2 Nephi 11

#2 Nephi Chapter 11

#Scripture Mastery

2 Nephi 11:2-4 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him. And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words. Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.

1 And now, Jacob spake many more things to my people at that time; nevertheless only these things have I caused to be written, for the things which I have written sufficeth me.

verse 1 Nephi is now once again the speaker or “first person.”

2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.

verse 2 “I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words” Nephi seems to have had a great bond with the prophet Isaiah. Both of them had been residents of Jerusalem, and thus they shared a common cultural background. Both were familiar with the manner of teaching among the Jews and had special insight into the teachings of the ancient prophets (see 2 Nephi 25:5). They both had seen the Savior and had sweeping visions of the destiny of the earth. They were both “prophets of the restoration,” that is many of their writings dealt with latter-day events leading to the establishment of the kingdom of God.

Attempting to get through the Isaiah chapters in 1 and 2 Nephi, however, is often considered one of the most difficult aspects of reading the Book of Mormon and, as a result, their sacred and significant messages are often bypassed. Yet it is apparent that for many reasons, it is important and helpful to read Isaiah intelligently and insightfully. The Savior commanded all people to take the words of Isaiah seriously. In 3 Nephi, Christ told the Nephites specifically: “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” (3 Nephi 23:1).

The problem that most readers of the Book of Mormon have with its Isaiah passages may be remedied, at least in part, by learning that there was something of great import that Nephi had in common with Isaiah. It was something that has been called the “Nephite prophetic view.” Nephi learned that he shared with Isaiah basically the same “worldview”―the same beliefs about what will happen prior to the end of the world. Isaiah’s perspective coincided closely with Nephi’s “Nephite prophetic view.” Isaiah shared with Nephi the same worldview. Let me explain.

The books of 1 and 2 Nephi include eighteen chapters of the Book of Isaiah, in addition to other quotations and paraphrases: Isaiah 2–14 and 48–51 either fully or in part. Nephi includes these passages from Isaiah in his record in order to help his audience understand important prophecies from the Lord to a great prophet, Isaiah. Nephi found that he and Isaiah shared the same view regarding the future of the human race.

Actually, Nephi first stated this “Nephite prophetic view” in his vision of the tree of life in 1 Nephi chapters 11–14. The framework of these chapters contains Nephi’s worldview or prophetic view―just what would happen to the people of earth between his day and the “end of the world”―which phrase refers to the Savior’s second coming to earth.

Brother John W. Welch explained that there are four stages of this prophetic view that are apparent in 1 Nephi 11–14:

Stage 1: Christ’s coming to earth in the flesh (1 Nephi 11). Nephi’s vision of the Savior in 1 Nephi 11 is the clearest prophecy of the coming of the Savior on record. Perhaps no other prophet before Christ knew the Savior so well.

Stage 2: the rejection of Christ by the Jews and the Lord’s scattering of the Jews (1 Nephi 12);

Stage 3: the “times (or the “day”) of the Gentiles (1 Nephi 13). This is the period of time beginning with the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith in which the fullness of the gospel is taken to “Gentile” nations. Actually, any nation that does not have prophets at its head, revelation as its constitution, and the Messiah as its king, is a Gentile nation. Hence all nations of the earth are Gentile nations. The “times of the Gentiles” are the last or latter days.

Stage 4: the restoration of Israel and the Lord’s ultimate victory of good over evil (1 Nephi 14). This includes the second coming of the Lord to the earth and his cleansing the earth of evil, the destruction of the wicked, and the reward of the righteous. These days may also be referred to as the “end times” or the “day of visitation” (2 Nephi 20:3, Isaiah 10:3) and is the day of Lord’s second coming in power and glory.

The period called the “times of the Gentiles” culminates or is fulfilled at or near the second coming of the Lord, after the Gentiles have had a full opportunity to receive the gospel. Gospel preaching will then be directed principally to the Jews.

The pattern formed by these four stages offers insight into interpreting not only the words of Isaiah but also the prophetic outlook of all writers in the Book of Mormon. For example, Nephi’s brother, Jacob, conveniently and consciously summarized the four stages of the Nephite prophetic view in seven verses right near the beginning of his impressive covenant speech in 2 Nephi 6–10.

2 Nephi 6:9 (Stage 1, Christ’s coming): “the Lord God . . . should manifest himself unto them in the flesh”

2 Nephi 6:10 (Stage 2, Christ’s rejection of the Jews): “after they have hardened their hearts … against the Holy One of Israel … they shall be smitten and afflicted”

2 Nephi 6:11-13 (Stage 3, the day of the Gentiles): “And blessed are the Gentiles . . . if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion . . . they shall be saved”

2 Nephi 6:14-15 (Stage 4, restoration and victory): “the Messiah will set himself again the second time to recover them . . . he will manifest himself unto them in power and great glory”

This prophetic overview of God’s plans for the House of Israel and all humanity lines up with and informs Nephi’s and Jacob’s understanding of Isaiah’s prophecies. When Nephi includes passages from Isaiah in his writing, he chooses chapters and verses that align with this prophetic view. For example, the last four chapters of 1 Nephi deal with the future of Nephi’s people in their new land of promise. The order of the topics in these four chapters, 1 Nephi 19-22, tightly follow the order the same four stages found in 1 Nephi 11–14 and 2 Nephi 6.

Along with his presentation of this prophetic pattern, Nephi quotes Isaiah 48 and 49, which correspond to stages 2 and 3, respectively.

1 Nephi 19 (Stage 1): Christ’s coming, mission, suffering, crucifixion

1 Nephi 20 / Isaiah 48 (Stage 2): rejection of Christ by the Jews and their scattering

1 Nephi 21 / Isaiah 49 (Stage 3): the Lord’s plans for the Gentiles―the times (or the days) of the Gentiles.

1 Nephi 22 (Stage 4): the restoration of Israel and the Lord’s final victory over evil which comes in the form of the Savior’s second coming.

The book of 2 Nephi contains a large block of quoted material, consisting of Isaiah 2–14. The following illustrates how the chapters from Isaiah that Nephi chose to utilize can be aligned with elements in his four-stage prophetic view. Nephi will make this alignment evident as he interprets these passages in 2 Nephi 25-30, as is briefly illustrated as follows:

2 Nephi 12-14 / Isaiah 2-4 (Stage 4): the day of the Lord―his second coming―the law going forth, the victory over evil (see 2 Nephi 29-30)

2 Nephi 15 / Isaiah 5 (Stages 2 and 3): Jews taken into captivity, God’s wrath not turned away; “he will lift up an ensign to the nations” and 2 Nephi 16 / Isaiah 6 (Stage 2): Jews reject Gospel, Lord has “removed men far away” (see 2 Nephi 26-27).

2 Nephi 17 / Isaiah 7 (Stage 1): “A virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (see 2 Nephi 25)

2 Nephi 18 / Isaiah 8 (Stage 3): Gentile powers have success over Israel

2 Nephi 19 / Isaiah 9 (Stage 1): “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light” . . . “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”

2 Nephi 20-24 / Isaiah 10-14 (Stage 4): “The Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people”; Babylon, the wicked and proud will be destroyed; Lucifer will be brought down; “the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it” (see 2 Nephi 29-30).

Reading Isaiah using Nephi’s prophetic framework illuminates Isaiah’s witness of the Savior. By using this pattern in his vision to select and interpret Isaiah, Nephi helps readers to see how and why Nephi read Isaiah Christologically (their writings apply directly to Jesus Christ), all of which brings clarity to readers today

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“for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him” The word verily means really; in truth; in fact. But what evidence do we have that Isaiah actually saw the Lord Jesus? What in Isaiah’s writings made Nephi feel that Isaiah had seen the Savior as clearly as he had?

One answer is in Isaiah’s prophetic call. The Book of Mormon opens with Lehi’s vision of “God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels” with a Messianic figure “descending out of the midst of heaven” (1 Nephi 1:8–9). Nephi’s vision of the Savior, at the top of a high mountain, also appears to have been before the throne of God and his divine assembly (David E. Bokovoy, “‘Thou Knowest That I Believe’: Invoking the Spirit of the Lord as Council Witness in 1 Nephi 11,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 1, 2012: 1–23). Isaiah too had his vision of God on his throne (2 Nephi 16; Isaiah 6), which is quite comparable to Lehi’s, and which Nephi quotes (See Stephen D. Ricks, “Heavenly Visions and Prophetic Calls in Isaiah 6, 2 Nephi 16, the Book of Mormon, and the Revelation of John,” in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, 171–190). In Isaiah’s call, one of the seraphim cleanses Isaiah to make him worthy to stand in the midst of the divine council (2 Nephi 16:6–7; Isaiah 6:6– 7). Latter-day Saint biblical scholar David Bokovoy explained, “Though the literal identity of this fiery angelic being is ambiguous in the text, one possible LDS reading would interpret the seraph who cleanses Isaiah as an allusion to Christ” (David E. Bokovoy, “On Christ and Covenants: An LDS Reading of Isaiah’s Prophetic Call,” Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 3, 2011: 45). Bokovoy further commented: “Interpreting the Lord seated upon the throne as God the Father and the seraph who heals Isaiah as an allusion to Christ would allow the chapter to serve as an illustration of Isaiah’s role as an eyewitness of Jesus who, as Nephi observed in his commentary, had been sent to testify of the Redeemer (Ibid.).

3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words.

verse 3 “I will send their words” “Their” refers to Isaiah’s and to Nephi’s brother Jacob’s words or writings.

“by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word” Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah have been considered by some to be the three great witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Together, their testimonies fulfill the Lord’s law of witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). The testimonies of these three eye-witnesses of the Savior are contained on the small plates of Nephi. Is it possible that we would not have these testimonies had Martin Harris not lost the 116 pages of manuscript? This is a meaningless question since the Lord knew that Martin would lose them and that the small plates would be substituted for them. As fascinating as it would be to be able to read that lost manuscript, it is apparent that the small plates of Nephi contain materials that are even more important than that lost portion (D&C 10:45). It might even be that the central purpose of the small plates of Nephi is to bring to us the testimonies of these three witnesses.

Have you considered the faith of these great pre-advent prophets? As we exercise our faith in him today, we have advantages over them. For example, we have available to us the benefit of eye-witness scriptural accounts of the Savior’s ministry and miracles. Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah had not the faith-enriching benefit of a Christ who already had come in the flesh. They had only a faith and consummate hope of his eventual birth centuries later. Their tremendous faith earned them the ultimate privilege of being allowed to see the Christ.

For additional discussion of the law of witnesses, see the commentary for 2 Nephi 29:8.

4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.

verse 4 “all things . . . the typifying of him” A “type,” or something that “typifies,” is a symbol or pattern of something else. The law of Moses is replete with “types” of Christ. Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “It follows that if we had sufficient insight, we would see in every gospel ordinance, in every rite that is part of revealed religion, in every performance commanded of God, in all things Deity gives his people, something that typifies the eternal ministry of the Eternal Christ” (The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ, 378).

Let us now summarize the types and shadows of Christ that are contained in the law of Moses and should be visible to all of the righteous who lived under that law.

It should not be surprising that the law of Moses includes many things that are symbolic of Jesus Christ. Indeed, the very purpose of the law of Moses was to be a prophetic series of types, shadows, symbols, and prefigurations of him. And not just the law of Moses alone—indeed the scriptures are clear that all things bear witness of him. Nephi wrote, “We did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses. . . Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi 5:10; 11:4, italics added). The prophet Moses wrote, “And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me” (Moses 6:63).

A great deal of material, primarily rabbinic refinement and commentary on the original Mosaic writings, has been added to the original law of Moses. In fact, so much was added in the first millennium of its existence, and so obscure became its original requirements even in that relatively brief period of time, that while living in mortality he who had given the law in its purity was repeatedly accused of breaking some minute aspect of it. This complexity in and occasional confusion about the development of the Mosaic code as presently taught poses challenges for the student of the Old and New Testaments even today. Elder Bruce R. McConkie outlined the dilemma this way: “We cannot always tell . . . whether specific sacrificial rites performed in Israel were part of the Mosaic system or whether they were the same ordinances performed by Adam and Abraham as part of the gospel law itself. Further, it appears that some of the ritualistic performances varied from time to time, according to the special needs of the people and the changing circumstances in which they found themselves. Even the Book of Mormon does not help us in these respects. We know the Nephites offered sacrifices and kept the law of Moses. Since they held the Melchizedek Priesthood and there were no Levites among them, we suppose their sacrifices were those that antedated the ministry of Moses” (The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1978, 436).

This possibly confounding factor notwithstanding, let us consider several aspects of the law of Moses which are clearly symbolic of Jesus Christ:

1. Moses (like Isaac, Joseph, and so many others in the Old Testament) was himself a prophetic symbol of the Christ who was to come. As the Father said to him, speaking through Jehovah, “I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth” (Moses 1:6). As the children of Israel were fleeing Egypt and making their way to the promised land (note the Messianic prefiguration of delivering, of saving, of rescuing a covenant people from the sins and evils of the unbelieving world), Moses told them: “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. . . And the Lord said unto me . . . I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19). Just what is it the Lord will require of him who does not believe in and follow the Lord? We will learn that it is spiritual death.

This Prophet (note the upper-case P in the text) who would be raised up like unto Moses is, of course, Jesus Christ. As the footnotes in the LDS edition of the scriptures indicate, this passage from Deuteronomy is quoted, with some variation, twice in the New Testament, twice in the Book of Mormon, and once in the Pearl of Great Price. In every instance, those references make it clear that Christ is the future prophet to whom they refer. The earliest of those declarations comes from Nephi, who said, “This prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness” (1 Nephi 22:21). Not surprisingly, the most authoritative declaration of this truth also comes in the Book of Mormon from the lips of the resurrected Savior himself. To the Nephites gathered at his feet, Christ said, “Behold, I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people” (3 Nephi 20:23; see also Acts 3:22-23). This “cut[ting] off from among the people” is surely being cut off eternally from the people of God—spiritual death.

2. The law of Moses included a host of “performances and ordinances” such as sacrifices and offerings that were directly linked with the future atonement of Christ and were meant to be in every way “a similitude of him.” The sacrifices were performed in similitude of the coming sacrifice of their Messiah. The rituals out of which they gained forgiveness of sins were tokens of what was to be in the life of him whose atonement made forgiveness possible. Their every act, every ordinance, every performance pointed the hearts and minds of believing worshipers forward to Jesus Christ and him crucified. All this was understood by those among them who were faithful and true. The rebellious and slothful were like their modern counterparts, unbelieving, nonconforming, unsaved.

Paul named several of the Mosaic ordinances and performances and said they were a “shadow of heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:4-5). The “meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation,” he said, were designed as “a figure [a symbol or type] for the time then present.” He spoke of the various formalities involved in sprinkling blood as “patterns” of things of a much higher nature. Perhaps Amulek’s statement is the clearest and best of them all. He said: “This is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal” (Alma 34:14).

Sacrifice was a way of worship in Israel. The divine decree, given to Adam, that men should repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore, was still in force among them. Compliance with that decree still required them to “offer the firstlings of their flocks” as sacrifices in “similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father” (Moses 5:5-8).

3. Feast of the Passover. At the time appointed for their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, the Lord commanded each family in Israel to sacrifice a lamb, to sprinkle its blood on their doorposts, and then to eat unleavened bread for seven more days—all to symbolize the fact that the destroying angel would pass over the Israelites as he went forth slaying the firstborn in the families of all the Egyptians; and also to show that, in haste, Israel should go forth from slavery to freedom. As a pattern for all the Mosaic instructions yet to come, the details of the performances here involved were so arranged as to bear testimony both of Israel’s deliverance and of her Deliverer. Among other procedures, the Lord commanded, as found in Exodus 12:

a. “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year,” signifying that the Lamb of God, pure and perfect, without spot or blemish, in the prime of his life, as the Paschal Lamb, would be slain for the sins of the world.

b. They were to take of the blood of the lamb and sprinkle it upon the doorposts of their houses, having this promise as a result: “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you,” signifying that the blood of Christ, which should fall as drops in Gethsemane and flow in a stream from a pierced side as he hung on the cross, would cleanse and save the faithful; and that, as those in Israel were saved temporally because the blood of a sacrificial lamb was sprinkled on the doorposts of their houses, so the faithful of all ages would wash their garments in the blood of the Eternal Lamb and from him receive an eternal salvation.

c. As to the sacrifice of the lamb, the decree was, “Neither shall ye break a bone thereof,” signifying that when the Lamb of God was sacrificed on the cross, though they broke the legs of the two thieves to induce death, yet they brake not the bones of the Redeemer, “that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken” (John 19:31-36).

d. As to eating the flesh of the sacrificial lamb, the divine word was, “No uncircumcised person shall eat thereof,” signifying that the blessings of the gospel are reserved for those who come into the fold of Israel, who join the Church, who carry their part of the burden in bearing off the kingdom; signifying also that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood, as he said, shall have eternal life and he will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:54).

e. As “the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt” because they believed not the word of the Lord delivered to them by Moses and Aaron, even so should the Firstborn of the Father, who brings life to all who believe in his holy name, destroy worldly people at the last day, destroy (spiritual death) all those who are in the Egypt of darkness, whose hearts are hardened as were those of Pharaoh and his minions.

4. Feast of Pentecost. One of the three great feasts to which all the males of Israel must go each year was the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of the Harvest, or, as we are wont to say, the Feast of Pentecost. It came fifty days after the beginning of the Feast of the Passover. The burnt offerings of Pentecost included a sin-offering and a peace-offering, indicating that the great purpose of the feast was to gain a remission of sins and obtain a reconciliation with God.

With the closing of the Old and the opening of the New Dispensation, the Feast of Pentecost ceased as an authorized time of religious worship. And it is not without significance that the Lord chose the Pentecost, which grew out of the final Passover, as the occasion to dramatize forever the fulfillment of all that was involved in the sacrificial fires of the past. Fire is a cleansing agent. Filth and disease die in its flames. The baptism of fire, which John promised Christ would bring, means that when men receive the actual companionship of the Holy Spirit, then evil and iniquity are burned out of their souls as though by fire. The sanctifying power of that member of the Godhead makes them clean. In similar imagery, all the fires on all the altars of the past, as they burned the flesh of animals, were signifying that spiritual purification would come by the Holy Ghost, whom the Father would send because of the Son. On that first Pentecost of the so-called Christian Era such fires would have performed their purifying symbolism if the old order had still prevailed. How fitting it was instead for the Lord to choose that very day to send living fire from heaven, as it were, fire that would dwell in the hearts of men and replace forever all the fires on all the altars of the past. And so it was that “when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:1-4). For further discussion of the imagery of sanctification by fire and the Holy Ghost, see Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 1, chapter 18, Baptism, the Ordinance that Brings Spiritual Growth.

5. Feast of Tabernacles. Another of the three great feasts at which the attendance of all male Israelites was compulsory, the Feast of Tabernacles, was by all odds Israel’s greatest feast. Coming five days after the Day of Atonement, it was thus celebrated when the sins of the chosen people had been removed and when their special covenant relation to Jehovah had been renewed and restored. Above all other occasions, it was one for rejoicing, bearing testimony, and praising the Lord. In the full sense, it is the Feast of Jehovah, the one Mosaic celebration which, as part of the restitution of all things, shall be restored when Jehovah comes to reign personally upon the earth for a thousand years. Even now we perform one of its chief rituals in our solemn assemblies, the giving of the Hosanna Shout, and the worshipers of Jehovah shall yet be privileged to exult in other of its sacred rituals.

Also, known as the Feast of Booths, because Israel dwelt in booths while in the wilderness, and as the Feast of Ingathering, because it came after the completion of the full harvest, it was a time of gladsome rejoicing and the extensive offering of sacrifices. More sacrifices were offered during the Feast of the Passover than at any other time because a lamb was slain for and eaten by each family or group, but at the Feast of Tabernacles more sacrifices of bullocks, rams, lambs, and goats were offered by the priests for the nation as a whole than at all the other Israelite feasts combined. The fact that it celebrated the completion of the full harvest symbolizes the gospel reality that it is the mission of the house of Israel to gather all nations to Jehovah, a process that is now going forward, but will not be completed until that millennial day when “the Lord shall be king over all the earth,” and shall reign personally thereon. Then shall be fulfilled that which is written: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations . . . shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain” (Zechariah 14:9-21). That will be the day when the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Manifestly when the Feast of Tabernacles is kept in that day, its ritualistic performances will conform to the new gospel order and not include the Mosaic order of the past.

6. The Day of Atonement. Now we come to the heart and core and center of the whole Mosaic structure, namely, the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the law of Moses is all about. The law itself was given so that men might believe in Christ and know that salvation comes in and through his atoning sacrifice and in no other way. Every principle, every precept, every doctrinal teaching, every rite, ordinance, and performance, every word and act—all that appertained to, was revealed in, and grew out of the ministry of Moses, and all the prophets who followed him—all of it was designed and prepared to enable men to believe in Christ, to submit to his laws, and to gain the full blessings of that atonement which he alone could accomplish. And the chief symbolisms, the most perfect similitudes, the types and shadows without peer, were displayed before all the people once each year, on the Day of Atonement.

On one day each year—the tenth day of the seventh month—Israel’s high priest of the Levitical order, the one who sat in Aaron’s seat, was privileged to enter the Holy of Holies in the house of the Lord, to enter as it were the presence of Jehovah, and there make an atonement for the sins of the people. In the course of much sacrificial symbolism, he cleansed himself, the sanctuary itself, the priesthood bearers as a whole, and all of the people. Sacrificial animals were slain and their blood sprinkled on the mercy seat and before the altar. Incense was burned, and all of the imagery and symbolism of the ransoming ordinances was carried out.

One thing, applicable to this day only, is of great moment. Two goats were selected, lots were cast, and the name of Jehovah was placed upon one goat. The other was called Azazel, the scapegoat. The Lord’s goat was then sacrificed as the Great Jehovah would be in due course, but upon the scapegoat were placed all of the sins of the people, which burden the scapegoat then carried away into the wilderness. The high priest, as the law required, “lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat” and confessed “over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” The goat then bore upon him “all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited,” even as the Promised Messiah should bear the sins of many. “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you,” Moses said, “that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord” (Leviticus 16).

We know that sins are remitted in the waters of baptism. Baptisms were the order of the day in Israel. We know also that provision must be made for repentant persons to free themselves from sins committed after baptism. We see in the annual performances of the Day of Atonement one of the Lord’s provisions for renewing the covenant made in the waters of baptism and receiving anew the blessed purity that comes from full obedience to the law involved. In our day, we gain a similar state of purity by partaking worthily of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper.

The symbolism and meaning of the ordinances and ceremonies performed on the Day of Atonement are set forth by Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews. He calls the tabernacle-temple “a worldly sanctuary,” wherein sacrificial ordinances were performed each year by Levitical priests to atone for the sins of men and prepare them to enter the Holy of Holies. These ordinances were to remain “until the time of reformation,” when Christ should come as a high priest of “a greater and more perfect tabernacle,” to prepare himself and all men, by the shedding of his own blood, to obtain “eternal redemption” in the heavenly tabernacle. The old covenant was but “a shadow of good things to come . . . For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. . . But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 9 and 10). How perfectly the Mosaic ordinances testify of him by whom salvation comes and in whose holy name all men are commanded to worship the Eternal Father forevermore!

For a more complete discussion of the law of Moses, see Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 3, chapter 16, The Law of Moses.

5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.

verse 5 “the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers” God covenanted with the forefathers of the house of Israel that he would gather and redeem their descendants in a future time. This would occur in the latter days.

The “great and eternal plan of deliverance from death” seems to refer specifically to the atonement and perhaps, in a more general way, to the plan of salvation. The concepts of “grace,” “justice,” and “mercy” are allied concepts and are reviewed Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 2, chapter 2, Consequences of the Lord’s Atonement.

6 And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.

verse 6 Without the atonement, “Our spirits, stained with sin, unable to cleanse themselves, would be subject to the author of sin everlastingly; we would be followers of Satan; we would be sons of perdition” (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, 130). See also the commentary for 2 Nephi 9:8-9.

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

verse 7 “if there be no Christ there be no God” If there were no Savior to redeem man from his fallen state, then all mankind would be doomed to spend eternity with Satan, and none could qualify to spend eternity with God in his presence. Thus, God would have no purpose, no reason to exist.

“if there be no God we are not” Mankind could not have been born as his spirit offspring, eventually to inherit a physical body.

“But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.” Here is the grand testimony of the Book of Mormon: Christ is God, the God of the Old Testament. He is also the God of creation and the God of our salvation.

“he cometh in the fulness of his own time” We have previously read of the period of Jesus’s mortal ministry referred to as the “fulness of time” (2 Nephi 2:3,26). Here, we read a variation of that term.

8 And now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my people shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men. Now these are the words, and ye may liken them unto you and unto all men.

verse 8 Nephi must have believed that the following quotations from Isaiah (2 Nephi 12 through 24) were of tremendous value, since the space on the small plates of

Nephi was limited, and he was very selective about what he chose to include on these plates (1 Nephi 19:6).

The Isaiah quotations in the Book of Mormon follow, to a large extent, word-forword the King James Translation. This leaves us to wonder why this is so. We know that in the translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith was allowed to read every word in English as he dictated to Oliver Cowdery and other scribes. We know that he used no reference papers or books―and no Bible. He simply peered into his hat and read (see Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 2, appendix A, “The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon”).

Royal Skousen’s work on the critical text of the Book of Mormon (restoring the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon to it true and accurate form) provides important clues about the Isaiah chapters which may help answer questions about the relationship between the King James Version of the Bible and the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon. Brother Skousen has utilized the process of “textual criticism” to learn more about this relationship.

By textual criticism scholars do not mean negatively judging the text, but rather using scholarly tools to study it closely. As Richard N. and R. Kendall Soulen explained, “The function and purpose of textual criticism is of a dual nature: (1) to reconstruct the original wording of [a given text]; and (2) to establish the history of the transmission of the text through the centuries” (Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, 210). By studying the original text of the Book of Mormon’s Isaiah chapters with the tools of textual criticism, Brother Skousen has identified eight important findings.

1. “The base text for the Isaiah quotations in the Book of Mormon is indeed the King James Version of the Bible” (Royal Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations of the Book of Mormon,” in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, ed. Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, Provo, UT: FARMS, 1998, 373). It seems clear that the “translated” English text of the Isaiah passages of the Book of Mormon follows the King James Bible closely and, yet, was not read from notes or books by Joseph as he translated. Also, the English text of the Isaiah passages made available to Joseph Smith to read, as he translated, was not wholly the product of that divine person or committee who translated, into English, the plates of Mormon and the small plates of Nephi—which translation was made available to Joseph Smith as he “translated” the Book of Mormon. This means that that unknown person or committee would not have been inclined translate the Book of Mormon plates (plates of Mormon and small plates of Nephi) with the exact same wording found in the King James Version of the Bible. Rather than translating these Isaiah passages, they made a conscious decision to provide the King James Version to Joseph as he read from his seerstone.

2. Brother Skousen has found evidence in the original Book of Mormon manuscript that shows that the Isaiah passages and other biblical quotations were “dictated by Joseph Smith; no physical copy was given to Oliver Cowdery to copy from” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 377). This finding agrees with what the witnesses of the translation said, namely that Joseph Smith used no books or notes in bringing forth the Book of Mormon text. Likewise, Skousen also points out that this can be confirmed by Oliver Cowdery’s misspellings of certain words, which makes sense if he was hearing a text being dictated and not copying from a printed page. We can only conclude that the Lord or his divine faculty of translators deliberately chose to utilize the King James Bible text and make it available to Joseph as he translated.

3. It is noteworthy that “the original Book of Mormon chapter divisions of the Isaiah quotations follow a larger thematic grouping, not the interruptive chapter system found in the King James Bible” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 378). Expressed in another way, “the original Book of Mormon chapter divisions [of Isaiah’s writings] ignore the chapter system found in the King James Bible” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 378). Instead, as other scholars have noted, the Book of Mormon’s division of Isaiah follows an intricate and larger literary or thematic scheme (See for instance John Gee, “‘Choose the Things That Please Me’: On the Selection of the Isaiah Passages in the Book of Mormon,” in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, 67–94; David Rolph Seely, “Nephi’s Use of Isaiah 2–14 in 2 Nephi 12–30,” in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, 151–170; Grant Hardy, Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide, New York, N. Y.: Oxford University Press, 2010, 58–86).

4. “The original Book of Mormon text is closer to the King James Version” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 379). By this Skousen means Oliver Cowdery made a few alterations, whether purposely or inadvertently, to the Isaiah quotations as he prepared the Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon for publication. As such, the Original Book of Mormon manuscript is closer to the King James Version than subsequent editions of the Book of Mormon text (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 381).

5. In the King James Bible, italics identify words that are necessary in English to round out and complete the sense of a phrase but were not present in the Hebrew or Greek text of the manuscript used. Such additions were necessary because in some instances the manuscript was inadequate, and the translators felt obliged to clarify it in the translation. In other instances, italics were necessary in cases where the grammatical construction of English called for the use of words that were not needed to make the same thought in Hebrew or Greek. Italics thus represent the willingness of the translators to identify these areas. It appears that generally, though not always, their judgment was justified in their choice of italicized words.

“The majority of differences between the Book of Mormon text and the Isaiah text are not associated with italicized words in the King James Version” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 381). The significance of this remains a point of contention among scholars, since some changes do align with the italicized (supplied) word in the King James Version, and how closely the Book of Mormon follows the King James Version’s italics may indicate whether Joseph was directly copying from or subconsciously influenced by the King James Version (Brant Gardner, The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon, Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2011, note 5).

6. “Corrections in the [Book of Mormon’s] original manuscript give very little evidence for the hypothesis that Joseph Smith altered the text while he supposedly read it off from a King James Bible” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 382). Essentially, Brother Skousen finds no evidence that Joseph Smith was consciously editing or correcting himself as he dictated the Isaiah passages in 2 Nephi (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 385).

7. “The few Isaiah passages that have been quoted more than once in the Book of Mormon may provide evidence for helping to restore the original reading” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 385). Here Skousen has in mind the few instances where the Book of Mormon quotes the same Isaiah passage twice (such as Isaiah 11:4–9 in 2 Nephi 21:4–9 and again in 2 Nephi 30:9, 11–15). These crosschecks show a consistency in Joseph’s translation processes, as he would not have turned back to that block of text in his printed Bible as he wove those verses into Nephi’s explanation of that passage quoted earlier.

8. “Joseph Smith’s ‘New Translation’ of the Bible used the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon as a source for changing some of the corresponding biblical text in Isaiah” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 387). From the available evidence, it would appear that the Prophet based some of his revisions of the biblical text (called today the Joseph Smith Translation) on the Book of Mormon, not on the King James Version. Skousen explains, “The Joseph Smith Translation . . . shows that Joseph Smith sometimes used the Book of Mormon text to make changes in the Isaiah text of the Bible. . . It is not surprising that Joseph Smith viewed the Book of Mormon as an inspired text and thus felt free to use the Book of Mormon in altering the biblical text of Isaiah [in the JST]. But apparently, he did not realize the extent to which his copy text, the 1830 edition, contained textual errors. As a consequence, these errors were carried over into the JST (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 387– 388).

Without a doubt, the words of Isaiah are difficult to interpret. They were probably hard for people in Isaiah’s day to understand, and they are even harder to grasp today. But the Book of Mormon encourages and enables modern readers to find great value in Isaiah’s important prophecies. The sheer volume of Isaiah chapters in the small plates of Nephi tells us that Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob saw Isaiah (who died only about twenty years before Lehi was born) as the guiding star of Israelite prophets in their day.

Where differences occur, scholars may wonder what those differences may or may not mean. This examination of minute variants is indeed a complex subject, and ordinary readers may well find the payoffs to be less than the effort required to delve deeply into this complex and arcane (understood only by those with special knowledge) topic. It is still helpful and worth knowing, however, that such textual criticism provides insight into the textual history of our sacred Book of Mormon text, where every word counts. It also helps readers understand a little better how the text was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 389).

Even though this topic is indeed complex, these issues “never prevent us from understanding the spiritual message of the Book of Mormon” (Skousen, “Textual Variants in the Isaiah Quotations,” 389). In the details of the Book of Mormon’s text we can find joy and rich meaning, especially in Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the coming of the Redeemer and the gathering of Israel in the last days. We can likewise better appreciate the concentration and inspiration that went into the translation of the Book of Mormon on the part of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the meticulous diligence of his scribes who recorded his carefully dictated words.