Testifying Out of the Dust (2 Nephi 27)

The Prophet Moroni buries the golden plates near Palmyra, NY about 450a.d.

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon was prophesied of in several places in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, but none so clear as the one in Isaiah Chapter 29.  Nephi throws this one last Isaiah chapter into the Plates of Nephi in 2 Nephi 27.  I bet it made old Nephi glad when he read this chapter and understood that Isaiah was talking about the very plates he was writing on, that his sore fingers weren't for nuttin'.

In 2 Nephi 27, Isaiah talks quite plainly about a book containing the "words of them who have slumbered in the dust" (dead people) coming forth in the last days, which will contain revelation from God (scripture).

2 Nephi 27: 6-7

6.  And it shall come to pass that The Lord God shall bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered.

7.  And behold the book shall be sealed; and in the book shall be a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof.

It would be pretty cool to flip to the end of the Book of Mormon and see how the world ends.  Too bad that part of the plates was sealed off, and therefore not translated by Joseph Smith into the BOM we have today.

I hope I didn't miss it!

It's probably a good thing we don't have the "sealed portion" yet.  We will have it some day, and then we'll read it on top of our house.  I guess that's a good place to be alone.

Moroni delivers the plates

Moroni delivering the plates to Joseph Smith in1827

Having buried the plates in the ground on a hillside close to the future site of Palmyra, New York sometime around 450 A.D., the Angel Moroni, now a resurrected being, delivered the golden plates to 21-year old Joseph Smith on Sept 22, 1827.  The miraculous work of translation from the ancient text (written in what the BOM calls "reformed Egyptian") into English commenced, but because of persecution and multiple attempts by evil men to steal the plates, it took Brother Joseph 2 years to get the first edition to the printers.  The actual translation took a combined total of only about 90 days.  

 Professor Anthon

In this chapter, Isaiah prophesied that when this book comes forth, the unsealed portion will be delivered to a "learned man", who will reject it. 

During the early days of translating the BOM, Joseph Smith wrote down some of the hieroglyphic characters from the BOM plates and their translation, and his buddy Martin Harris took them to New York City to a Charles Anthon, a professor at Columbia University, and who was known for his "literary attainments".  Anthon studied the characters, and wrote a certificate, certifying both the authenticity of the characters, saying that they were true characters from the Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic languages, and the accuracy of the translation.  Anthon asked to see the entire set of golden plates.  He doesn't say anything about greed being his motive, but the BOM says so. 

2 Nephi 27: 15-18

15.  But behold, it shall come to pass that The Lord God shall say unto him to whom He shall deliver the book [Joseph Smith]:  Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he [Martin Harris] may show them unto the learned [Professor Anthon], saying:  Read this, I pray thee.  And the learned [Professor Anthon] shall say:  Bring hither the book, and I will read them.

16.  And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God.

17.  And the man [Martin Harris] shall say:  I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.

18.  Then shall the learned [Professor Anthon] say:  I cannot read it.

When Martin Harris said, "I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed," to the professor, Anthon replied, "I cannot read a sealed book."  He then tore up the certificate that he'd written, and said that angels do not appear to man in our day. 

But of course he now denies it; you'd expect that of a con.  But he couldn't run forever, not even Charles Anthon.

Joseph Smith

Isaiah then says that the book will be delivered to an "unlearned man", who will do the marvelous and wondrous work of God.

2 Nephi 27: 19-21

19.  Wherefore it shall come to pass, that The Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned [Joseph Smith]; and the man that is not learned shall say:  I am not learned.

20.  Then shall The Lord God say unto him:  The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.

21.  Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.  

With only 3 or so years of formal education, Joseph Smith was an "unlearned man".  One of the criticisms against Joseph in his day was that he was an uneducated farmer, and yet professed to be a prophet of God.  Goodness knows, The Lord should never, would never, could never use a poor commoner to share His words...

Oh, except for David the shepherd

Oh, and Peter, James, John and Andrew; they were fishermen

Oh, and except for Jesus Christ; He was a carpenter

Twelve Witnesses

A certain number of people were given the chance to be witnesses of the plates of Nephi, which was talked about in this chapter as well.

2 Nephi 27: 12-13

12.  Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.

13.  And there is none others which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for The Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.

The Three

The 3 witnesses testified to the world that they had seen the angel Moroni and the golden plates.  You can read their account in the first few pages of the BOM.  These 3 men all eventually left The Church, but none of them ever denied this witness.

Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris both returned to The Church eventually.  David Whitmer did not return to The Church, but gave a strong testimony on his deathbed, swearing to the truth of his vision of the angel Moroni and the golden plates.

The Eight

The Eight Witnesses testified that they saw the golden plates.  These 8 did not see the angel Moroni, but they saw and "hefted" the plates.  The testimony of the eight witnesses is found at the beginning of the BOM.

The 8 witnesses were:  Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr, John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith Sr, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith.

But, Three + Eight = Eleven

The 12th witness to whom I referred when I says there'd be 12 witnesses is yours truly.  I saw no plates, nor angels, but I know that there were angels in the room on January 24, 1987, when I had the light and warmth and love and gratefulness of the Holy Ghost drill a hole into my heart and deposit there, underneath untold layers of fat and cholesterol, a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and the marvelous and wonderful story of its coming about.  Tears sprung from my face like a shook up Sprite, and in that unforgettable and most important moment I received the following treasures:

• God lives
• God is my Father in Heaven
• Heavenly Father loves me
• I am worth Heavenly Father's time to answer
• Jesus Christ lives
• Jesus Christ loves me
• Joseph Smith was visited by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
• The angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and delivered the golden plates to him
• Joseph Smith translated the golden plates into the BOM
• The Book of Mormon is the Word of God
• The Priesthood that was given to me by Richard Barney, and to him by Mike Barney, and to him by Dale Pelo, and to him by Alvin R. Dyer, and to him by Joseph Fielding Smith, and to him by Joseph F. Smith, and to him by Brigham Young, and to him by the 3 Witnesses, and to them by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and to them by Peter, James and John, and to them by Jesus Christ is real
• I'm glad I went on a mission

JB at the MTC, Jan 1987

And I'll here repeat what was and has remained the most important one to me on this list....

• I am worth Heavenly Father's time to answer!

Peace be with you...

Lamanites Grinded to Powder (2 Nephi 26)

Up yonder is a photo of a toy fort set.  I dreamed about having a set of Lincoln Logs when I was a kid, and would most definitely have built me a fort with 'em.  I was a deprived child, however, and had to make due with my beloved Tonka Trucks.

Forts were pretty common back in the old days.  In all of the old cowboys and Indians movies, the cavalry usually stayed safe inside the walls of their forts until they were called on to mount up and move out, usually to save some poor, helpless idiots trying to farm in Monument Valley, Utah and Arizona.

American Indians used to be portrayed on the big screen as murdering, barbarous savages who deserved a good butt kickin'.  We have at least a somewhat better idea of the true history nowadays (Gnadenhutten massacre).

The Book of Mormon peoples known as the Lamanites are the ancestors of the modern indigenous people of North, Central and South America.  Nephi talks about them in 2 Nephi 26.

2 Nephi 26: 14-15

14.  But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; concerning the days when The Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of men.

15.  After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea after The Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten. 

I think it's interesting that Nephi used the word "forts".  Anywayz, these verses make it sound like the atrocities committed against these Native peoples was The Lord's will.  I do not.  Once again, just like back when I wrote in a blog post about the persecution of the Jews, these are prophecies of things that were to happen to his people, not God's wrath come shooting out of the sky. That's how I see it, anywayz.

Poor Nephi was shown the future of his people, and it didn't look good.  It must have been heartbreaking for him to know such beautiful truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to know that Jesus Christ Himself will visit his people shortly after he is crucified for them, and then also know that they will nearly all be destroyed within 400 years of that miracle, all because of their thick skulls.

2 Nephi 26: 1-3, 7, 9, 24

1.  And after Christ shall have risen from the dead He shall show Himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which He shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do.

2.  For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people.

3.  And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of His birth, and also of His death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.

And just to emphasize his point about the Nephites destruction, verse 7 is one of my favorite quotes from the BOM:

7.  And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith The Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder.

9.  O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people!  For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of The Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just.

I feel bad for Nephi.  But, Nephi is blessed with Eternal Perspective, the light of the Gospel, and an understanding of The Lord's plan of salvation.

24.  He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down His own life that He may draw all men unto Him.  Wherefore, He commandeth none that they shall not partake of His salvation.

I actually have a friend who, about 20 years ago, told me that he thought that God wouldn't want him in His heaven.  It was a low point for the poor fella.  Good thing I knew about a nice scripture in the BOM that ridiculocized his self deprecating thoughts.  My buddy is doing great now.  You can always find answers in the scriptures, though not always so clear as that one was.

POP QUIZ

A.

B.

Have faith, and go with option B.

See you in chapter 27 where Nephi goes back to Isaiah...

(Back to Isaiah)

Peace be with you...

Remember His Name (2 Nephi 25, part 2)

http://deseretbook.com/His-Holy-Name-Dallin-H-Oaks/i/5092088

The Name of Jesus Christ appears in 2 Nephi 25 about 80 times.  I actually didn't really count, but it's a lot. Way back when I did my post about 1 Nephi 11, I talked about Nephi seeing a vision of the Tree of Life.  When Nephi asked for the interpretation of the tree, he was shown a vision of the birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Then the angel put the question back to Nephi, "What meaneth the tree?"

This is my Tree of Life plate that a guy made for me while I was in Japan in 1994.  When he gave it to me, it wasn't upside down, but google blogger had a different idea.  Sorry, it won't fix.

 Nephi says, "It is the Love of God, which sheddeth Itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men."

Nephi loved The Savior, and understood as only a prophet can the depth of Christ's love for him, and the [insert fancy word here that means HUGE] importance of Christ's atonement. 

2 Nephi 25: 12-13

12.  ...and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of The Father, yea, even The Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest Himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject Him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.

13.  Behold, they will crucify Him; and after He is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days He shall rise from the dead, with healing in His wings; and all those who shall believe on His Name shall be saved in the kingdom of God.  Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen His day, and my heart doth magnify His Holy Name. 

I've noticed over the years an interesting something or other about references to the saving power of Christ.  Some scriptures tell us that salvation will come to those who believe in Him, accept Him, worship Him, come unto Him, obey Him, etc.  Other scriptures tell us that it is the Name of Jesus Christ that offers salvation.  I feel like both of these are true, but find it interesting that the scriptures differentiate them.


2 Nephi 25: 19

19.  For according to the words of the prophets, The Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, His name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

20.  ...Behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as The Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can  be saved.

What is it about the Name of Jesus Christ that offers salvation to the human family?  I looked up the name of Jesus on http://www.kabalarians.com/index.cfm to see if I could gain some insight.

It was very insightful (not).  Here's their "analysis":

• Your name of Jesus has given you the ability to handle people.  You are pleasant and diplomatic, and seem to sense how others feel.  For this reason, you could do well in public relations work.  (Definitely true so far)
• You appreciate the finer things of life, and like to have a good standard of living.  (Well, he was poor in the beginning, but is now quite well off, so that could be true)
• You feel that it is important to convey the impression that you are financially secure, and you place importance on your mode of dress, and on appearances generally.  (Um, well, He did say that the body is a temple, and that we should watch what we wear, so... maybe)
• While you could do well in certain positions of authority, you have a certain lack of initiative and a tendency to procrastinate.  (This one just cracks me up)
• Difficulty in coming to important decisions and a degree of passivity do not allow you the concentration and application required to attain positions of responsibility.  (Um, no)
• You prefer to choose the easiest way to accomplish your goals, and would probably readily admit that you dislike hard work.  (The easy way?  Um, no)
• However, your likeable personality sees you through most situations but when your emotional nature does not allow you to be strictly impersonal in your relationships, you could experience awkward, embarrassing entanglements. (Not real good at this, are they)
• Weaknesses in the health could affect the kidneys, or lower back.  (Um, well, they're kind of off the mark on that one too)

Here's my think...

A person's identity is much more than just their name, but in a way, their name represents all that they are.  Jesus Christ is perfectly kind, loving, just, merciful, powerful, giving, knowing, fair, humane, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...........  His name represents not only Who Jesus is, but also what He believes in, what His mission is, what His duty is, what He wants for us, what He offers us, what He did for us, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...........  To believe in the Name of Christ, is to believe in Christ Himself, and everything about Him.

When we partake of The Lord's Supper, or the Sacrament as we call it today, we covenant to take upon ourselves the Name of Jesus Christ, and always remember Him. 

2 things about that....

# One.  We covenant to take upon ourselves His Name:  In taking His Name upon us, we take upon us all that His Name represents, that is to say, His gospel, His mercy, His kindness, His everything, or at least to make an effort to come as close as we can to these things, we being so not perfect as He is and all that.  We also take upon us His sacrifice, or in other words, accept His sacrifice, His atonement, His forgiveness.

Number 2:  We covenant to always remember Him:  Please remember to not forget to remember His atoning sacrifice.  It's great to be obedient, but it's vital to remember Him, because we will always fall short.  Don't forget to remember all He has done for you, and seek His mercy again and again and again and again, as many times as it takes, even if it's 491 times.  He will never forget about you.  He has "graven you on the palms of His hands," another great Isaiah reference.

2 Nephi 25: 23-26

23.  For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

24.  And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.

25.  For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.

26.  And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look forward for a remission of their sins.

Nephi knew and understood that the laws given through Moses to the house of Israel were still in effect, but would be fulfilled at Christ's atonement, and would then be replaced by Christ's higher law.  This higher law is found, at least in part, in The Bible and the Book of Mormon, where Jesus Christ delivered His Sermon on the Mount.  And Nephi understood that it was not obedience to the law that would bring salvation, but the atonement of Christ.  Obedience to the commandments of God shows our commitment to and love for The Savior, and increases our faith in Him and our love for Him.  And it is that belief in, faith in, and love for The Savior that leads us to repent & take upon ourselves His Name, which brings about His amazing grace in our behalf, despite all we do, or all we can do. 

I know this blog post is getting long, but I want to say something about the ending phrase in vs. 23: "We know that we are saved by grace, after all we can do."

The part that says "after all we can do" has caused some to think that we have to measure up to some standard before we can have a hope for salvation.  I clearly remember being a member of this misguided group.  I spent more than 1/2 of my life thinking that I have too many flaws, fall far too short of "all I can do," whatever that means, and ain't never gonna be "worthy enough," whatever that means, to go to heaven.  And why not?  Because I need the Savior's love a little too much?  Sounds silly, doesn't it?  

There's a part later in the BOM that throws some light on the phrase "after all we can do."  It's in Alma 24: 10-11, and is spoken by the King of a people who came to know Christ, ask His forgiveness, and believe in His ability and willingness to save them.

10.  And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that He hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things. and also that He hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of His Son.

11.  And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that He would take away our stain.

Mosiah 4: 30

30.  ...And now, O man, remember, and perish not.

Peace be with you...

Back to the plain words of Nephi (2 Nephi 25, part 1)

With 2nd Nephi 25, we leave Nephi's Isaiah obsession and come back to Nephi's own words.  Nephi is much plainer, and easier to comprendo than Isaiah.  So Welcome back to...

Right off the bat, Nephi admits that Isaiah is a tough cookie to understand...

2nd Nephi 25: 1

1.  ...for behold, Isaiah spoke many things which were hard for many of my people to understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews.

&then down at the bottom of this same column, Nephi says that, even though he loves the words of Isaiah (vs. 5), his soul delights in plainness unto his people, that they may learn (vs. 4).  

Any questions about that?

Then why in the name of Jonathon Livingston Seagull did Nephi just spend 12 chapters of precious room on the Plates of Nephi quoting Isaiah, when he knew his people wouldn't really understand it?  And if it is more for our day than Nephi's day that he quotes Isaiah, didn't he know that we would have all of those chapters in our Old Testament?

2 Nephi 25: 8

8.  Wherefore, they [the words of Isaiah] are of worth unto the children of men, and he that supposeth that they are not, unto them will I speak particularly, and confine the words unto mine own people; for I know that they shall be of great worth unto them the last days; for in that day shall they understand them; wherefore, for their good I have written them.

Mine own people:  Who's Nephi's own people?  I got 2 possible answers... The Jews that Nephi knows will be scattered and smitten for generations to come, and his own descendants, the Nephites and Lamanites.  And here's the horcrux of the matter...

2 Nephi 25: 16-17

16.  And after they have been scattered, and The Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind -and when that day shall come that they shall believe in Christ, and worship The Father in His Name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things.

17.  And The Lord will set His hand again the second time to restore His people from their lost and fallen state.  Wherefore, He will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.

Ya see, kids... 

The restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon through the Prophet Joseph Smith is the marvelous work and a wonder Nephi is talking about.  The Book of Mormon is the means by which the gathering of Israel will be accomplished in the last days.  The Isaiah chapters in the BOM have a GREAT deal to do with that, at least that's my take on it.

And now...

And so I face...

So this concludes our show for today.  2 Nephi 25 is a significant chapter in the BOM.  I'm going to do 2 posts on it.  Tune in next time when we talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ, prophesy of Christ and discuss what worshiping Christ with all of our mind, might, strength and whole souls means.  I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with having clean hands and a pure heart.

Peace be with you....

Isaiah: A Great Feller (2 Nephi 24)

Today we're on 2nd Nephi 24 (compare Isaiah 14).  First thing I do when I blog a BOM chapter is read the chapter clear through once, and look and listen and sense for impressions or ideas or whatever.  These are my notes...

So, I looked through it again.  This time I really put on my thinker...

But...

So, I'll sum the chapter up for ya, and we'll color it good.

2 Nephi 24: 1

1.  For The Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

After this, past, and future scatterings, Israel will become a chosen people once again, and be gathered in as He promised from the beginning.


Strangers shall be joined with Israel.  Hopefully, when we meet them, we'll know who not to talk to.  You know, 'cause we ain't supposed to talk to strangers.  Never mind.  Ok, we're the strangers.  You know, Gentiles.  Anywayz...

2 Nephi 24: 3

3.  And it shall come to pass in that day that The Lord shall give thee rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.

Those who beat up on Israel won't bug 'em anymore.

2 Nephi 24: 8

8.  Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and also the cedars of Lebannon, saying:  Since thou art laid down no feller is come up against us.

Ha, no feller.  That's awesome.  Bad news for that cool feller, Paul Bunyan...

Then it says some stuff about a couple of fellers who were serious losers.  Isaiah is a smart feller who is real good at speaking about multiple people and times at once.  Verses 12 through 16 is about the king of Babylon on the surface, but it is widely believed that it's really about Satan.  This is where Satan gets the name Lucifer, which actually means "light bearer" or "morning star".  Satan was a nice feller at one time in the pre-mortal realm, but then got greedy, and was thrown outta there.

 
Since then he has sought that "man might be miserable like unto himself." (-2 Nephi 2: 27). 

2 Nephi 24: 12

12.  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  Art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!

13.  For thou hast said in thy heart:  I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north;

14.  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.

15.  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

It's a sad story, really.  But it's important to know that we know who the winner will be, we know who the loser will be, and we can decide to be a winner or a loser by joining one or t'other.  As for me and my house, we will serve The Lord. (-Joshua 24: 15)

That's the end of the Isaiahs, at least the tough ones.  There's a few more, but they don't scare me.  It's taken me months and months to get from 2 Nephi 11 to 2 Nephi 25.  I'm sorry to see him go.  I'm going to miss Isaiah.

I hope you know that I'm kidding about not liking the Isaiah chapters.  Jesus Christ said, "Yea, a commandment I give unto you, that ye search these things diligently, for Great are the words of Isaiah," and I believe Him. (-3 Nephi 23: 1) He's just a hard feller to blog about that many times in a row.  I seriously can't wait to get to Mosiah something or other when Abinadi quotes Isaiah 53 (-Mosiah 14) before he is burned alive. 

Let's celebrate our completion of the Isaiahs by figuring up some way to sum it all up.  How do you sum up Isaiah? 

Isaiah 9: 6

6.  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 50: 6

6.  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:  I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

2 Nephi 24: 7

7.  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing.

Great are the words of Isaiah.

Peace be with you...