“When I get to the Isaiah chapters, I
just skip over them.” Is that your response to the writings of
Isaiah? Are you in the dark when you encounter his prophesies? If
so, you may be missing the best part of the Book of Mormon.
Christ certainly didn't ignore Isaiah.
His counsel: “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 Ne. 23:1).” And our hero
Nephi certainly appreciated the prophet: “I, Nephi, write more of
the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words (2 Ne.
11:2).”
Consider
Joseph Smith. Would we even have the Book of Mormon if he had said
“The reformed Egyptian is to hard to understand. Why should I even
try?” But of course he had the Urim and Thummin to assist him.
Wouldn't it be great if we had our own personal Urim and Thummin?
Then we could understand Isaiah.
But
perhaps we do have our own Urim. “Because the words of Isaiah are
not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that
are filled with the spirit of prophecy (2 Ne. 25:4).” That appears
to be the key. Interpret Isaiah by means of the Spirit.
The
problem seems to be that most of us attempt to understand those
scriptures literally. We attempt to reason them out logically.
Instead we should be trying to feel the meaning of his words. The
Spirit communicates through our thoughts and feelings. Instead of
trying to understand the meaning, we should try and feel Isaiah's intent.
For
example, what do you feel when you read “And it shall come to pass
in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be
established in the tops of the mountains.” Do you just visualize a
physical temple being built by the early pioneers in Salt Lake City.
Or do you feel the Lord moving in history, preparing the world for
the Second Coming, including the initiation of vicarious work for the
dead.
What do you understand by the poetic
scripture “Can a woman forget her suckling child? They may forget,
but I have not forgotten thee. I have graven thee on the palms of my
hands.” Do you only think of a helpless babe being abandon by it's
mother? Or of Christ's suffering during the crucifixion? Rather, can you
feel the atoning anguish of Christ for the billions of His father's
children who would have been lost without His intervention? Can you
feel the painful nails being driven through his palms while He took
upon himself the sins of us all?
Try to feel the Spirit in Isaiah. I would
suggest that there is more Spirit in pondering his writings that in
most other scripture. Isaiah didn't compose his writings, so much as
quote God. His writings mirror the beautiful symbolic language of the Lord which was revealed to him. Celestial language seems to be
characterized by symbolism. If we skip over that, it is like
ignoring the symbolism in the temple ceremonies.
Some examples of Isaiah's symbolism:
the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan (referring to the mighty and proud men of the earth); the historical image of Babylon (the wicked later
day nations); the historical image of Egypt (for the modern nations
of Africa-Ch.19); the symbolism of Israel as a divorced and rejected
wife; Christ's disciples as sheep; and of course the symbolism of
Christ (as the Comforter, a root out of dry ground, the sacrificial
lamb, etc.)
Elder Bruce R. McConkey wrote an essay
providing us with ten keys to unravel the mysteries of Isaiah. It can be
found at the following website and is definitely worth studying.