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Is Stylometry the Ultimate Proof that Joseph Smith Did Not Write the Book of Mormon?
At a Book of Mormon conference in Provo last Saturday, Matt Roper and Paul Fields set out to do just that. They intrigued the audience with a new study of Book of Mormon authorship using stylometry showing a wide variety of authors in the book.
Stylometry Defined
Stylometry examines the styles of writing in a text by identifying word-use patterns. It is “also known as computational stylistics [and] is a method of authorship attribution that uses …statistical techniques to infer the authorship of texts based on writing patterns. It tries to describe an author’s conscious and unconscious creative actions with quantifiable measures such as the frequency with which an author uses certain words or groupings of words. Stylometric analysis is based on the fundamental premise that authors write with distinctive, repeated patterns of word use.”1
Comparison of the Book of Mormon to Novelists of the Same Time Period
In the past, Roper and Fields had used stylometry to show a consistency of authorship in Isaiah and the Pauline Epistles. But in this presentation, they chose to compare two novels each from Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, James Fennimore Cooper, Mark Twain with the Book of Mormon. Together these eight volumes have about the same number of words as the Book of Mormon, but contrast in voice, character development, and other aspects.
Using a 3-D computer model,
they showed a unity of authorship in each book written by contemporary authors along with the characters they each developed. However, as an example, Tom Sawyer’s voice is different from Huckleberry Finn’s, but both their voices are more like those of other characters created by Twain than they are like any of the other characters created by Cooper, Dickens, and Austen.
Roper and Fields than compared those novelists to the Book of Mormon writers. They showed how these authors did not come close to the 119 characters developed in the Book of Mormon. That book shows four major authors or abridgers, who between them go on include many more writing styles from other Book of Mormon contributors.
For example, Mormon as a writer contributed about 36% of the words in the Book of Mormon with a central theme around war. Nephi is the next most prolific writer with a theme around family. He is followed by Alma with a theme of faith and Moroni with themes of ordinances and governance. In each of these themes, the writer of abridger developed 24 more writing styles with 24 other sentiments. This is far too many for Joesph Smith to keep track of and many more than the selected contemporary authors of the prophet. In the same light, the 119 Book of Mormon characters shows narrative voices that eclipse any of the other contemporaries chosen.
Together this presentation helped the audience consider the impossibility of someone of Joseph Smith’s age and limited experience working with Oliver Cowdery over 60 working days to compose anything so complicated as the Book of Mormon. It worked for me and others in the audience.
Other Examples Stylometry and the Book of Mormon
At Book of Mormon Central, they posted “What Can Stylometry Tell Us about Book of Mormon Authorship?”, which lists several stylometric studies of the Book of Mormon.
Opponents to the Book of Mormon either claim that Joeseph wrote the Book of Mormon or cobbled it together from others like Pratt, Cowdery, Spaulding, or Rigdon. In just one example, Mark Twain, in Roughing It, accuses Joseph Smith of having “smouched from the New Testament” and then giving no credit in his “composing” the Book of Mormon.
In several stylometric analyses I have studied since the conference, each has consistently pointed to the fact that none of those parties, including Joseph Smith, wrote the book. Instead, as shown in figure 1 (below), in 2011, Fields, Roper, and Bruce Schaalje demonstrate the differences between the “wordprints” of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon authors.
In 2011, Fields, Roper, and Schaalje, examined another study where they allowed for unknown authors not included in the set of potential candidates listed above, who could have written the text. They also included Joseph Smith as a potential author. In their findings, they showed “the chance of it having been written by one or more authors not included in the set turned out to be 93%
Like Fields and Roper, many other scholars have used stylometry to show the distinctive styles of the book. These studies show that the major contributors, Nephi, Mormon, Moroni and Alms, all have distinctive “wordprints” in comparison to Joseph Smith’s. Clearly, he did not author the book, but a team of many writers compiled it and none of them were Joseph’s contemporaries.
Other Related Articles
1 Matthew Roper, Paul J. Fields, and G. Bruce Schaalj, “Stylometric Analyses of the Book of Mormon: A Short History,” BYU Maxwell Institute, 2012
2 Louis C. Midgley, “Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? The Critics and Their Theories,” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997), 101–39.
Isaiah for Airheads by John Bytheway
Last weekend I attended the Book of Mormon Central Conference in Provo. Among the speakers, John Bytheway was the most animated. Like his book Isaiah for Airheads, this man is a speaker that captivates audiences and one who will help you find entry into the Book of Isaiah quickly.
Isaiah for Airheads is a fairly easy read and once you understand his four guides to the Book of Mormon Isaiah chapters, you will find his forest metaphor a fun way to dig into this often confusing material. Deseret Book explains, “If you think understanding the passages from Isaiah is like trying to find your way through a dense dark forest, then you’ll appreciate the enjoyable Isaiah for Airheads.”
Bytheway’s use of trees, guides, keys, highways and off ramps delights the reader, as he asks us to image the words of Isaiah as a thick forest. “You know,” he says, “where you can’t see the forest for the trees.” He explained, “We use that expression to describe someone who’s so caught up in the details that they miss the larger picture.”
We asked John how got into this project, that’s when he explained that he was motived to write this book when he was asked to teach a Book of Mormon class at BYU. “Oh no,” he thought, “that means teaching the Isaiah chapters.”
That’s when he grabbed several translations and even more commentaries and began a verse by verse study of those chapters in the Book of Mormon, because as he said when it came to Isaiah, “I felt like a complete airhead,” (which he said is a commentary on him and not us a readers).
He explained that after teaching the Isaiah chapters a several times, he began to notice some prominent themes which lead him “to see the forest of Isaiah, and it was beautiful. I began to notice grand, important, and recurring themes that helped me better understand the words of this great prophet. I noticed what may have prompted the Book of Mormon prophets to quote Isaiah passages, and why. Now, after a decade of teaching, I look forward to these chapters, and I love watching my students experience ‘a-ha!’ moments as we ‘get through’ Second Nephi.”
Of course, this eventually lead to organizing Isaiah for Airheads around ‘four guides, four trees, and four keys’ as basically listed by Nephi in 2 Nephi as the tools for understanding Isaiah’s words. His “guides” are the Book of Mormon writers Nephi, Jacob, Abinadi and Jesus Christ, each of whom used the words of Isaiah in their own way.
In addition, he uses four trees to build his metaphor. Each begins with the letter C:
And finally, he offers four keys to understanding Isaiah:
- Know the manner of prophesying among the Jews
- Have the spirit of prophecy yourself
- Know the geography of the middle east in 700 BC
- Live in the last days.
Bytheway, then explains his “Airhead Approach” reading each chapter’s synopsis slowly, identifying the “trees (four Cs)’ in that chapter and which keys he will help us use as he takes us verse by verse in the Book of Mormon Isaiah chapters.
Click here to download your free study guide to Isaiah from John Bytheway.
Ann Madsen – Learn the History of the Jews
In this interview, Kelsey Wilding asked Ann Madsen, who at the time of this recording (2018) was a senior lecturer in ancient scripture at Brigham Young University: “If people are just starting Isaiah and want to learn more, what would be one piece of advice you’d give them?”
Madsen answered as follows:
Well, there would be a couple, beginning with learning the history of the Jews at that time.
Included my DVD “Opening Isaiah;” there is a little booklet; it’s a kind of teaching guidebook. But I didn’t make the DVD to be listened to and then thrown away. It should be listened to and then used to learn more. Included with this guidebook, there is a timeline and a whole bunch of different little things that may help you understand Isaiah.
The first thing I offer to help with this is the concept of knowing the history of the time of Isaiah. Because he refers to the kings that were living then. And to what was going on in the culture, which was this big, invading Assyrian Army.
There were many other things happening the prophet references in his prophecies. If you don’t know that, and if you don’t know his history, then you won’t have a clue. That’s why it sounds like Greek to you.
Just look at it and think, well, who were the Assyrians? Who were the Moabites? What were they doing in Jerusalem?
And this is interesting because Isaiah was living in the seven hundred BC. And then if you think of the Book of Mormon, which was 600 BC with Lehi and his family who read Isaiah, much like we read Joseph Smith today.
It’s that same period that helps you understand why there’s so much Isaiah in the Book of Mormon because he really affected their lives. He was their contemporary prophet when they were alive—you know, well, recently enough.
2 Nephi 23 / Isaiah 13
In Isaiah chapter 13, the Lord calls members of His Church to prepare as a righteous army to do battle with Babylon, which is the evil of the world today. The events foretold in this chapter are those leading to the last days before Christ’s Second Coming.
David Ridges points us back to 2 Nephi 20, where “the destruction of Assyria was a ‘type’ [or symbol] of the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming of Christ.” Ridges defined the word “type” as “something that is symbolic of something else. For example, both Joseph who was sold into Egypt and Isaac were ‘types’ of Christ, that is to say, many of the things that happened to them were symbolic of the Savior.” In this case, “the destruction of Babylon is …a “type” of the destruction of Satan’s kingdom at the time of the Second Coming. It will be helpful to understand that the ancient city of Babylon was a huge city full of wickedness. Over time, Babylon has come to symbolize the wickedness of the world.”1
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
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King James Version |
Book of Mormon
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Expanded Notes and Commentary |
| Joseph Smith Translation (JST) corrections in the Book of Mormon are in RED; commentary and notes are GREEN | ||
| Of Isaiah 13:1–5, Donald W Parry suggests that each of our prophets, “…has been preparing His Saints to become a Zion people, a righteous army to battle against modern-day Babylon” or the world we live in (see D&C 1:16) “and its evil forces.”2 | ||
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1 aThe bburden |
1 aThe burden of
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b “Burden” as used in Isaiah is a message of doom “lifted up” against a people. Isa. 14:28. Babylon means “the world” (D&C 1:16) c The historic destruction of wicked Babylon, prophesied in Isa. 13 and 14, is made typical of the ultimate destruction of the whole wicked world. D&C 133:14 (5, 7, 14). |
A burden is a prophecy of doom or judgment against a people. The Hebrew root (masa’) literally means “lifting” or “a lifting up,” perhaps indicating that the prophecy or judgment is lifted up by the voice of the prophet against the people. Isaiah’s prophetic calling included uttering a prophecy of doom against many peoples or nations, including Moab (15:1), Damascus (17:1), Egypt (19:1), the desert of the sea (21:1), Dumah (21:11), Arabia (21:13), the valley of vision (22:1), Tyre (23:1), and the beasts of the south (30:6). Similarly, the burden of the word of the Lord also came to Nahum (1:1), Habakkuk (1:1), Zechariah (12:1), and Malachi (1:1). The same Hebrew root is also used in connection with the lifting of the ensign (5:26; 11:12; 13:2) upon a high mountain. Hence, the Lord will “lift up” judgment against the wicked and will “lift up” an ensign to the righteous.3
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| 2 Lift ye up a abanner upon the high bmountain, cexalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. |
2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, ashake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. | a IE wave the hand, give a signal. Church leaders and missionaries are to be “endowed with power from on high” (D&C 105:11) as requisite for their mission of gathering Israel. In a sense, the Lord, from the temple—representing His celestial abode—gathers the righteous of all nations to the temple—or to His glory: “Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles” (Isa. 13:2). The “banner” that is lifted up is the message of the restored gospel as it is proclaimed to the world. The “high mountain” may symbolize the temple.4 |
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3 I have commanded my asanctified ones, I have also called my bmighty ones for mine anger,
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3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my amighty ones, for mine anger is not upon them that rejoice in my highness. | Verse 3 has reference to those messengers who are gathered and are to be sent out to warn of the coming destruction of Babylon (the tares) and to invite the righteous (the wheat) to gather out. With the Book of Mormon retention, verse 3 fits much better the context of the entire passage. This gathering may also be correlated with Isaiah 2:2, but includes the forces of heaven (the destroying angels) who will follow those messengers and will literally destroy the nation of wickedness, spiritual Babylon (see D&C 86:1-7).5 |
| 4 The noise of |
4 The noise of the multitude in the mountains like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the akingdoms of nations bgathered together, the Lord of Hosts mustereth the hosts of the battle. |
We often see the phrase Lord of Hosts, but what exactly does “host” mean? The phrase “Lord of Hosts” is the same as the “Lord of Sabaoth.” “The Lord of Sabaoth was a title of Jehovah; the hosts were the armies of Israel (1 Sam. 17:45), but also included the angelic armies of heaven” (Bible Dictionary, “Sabaoth,” 764).6 |
| 5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to adestroy the whole land. |
5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, yea, the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. | These warriors [missionaires] of God do come from distant places (“from a far country, from the end of heaven”), and they are certainly going forth to conquer on life’s great battlefield, to overthrow the whole wicked world, to destroy evil by establishing righteousness. That “mighty army of the Lord,” however, is only part of what he calls the “sanctified ones”; all the Saints, the citizens of his kingdom, are involved in the battle, including help from the other side of the veil.7 |
| Parry identifies the importance of studying Isaiah 13:6–22, where Isaiah’s “prophecy of ancient Babylon’s wickedness and ultimate destruction” serve up historical events as types and, “shadows of the evil that we are presently witnessing upon the earth. Soon we will see the destruction of modern-day Babylon by Jesus Christ at his coming.8 | ||
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6 ¶ aHowl ye; for the bday of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. |
6 Howl ye, for the aday of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. | Verses 6–8: The destructions sent forth from the Almighty (Hebrew Shaddai) will cause faint-heartedness in the wicked; fear, pain, and faces enflamed with embarrassment and anxiety will characterize the disobedient. Paul later envisioned the same scene: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).9 |
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7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall amelt: |
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, every man’s heart shall amelt; |
Hands will “hang limp” and “wicked men’s courage will falter.”10 |
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8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; |
8 And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. | This birth metaphor is descriptive of the fears and uncertainties that will come upon the wicked at the time of the Lord’s judgments. A mother in childbirth may fearfully wonder if she will live. Will her baby live? Will her baby be healthy and whole? How long will these waves of pain endure? All—particularly the spiritually unprepared—may ask similar questions related to their spiritual well-being: Will I live? Will my loved ones live? How long must I suffer?11 (Note: This metaphor is missing in the Book of Mormon’s version of the verse.) |
| 9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall adestroy the sinners thereof out of it. | 9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall adestroy the sinners thereof out of it. | God is capable of wrath and anger. The day is a cruel day for those who are not prepared. …The desolation of the land is a prominent theme in Isaiah (1:7; 6:11; 13:9; 49:19; 62:4) and is the result of the inhabitants’ wickedness. …Jesus will destroy all corruptible things at his glorious coming, including the wicked.12 |
| 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be adarkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. |
10 For the astars of heaven and the bconstellations thereof shall not give their clight; the dsun shall be darkened in his* going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. |
This verse is closely akin to a sign given by the Savior on the Mount of Olives which was to precede his second coming (see Matthew 24:29). There are also several references in the Doctrine and Covenants which are very similar to this verse, referring to the period of the Second Coming (see D&C 29:14; 34:9; 45:42; 88:87; 133:49). Oliver Cowdery apparently was quoting or paraphrasing this verse, along with Isaiah 13:13, when he reported what scriptures the angel Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith in September 1823 and noted that they were soon to be fulfilled (see MA, Apr. 1835, pp. 111-12).13 *The 1830 edition contained the word “her” here. The word was changed to “his” in the 1981 edition, matching the printer’s manuscript, as well as KJV. |
| 11 And I will apunish the bworld for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the chaughtiness of the dterrible. |
11 And I will apunish the world for evil, and the bwicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the cproud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible. |
The wicked that boast in their own strength and abandon the counsel of the Lord and His servants will face the terrible day when the Lord “will punish the world”…As we walk through mortality with the gospel of Jesus Christ as our guiding light, we have a clearer view of the world and of the great and spacious buildings of pride, arrogance, and sin (see Isa. 13:11). The allure of such enticements is powerful, but our charge is to live in this world but not be of it. We seek a higher life. As we pursue a higher, eternal life, we will be observers, not fatalities, of the fall of modern Babylon, “whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall” (D&C 1:16). Our gospel covenants, when kept, protect us from the damning influences of Babylon.14 |
| 12 I will make a man more aprecious than fine gold; even a man than the bgolden wedge of Ophir. |
12 I will make a aman more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. | The statement here that man will be more precious than fine gold calls to mind two things: a great number of people will be slaughtered during the destructions identified in this section, so that those who remain on the earth will be more scarce than a precious metal like gold; and those who remain after the decreed desolations and survive the furnace of affliction will be purified like gold; they will no longer possess dross (sin).15 |
| 13 Therefore I will ashake the heavens, and the bearth shall cremove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce danger. |
13 Therefore, I will ashake the heavens, and the earth shall bremove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. |
This verse, which notes cosmological changes that will affect the earth at the time of Christ’s second coming, is partially quoted or paraphrased in Doctrine and Covenants 21:6 and 35:24. It was also quoted by Oliver Cowdery (see note on Isaiah 13:10).16 |
| 14 And it shall be as the achased roe, and as a sheep that bno man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own cpeople, and flee every one into his own dland. | 14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up; and they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own aland. | Animals run swiftly and without direction when frightened. A “chased roe” is a “hunted deer” (Isaiah 13:14, footnote a). Isaiah also mentions fleeing sheep, which “no man taketh up,” in other words, without a shepherd to care for and protect them.17 The 1830 edition did not contain the word “and” here (as in KJV). The word was added by Joseph Smith in the 1837 edition. |
| 15 Every one that is |
15 Every one that is proud shall be thrust through; yea, and every one that is ajoined to the wicked shall fall by the sword. | The sword represents war and its instruments (2 Ne. 1:18; 3 Ne. 2:19; D&C 45:33). In the last days, the wicked will destroy themselves during the many wars and battles of which the prophets have testified.18 |
| 16 Their achildren also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their bhouses shall be cspoiled, and their wives ravished. |
16 Their achildren |
The symbolic hunted deer and shepherdless sheep will be pursued (13:14) and destroyed by the sword (13:15), and their children and wives will find no mercy from the destructive armies. The murder of children and the ravishing of wives is not new to history but represents here both an increase of the hideous crimes against nature and man’s savage inclination. Meanwhile, righteous men, with their wives and children gathered around them, will reside in “a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God…And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety…and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another” (D&C 45:66–69).19 |
| 17 Behold, I will stir up the aMedes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall |
17 Behold, I will stir up the aMedes against them, which shall not regard silver and gold, nor shall they delight in it. | “The Medes” A nation that had at one time formed an alliance with Babylon, but which would eventually attack and conquer its former ally (in about 538 B.C.).20 The 1830 edition contained the reading “nor they shall not delight in it” here. The wording was changed to “nor shall they delight in it” in the 1920 edition. |
| 18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. | 18 Their bows shall also dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no apity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children. | Verses 16–18: These verses, in addition to depicting horrible vengeance to be meted out at the Second Coming, take us back also to the original type, less than two centuries after Isaiah’s time, when the Medes would overrun the Babylonians with viciousness and cruelty. In 539 b.c. the Lord did indeed stir up the Medes (and Persians), who, uninterested in monetary gain, wreaked merciless vengeance upon those who opposed them.21 |
| 19 ¶ And aBabylon, the glory of kingdoms, the bbeauty of the cChaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God doverthreweSodom and Gomorrah. |
19 And aBabylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew bSodom and Gomorrah. |
In the centuries following Isaiah’s prophecy, Babylon was sacked and destroyed by a number of invading armies and became a heap of ruins. Similarly, the world’s great cities will be destroyed at Christ’s coming.22 |
| 20 It shall never be ainhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. | 20 It shall never be ainhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. | The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Yet, Babylon fell without a struggle before the armies of Cyrus of Persia. He and his men dug a canal into which they diverted the waters of the Euphrates, which normally flowed into Babylon, so they could penetrate into the heart of the city via the dry river bed. By this means vegetation ceased growing in the city, and the city began deteriorating, leading to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prediction that it would be uninhabited; there wouldn’t even be an Arab to pitch a tent or a shepherd to make a sheepfold there. Total desolation was predicted, and it was an accurate prophecy. Isaiah’s prophecy was gradually but literally fulfilled within a few centuries, by the Roman period.23 |
| 21 But awild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and bsatyrs shall dance there. |
21 But awild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. | b HEB he-goats, or demons. Isaiah poetically employs two fictional beasts usually associated with superstitious traditions in this description of desolation. “Satyrs” are in Hebrew seirim, meaning “hairy” or “rough” ones. In mythology, a satyr is half man and half goat. “Dragons” are jackals or wild dogs.24 |
| 22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate ahouses, and bdragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. |
22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her day shall not be prolonged. For I will destroy her speedily; yea, for I will be merciful unto my people, but the wicked shall perish. | a HEB palaces. b HEB (perhaps) jackals, or wild dogs.“I will be merciful unto my people” (the righteous), “but the wicked shall perish.” 25This is, “the only ray of hope in a rather dismal prophecy.”26 |
This final note of commentary from Joesph Spencer:
“…let’s note that it wouldn’t be difficult to guess where Nephi might go with things if he wanted to extend his plain prophecy to provide an application of Isaiah 13–14. If Isaiah 10–12 can be applied to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of Israel, wouldn’t he just see Isaiah 13–14 as applicable to the final judgment? You’ll remember that those two chapters tell a prophetic story about Babylon’s total demise, and Isaiah there has all sorts of people making fun of Babylon’s king as he dies, a king whose nickname in the King James Version is “Lucifer.” Wouldn’t Nephi have rather easily seen Isaiah 13–14 as continuing the story, then? After Israel’s restoration, there’s one last bit of the world’s history to recount, namely the final eradication of evil and the punishment of the devil. Couldn’t Isaiah’s taunt song regarding Babylon’s fallen king be applied pretty readily to the final binding of Satan? Nephi’s certainly seen such an event in vision. He tells us about it in 1 Nephi 22, making it precisely the sequel to Israel’s redemption. Here’s the text there: “And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, . . . and he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth. . . . And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan hath no power—wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years” (1 Ne. 22:24–26). Isn’t that what Nephi implicitly applies Isaiah 13–14 to here in 2 Nephi 25?
“I’m going to assume that’s what Nephi has in mind. In 2 Nephi 30, he’ll quote at length again from Isaiah 11, revisiting what he portrays as the key events of the latter days, events surrounding the Restoration. He’ll allow the remarkable portrayal of world peace in Isaiah 11 to serve as a fitting conclusion to world history, except that he’ll add one detail to it: “And Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more for a long time” (2 Ne. 30:18). That’ll be more or less Nephi’s final word on Isaiah. There again, and perhaps more clearly, it’s pretty obvious that Nephi sees what follows Isaiah 10–12 as being about Satan’s final demise. And what follows Isaiah 10–12 is, of course, Isaiah 13–14.”27
1 David J.Ridges, The Book of Mormon Made Easier, Part 1, p. 292, Cedar Fort, Inc. Kindle Edition.
2 Donald W.Parry, Understanding Isaiah, Deseret Book Company. Kindle Edition.
3 Parry, ibid.
4 Reg Christensen, Unlocking Isaiah, Covenant Communications Inc.. Kindle Edition.
5 Monte S.Nyman, Great are the Words of Isaiah, Cedar Fort, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
6 John Bytheway, Isaiah For Airheads Deseret Book Company, Kindle Edition.
7 D. Kelly Ogden, Verse by Verse, Old Testament: Volume Two, Deseret Book Company. Kindle Edition.
8 Parry, ibid.
9 Ogden, ibid.
10David J. Ridges, The Old Testament Made Easier Part 3, Cedar Fort, Inc.. Kindle Edition
11Christensen, ibid.
12 Parry, ibid.
13 Nyman, ibid.
14 Christensen, ibid.
15 Parry, ibid.
16 Nyman, ibid.
17 Bytheway, ibid
18 Parry, ibid.
19 Parry, ibid.
20 Bytheway, ibid
21 Ogden, ibid.
22 Parry, ibid.
23 Ogden, ibid.
24 ibid.
25 Ridges, The Book of Mormon Made Easier
26 Bytheway, ibid
27 Joseph M. Spencer, The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi’s Record, Greg Kofford Books. Kindle Edition.
Chapter Links to the Book of Isaiah
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| 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 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 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 |
General Conference, The First Presidency and Isaiah
The members of the new First Presidency have spoken many times in General Conference. Among ancient prophets, their common choice has been Isaiah. President Russel M. Nelson has quoted him more than forty times focusing most often Isaiah’s messages of the Book of Mormon as a voice from the dust, family history work and the blessing of the fast. Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor, has quoted Isaiah fourteen times on subjects like fasting, the Savior’s atonement, and mission, and facing affliction. Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor, has quoted Isaiah five times again most often about fasting and offerings.
Below you will find a sample of their talks. but can check them all out at the LDS Scripture Citation Index. Just click on each name for listings: President Russel M. Nelson,Dallin H. Oaks, and Henry B. Eyring.
In October 2007, then Elder Russel M. Nelson in an address entitled How do scriptures of the Restoration clarify the Bible? Many examples exist. I will cite but a few, beginning with the Old Testament.” then he cited this from Isaiah 29:4:
Isaiah wrote, ‘Thou 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.”
Could any words be more descriptive of the Book of Mormon, coming as it did “out of the ground” to “whisper out of the dust” to people of our day?
In the footnotes of his address he included this:
“Isaiah foresaw that God would do ‘a marvelous work and a wonder’ in the latter days (Isaiah 29:14). Those words of Isaiah echoed in the ears of inhabitants of ancient America: ‘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’ (2 Nephi 25:17). That marvelous work would include the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the gospel. Isaiah was quoted frequently in the Book of Mormon. A study of those quotations may be tedious, but it is not repetitious. Of 433 verses of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, 234 differ from their biblical counterparts.”—NOVEMBER 2007, SCRIPTURAL WITNESSES
In October 2015, then Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, addressed conference attendees with a message entitled, “Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” In it he said:
Isaiah taught that the Messiah would bear our “griefs” and our “sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Isaiah also taught of His strengthening us: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee” (Isaiah 41:10).
He continued: “Thus, we sing:
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, …
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.“
—How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85
In April 2015, President Henry B. Eyring, spoke of fasting. He said,”Your fast offering will do more than help feed and clothe bodies. It will heal and change hearts.” In his address, he also said, “We do not know all the reasons why Jesus Christ went into the wilderness to fast and to pray. But we know at least one of the effects: the Savior completely resisted Satan’s temptations to misuse His divine power.
“The brief time we fast every month and the small amount we offer for the poor may give us only a small part of the change in our natures to have no more desire to do evil. But there is a great promise, even as we do all that we reasonably can to pray, to fast, and to donate for those in need:
“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.
“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.”—Isaiah 58:8–9
“I pray that we will claim those great blessings for ourselves and for our families.”
Why Does Isaiah Use Such Strange Expressions?
Most languages on earth use unique idioms and cultural expressions in both spoken and written speech. English is no exception; King James, who ordered an English translation of the Bible, expected that “the translation use old familiar terms and names and be readable in the idiom of the day.”1
Additionally, Hebrew during Isaiah’s time was rich with idiomatic expressions. Isaiah used them often in a way that was both figurative and literal. Phrases like these are culturally bound in time and the vernacular of the day. They quickly become archaic and so, difficult to understand for modern readers.
Such is the case with Isaiah 3:16–24, especially as the King James translators tried to make an English idiom from a Hebrew idiom. The following explanations from the Old Testament Student Manual (13-21) may be helpful in understanding the power of Isaiah’s condemnation of the women’s apostasy:
Verse 16. “Stretched forth necks” is an idiom describing haughtiness—pride in self and scorn toward others (see Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:162).
Verse 16. “Mincing … and making a tinkling with their feet.” The women wore costly ornamental chains connecting rings about the ankles. These were often adorned with bells. (See Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary,7:1:143.)
Verse 17. “Discover their secret parts” is an idiom meaning that they would be put to shame. (see Isaiah 3:17a).
Verse 18. “Cauls … round tires like the moon” were ornamental jewelry in the shape of suns and moons according to the fashions of that day. (see Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:165).
Verses 19–23. These terms describe fashions that were popular among the worldly women in Isaiah’s day:
“muffler”—veil
“bonnet”—headdress
“tablets”—perfume boxes
“earrings”—charms or amulets
“nose jewels”—nose rings
“changeable suits of apparel”—clothing for festivals only
“mantle”—overcloak
“wimples”—a type of shawl or veil worn over the head
“crisping pins”—erroneously rendered as hair curling implements. The Hebrew suggests a bag, like a modern purse or handbag
“glasses”—most authorities translate as a metal mirror, although some suggest transparent clothing
“hoods”—turbans, head cover wrapped by hand.
(See Young, Book of Isaiah, 1:165–66; Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:1:144–47.)
