I can’t begin to describe how excited I have been this year to turn our attention to the Book of Mormon in Sunday School. It’s exciting to relive the perils of leaving Jerusalem, of returning for the plates and making the difficult journey across the Arabian peninsula with Lehi’s Family. There’s Lehi’s vision of the tree of life and Nephi’s struggles to help his brethren find enduring faith. After a crash course in shipbuilding and a tumultuous sea journey, the family lands in the new land. Nephi forges a record to keep and catches us up–giving us the first 19 chapters of Nephi. At the same time, we know it’s on the horizon, that it can’t stay away forever. It’s coming, just as sure as chapter 20 follows chapter 19. Nephi’s caught the record up so then what? What could possibly be the next logical thing to share? No, it can’t be. Oh but it is, the one, the only, great be the words of . . .
Isaiah.
I suspect for many readers, if reading the Book of Mormon has a honeymoon period, it ends with 1 Nephi 19:23: “I did read unto them many things which were written by the prophet Isaiah. . . ” I wanted to take a moment and validate some of those emotions that come with Isaiah but more importantly help push past those feelings and begin to decipher what makes Isaiah such a delight to Nephi.
It can be hard to understand.
There are two common reasons why Isaiah might as well be part of the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon:
- A vast majority of it is written in Hebrew poetry.
- There are a lot of historical references in Isaiah’s writing.
First of all, it’s important to understand that the common people didn’t have the ability to take notes and write down Isaiah’s message and study it at home. Isaiah and other biblical writers were faced with the challenge to help their listeners remember and recall their message. Enter the poetry. Isaiah’s message was first a verbal message. You might consider reading Isaiah out loud to help you catch the inflections and emotion behind Isaiah’s writing.
Second, it’s important to remember that Isaiah was first and foremost a prophet to the people who were living in his day. During Isaiah’s lifetime and ministry he saw the Northern Kingdom of Israel be conquered and carried away.He foresaw the eventual fall of Jerusalem (the very one that began the Book of Mormon) but he also saw that a remnant would return with the help of a servant of the Lord (among other things). Much of Isaiah’s writings deal with the judgement of God that were facing the children of Israel while earnestly looking forward to the promise that God would remember and restore his covenant with Israel of which the life and minstry of Jesus Christ play an essential role. All of these historical events serve as types and shadows that have Latter-day implications.
But where do I start?
The answer to that question will be different for different people. Frankily, I wouldn’t want to deprive anyone of the satisfaction of coming to appreciate the words of Isaiah through the studying process. If ever there was a place to apply the Lord’s teaching, “Seek, and ye shall find” it’s Isaiah. The bottom line is that Isaiah doesn’t have to be a sealed book to you. May I suggest three questions to help you get started:
- When a Book of Mormon author quotes Isaiah, what do they say before and after reciting the passage?
- What is Nephi’s goal in reciting the words of Isaiah (1 Nephi 19:23)? How do the passages he quotes help him accomplish his goal?
- What might the words of Isaiah have meant for Nephi and his decendents? What do those implications mean for us today?