In 3 Nephi 20, Jesus
gives a lot of prophecy of things to come—of the establishment of the New
Jerusalem, of the Lord’s people being given the land of Jerusalem.
Then there is something
else about the Lord’s servant in these days.
43 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he
shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
44
As many were astonished at
thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the
sons of men—
45
So shall he sprinkle many
nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been
told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they
consider.
46
Verily, verily, I say unto
you, all these things shall surely come, even as the Father hath commanded me.
Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be
fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it
shall be the land of their inheritance. (3 Nephi 20:43-46)
I had always
thought the marred servant was Jesus Christ, because of the crucifixion and all
that. After all, this comes from a quotation of Isaiah 52:13-15, and we are
used to being told to read these things with our testimony of Christ. But was
Jesus’s face and body really marred more than any man? Yes, He suffered, but we
don’t think of him as being disfigured like “marred” seems to imply. Or,
I had thought it represented Joseph Smith because of how our church extolls him
to such an extent that his name is like a gem to the sanctified. But was Joseph
Smith marred or disfigured? No.
It is my personal
opinion (non-official, not doctrine) that these verses foretell a particular
prophet to come.* We are told his visage
is so marred, more than any man, and that indicates this is no handsome figure
of masculinity. He is going to have an ugly mug. His form is marred too—so he
may be badly handicapped, perhaps missing limbs, perhaps suffering from some
disfiguring syndrome. But he will be the
Lord’s servant!
This man is the
Lord’s servant, and he leads with the Spirit, dealing prudently and wisely, and
he will be highly extolled for that. And when he meets with kings and presidents,
they will be absolutely shocked. I speculate this shock arises from seeing that
this servant has come to such prominence with his physical disadvantages. They
will realize the Lord can work through even the weak. They will say to
themselves, There is no way this man has gotten
anywhere on his looks because he doesn’t have any. And charm isn’t enough, with
his condition. And he doesn’t have the physical power either.
In short, this servant
of God will be able sprinkle (or gather) many nations because of how the Lord works through him to touch others, in part
through his physical deficits. In a world of “survival of the fittest,” the
Lord can take his servants from among the weakest to demonstrate His power. While
men tend to choose leaders among the handsome and strong, disfigurement makes
this servant of the Lord all the more distinctive. The Lord’s choice demands
that people look deeper than the surface. Even if this servant’s authority is
questioned, his condition will call forth compassion in others’ hearts, softening
them, allowing them to feel the Holy Ghost.
Why does the Lord share
this information? Perhaps it prepares us to receive this servant. Perhaps it is
to encourage the servant in moments of discouragement. Perhaps it is a sign we
can look forward to that will tell us how close the Lord’s covenants are to
fulfillment.
At any rate, if we can’t
receive and obey the Lord’s servants now, we won’t be ready for the Lord’s
future servants.
So, if we keep a look-out
for a man who is more handicapped or ugly or disfigured than you’d ever expect
a man to be, be sure to sustain the prophets and apostles of today.
*Prophets
who are prophesied of are extra special. Remember Jesus said John the Baptist
was “much more than a prophet” because John was the one Isaiah spoke of as the
voice of one crying in the wilderness.
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