {Targum (????)}.

The LHI Bible (see also 1587 Geneva Bible) translates the word עֵץ as “[a piece of] wood.” In the Targum of Ezekiel the meaning is even clearer, “take one tablet [לוּחָא] and engrave upon it” {Targum Jonathan to the Prophets (????)}.

It is clear that we have a piece of writing material here, whether wood, metal, or something else. So, “take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions” (Ezekiel 37:16b) is to symbolize that most precious book that would come down to us through Judah, the Holy Bible.

Judah, here, stands for the southern kingdom, or the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and part of Levi, called Judah for the prominent role of that tribe. His companions makes it clear that it was not to be for Judah alone, but Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, and eventually, all of Israel.

“Then take another stick [עֵץ, or once again, tablet in the Targum (????), לוּחָא], and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions” (Ezekiel 37:16c).

Beside the Bible we have another book that would be engraved, one that would proceed from Joseph—or Ephraim. His companions expands the importance of this book beyond the literal tribe of Ephraim to all of the northern tribes, and eventually, to the two and a half tribes of the south, named after Judah.

This is the second priceless book mentioned, the Book of Mormon. “And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand” (Ezekiel 37:17). This second book comes with a blessing so powerful, that all who read from its pages—and ask God the Eternal Father in the name of Christ about its truthfulness—will know it is from God.

These two books, the Bible and the Book of Mormon would become as one witness. Yes, these two engraved holy books would also come to be carried together. When I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1970s people literally carried these books together, in one hand.

The time will come—and is already here—when electronic versions of these books will replace the physical copies. People in future days may not understand this scripture unless they understand the cultural ellipsis, that people in the old days actually carried books in their hands. People who have everything in an electronic or virtual version will need to be told that in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries people carried actual physical copies of these books, the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon, joined together, in their hands.

When the missionaries introduce the Book of Mormon, they are often asked, “Why do we need another book beside the Bible?” We recognize both the question and the answer here in Ezekiel. “And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?” (Ezekiel 37:18). What they are really asking is, once again, “Two books?” The Lord answers through Ezekiel, “Yes, indeed, two books joined together and supporting of each other: two books that do not contradict each other: two united witnesses.”

Note the expression בְּנֵי עַמְּךָ, the children of thy people. This is because the Book of Mormon will be taken to the literal children of Israel—both Ephraim and Judah. Can you feel the increasing thrill of the narrative?

The answer comes in a further repetition of what has already been said. “Oh yes, indeed, you heard correctly. There will be two books: one written by Judah; the other by Ephraim!”

“Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand (בְּיָדִי)” (Ezekiel 37:19). In whose hand shall these two books be? In the hands of the Lord, for He shall use these as instruments for the gathering of His people, as we shall see.

“And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes” (Ezekiel 37:20). The prophet Ezekiel is commanded to carry these two tablets made out of wood before the people—in representation of these two books that would come forth, the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

The idea is that the people around the Prophet Ezekiel would ask him the meaning of his walking around with two pieces of wood pressed against each other in his hand. The very question, as we saw above, was prophetic of the inquiry in the mouth of those who would listen to the missionaries in the latter days and ask “Why do we need two Bibles?”

I have friends and scholars who belong to other churches and they recognize that the Bible can be interpreted in multiple ways. The Prophet Joseph Smith wanted to know which Church was right but concluded that “… the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible” (JS-History 1:12).

Now we come to the triumphant message, the thrilling message, the riveting message of the Hebrew Bible. Throughout the Holy Scriptures the Lord has promised that He would gather Israel in the latter days. Now the Holy One of Israel is telling us that the gathering will take place through these two books. As President Russell M. Nelson told the youth in a worldwide devotional on 3 June 2018, without the Book of Mormon there would be no gathering.

These records are the means whereby Israel will be gathered from among all the nations. Both of them are full of wonderful promises to the children of Jacob. The very purpose of the Book of Mormon, as explained by the ancient prophet who inscribed its title page, is for “the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.”

That is also the very message of the Bible even if it has been transmitted to us in an imperfect form. The Prophet Joseph Smith explained, “I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors” (DHC, 6:57).[1] These two records—or at the mouth of two or three witnesses—testify of Christ and of His divinity.

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon, intended to work in unison with the Bible, would indicate that the gathering of Israel was about to begin. Elder M. Russell Ballard taught: “I love the Bible, its teachings, its lessons, and its spirit. I love the Old Testament’s compelling, profound stories and its great prophets testifying of the coming of Christ. I love the New Testament’s apostolic travels and miracles and the letters of Paul. Most of all, I love its eyewitness accounts of the words and the example and the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love the perspective and peace that come from reading the Bible… Brothers and sisters, I am sure many of you have had the experience of hearing people say that ‘Mormons are not Christians because they have their own Bible, the Book of Mormon.’ To anyone harboring this misconception, we say that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and the author of our salvation and that we believe, revere, and love the Holy Bible.

We do have additional sacred scripture, including the Book of Mormon, but it supports the Bible, never substituting for it. We love the Bible and other scriptures. That may be surprising to some who may not be aware of our belief in the Bible as the revealed word of God. It is one of the pillars of our faith, a powerful witness of the Savior and of Christ’s ongoing influence in the lives of those who worship and follow Him. The more we read and study the Bible and its teachings, the more clearly we see the doctrinal underpinnings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ… Those who join this Church do not give up their faith in the Bible—they strengthen it. The Book of Mormon does not dilute nor diminish nor de-emphasize the Bible. On the contrary, it expands, extends, and exalts it. The Book of Mormon testifies of the Bible, and both testify of Christ… I bear solemn witness that we are true and full believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His revealed word through the Holy Bible. We not only believe the Bible—we strive to follow its precepts and to teach its message. The message of our missionaries is Christ and His gospel and His Atonement, and the scriptures are the text of that message.”[2]

The resurrected Lord spoke to a remnant of Joseph in the American continent: “Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel. And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them” (3 Nephi 20:11–13).

Furthermore we read: “And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people [i.e., all of Israel]; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem [for the tribes of Judah], which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father” (3 Nephi 20:29).

Here in Ezekiel, the Holy One of Israel ties the gathering, the Book of Mormon and Holy Bible together. These concepts are joined as closely as Ezekiel was to carry the two pieces of wood in his hand, in representation of these future books.

“And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen [הַגּוֹיִם], whither they be gone.” As we said earlier, the heathen, הַגּוֹיִם can also be translated as the nations [הַגּוֹיִם].

The scattering and gathering among the nations is the same as that which is mentioned in Rain in Due Season: “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations [הַגּוֹיִם], whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee (Deuteronomy 30:1).

In Rain in Due Season, right after this verse, the Lord speaks of gathering Israel from among the nations, “… then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations [הָעַמִּים], whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.”

Here, however, the word nations is a translated from a Hebrew synonym, literally, “gather thee from all the peoples [הָעַמִּים].” The Lord is speaking of gathering and fetching Israel back.

“And will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land” (Ezekiel 37:21b). Such words reaffirm what has already been promised, that the Lord would gather Israel from every quarter of the earth and bring them back to the Promised Land. Judah would be especially brought back to the Holy Land, the land of Israel; Ephraim and Manasseh, the children of Joseph, would be especially brought back to Zion, both North and South America. [The word Zion has numerous meanings, depending on the context, and includes Zion in America as well as Zion in representation of Israel.]

The enmity between the tribes of Israel will cease and shall once again become one nation. “And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:22). Instead of being divided, as they were after the civil war,[3] where Ephraim and Manasseh hated each other, and where both hated Judah and Judah hated them back, there would be great unity between the tribes. Is this not the case in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today? There is great love between Ephraim and Manasseh and between these tribes and Judah. Not only is there a great abiding love between all the tribes, but also toward the children of Ishmael and to the whole world.

And Messiah their King

“And one king shall be king to them all” (Ezekiel 37:22b). Israel’s true King had been rejected and Saul had been called to be king. At that time Israel had a human king just like all the surrounding nations. The civil war brought two kingdoms and two kings, the kings of Judah in the south, and the kings of Ephraim in the north.

Christ would now once again be Israel’s King and the King of all the nations. “And they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all” (Ezekiel 37:22b).

The next verse speaks of the grace that would be poured upon the children of Jacob, so that they would be able to combat sin and be cleansed and saved through the expiatory sacrifice of the Messiah.

“Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned” (Ezekiel 37:23). Through the cleansing of baptism and the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, the Lord has blessed the children of Israel with much strength. His Grace is sufficient for all those who wish to be His disciples.

Note here a spiritual gathering from the “dwelling places wherein they have sinned.” Not only are the children of Israel gathered from every corner under the heavens, but they are gathered away from idolatry and every manner of sin, invited to leave spiritual Babylon and come to spiritual Zion, regardless of which side of the veil they live at.

And now the words which all who have embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ have been waiting for, the Holy One of Israel says to all His disciples: “And will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23b, emphasis added, and see also Ezekiel 36:25–27). Note the baptismal cleansing that takes place before the gift of the Holy Ghost is imparted, wherein the Holy Ghost can become our constant companion and we can feel that the Lord is truly our God and we are His people. Is this not at least one way in which the promise is fulfilled wherein the Lord walks among us? We can then be cleansed by the Holy Spirit of Promise as we become partakers of the Abrahamic covenant. Do you hear the invitation, oh Israel?

This refers to the principal theological ellipsis we have been speaking off throughout this paper. The person who is familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures will immediately make the connection with the scriptures which speak about the great blessings and cursing that was to come upon the children of Israel as a result of their obedience or disobedience.

“And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them” (Ezekiel 37:24). David is here put for one of the many titles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we read of this second David, we know at once it refers to no ordinary man, but to the Messiah. In Jeremiah we read, “In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land (Jeremiah 33:15, see also 23:5). Further-more, “But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them” (Jeremiah 30:9); “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it” (Ezekiel 34:23); “Afterward shall the children of Israel return (יָשֻׁבוּ), and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days” (Hosea 3:5). This יָשֻׁבוּ is not only a physical one, but a spiritual one in which people return to the Lord.

Why David? King David of old was the first, after Moses and Joshua, to bring the hearts of all the tribes together knit as one. More importantly, of the Davidic line would be born Messiah. Jesus the Christ was often called, “Son of David.” All of these references to a latter-day David who would reign over Israel, then, are allusions to Messiah.

“And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever” (Ezekiel 37:25).

So this wonderful promise is repeated, the children of Israel would be restored to their promised lands and they would have the Holy One of Israel or the Holy Messiah, the very Son of God, to be their Prince and their King.

The land spoken of here is the land of Israel, of course. But the land of Israel shall “be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants” (Isaiah 49:19b). In addition, the Lord would give to Joseph another choice land, in the “everlasting hills” that would be found “over the wall” or the ocean, even the American continent (see Joseph’s patriarchal blessing, Genesis 49:22–26).

Other prophets also bear witness of the same gathering: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” (Zechariah 8:7–8, emphasis added).

It is the thousands of Manasseh and ten thousands of Ephraim who will have the great blessing and responsibility for beginning the process of gathering the rest of the tribes, including Judah. In Isaiah 18 and 66 we read in great detail how missionaries will leave the American continent and help gather Israel and Judah back to the land of Israel and back to the temple: “In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled [i.e., scattered and removed], and from a people terrible from their beginning [i.e., this is what Israel was called by the surrounding nations after its return from Egypt] hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled [i.e., a reference to armies that invaded Israel, e.g., see Isaiah 8:7–8], to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion [i.e., here a reference to the temple and to the land of Israel]” (Isaiah 18:7).

“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them” (Ezekiel 34:23). The word peace [שָׁלוֹם] is an interesting one. Peace, in Hebrew, means much more than the cessation of war. Among its meanings the idea of salvation is included. So it is that through the Holy Ghost we can be filled with calm and peace and joy, but that is not all, we are lead through this covenant to the way of salvation and eternal lives. It is precisely joy and peace which President Russell M. Nelson offered the youth devotional as they put in the effort to learn how to pray and seek to recognize the whisperings of the Spirit.

“It shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them” (Ezekiel 37:26b). In the last days the Lord would establish His Church for the last time. It would never fall, as a Church, into apostasy. It would be the last dispensation, or the dispensation of the fullness of times.

“And will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them” (Ezekiel 37:26b–27a).

The Holy One of Israel would establish the House of the Lord, His temple, among the people so that when this gift of a converted scattered Israel would be gathered, they could enter the House of the Lord to make special covenants there. But when He says that beside His sanctuary, or Temple, “my tabernacle also shall be with them,” He is speaking of His physical presence, that will be enjoyed by those who are so privileged to behold it. This is an example of parallelism wherein what appears to be a truth repeated twice actually hides another glorious truth.

“Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Ezekiel 37:27b). This is a double blessing, a sure blessing—one that is repeated twice in these verses.

“And the heathen [or better, the nations] shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore [לְעוֹלָם]” (Ezekiel 37:28). Once again, the House of the Lord is mentioned and a promise that the Church would not fall away, ever, לְעֹלָם.

All of the nations shall know that Israel was not discarded by Her Lord, “And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” So, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). The witness of the Book of Mormon loudly proclaims the divinity of the Savior, and help us better understand many of the promises found in the Bible.

Amidst a world who is attacking the divinity of our Lord, I came across this wonderful quote from Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture, Shon D. Hopkin, of Brigham Young University, “There is no space in the Book of Mormon for any debate over His identity. He is the Son of God; He is the Savior of the world.”[4]

I cherish my testimony of God, the Eternal Father, and His beloved Son, even Jesus Christ, above all things. It is the Book of Mormon that led me to this testimony. With the Psalmist I exclaim: “Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever (לְעוֹלָם)” (Psalm 106:1).

This is Part 3 of Gregorio Billikopf’s 3 part series understanding the Gathering of Israel. Here’s part 1 and part 2 if you missed them. Finally understand the gathering of Israel!

Notes

This article is an update of the introduction Rain in Due Season, in Isaiah Testifies of Christ.

[1] Robert J. Matthews, “Joseph Smith’s Inspired Translation of the Bible.” December 1972 Ensign.

[2] Ballard, M. Russell. The Miracle of the Holy Bible. April 2007 General Conference.

[3] I often speak on this subject, and at a fireside yesterday, at the Alerce Ward, Puerto Montt Stake, Sister Marisol Cornejo de San Martín wisely suggested that these mountains themselves also represent the temples of the Lord, where perfect harmony is expected of those who enter therein. 12 June 2017.

[4] R. Scott Lloyd, “Sperry Symposium speaker: Book of Mormon written ‘to the convincing of Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.’” Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (24 October 2015). Deseret News, Faith, 12 November 2015.

Last revised: 8 December 2019

2. The Gathering of Israel: YOU are of Israel

Gregorio Billikopf

Read part 1 and part 3 in this series

The average member incorrectly believes he or she is a gentile. Also, few members and missionaries realize that we are gathering literal Israel. That is, the children of Jacob as scattered throughout the world.

This is the second article of three on the gathering. If you missed the first read it here – The Gathering of Israel: Nothing of greater consequence!

Most of Israel—except for the tribe of Judah—does not realize her heritage. And even within Judah, there are other tribes mixed in as we shall see, especially that of Benjamin and Levi. Furthermore, many of Judah, also do not realize they are descendants of that tribe.

The gospel of Jesus Christ will be accepted first by Ephraim (and Manasseh is implied also) and eventually by all of the other tribes of Israel, and finally, by Judah. The book of Zechariah speaks much about the latter.

Brigham Young (Journal of Discourses 2:268–269, 8 April 1855) and Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines of Salvation 3:246) have made it clear that the majority who accept the Gospel are literal descendants of Israel. Is it not thrilling to know, as we do missionary work, that we are literally gathering Israel back in fulfillment of the promises in Deuteronomy 30:1–6? So also as we do vicarious work for our departed?

President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “The Lord said he would scatter Israel among the Gentile nations, and by doing so he would bless the Gentile nations with the blood of Abraham. Today we are preaching the gospel in the world and we are gathering out, according to the revelations given to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets, the scattered sheep of the House of Israel. These scattered sheep are coming forth mixed with Gentile blood from their Gentile forefathers. Under all the circumstances it is very possible that the majority, almost without exception, of those who come into the Church in this dispensation have the blood of two or more of the tribes of Israel as well as the blood of the Gentiles.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957–66, 3:63.)

President Joseph Fielding Smith also declared: “The great majority of those who become members of the Church are literal descendants of Abraham through Ephraim, son of Joseph” (Improvement Era, Oct. 1923, p. 1149). While this was especially the case in 1923, the number of converts from other tribes is beginning to grow. It was thrilling to hear Sister Wendy W. Nelson, as she spoke in the youth devotional of 3 June 2018, tell us how she met individuals from all twelve tribes in a trip to Russia and Armenia.

The rare person who is adopted into Israel—and I would not assume adoption unless the patriarchal blessing says so—will be just as much a partaker of the blessings given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as those who are direct descendants.

Gentiles, Gentile Nations, Heathen

Words can have multiple meanings. A few have the philosophy that words need to be translated in the same way throughout the Bible. Although this at first sounds quite laudable, the premise is flawed. Words in Hebrew also have multiple acceptations as do words in English, Spanish or any language.

Oftentimes, there are multiple words needed to provide a good translation—this is not an issue limited to biblical translation. Certainly, this is the case where words do not have an equivalent in the target language. For instance, the word sobremesa in Spanish has no equivalent in English. It means the time spent sitting at the table and chatting after people have stopped eating. Even where there are translations for a word, where there are multiple choices, the translator has to truly understand the context. Every translator thus becomes an interpreter.

That is why the approach is taken by the Amplified Bible (AMP) makes sense in that multiple acceptations of the original word are often used in the target language. In my opinion, however, there is no better translation into English than the KJV, speaking generally. But let us return to our topic.

The Hebrew expression הַגּוֹיִם, HA-Goyim, is variously translated as the heathen, the Gentiles, or the nations. Each of these words—heathen, Gentiles and nations—has a different meaning. The context of the word in Hebrew dictates the best translation.

The word heathen is often thought of as a strange, barbarian, uncivilized people or those who do not accept the God of the Bible (see Webster). A Gentile often means someone who is not a Jew, or someone who is a heathen or pagan (Webster). A humorous archaic definition of Gentile—as it is not used in real life among the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—is “a non-Mormon.”[1] I will use the term to distinguish those authors who represent both non-Jewish and non-LDS authors cited in my work.

There is a difference between Gentile and Gentile Nations. The word nation is often elliptical or implied when the word Gentile is used.

We read about the Gentiles taking the Gospel to Israel, but what is really meant is that the Gentile Nations will take the Gospel to Israel. The Prophet Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite (Journal of Discourses 2:268–69.), on the one hand, and a Gentile, on the other. Once again, to understand this we must comprehend that the Prophet Joseph Smith was born in a Gentile Nation. But the Prophet was a descendant of Israel through Joseph of Egypt.

When something positive is said about the Gentiles, it sadly seems to exclude Judah. In some instances, I would prefer if it said that these positive things would come upon the nations. It seems to me, at least, that it is more inclusive as the nations include both Jew and Gentile. Please remember, once again, that it is up to the English translator to decide how to render the word גּוֹיִם. This is, for instance, where I appreciate Leeser’s translation. Lest I be misunderstood, there are times when wonderful things are intended for the Gentiles, but more often than not, the Gentile nations are intended. And these are the descendants of Israel from the other tribes who are also scattered throughout the nations—but unless they have joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints they know it not.

In the Title Page of the Book of Mormon, we read that the Book of Mormon was: “Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile.” Meaning, by way of the Gentile Nations. Joseph Smith was the one who was to bring forth the Book of Mormon to the world.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after being restored, mostly sent missionaries from the Gentile Nations to the Gentile Nations. But these missionaries would be descendants of Israel who lived among the nations. And who would they go to? To the descendants of Israel among the nations, beginning with the tribe of Ephraim and ending with the tribe of Judah.

The most important point, once again, is that missionaries are going out to the nations of the world to gather Ephraim and his companions first and Judah and his companions next. All are to be invited to come unto Christ.

What tribes do the Lamanite nations come from?

According to Elder Erastus Snow, Joseph Smith taught that in the 116 pages of the lost manuscript, that Ishmael was a descendant of Ephraim (JD 23:184). From Alma 10:3 we find that Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh. “And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren” (Alma 10:3).

The American Continent, then, was populated by at least three tribes, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Judah. The latter, by way of Mulek, who left Jerusalem eleven years after Lehi had done so, and who formed the community of Zarahemla.

Because the sons of Lehi married the daughters of Ishmael, it follows that the descendants of the Lamanites might receive their blessings through either Ephraim or Manasseh but have both of these types of blood running through their veins. The third most common tribe in South America seems to be that of Judah. The tribe of Manasseh seems to generally predominate in Mexico in contrast to Chile, where more are from Ephraim.

There are at least two sources of Ephraimite blood; that which the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints receive from (1) the Gentile nations and that which they receive from the (2) Lamanite peoples.

The blood of Ephraim from the Gentile Nations was that which was spread forth after Assyria captured the Lost Tribes. The blood of Ephraim from the Lamanite nations was that which goes back specifically to the descendants of Lehi and Ishmael and their wives—which includes peoples from the American Continent as well as many of the isles of the sea.

In terms of our own patriarchal blessings, as has already mentioned, we most likely have multiple tribes running through our veins. We receive our blessings, however, through the tribe mentioned in our patriarchal blessing.

Israel’s Civil War

For the longest time, the children of Jacob were disobedient to the Lord “for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face” (Jeremiah 2:27b). The Lord even reminds them of the broken Abrahamic covenant: “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers (Jeremiah 7:23–26, emphasis added).

Likewise, in the Psalms: “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God” (Psalm 50:7).

At the time of King David’s grandson, that of King Rehoboam, Israel was split in two by a civil war. This sad turn of events was a result of the iniquity that existed from the very top down, from the king to dignitary, from the common man to the false prophet. In the words of Isaiah, “Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail” (Isaiah 9:14-15).

The story of the actual split is fascinating. Jeroboam came to King Rehoboam and demanded better treatment on behalf of the northern ten tribes. Jeroboam said: “Thy father [i.e., King Solomon] made our yoke grievous: now, therefore, make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee” (1 Kings 12:4).

King Rehoboam acted wisely in asking for three days to think things over and give a proper response. He first sought the advice of the older men. They provided wise counsel: “If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever” (1 Kings 12:7).

Rehoboam forsook the advice of the older men for those of his younger contemporaries. The latter advised that he speak to the people roughly, saying: “My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions” (1 Kings 12:10b–11). Some have suggested that scorpions were whips with sharp flesh-tearing objects embedded in them.

The forceful answer was disastrous: “So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David” (1 Kings 12:16a).

Thus, the united nation composed of twelve tribes ceased to be. The ten tribes to the north were now governed by King Jeroboam, and they retained the title of Israel. They were also known by their most prominent tribe, Ephraim, as well as by their capital, Samaria (according to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, another reason for this honor is that Jeroboam, its first king, was an Ephraimite).

Meanwhile, King Rehoboam was able to retain the remaining two tribes (Judah and Benjamin and part of Levi). They were referred to by the name of Judah, their most preeminent tribe, and sometimes by Jerusalem, their capital. A hatred and jealousy developed between the northern and southern tribes.

In Isaiah 9:21, we read of the hatred felt by the north for Judah, as well as the internal squabbles between Ephraim and Manasseh. Truly Ephraim hated Manasseh and Manasseh, Ephraim. Both hated Judah and Judah hated them back. The outlook was bleak, to be sure.

Jehovah rejected as King

The downward spiral could be traced to an earlier time. Saul was made king over the twelve tribes during the times of the judges because the children of Jacob rejected Jehovah as her King in preference for an earthly sovereign. The people wanted to be like all the nations who surrounded them.

Samuel the Prophet felt rejected by the children of Israel in this thing. The Lord permitted the people to have their agency: “And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee [i.e., give them the king that they think they want]: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).

Why did Lehi and Ishmael live in Jerusalem?

While both nations did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, at first the Ephraimites (northern ten tribes) were much eviler than Judah (southern two tribes). Jeroboam, King of Ephraim, built a false altar and ordained a false priesthood (1 Kings 12:26–31).

Both Lehi and Ishmael belonged to the northern tribes of Israel yet they lived along with the tribes of Judah in Jerusalem. As we said, Lehi’s family heritage was of the tribe of Manasseh (Alma 10:3) while Ishmael’s was of the tribe of Ephraim (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:141).

Why is it that they were living in Jerusalem among Judah and Benjamin?

The most righteous who lived within the territories of Ephraim began to migrate south to Jerusalem, and thus we read: “Out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the Lord God of their fathers” (2 Chronicles 11:16b).

We likewise read: “Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 30:11).

Also, we read: “And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh” (1 Chronicles 9:3).

The Bible, then, gives us a very good reason why Lehi and Ishmael were found in Jerusalem. The exodus of the righteous down to Judah left Ephraim (speaking of the ten tribes) in an even more idolatrous state.

Hosea Principle

Among the prophets sent to warn Ephraim (northern tribes), was Hosea. The Prophet Hosea was asked to call his son לֹא עַמִּי Lo-ammi (לֹא, Lo, not; עַמִּי, am, people, ammi, my people): “Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God” (Hosea 1:9).

Mark the words, “for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.” This theological ellipsis takes us back to Rain in Due Season and the promise that the Lord would honor our covenant-keeping by making us His people and be our God. But now the Lord is telling us that He is withdrawing because the children of Jacob broke the covenant. As much as the original promise makes me full of joy, these words are like a painful sword cutting through me.

There is good news, however, as not all is lost. In the very next paragraph the Lord tells us that in the last days,after the blessings and cursing had taken place (all of this elliptical), the Abrahamic Covenant would once again be instituted:

“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God” (Hosea 1:10).

I call it the Hosea Principle. Any time that the Lord speaks with a strong admonition, it is followed by His tender mercies [חֶסֶד].

Christ taught His disciples to follow this very approach, “… showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved” (D&C 121:43b). The Savior repeatedly gives us the example in the scriptures.

The Lord reprimands: “They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble. In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity, they feel after me” (D&C 101:7–8). This admonition is followed by a very tender: “Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath, I will remember mercy” (D&C 101:9).

We might say with Alma, “My soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!” (Alma 36:20b). The day would come when once more the Lord would say, “Ye are the sons of the living God.”

Scattering of Israel & Judah: Aholah & Aholibah

Ezekiel speaks of Ephraim and Judah as two wicked sisters, competing to outdo each other. He calls Samaria (capital of Ephraim) Aholah, and Jerusalem (capital of Judah), Aholibah (Ezekiel 23:4 ff.).

Ephraim was now at the verge of being taken captive by Assyria and being scattered all over Europe, Asia and Africa. These individuals would not be returning to the Holy Land but would be scattered all over. They would come to be called the Lost Tribes.

So it is that we read that “In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria (2 Kings 15:29).

Judah’s capture by Babylonia would follow about 120 years later and last for seven decades. Much of Judah would remain in Babylon and yet a remnant would return to the Holy Land. The promised Messiah would be born from within this returning remnant of the tribe of Judah, even Jesus Christ.

Of the Babylonian captivity of Judah ,we read: “The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive” (Jeremiah 13:19).

These scriptures in 2 Kings and Jeremiah are accompanied by many others. These events took place over a number of years.

After Christ’s death, Judah continued to be scattered, yet she was in part able to retain her national identity. Many of Judah—like her sister Ephraim—have lost their identity, however.

From the Book of Mormon, we read that there is a portion of the Lost Tribes who have also kept a record (2 Nephi 29:12–13): one which we will have in due course of time.

Lehi’s family escaped Jerusalem just before Judah was taken captive, and with the help of God, made sea vessels to travel to the American continent.

One way or the other, then, the children of Jacob were scattered to every continent, island of the sea, and corner of the earth. Her blood would be mingled with those of all the people upon the earth.

In Genesis 22:18a Abraham was told: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” One of the ways this would take place is that Israel’s blood would run through all the nations.

Early Patriarchal Blessings

The Holy Scriptures contain the patriarchal blessings of Joseph, as well as those of his brothers. We find a very important portion of Joseph’s patriarchal blessing in Genesis 49:22–26. Much less often, do we speak of his blessings given by Moses and found in Deuteronomy 33:13–17. I wish to quote the last of these verses: “His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh” (Deuteronomy 33:17).

These horns were to be used to gather Israel from all the nations of the earth. One Elder who served in Llanquihue, Chile, and with whom I shared these thoughts added, “Yes, one horn represents Ephraim and the other Manasseh.”

It would be the thousands of Manasseh and the ten thousands of Ephraim who would begin this great work. Certainly, with time, missionaries from all of the tribes would be united in this effort. President Russell M. Nelson, during the June 2018 worldwide youth devotional, invited the youth to be part of this great battalion who is gathering Israel on both sides of the veil. The prophet told the youth that nothing was more important in their lives at this moment than this gathering.

Blessings for Ishmael

The Lord, in his great love, will not leave anyone unblessed. We are told that Ishmael, Isaac’s half-brother, would not be left without a blessing: “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac …” (Genesis 17:20–21a).

Writing to your posterity

If you were given an opportunity to write a letter to your great, great grandchildren and share your testimony of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—at a time when they had lost knowledge of Him—would not that be wonderful? And would not that be even more wonderful if your readers would be blessed with the Holy Ghost to know of the truthfulness of your testimony?

In essence, this is what the Book of Mormon is to the Lamanite nations. But this book is not just a blessing to those of Lamanite heritage, but to the whole world, to all the nations, to both the Jew and the Gentile nations—for the convincing of all that Jesus is the Christ.

Prophets speak of the gathering

The Jews, as we have said, divide the Holy Scriptures or Tanakh (תַּנַ”ךְ) into three discrete categories: The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. The Prophets, נְבִיאִים‎ or Nevi’im, are full of allusions, especially to the Law or Torah, תּוֹרָה.

Both the law and the prophets particularly testified of Christ. When the Lord visited the American continent He said: “And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me” (3 Nephi 15:10b). The Prophetic books are particularly important in this respect:

“Verily I say unto you, yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have testified of me. And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed” (3 Nephi 20:24–25).

“And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things” (3 Nephi 23:5).

“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 (3 Nephi 23:1–2, emphasis added).

Isaiah 18

There are a number of chapters in Isaiah that speak of the Book of Mormon, and we shall see in more detail as we enter our study. One of them is Isaiah 18, the subject of a a different article. In 18:7 we read of ambassadors of truth that have a great work to perform:

“In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts.” The present that is brought to the Lord are the converts from the twelve tribes of Israel. “To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.” This place, clearly, is the House of the Lord, even the Temple of our God. Mount Zion stands for the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—and by extension, probably all the temples.

One of the greatest gifts we can give the Lord is to share His word with others and help others come unto Christ. Just as a baptism without confirmation is not complete, missionary work is not completed until the converts partake of the ordinances of salvation in the House of the Lord. Of course, each person has to also endure to the end in righteous living. So also, the work we perform for our departed in the House of the Lord.

A vital part of the gathering of Israel, then, is to help people go to the temple, and as the Prophet Joseph Smith said in our opening quote, to “prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings” (HC 5:422).

In the final article of three, we get to the most exciting point, how the Book of Mormon is used to gather Israel by the Lord himself.

And again – if you missed the first of this series here it is:

The Gathering of Israel: Nothing of greater consequence!

Notes

This article is an update of the introduction “Rain in Due Season,” in Isaiah Testifies of Christ.

[1] Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

1. The Gathering of Israel: Nothing of greater consequence!

Gregorio Billikopf

Read part 2 and part 3 to this series

One of the primary foci of the Holy Scriptures, Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, as the Old Testament is called by the Jews, is the gathering. And no book equals that of Isaiah on this topic. In this three-part series, we will survey the Old Testament, come to understand some of the prophecies regarding the gathering and most especially, the role that the Book of Mormon plays today. Although members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are familiar with Ezekiel’s prophecy of the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim, after reading this series you will see how a large portion of the Hebrew Bible testifies of matters that come to a striking and powerful climax in Ezekiel.

“What was the object of gathering the Jews, or the people of God in any age of the world? … The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation … It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings” —Joseph Smith the Prophet, HC 5:423–24

On 3 June 2018 President Nelson addressed the youth of the world in a moving devotional. He told those who were present:

“There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing [than the gathering of Israel today] … This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.”

President Nelson invited the youth to be one of the swift messengers mentioned in Isaiah 18, a chapter dedicated to the scattering and gathering of Israel. He also testified that without the Book of Mormon, there would be no gathering of Israel. The Prophet was concerned that the youth did not understand what the gathering was all about. He summarized it as inviting all to come unto Christ on both sides of the veil.

I am aware that some individuals are weary of the Old Testament, or simply see it as containing some nice stories. After being prompted by the Spirit to study Isaiah, I have come to love the Hebrew Scriptures. I have found many a hidden treasure, as well as a witness for the restoration of the Church and the coming forth of that Book of books, the Book of Mormon. Your testimony of the Savior, of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will grow into a bright beam. The topic of the gathering of Israel has been a passion of mine for decades and I hope others will also feel the thrill.

Exciting journey

The subject of the gathering is a thrilling and glorious one and has occupied my mind for much of the last few decades, especially as I embarked on writing Isaiah Testifies of Christ.

In order to understand the promises made to the twelve tribes of Israel, we will set off on an exciting journey with some terrain that must first be traversed in order to come to a better understanding of these glorious prophecies. We will review some of the most pertinent aspects of the history of Israel, and come to an understanding of multiple prophecies as well as the prophetic voice. As we begin, some of the topics will not immediately seem connected. I will attempt to tie the loose ends before we are done.

Truth is one eternal round (D&C 35:1) and so we shall begin with the quote given by the Prophet Joseph Smith, above, about the importance of temples, and end with this very concept as it relates to the Book of Mormon as an instrument to help Israel accomplish the following:

Gather back unto Christ,
Be restored to the Abrahamic covenant, and
Be brought to the temples of our God. The Holy Scriptures truly testify of Jesus Christ. The Hebrew Bible also testifies of the role the Book of Mormon would play in the gathering of Israel from spiritual Babylon unto Zion.

Ellipses

A few years before I retired from the University of California, my supervisor and I were both putting our lunches in the office refrigerator. Noting there was little space she laughingly commented: “It must be the end of the month.” It took me a moment to realize what she was saying before I could join in the laughter.

An ellipsis is something that is understood even though it is not said. They are present in all of our conversations and in everything we read or hear. Much of humor relies on people understanding the gap between what is expressed and what is implied. An ellipsis consists of an omission of one or more words. It is sometimes reflected in writing by three points ( … ). In Spanish, they are called puntos suspensivos.

Martha Kolln suggested, “When well used, ellipsis can create a bond of sorts between the writer and the reader. The writer is saying, in effect, I needn’t spell everything out for you; I know you’ll understand” (Rhetorical Grammar, 5^th ed. Pearson, 2007).

As we fall in love with the scriptures, we begin to see more and more of these elliptical points that are not written, but whose meanings we must prayerfully discern ourselves. Not just words, but often much more.

The elliptical expressions included in my supervisor’s humor required an understanding that: (1) people often go out to lunch; (2) individuals are paid at the beginning of the month; (3) people live from paycheck to paycheck; (4) individuals have less disposable money towards the end of the month because few budget carefully; (5) going out to lunch is more expensive than bringing something from home; and therefore: (6) people have brought in their lunches because it is the end of the month. This is a cultural ellipsis.

Someone in a biblical agrarian society might not get this at all. And conversely, there are many cultural ellipses in Scripture that we do not easily understand—especially if we have been raised far from an agrarian society.

New wine in new bottles

In Matthew 9:17 we read: “Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.”

To understand this verse we must comprehend that (1) grape juice turns into wine through a primary and a secondary fermentation process; (2) new wine has not totally finished fermenting (i.e., the secondary fermentation has not yet taken place); (3) and that old bottles (rather, animal skins or leather used as containers) have previously been expanded to their limit.

If new wine is put in these old wineskins that cannot stretch any further, they burst, spilling out all of their contents. New skins, on the other hand, can stretch along with the secondary fermentation process and are well suited to new wine.

It has been said that Joseph Smith, the young boy prophet of the restoration, was like a new bottle into which the Lord’s doctrine could be poured.

To understand ellipses, then, we must understand the culture, the theology, and the language. When the Bible was translated from the ancient languages into our modern texts, such as the King James Version, they did much to fill in the gaps for us. In other words, the translators gladly provided much of the missing text we would need to understand. Even so, there are plenty of areas that require further understanding.

Italics in the Bible

We can open our KJV of the Bible to almost any page and find that some of the text is in italics. (Some Biblical translations do not show these italics in the text but rather give the illusion that the whole text is part of the original. Other versions provide additional expansions, such as the Amplified Version.)

Without the ellipsis being filled in for us, Isaiah 2:12 would read: “For the day of the Lord of hosts upon every proud and lofty, and upon every lifted up; and he shall be brought low.” With the ellipsis filled in, we have: “For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.”

Genesis 30:30 would read: “For little which thou hadst before I, and it is increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?” With the ellipses filled in: “For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?”

There are many ellipses in the Bible and the book Figures of Speech used in the Bible, by Ethelbert W. Bullinger, D.D. is quite interesting and instructive.[1] The problem, of course, is that ellipses are subject to interpretation. Not all of the ellipses, as they are filled in our KJV, are correct. The same can be said of other Biblical translations. Furthermore, even though I have recommended Bullinger, I have filled the margins of the book with differences of opinion.

The Prophet Joseph Smith approved many of the elliptical expressions we find in our KJV, but not all. Ellipses may be completely misunderstood and become false ellipsis. There really is a danger that translators and interpreters of Scripture will misunderstand ellipses. Even though the Inspired Version is not the official Bible for English speakers, gladly we can lean heavily on the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) as we study the Word. In some instances, we may even think of the JST as elliptical expressions used by the Prophet to help us understand the text.

Theological ellipses

Besides missing words or expressions there are also theological ellipses. In these cases, instead of a few words that are missing, only a few are provided. These expressions are codes for expanded meaning. In prophecy, one often sees the development of ideas, line upon line, and precept upon precept. We will be particularly interested in these theological ellipses that are loaded with meaning, as they appear throughout the Holy Scriptures, especially as touching the Abrahamic covenant and the ingathering of Israel.

Abrahamic Covenant

The Lord offered Abraham many wonderful blessings. These would include a large posterity as well as an inheritance in the Holy Land. Among the many promises made to Abraham, particularly mark the following: “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (Genesis 17:7, emphasis added).

I am your God, ye are my people

We will be particularly interested in the chapters I have nicknamed Rain in Due Season. Oftentimes, when one verse of these chapters is quoted or alluded to, these stand for all of the blessings and cursing promised therein. And most importantly, they are a reminder of some very special promises associated with the gathering in the latter days. Throughout Isaiah, these blessings and cursings are alluded to.

The Rain in Due Season promises associated with the scattering and gathering of Israel are found in the Pentateuch, in their most extensive detail, in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 4, 28–30, and 32. I urge you to read and re-read these chapters and become intimately acquainted with them: an understanding of these will greatly facilitate an understanding of a large portion of the Holy Scriptures and of the book of Isaiah. I use the expression rain in due season to refer to these chapters.

The Lord promises, if we heed the invitation to remove ourselves from every type of idolatry and to make the Sabbath a delight[3]: “Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit” (Leviticus 26:4, emphasis added). Rain is often associated with blessings in the Holy Scriptures.

In today’s agriculture, we often have great reservoirs of water that are accumulated from the winter rains and melted snows in order to water orchards and other agricultural lands during the growing season. In my mother’s farm in San Javier, Chile, we were very blessed to have small water canals to water our vineyards. My uncle, on the other hand, owned property in the nearby town of Villa Alegre, and his watering system was called “regadío a rulo,” or non-irrigated land. The only water that falls in this land is the rain the Lord provides.

During Biblical times, much of Israel’s rain was provided in this way. Depending on the crops, there are specific times when rain is needed. Vineyards and orchards also need rain at specific intervals; grains and annuals need rain to soften the soil for tillage and then at intervals once the plants are growing.

When the Lord says that He would provide rain in due season, then, He is blessing us with rain at the precise moment when the plants have a need for it.

In the ancient agronomical societies, then, rain in due season meant the difference between plentiful crops and famine. Rain and blessings are closely associated with each other.

So it is that the Lord promises: “prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10b).

It requires tremendous faith to plant or grow crops under such a method, especially under Mediterranean climates—such as portions of Chile, California and the Holy Land.

Besides the rain given to those involved in agriculture, rain in due season also implies blessings in general. The Lord’s timing in providing these blessings is always perfect. These miracles, of course, are not only material but spiritual. Above all things, rain in due season represents revelation. This is a priceless gift, to have the Lord speak to us through our Prophets, Seers and Revelators and also, for personal matters, through direct personal revelation and divine inspiration.

The Lord promised the children of Jacob rain in due season if they would walk in His paths and turn their hearts toward the Holy One of Israel.

“Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out” (Deuteronomy 28:6). The complete list of blessings is extensive and beautiful.

The assurances, in essence, are a review of the promises made to Abraham: “For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you” (Leviticus 26:9).

None of the assertions are more profound and magnificent than the following: “I [the Lord] will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people” (Leviticus 26:12b, emphasis added). These words bring tears of joy. Can you sense the greatness of these promises?

These Rain in Due Season verses are pregnant with meaning, and are a theological ellipsis for the Abrahamic Covenant, as we saw in Genesis 17:7: “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee” (emphasis added).

Disobedience brings curses

If the children of Jacob would be disobedient, on the other hand, unspeakable curses would befall her. As you read about these curses carefully, you will see that these are multiplied to bless Israel, and help her return unto the Lord.

In Leviticus 26 the Lord announces a set of blessings, and then tells us that if these are not sufficient to soften our hearts, then “I will punish you seven [שֶׁבַע] times more for your sins” (Leviticus 26:18b). The next set of consequences is then given and once again the warning of a seven-fold punishment. This happens multiple times throughout this chapter. When we consider that the word seven stands for perfection, then we know that the Lord’s punishment will be perfect, or in other words, just right for our needs. Just right to bless us.

For the purposes of these articles, we shall focus on two of the cursings. First, “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods” (Deuteronomy 28:64a, emphasis added).

Second, there would be a cessation of revelation and the heavens would be shut down: “And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass” (Deuteronomy 28:23a). Elsewhere we read a similar sentiment: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11).

Drought of rain is a physical manifestation. Drought of revelation is a spiritual one. They both indicate that things are not well between us and the Lord—especially the latter.

After the blessings and the cursings

In his mercy and foreknowledge, the Lord made provisions for the repentance of the children of Jacob. In one of the most moving verses in Scripture we read: “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee” (Deuteronomy 30:1), or in other words, when we are brought to a remembrance of these promises after we have been scattered throughout the nations. While we have been scattered by the hand of the nations, we should note that the Lord permitted this scattering.

The Lord is speaking to Israel, regarding what would happen after the great majority of the blessings and cursings would take place: in other words, to the time when the gospel would be restored again upon the earth.

“And shalt return (וְשַׁבְתָּ) unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 30:2).

At every moment we continually make the decision to שׁוּב (shuv), that is, to turn or return towards the Lord, or to give Him our back. In the Holy Scriptures, this is the word that is used to invite people to return unto Christ or repent. שׁוּב is a frequently utilized word to speak about repentance as well as apostasy, turning toward the Lord—or away.

Continuing with Deuteronomy 30:2, note that we first come in remembrance of these covenants and then are moved with a great desire to obey and to enter into the waters of baptism to show our determination to obey. Furthermore, we will have a great desire to share these things with others, especially with our families and children. We will prepare our children for baptism at the age of accountability, whenever possible.

“That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee” (Deuteronomy 30:3). To “turn thy captivity” means to put an end to it. The captivity here mentioned is not just a physical one, but also a spiritual one. We will leave mystical Babylon and come unto Zion.

The Lord will be filled with His tender mercies [חֶסֶד] and have compassion toward us. It would not matter where we would have been scattered to, the Lord would have compassion upon us: He will find us even when we did not know we wanted to be found.

“If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee” (Deuteronomy 30:4). None would be forgotten, none would be rejected from coming, and none would be uninvited. No matter where or how far away we would be scattered, it would not be so far that the Lord could not find us—even to the outermost parts of heaven. Either on this side of the veil or the other.

“And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it” (Deuteronomy 30:5a). The Lord would bring Judah back to the Holy Land. The other tribes would have their special lands elsewhere. For instance, Joseph would inherit the American Continent, North and South.

Finally, there is an implication of spiritual Zion—regardless of what nation we find ourselves in, we can leave Babylon and become a Zion people.

“And he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers” (Deuteronomy 30:5b). Those gathered from Israel in the last days will receive blessings even greater than those in former times.

“And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). Our hearts will be circumcised as a token of this new covenant—that is, our hearts of stone will be replaced with a heart of flesh. “That thou mayest live” is an allusion to receiving exaltation and eternal lives.

In the next article, we will explain how you are of Israel and give some historical background on Israel’s civil war.

Notes

This article was adapted from “Rain in Due Season” in Isaiah Testifies of Christ.

[1] https://ia800204.us.archive.org/1/items/cu31924029277047 /cu31924029277047.pdf (Internet Archive free download).

[2] President Ezra Taft Benson, Beware of Pride, April 1989 General Conference.

[3] President Russel M. Nelson, The Sabbath is a Delight, April 2015 General Conference.

Isaiah 29 (2 Nephi 25, 26, 27) a Marvelous Work and a Wonder

Darryl Alder

Isaiah 29 and 2 Nephi 27; the Marvelous Work and a Wonder

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH CHAPTER 29 A people (the Nephites) will speak as a voice from the dust—Darkness and apostasy will cover the earth in the last days—, A restoration of the gospel and coming forth of a sealed book (the Book of Mormon) are foretold—Three witnesses will testify of the book—The learned man will say he cannot read the sealed book—The Lord will do a marvelous work and a wonder—Compare 2 Nephi 27. (Joseph Smith Translation (JST) and changes in the Book of Mormon are in RED; commentary and notes are GREEN )
*The Marvelous Work and a Wonder Proclaimed*
King James Isaiah 29	2 Nephi 25	Notes and Commentary
No King James equivalent	17 And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.	The Nephite text in 2 Nephi 27 adds the introductory verse (24), which has the Lord speaking to Joseph Smith. He announces to this prophet of the restoration the coming forth of “a marvelous work and a wonder” in the latter days. It is of interest to note the similarity of these words recorded by Isaiah and Nephi anciently to those uttered by the Son of God in person to young Joseph Smith during what is known as the First Vision. (JS–H 1:17–19.)³
King James Isaiah 29	Compare 2 Nephi 27	Notes and Commentary
1 ^aWoe to ^bAriel, to Ariel, the city ^cwhere David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.	No Book of Mormon equivalent; Joseph Smith Translation (JST) 29:1 is unchanged: Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.	Ariel is the city of Jerusalem. Ariel appears five times in the Old Testament, all in Isaiah 29. The word is commonly translated as “lion of God,” “lioness of God,” or “altar-hearth” of God. The lion is a symbol of Judah (Gen. 49:9).⁴ [The first two] verses are not quoted by Nephi. However, as the Prophet Joseph Smith worked on his inspired translation of the Bible, he made a slight alteration in verse 2, adding the phrase “for thus hath the Lord said unto me” after the word “sorrow,” and deleting the words “me as” between “unto” and “Ariel.” (JST Isaiah: 29: 2.) Ariel (the city where David dwelt) was Jerusalem. It meant “altar of God” or “hearth of God.” The hearth was the highest tier of the altar of Solomon’s temple and was the place where sacrifices were consumed by fire. “Since the term is used to describe Jerusalem in her distressed condition (the word ‘Zion’ replaces this term in 2 Ne. 27:3), it implies that Judah will need to be humbled and that God’s fire of judgment will refine her.” (Isaiah Prophet, Seer, and Poet, 270–71.) (Gen. 49:9).⁵
2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and ^asorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.	No Book of Mormon equivalent; JST: 29:2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow; for thus hath the Lord said unto me, It shall be unto Ariel;	When Joseph Smith translated the Bible, he made a number of notable changes in this section of Isaiah 29. The King James Version second-person forms, thou, thee, and thy, which refer to Jerusalem, are changed to the third-person singular forms her and she in eight instances in verses 3–5 of the Joseph Smith Translation.)⁶
King James Isaiah 29	Compare 2 Nephi 26	Notes and Commentary
3 And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.	15 After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have ^adwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have ^bcamped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the ^cprayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have ^ddwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.	These verses (3–5) could refer to the nations of Judah and Israel being brought low, or destroyed. The ancient covenant people would then speak “low out of the dust” in the sense that they would speak out of the depths of their humbled condition. A more probable interpretation of these verses would be their application to the destruction of the ancient Nephite civilization. This is obviously the interpretation Nephi had in mind. This people, because of iniquity and unbelief, were to be “brought down low in the dust, even that they are not.” Yet, even though destroyed as a people without posterity, their words “shall speak …out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust.” …[Moroni] was charged with safeguarding those sacred writings. He discharged that duty by concluding the record and safely burying it in a protected place to which he was undoubtedly led. Over fourteen hundred years later, then a resurrected being, he was divinely directed to deliver the plates “out of the ground” to the young Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph, in turn, was called to translate the sacred record into what is now known to millions throughout the earth as the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. (See JS–H 1:27–54, 59–60.) Because Nephi is expounding on Isaiah, rather than simply quoting, his words cast a great deal of light on this passage.⁷
4 ~~And thou shalt be brought down, and~~ shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, ~~out of the ground, and~~ thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.	16 For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust. 17 For thus saith the Lord God: They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for they seek to destroy the things of God.	Nephi next applies Isaiah’s words of Jerusalem’s defeat to the downfall of his Nephite nation, highlighting special records that come forth and contain the words (“speech”) of a beleaguered nation. These words have a familiar message or “spirit” to them because they are the words of God as recorded by the ancient prophets (part 3). These scriptures are collected in a special, sealed book (now known in part as the Book of Mormon).⁸
5 Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.	18 Wherefore, as those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily; and the multitude of their ^aterrible ones shall be as ^bchaff that passeth away—yea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an instant, suddenly	The wicked shall be tossed to the wind as chaff that is separated from the good seed at harvest time. This could apply to the wicked in the latter days who oppose the Lord’s standard of Zion, or it could have application to the past destruction of the wicked Nephite society: they who were “led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind.” (Mormon 5:16–18.)⁹
The Last Days Will Be a Time of Great Wickedness
King James Isaiah 29	Compare Nephi 27	Notes and Commentary
No King James equivalent	1 But, behold, in the ^alast days, or in the days of the Gentiles—yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews, both those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands, yea, even upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be ^bdrunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations—	Nephi paraphrased a few of Isaiah’s words, as recorded in Isaiah 29:2–4, likening the people of Jerusalem to his own people and their destruction (2 Ne. 26:15). The Nephite nation was indeed destroyed according to the words of Nephi in a manner similar to the destruction of Jerusalem.10
6 [~~Thou]~~ shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring ^afire.x	2 And when that day shall come they shall be ^avisited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the ^bflame of devouring fire.x	The Lord has often used the elements to call people to repentance. He has specifically warned the inhabitants of the earth in the last days that He will speak to them through these voices of nature. (D&C 43:25; 88:89–91; 97:26; Mormon 8:29; Behold, I Come Quickly, 25–37.)¹¹
7 ¶ And [~~the multitude~~] of all the nations that fight against [~~Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition~~], and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. 8 [It shall] even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or [as when] a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that ^afight against mount	3 And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.	JST 29:7–8 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. Yea, it shall *be unto them even* as *unto* a hungry man *who* dreameth, and behold, he eateth, but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man *who* dreameth, and behold, he drinketh, but he awaketh, and behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite. *Yea, even* so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against mount Zion. The nations that fight against Jerusalem and Zion will, in the end, have no more lasting satisfaction than does a hungry person who only dreams of eating.¹²
9 ¶ Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are ^adrunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.	4 For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be ^adrunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink.	Isaiah’s words in verses 9–10 refer to the Great Apostasy, which would occur after the deaths of the Savior and His Apostles. Over time, people changed many gospel principles and the organization of the Church.¹³
10 For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep ^asleep, and hath closed your ^beyes: the ^cprophets and your rulers, the ^dseers hath he ^ecovered.	5 For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your ^aeyes, and ye have ^brejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity.	People would experience “the spirit of deep sleep,” and the prophets and seers would be covered, or removed from the people… the world would fall into a state of spiritual darkness. This falling away from truth is …the Great Apostasy.¹⁴
*The Book of Mormon Will Come Forth*
11 ~~[And the vision of all is become]~~ unto you as the words of a ^abook x x …that is ^bsealed,	6 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto ^ayou the words of a ^bbook, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered. 7 And behold the book shall be ^asealed; and in the book shall be a ^brevelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ^cending thereof.	“Many more scriptural writings will yet come to us, including those of Enoch (see D&C 107:57), all of the writings of the Apostle John (see Ether 4:16), the records of the lost tribes of Israel (see 2 Nephi 29:13), and the approximately two-thirds of the Book of Mormon plates that were sealed: ‘And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth’ (2 Nephi 27:11). Today we carry convenient quadruple combinations of the scriptures, but one day, since more scriptures are coming, we may need to pull little red wagons brimful with books^{” 15}
No King James equivalent	8 Wherefore, because of the things which are sealed up, the things which are sealed shall not be delivered in the day of the wickedness and abominations of the people. Wherefore the book shall be kept from them.
No King James equivalent	9 But the book shall be delivered unto a man, and he shall deliver the words of the book, which are the words of those who have slumbered in the dust, and he shall deliver these words unto another;
No King James equivalent	10 But the words which are sealed he shall not deliver, neither shall he deliver the book. For the book shall be sealed by the power of God, and the revelation which was sealed shall be kept in the book until the own due time of the Lord, that they may come forth; for behold, they reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the end thereof.	The fact that the sealed portion of the plates will not be translated and given to the people while “wickedness and abominations” exist makes us wonder if it might not be until the Millennium before we get the rest of the Book of Mormon.¹⁶
No King James equivalent	11 And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth.	…the words of the book, which are the words of those who have slumbered in the dust (Book of Mormon prophets), and he (Joseph Smith) shall deliver these words unto another (refers prophetically to the incident in which Martin Harris gave a copy of characters taken from the plates to Professor Charles Anthon; see JS-H 1:63–65); 10 But the words which are sealed (sealed portion of the plates) he shall not deliver (translate etc.¹⁷
The Book of Mormon Plates Will Be Seen Only by Special Witnesses
	12 Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein. 13 And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead. 14 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God!	The three men chosen as witnesses of the Book of Mormon were Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris. Their written ‘Testimony of Three Witnesses’ has been included in all of the almost 100 million copies of the Book of Mormon the Church has published since 1830. These witnesses solemnly testify that they ‘have seen the plates which contain this record’ and ‘the engravings which are upon the plates.’ They witness that these writings ‘have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us.’ They testify, ‘We declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true’” ¹⁸
*The Book of Mormon Will Be Translated by the Power of God, Not the Learning of Man*
…which [~~men~~] deliver to [~~one that is~~] learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee:	15 But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book: Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show them unto the learned, saying: Read this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say: Bring hither the book, and I will read them.	Martin Harris desired proof that the translation Joseph Smith was making was genuine. He obtained permission to carry a copy of several of the “words” from the plates, together with their translation, to some learned men. Martin Harris …state[d] that he took the copy to Professor Charles Anthon of New York City, who certified that the characters were real and correctly translated. But when Professor Anthon discovered that the record from which the characters were obtained was itself received by supernatural means, he retracted his statement by asking for his certificate back and tearing it to bits. …Anthon said that “if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, ‘I cannot read a sealed book.’ I left him, and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and the translation.” (Joseph Smith—History 1:65.)¹⁹
	16 And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God.
…and [~~he saith~~],I cannot; for it is sealed:	17 And the man shall say: I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.
	18 Then shall the learned say: I cannot read it.
12 [~~And the book is delivere~~d]to ^ahim that is not learned, [~~saying, Read this, I pray thee:~~] and he saith, I am not learned.	19 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that the Lord God will ^adeliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned.	Now in regard to Joseph Smith’s qualifications or attainments in learning, they were very ordinary. He had received a little education in the common country schools in the vicinity in which he had lived. He could read a little and could write, but it was in such an ordinary hand that he did not venture to act as his own scribe, but had to employ sometimes one and sometimes another to write as he translated. This unlearned man did not make the same reply that the learned man did. For when the book was delivered to this unlearned youth and he was requested to read it, he replied, ‘I am not learned.’ I suppose he felt his weakness when the Lord told him to read this book; for he thought it was a great work.^20a
	20 Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.	The man called “not learned” in these verses is the Prophet Joseph Smith. He had very little regular schooling when he was young, but that did not matter. As prophesied, “learned” men could not read the gold plates. Joseph translated the Book of Mormon by the “gift and power of God” (see the Title Page to the Book of Mormon).^20b
	21 Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.
	22 Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the witnesses which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men.
The Lord Is a God of Miracles
	23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.
	24 And again it shall come to pass that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read the words that shall be delivered him:
13 ¶ [~~Wherefore the Lord said]~~, Forasmuch as this people ^adraw near me with their ^bmouth, and with their lips do ^chonour me, but have ^dremoved their ^eheart far from me, and their ^ffear toward me is taught by the ^gprecept of men:	25 ^aForasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do ^bhonor me, but have removed their ^chearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the ^dprecepts of men—	This is how “Jesus quoted Isaiah …as He answered Joseph Smith’s question as to which church to join, during the first vision.“²¹
14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise shall ^dperish, and the ^eunderstanding of their ^fprudent [~~men~~] shall be hid.	26 Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a ^bmarvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid.	“Isaiah foresaw that God would do ‘a marvelous work and a wonder’ in the latter days…That marvelous work would include the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the gospel”²²
15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from theLord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who ^bseeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the ^awork say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?	27 And ^awo unto them that seek deep to hide their ^bcounsel from the Lord! And their works are in the ^cdark; and they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us? And they also say: Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the ^dpotter’s clay. But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I ^eknow all their works. For shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?	them = the wicked counsel = evil plots turning of things upside down=perversion of truth potter’s clay (i.e., claiming they can get along without God like the situation described in Isaiah 45:9 where the potter’s clay tries to tell the potter what to do) them= the wicked the work=the pot him=the potter the thing framed= the building or whatever him = the carpenter, craftsman framed it = built it had no understanding (he doesn’t know me;i.e., “God doesn’t know us. We can be wicked and successfully hide from God.” or, “You wicked are just as foolish as potters clay that claims it made itself into a pot and has no accountability to its maker.”)²³
17 [~~Is it not~~] yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?	28 But behold, saith the Lord of Hosts: I will show unto the children of men that it is yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the ^afruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest.	Israel will blossom with literal forests and with truth, spiritual growth etc. after the Restoration. This is being very dramatically fulfilled, literally, today, as millions upon millions of trees are being planted in the southern portions of the Holy Land. It appears that significant spiritual growth is yet future.²⁴
18 ¶ And in that ^aday shall the deaf hear the words of the ^bbook, and the ^ceyes of the blind shall see out of ^dobscurity, and out of darkness. xx	29 ^aAnd in that day shall the ^bdeaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.x	The spiritually deaf and blind will hear and see the Book of Mormon, and the meek and poor will rejoice in the Lord. This prophecy may be interpreted both symbolically and literally (for example, sophisticated hearing aids, audio recordings, scriptures in Braille, etc.)²⁵
19 The meek also shall increase their ^ajoy in the Lord, and the ^bpoor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.x	30 And the ^ameek also shall increase, and their ^bjoy shall be in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.x	The terms meek and poor seem to refer to disciples of Christ (see Matt. 5:3, “poor in spirit” and Matt. 5:5, “meek”). The number of true disciples of Christ (meek and poor) increases through acceptance and study of the Book of Mormon.²⁶
20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that ^awatch for iniquity are ^bcut off:30 And the ^ameek also shall increase, and their ^bjoy shall be in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.x x	31 For assuredly as the Lord liveth they shall see that the ^aterrible one is brought to naught, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off;30 And the ^ameek also shall increase, and their ^bjoy shall be in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.x	The Book of Mormon retains an opening phrase in verse 20 which attributes to the Lord the action referred to in these verses. The Book of Mormon also retains a more definite identification of those spoken of in verse 21. ² ⁷
21 That make a man an ^aoffender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in ^bthe gate, and ^cturn aside the just for a thing of nought.x x x x x	32 And they that make a man an ^aoffender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the ^bgate, and ^cturnaside the just for a thing of naught.x x x x x	The Lord’s promise is that Satan and his minions will be cut off. They who offend with their words, or who try to entrap those who carry out proper business transactions and legal matters (where such matters were conducted anciently, at the city gate), or who pervert justice for trivial kickbacks will all be cut off. ²⁸
22 Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the ^ahouse of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.xx	33 Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall ^anot now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.x	The house of Jacob has been made ashamed, and his face has waxed pale, ever since he was driven away from Lebanon or Canaan, but the Lord has now brought forth out of the ground a book which shall, accompanied by His power, restore the tribes of Jacob from the four quarters of the globe, and establish them in the land of Palestine and Lebanon forever; and His holy name they shall no more profane, but shall be a righteous people throughout all their generations, while the earth shall stand, and they shall possess their promised land again in eternity, never more to pass away; therefore, they shall never again be made ashamed. It is in vain for the Gentiles to seek the conversion of Jacob, and to bring about their great redemption, only in the way that the Lord God of Israel hath predicted and appointed: they may call meetings and conventions to convert the Jews, but let them know assuredly that the book spoken of by Isaiah is to accomplish the salvation of the house of Jacob, and bring about the restoration of all Israel, while the Gentiles who will not receive it and be numbered and identified with the house of Jacob, must surely perish, yea, and they shall be utterly wasted with storm and tempest, with earthquakes and famine, with the flame of devouring fire, and their fruitful lands shall be esteemed as a forest, while Jacob shall dwell in safety forever. ² ⁹
23 But when he seeth his children, the ^awork of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall ^bfear the ^cGod of Israel.	34 But when he ^aseeth his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.x	In a fascinating and ingenious way, Isaiah next portrays Jacob, the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, as having been embarrassed over the centuries to admit that the Israelites are related to him. However, in the last days, when Israelites (including us) are strong, faithful saints, Jacob is no longer embarrassed to claim us as his posterity. Rather, he is proud to be our ancestor. ³⁰
24 They also that ^aerred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall ^blearn doctrine.	35 They also that ^aerred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall ^blearn doctrine.	The restored gospel is so marvelous that even those who follow wrong paths may repent and come to the hearth of truth. ³¹

Footnotes

^{(* Headings are taken from The Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families, by Thomas R. Valletta, Deseret Book)

1a&b}Have been moved to Isaiah in 2 Nephi 27
²Bytheway, John, Isaiah For Airheads, Deseret Book Company. Kindle Edition.
^3aHoyt Brewster, Isaiah Plain & Simple, Deseret Book, p 139
^3b Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, 72⁴Parry, ibid.
⁵Brewster, ibid.
⁶Parry, ibid,
⁷Brewster, ibid.
⁸Ludlow, Unlocking Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book Company, Chapter 20
⁹Brewster, ibid.
¹⁰Parry, ibid
¹¹Brewster, ibid.
¹²Parry, ibid.
¹³Old Testament Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students, Unit 25: Day 1¹⁴Old Testament Seminary Teacher Manual, Lesson 122
¹⁵Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light, 1990, BYU Devotional
¹⁶David Ridges, The Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 1, p. 292, Cedar Fort, Inc. Kindle Edition.
¹⁷Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, May 1999, 35
¹⁸Old Testament Student Manual Kings-Malachi, pp. 161–69 .
¹⁹Joseph Smith—History 1:65
^20a&bOrson Pratt, Journal of Discourses,15:186
²¹ David Ridges, The Book of Mormon Made Easier
²²Ridges, ibid
²³David Ridges, Isaiah Made Easier, Cedar Fort, Inc. Kindle Edition.
²⁴David Ridges, The Book of Mormon Made Easier
²⁵Ogden, D. Kelly, Verse by Verse, Old Testament: Volume Two, Deseret Book Company. Kindle Edition.
²⁶Parry, ibid.
²⁷Nyman, Monte S., Great are the Words of Isaiah Cedar Fort, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
²⁸Ogden, ibid.
²⁹Elder Orson Pratt, Works, p. 278; (see also 2 Nephi 25:17-18; 29:1-2.)
³⁰David Ridges, The Book of Mormon Made Easier ³¹Christensen, Reg. Unlocking Isaiah, Covenant Communications Inc.. Kindle Edition

Chapter Links to the Book of Isaiah
(those in blue are posted others are pending)

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44
45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55
56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	65	66

Chapters of Isaiah Quoted in the Book of Mormon

1 Nephi	20	21
2 Nephi	7	8	12	1 3	14	15	16	17
	18	19	20	21	23	24		27
Mosiah	14
3 Nephi	20	22

Other Isaiah passages quoted in the Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 22:15–17
2 Ne 6:6–7
2 Ne 6:16-18
2 Ne 8:24-25
2 Ne 9:50-51
2 Ne 30:9
2 Ne 30:11-15
Mosiah 12:21-24
Mosiah 15:29-31
3 Ne 16:18-20

(does not exist in the King James Version)
Isa 49:23
Isa 49:24-26
Isa 52:1-2
Isa 55:1-2
Isa 11:4
Isa 11:5-9
Isa 52:7-10
Isa 52:8-10
Isa 52:8-10

Opening Isaiah—a Harmony, by Ann Madsen and Shon Hopkin

Darryl Alder

Just off the press this week, Opening Isaiah—a Harmony is BYU’s Religious Studies Center’s most recent print publication. Written by Ann Madsen and Shon Hopkin, the book has been around for months as a pdf document, but now it is available in a beautiful print format…
or it’s going to be very soon, because it is nearly out of stock already.

Today Brent Nordgren, a long time friend and BYU’s Production Supervisor at BYU Religious Studies Center, brought me a copy of one of the 400 advance prints. Sadly he reported they were nearly sold out, with less than 50 left as of today, but it will only be out of print for five weeks while a new printer takes over production.

In the meantime, you can purchase a pdf version of this excellent harmony of Isaiah for just $10. When you do, using the pdf purchase code, you can receive a $10.00 discount toward your print copy, which will be $25.

What is Opening Isaiah—a Harmony?

This harmony brings five versions of Isaiah—King James, Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith Translation, Dead Sea Scrolls, and the modern New Revised Standard Version—alongside one another for comparative study. Readers neither need to own those translations since they are all in one nor do they have to lug around five heavy books.

The Religious Study Center promises: “Opening Isaiah provides what has never before been provided to LDS readers. It brings all important versions of Isaiah …into comparison for readers to help them clearly see the similarities and differences in each one.”

The limited footnotes and side by side layout lets you study Isaiah’s writings with a focus on the texts themselves and not someone else’s commentary. However, Madsen and Hopkin provided limited footnotes to help with some difficult passages; idiomatic meanings and symbolism; and explain the historical context.

There is also excellent introductory information before the harmony begins, offering a rich background to Isaiah’s writing style. The beautiful but simple maps help you come to know the geography of Isaiah’s day; as Nephi suggested in 2 Nephi 25:6, if you want to understand Isaiah you should become familiar with the regions around Jerusalem.

Here is a sample of just one verse in the harmony of Isaiah 48 verse 5:

My Experience with the Harmony

I have several different Isaiah harmonies, but readers will quickly see why I prefer this style as it matches the table format I use in my Discover Isaiah section of this blog. This style of scripture comparison is usually known as a Tetrapla, but with a fifth column, I like harmony better than pentapla.

The placing of the King James Version (KJV) alongside the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), The Book of Mormon (when it quotes Isaiah), The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) when there is a fragment, the The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the New International Version (NIV). Highlighting differences and similarities in translations side by side, without commentary, leaves me, the reader, the chance to see what I may not have been clearly otherwise. It allows me to explore different meanings in each version and see the modern meaning in poetic form from the NRSV.

Madsen and Hopkin “make no claims about which version of the text is superior,” they say. “We simply allow readers to compare and contrast these different versions and translations for themselves. Although the harmony shows numerous changes across the columns, in our view the overall consistency of Isaiah’s message is miraculously preserved.”

The book costs $10.00 and can be only purchased online as an eBook version and will shortly be available from Deseret Book.

This book has become the most important resource for studying Isaiah on my bookshelf.

President Nelson’s 5 Ways to Change You and the World

Jacob Krogue

On June 3 2018, President Nelson addressed us in the worldwide youth devotional–he referenced the gathering of Israel, spoken of in Isaiah 18, and stated that

“There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing,” he said. “This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.”

Read more about the significance of the gathering of Israel and our role as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints HERE

1...161718...38 Page 17 of 38

KJV, Isaiah 3:9	“and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not”
Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 3:9	“and they declare their sin as Sodom, *and* they hide it not”
Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 13:9	“and doth declare their sin to be even as Sodom, *and* they cannot hide it”

KJV, Isaiah 14:32	What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation?”
Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 14:32	“What shall then answer the messengers of the nations?”
Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 24:32	“What shall then answer the messengers of the nations?”

KJV, Isaiah 48:11	“for how should my name be polluted?”
Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 14:32	“for I will not suffer my name to be polluted”
Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 20:11	“for I will not suffer my name to be polluted”

KJV, Isaiah 9:9	“and the inhabitant of Samaria”
Isaiah scroll, Isaiah 9:9	“and the inhabitants of Samaria”
Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 19:9	“and the inhabitants of Samaria”

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44
45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55
56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	65	66

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44
45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55
56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	65	66

JST, Gen. 50:27, 30-31, 33

Ezekiel 37:16-17

JST, Isaiah 29:20-22

Malachi 3:1-3

Matthew 11:10

John 1:23

Daniel 2:44

Jeremiah 30:21

John 1:22

Deuteronomy 18:15

Matthew 24:14

Revelations 14:6-7

Here is a sampling of the “FAQs” in Parry and Ricks’ book:

What is the Great Isaiah Scroll?

Does the text of the Great Isaiah Scroll support the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon that differ from those in the King James Bible?

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

How were the scrolls discovered?

Where were the scrolls discovered?

What types of texts were discovered among the scrolls?

Why are the scrolls so important?

How have the biblical scrolls and fragments influenced the English translation of the Bible?

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH

CHAPTER 29

The Marvelous Work and a Wonder Proclaimed

King James Isaiah 29

Notes and Commentary

King James Isaiah 29

Compare 2 Nephi 27

Notes and Commentary

King James Isaiah 29

Compare 2 Nephi 26

Notes and Commentary

The Last Days Will Be a Time of Great Wickedness

King James Isaiah 29

Compare Nephi 27

Notes and Commentary

The Book of Mormon Will Come Forth

The Book of Mormon Plates Will Be Seen Only by Special Witnesses

The Book of Mormon Will Be Translated by the Power of God, Not the Learning of Man

The Lord Is a God of Miracles

Chapter Links to the Book of Isaiah (those in blue are posted others are pending)

Chapters of Isaiah Quoted in the Book of Mormon

My Experience with the Harmony

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
ISAIAH

Compare
2 Nephi 27

Compare
2 Nephi 26

Chapter Links to the Book of Isaiah
(those in blue are posted others are pending)

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44
45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55
56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	65	66