God gives light

For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding. (2 Nephi 31:3)

This verse has helped me a lot in life. So often it helped me in my studies as I worked to understand things. It helped me whenever I’d run into things I couldn’t understand, helping me trust that either there would be a way to understand it if I learned more, or it was something worthless trying to cover that up with a pretense of obscurity. It has helped me value teachers for their ability to make difficult subjects clear, beautiful, and harmonious.

It also shows me just how involved revelation is in learning. Every insight, every realization, every epiphany is a gift from God and brings us closer to Him.

I think the scripture also teaches what a brilliant linguist God is. If He speaks to all of us according to our understanding, He must know all our languages. Not only does God condescend to speak, but to adapt His message to our level of understanding, meaning He knows the level we’re at. (I suspect He sometimes pitches His messages at a slightly higher level to motivate us to stretch a little bit so we can also grow spiritually.) He understands us perfectly, and how He must yearn for us to understand Him. And yet, here we are, with our limited mortal perspective hopefully widened a little with our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. How much we must trust Him!

Stumbling blocks and Snares

These verses come from chapters of Isaiah that Nephi quotes.

13 Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. (2 Nephi 18:13-16)

The chapter heading makes it clear this is talking about how Christ would be a stumbling block to Israel and Jerusalem. (He would be a different kind of Messiah than what they were expecting.)

I also think the same principle is relevant in the church today. If we aren’t careful, the words of the prophets and church policies can become stumbling blocks to us. Church history has stories of people who took issue with particular revelations and fell by the wayside—people who didn’t move to Kirtland, people who didn’t fulfill their callings, people who didn’t go west with the Saints, people who had troubles with this or that doctrine.

Each time there is a change of some sort, it becomes a test of discipleship to see if people will find sanctuary in the Lord or whether they will feel trapped and stumble and leave. We have a promise elsewhere that Christ will take away our stumbling blocks, but we each have to make the commitment to do whatever it takes to stay true.

Seek Spiritual Solutions

9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear all ye of far countries; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.

10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us.

11 For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying:

12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

13 Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (2 Nephi 18:91-13)

In these verses, Nephi quotes Isaiah. Isaiah’s situation at that time was one in which the Jews were greatly worried about the threat of being invaded by the Assyrians, who were particularly cruel and barbaric to prisoners (think torture and killing in lots of painful ways just because they could).

It would be natural for the Jews to want to seek for military allies (a confederation) and gird their armor on, and counsel together about what to do. But Isaiah said the Lord told him they needed to do something different—don’t worry about allies, or battle prep, or counsel, or whatever.  Instead, “Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” (v13)  He told them to fear God and sanctify themselves for God.

Why? From a worst case scenario, repenting would prepare them for the next life if they died.  For a best-case scenario, keeping the commandments would give them the moral oomph to endure the difficulties they faced.

It’s still true today that when we face difficulties, even large-scale ones on a national level, the first best thing we can do is get our lives in order spiritually so we can have the strength to deal with it.  Repent and keep the commandments.

If we were to have some sort of crisis like the mobbings of Missouri or the invasion of Johnson’s army into Utah, it would be easy to get really worried and seek temporal solutions.  I would hope we’d be able to turn to the Lord, like Isaiah recommended.

Kings and Queens as Nursing Fathers and Mothers

In 2 Nephi 6, Jacob discusses some verses of Isaiah in the context of prophesying about the future of the house of Israel, and he paraphrases Isaiah in an interesting way as he discusses. First the Isaiah quote:

6 And now, these are the words: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

7 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. (2 Nephi 6:6-7)

In these verses, the Gentiles seem to have a kind character, even humble, as they carry members of the house of Israel in their arms, nourish them, and bow to them. But Jacob’s reworking shows a different side:

Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah. (2 Nephi 6:13)

Jacob interprets the dust-lickers as those who fight against Zion. It is possible he gets this from the similar language to how God cursed the serpent in Eden that it would eat dust all its life. Eating dust is a metaphor for sampling and consuming the gross filthy stuff that isn’t nourishing.

I think that the Isaiah verses describe a mixed set of behaviors—some of the Gentiles helping the house of Israel, and some others of the Gentiles fighting against Zion and ending up licking the dust off their feet.

A very interesting thing I noticed in Isaiah’s verses that I hadn’t seen before is that there is a mutual feeding going on, but the quality is not the same going each way. The Gentiles are nursing the house of Israel (mothers milk = nourishing), but licking the dust of the feet of Israel (gross, filthy, dirty = not nourishing).  The dust-lickers have perverted taste.

In what ways does that image describe reality? If we teach Christianity and the restored gospel, but then get excited about other philosophies and nature worship or some other –isms, that’s an unequal exchange.  Or, if we try to teach the gospel and write books on it, but all anyone ever wants from is the fiction we’ve written, then there’s some dust-licking going on there too. 

I think there lesson for us in these verses is we need to think carefully about the quality of what we nourish our minds and spirits with. Are we getting a good daily diet of milk and meat of the gospel, or are we eating dust?

The Father of Lies

17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.

18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. (2 Nephi 2:17-18)

I noticed as I was reading these verses that Lehi has just given us a little about premortal life, and even more interesting, he says some of this is according to what he has read. So the brass plates had some info on them about premortal life, particularly the origin of the devil as 1) once being an angel of light, 2) had fallen from heaven, and 3) his fall made him miserable forever, and 4) his goal became to make mankind miserable as well.

Lehi emphasizes the devil is the father of all lies, and reiterates the arguments used to get Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit. It’s sort of an interesting challenge to think about where the lies are.

“ye shall not die” – It is true Adam and Eve did not physically die immediately. Their lives were prolonged so they could repent. But they did die spiritually at once. Did Adam and Eve know that? They may not have, in which case Satan was exploiting terminology and lying in a way they would not have understood yet.

“ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil” – What did Satan mean by “know” here? Know intellectually? If so, Adam and Eve already knew they should not eat the fruit, and Satan was trying to convince them they didn’t really know. Did Satan mean “know by experience”? But you don’t have to do evil to experience it. Sooner or later it will be done to you. Know by doing evil? Does God get to be God by doing both good and evil? By doing good, yes.  By doing evil, no.  Jesus hasn’t done evil, and He is part of the Godhead. So that’s a lie about what it takes to become like God.

In Genesis there is an additional wrinkle thrown in, an implication that God knew eating the fruit would open their eyes, implying He forbade it to keep them out of godhood. The lie there is a malicious slander against God’s motives for forbidding the fruit.

I can see Satan was already attacking what must have been a very visible desire in Adam and Eve to become like God. He was trying to turn them out of the right way.

Another thought I had is about that title “father of lies.”  I wondered who first thought of it, and how they came up with it. In what way was Satan a father of lies? I realized they were comparing how Satan works to the conception process. Satan injects little thoughts/lies in our minds. If we believe those lies, sin conceives in our hearts.  

So now I’ll ask you: how does knowing this help us?

Lehi’s argument for the existence of God

And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away. (2 Nephi 2:13)

I think it is interesting how Lehi argues for the existence of God with a series of negated circumstances. “Take away this, and you don’t have this other thing, which removes this other thing.”

I’m going to go through his reasons with the positive side, because there is at least one step that I’ve had troubles with that required me to fill a wider gap and follow Lehi’s reasoning. 

Looking at the beginning and the end points, Lehi argues that the existence of a law (by which I think he means moral law) leads him to believe in a God.

If there is a law, then there is righteousness and sin. Some will follow the law, and some don’t.

If there are some that follow the law, then there must also be some that have mastered the law, who keep it in every particular and use it to benefit others. These must be what we would call God(s).

Also, if there be righteousness and sin, then there must also be consequences—reward and punishment. Otherwise there is no significance and meaning to either righteousness or sin.

If there is a Master of the law, then it would make sense for the Master to have a hand in reward and punishment. (In fact, we require our earthly dispensers of justice to be as morally upright as possible, and we are terribly annoyed and distrustful when they are not.)

Then there is a bit of a leap between laws with consequences and the creation. If there’s no righteousness or sin, then there is no God. Stated slightly differently and adding steps, If there is no law to master, then there is no Master of it, thus no God.  If God is not, then we and the earth are not.  So it implies there is a link between moral mastery and the powers of creation. One who keeps the moral laws will certainly find out and follow all the laws of the elements and material existence and follow these too, prolifically creating new things to benefit others, and perhaps being so clever as to streamline things such that creations create more of themselves.

The practical side of this is that laws exist, and we can either find out what they are through trial and error, or we can learn from the Master and make faster progress.  If we learn quickly and follow, we are promised righteousness and happiness proportional to our obedience.  Moral laws have been given to us, and we have the opportunity of learning about the laws of nature through experimentation. 

Probably this line of reasoning would not satisfy relativists. People versed in philosophy might have troubles with definitions and say this is all intuiting too far, but to me Lehi’s argument is satisfying.  In an extremely brief way, it points out our conscience is one of the best indicators that there is a God. I think C.S. Lewis gave  a more extended version of a similar line of reasoning in his book “Mere Christianity” that is also worth reading.

Living Water Versus Only Dreaming You Quenched Your Thirst

I ran into two different scriptures in different places that I felt provided a really interesting contrast when juxtaposed, so I wanted to point them out.  One is on blessings of keeping the commandments, and the other is on the consequences of fighting against Zion. They are linked together with imagery about water.

But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life. (D&C 63:23)

I love that image of a well of living water springing up. I can’t remember where I learned this, but somewhere I heard that “living water” is a term the ancient Jews used to refer to fresh water that hadn’t been stored in cisterns. Living water was river water, well water, and rainwater. It’s moving and alive, not stagnant.  If you have a well of living water that springs up, you essentially have an artesian well.  You don’t have to let down a bucket; the water presses to the surface and comes to you.

My dad has an artesian well in the basement of his second orthodontic office. The office was built over the top before he bought the building. There is a bowl-like basin in the cement basement floor about two times the size of a wedding-reception punch bowl, and no matter how he tries to pump it out, water keeps trickling in because the pressure on the ground water from surrounding stone forces it up.

It’s rather troublesome for him in reality. But if you think about this spiritually, wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if we could each have a well of living water springing up in our lives with refreshing mysteries of God to instruct us?  The above verse promises we can have that. We can have these amazing revelations come to us if we will just keep the commandments of God.

Now, contrast that with this other verse:

And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision;

yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty;

or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite;

yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.

(2 Nephi 27:3)

This is a little difficult to parse because first it seems like those who fight Zion will be like the dream itself (and dreams end), then it seems like they will be like a person having a dream who thinks they have eaten and drunk, but then they awake and find they are still hungry and thirsty.

So which is it? 

It’s probably both, depending on the degree of opposition to Zion.  Those who are wicked will be ended like the dream.  But then there are those who have tried to nourish themselves with falsehoods or even lower-priority pursuits who will find when the dream ends that the satisfaction they thought they had ends too.

But too, I think this also gives us a warning about empty time-wasting pursuits of this life—that they aren’t a real source of satisfaction.  We need wholesome recreation, yes, but we should also beware when on a regular basis some semi-addictive activity pull us into a dream-like flow state for hours, but leaves us feeling vaguely unsatisfied and with nothing actually accomplished that makes the world better.

That kind of thing doesn’t fight against Zion like a screaming mob with torches and pitchforks would. But on the level of choices between alternatives—good vs. better vs. best—we could be fighting against Zion indirectly simply by a regular, deliberate turning away from “best” for a while. 

Perhaps we need to ask ourselves if there is anything we’re doing that feels real while we’re involved in it but leaves us feeling unsatisfied. I’m not free from these problems myself. For a curious person (like me), the internet represents a massive temptation to learn and read about all kinds of things, for hours and hours..  Heck, I used to browse encyclopedias for fun when I was a kid, so you can imagine what happens when I get into Wikipedia..  One way I deal with it is by trying (emphasis on “try”) to confine my searching to real problems I need to solve in my life.  I have to be very careful on Facebook.  And Pinterest?  I haven’t gotten into that because I know it would suck me in.

Anyway, there you have it—two different scriptures that tell us the consequences of different choices.  We can keep the commandments and have a well of living water springing up in us of the mysteries of the Lord’s kingdom, or we can get caught up in what Isaiah (as quoted by Nephi) might warningly call “living the dream,” thinking we're quenching some sort of thirst and then wake up to discover we’re unsatisfied.

Living water spring up sounds a whole lot more attractive. 

 

Which fruit is bitter and which is sweet?

I ran across a scripture recently that had something interesting about the forbidden fruit and the fruit of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden

And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. (2 Nephi 2:15)

When I was looking at this scripture about the two fruits, I discovered I wasn’t sure which fruit is the sweet one and which is the bitter one.

If we go by the order they are mentioned, with the flavors corresponding to the same order that their fruits are mentioned, then the forbidden fruit was the sweet one and the tree of life had the bitter one.

A forbidden fruit

B tree of life

A sweet

B bitter

And this teaches us something about how temptations and commandments seem at first impression to the fallen man. Temptations seem sweet and commandments seem bitter.

However, it is possible that Lehi may be setting up a chiasmus in the order he talks about the fruit and their flavor.

A forbidden fruit

B tree of life

B sweet

A bitter

If the writing was meant to be read chiastically, then Lehi meant that the tree of life was sweet and the forbidden fruit was bitter.  This corresponds to how over the long term, giving into temptations yields bitterness, while complying with God’s commandments yields sweetness.

Since chiasm is used so much in the Book of Mormon, it is probably safest to read it the second way. Sometimes a western education will put us at a disadvantage in understanding the meaning of the Book of Mormon unless we can learn the manner of prophesying among the Jews, as Nephi did. 

The progression of the Lord’s justice

And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor,

and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.

And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth;

and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

(2 Nephi 30:9)

Here Nephi quotes Isaiah 11:4. 

When I read this recently it occurred to me to notice the verbs used – judge, reprove, smite, slay.

Also, look at the order of the verbs. Do you see there is a progression in severity there?  It starts with simply judging, then reproving, then smiting, then slaying.   It gives us the sense that the Lord uses gentle means first, but if people ignore Him, He will use more extreme measures to try to get their attention.

Another thing I notice is that He does this all with His words.  Even the smiting and slaying is done with His words. That’s pretty powerful. 

Wo to those at ease in Zion

In 2 Nephi 28, Nephi pronounces some woes upon the kingdom of the devil and those who are flattered and pacified and so on.  Then there is this quick little verse with not much explanation:

Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!  (2 Nephi 28:24)

Then next verse is sort of similar:

Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! (2 Nephi 28:25)

I’ve posted a long time ago about why our singing of “Come, Come Ye Saints” with the chorus “Allis well” does not fit this warning, so I’ll pass over that part, but I want to look at this warning to those who are at ease in Zion.

Why is being at ease in Zion so dangerous?  Is it the lack of repentance? Is it that there is danger in not being anxiously engaged? 

I notice there is a footnote for “ease” that goes to Amos 6:1, which repeats the woe to those at ease in Zion.  Nephi may have been quoting Amos, since the prophet Amos lived before Isaiah and Jeremiah, living in Judah, but prophesying to the northern tribes of Israel. If the prophetic books of the Old Testament were put in order that the prophets lived, Amos would come before Isaiah.)

But the next seven verses after Amos 6:1 elaborate on the warning with imagery that gives some clues to help us understand the danger, even if the imagery is slightly obscure.

1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

7 ¶Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

8 The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. (Amos 6:1-8)

So what do we have here?  There are a few obvious things:

1)    They put far away the evil day (v3) – These people put off tricky tasks and thereby things get worse while they procrastinate.

2)    They cause the seat of violence to come near (v3)– A seat of violence is like a criminal gang’s headquarters. If criminals feel safe someplace, it is because the justice system there is weak and ineffectual.  So inaction over matters of justice causes evil and violence to proliferate to the point that it may become extremely difficult to eradicate.

3)    They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph (v6) – This makes me think there was some sort of society affliction, but these people were so wrapped up in their pleasures that the problems weren’t bothering them, at least not enough to try to do something about it.

Now, what about the list of things they were enjoying? These seem like pretty comfortable and prosperous people. They have beds of ivory and couches (v4). They have plenty of cattle and sheep that they can afford to eat lamb and veal (v4). They have music and they have leisure time to invent new musical instruments (v5). They have plenty of wine and they have lovely ointments to use (v6). (Beauty aids? Perfume?)

The problem is they are so dang comfortable that they won’t take the trouble to deal with real problems, so those problems are going to get bigger until it disrupts their comfortable lives. But by the time that happens, they will have lost the moral force and courage to deal with their problems, and they will be the first to fly all to pieces.

The Lord tells Amos specifically that the Lord hates the excellency (and ease and refinement) of Jacob if it means they don’t do their duty and face their problems. Comfort without moral power is hollow and transitory.

This is a great message for our day, since we live in such comfort. If we are to escape the decay and moral rot, we must look at our troubles and duties as blessings that keep us strong.  They provide a load that helps us gain spiritual traction, like Elder Bednar taught. If we have been anxiously engaged, the period storms that roll in will  not overcome us.

Isaiah on the joy of conversion

2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy—they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. (2 Nephi 19:2-3)

Here Nephi quotes Isaiah, and there are a number of things to point out about these verses. First, there is a significant difference between v3 in the KJV Bible and how Nephi quotes Isaiah.  Isaiah 9:3 says, “Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy” (emphasis added).  Nephi’s quotation says the joy is increased, and KJV Isaiah says it is not.  Ultimately after we examine the meaning of Nephi’s version, we’ll see that Nephi’s fits better. 

Second, v2 is quoted in the New Testament in Matthew 4:16 as being fulfilled by Jesus’s ministry in Galilee.  Jesus certainly was the great light shining in the darkness.  But there are multiple instances of Christ fulfilling this.  Those “that dwell in the land of the shadow of death” can refer to those in spirit prison after death, who were brought the gospel when Jesus ministered in the world of spirits after His crucifixion and before His resurrection.  It can also refer to all of us in some way.  We all dwell in the shadow of spiritual death before we are personally converted to the true gospel of Christ.  We all need that light to shine on us.

Now we come to v3 and its meaning.

“Thou hast multiplied the nation” – What nation, and who is multiplying it?  The nation referred to has to be the house of Israel, and God is the one who multiplies it.  How does He do this? By converting the heathen nations so they join the covenant and are adopted in.  By gathering scattered Israel. And by the house of Israel having children who stay faithful to the truth.

“Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy” – Just like it is God who multiplies the house of Israel, it is God who increases the joy. It is the joy felt by those who join. It is the joy felt by those who gathered them. The joy comes from seeing the miracles involved—the miracles of finding, of testifying, of accepting, of changing, of seeing the change.  This is all about conversion.

“they joy before thee [Lord] according to the joy in harvest” – The joy of missionaries is being compared here to the joy of harvesting after a long season of planting, fertilizing, weeding, pruning, etc.  We will best understand this feeling if we have done both missionary work and farming/gardening.  (I think of the joy I had over the single jalapeno plant and its one pepper growing in my courtyard last year. That jalapeno pepper was very special to me.)

“they joy before thee…as men rejoice when they divide the spoil” – This is a little harder to relate to because it involves images of war that we are removed from, if we haven’t experienced war firsthand. (I personally have not.) In Isaiah’s time, once a battle was won and the enemy fled, the victorious army had the privilege of stealing all the enemy’s stuff left behind in camp, and they got to divide it among themselves for profit.   We civilians might get a little closer to this feeling by imagining how we feel finding a heap of free stuff out on the curb while driving around. All this free stuff is high quality and we find it is all just what we need.  That’s part of the feeling of excitement Isaiah was probably getting at, but we have to go back to the image of spoliation in war to get an important spiritual principle.

The people doing the spoiling have been victorious over the enemy. Who is the enemy in missionary work?  It is Satan.  And who has done the heavy lifting to win the battle for a soul?  It is Christ (through the atonement) and the Holy Ghost (in teaching and testifying).  They won, and now the soldiers get to rejoice in taking souls away from Satan, just like soldiers rejoice in spoiling the enemy.  And for converts, they can rejoice because their slavery to Satan is over and oppressing guilt is done away. (“For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor.” [2 Nephi 19:4])

So now we can see these verses are full of the joy of conversion, both for converts and for the missionaries as the Lord multiplies the house of Israel.  And knowing that, we can also see that Isaiah’s KJV rendering “and not increased the joy” just doesn’t make sense. It muddies the waters considerably.

It is neat to me that Isaiah foresaw the time when the Lord would multiply the house of Israel through conversion and all the joy that would bring to all involved. I pray that we can all find a portion in this joy as we look for ways to share the gospel.

I Will Make All My Mountains a Way

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Here in 1 Nephi 21, Nephi quotes Isaiah 49, but I want to look at some verses in the chapter that speak in imagery about latter-day temple work.

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. (1 Nephi 21:9-11)

It is probably easy to see that temple work is the means by which we bring freedom to the spirits in spirit prison, but there is other imagery that tells us of the benefits of temple worship here.

They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. – The image is of a flock of sheep that is feeding “in the ways.” We may have seen images of sheep crossing roads, but this has a twist to it. The sheep are sticking to the road. This is unusual because in that day the roads were not a good place to pasture. All the foot traffic would beat down the grass and plants. But in this image, the sheep are feeding in the ways, so the road has the best grass. What does that teach us about the gospel as the way?  The gospel has the best spiritual nourishment.

their pastures shall be in all high places – Do the tops of mountains have good pasture in them? (Any sheep farmers out there who read this could probably tell me.)  You’d think the best grass would be in the meadows and valleys, so it’s probably symbolic.  The high places in Isaiah’s day used to be shrines of worship. When Israel was righteous these high places were essentially temples to Jehovah.  So when Isaiah tells us there shall be pastures in all the high places, he’s saying in the latter day the house of Israel would find nourishment at the temple.  That he mentions high places (plural) is a hint of multiple temples, and we can see that is fulfilled today. And it is true that we are nourished and made stronger through the Lord’s grace as we participate in temple worship.

Verse 10 continues the imagery of the flock of sheep and tells us that these sheep will be very well taken care of as they travel from place to place.  They won’t be hungry or thirsty or get heat stroke, but the way they go by (the one that has grass growing in it) will also have springs of water running along it for them to drink from. Really, this tells us the shepherd is totally awesome, since he’s found this excellent way for the sheep to go. If you stick with this shepherd, you are blessed; you won’t have anything to worry about. And we know who this Good Shepherd is, don’t we?

And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.  – We know what “my mountains” are. These are the Lord’s temples. So the temples become the way. They become a clear part of the gospel path, as the way the sheep (the house of Israel) is exalted. The temple leads to a higher way of living, and it exalts the sheep.

Gotta love Isaiah. He knew what he was talking about.

Isaiah 51 versus 2 Nephi 8

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It isn’t my purpose to compare all the verses in these two chapters, but rather the verses that have the largest differences.  I like to examine them to see what meaning can be derived from those differences, even if they are very subtle.

Why do this?  Well, partially because I have a curious mind and sometimes I find intriguing things that I want to share.  I realize that not everybody is going to be as interested as I am, but I hope that in some way this helps people see what can be done to study the scriptures.

KJV Isaiah 51	2 Nephi 8	Comments
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.	1 Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged.	It may seem that 2 Nephi has lost an elaborative phrase here, but following after righteousness and seeking the Lord could be considered different things.  Following after righteousness describes the disciple who has already found the Lord.  Seeking the Lord describes those who haven’t found the right way yet. For the phrase “ye that seek the Lord” to be missing, it suggests that this is directed to those who are determined disciples of Christ.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. . . .	2 Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, she that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him. . . .	So far it seems that 2 Nephi 8 has had more removed than added, which is very curious. It is possible that Nephi had a slightly different rhetorical purpose than a focus on Abraham’s increase in progeny.
7 ¶Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. . . .	7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. . . .	Here 2 Nephi 8:7 shows us it is the Lord that writes the law on our hearts, rather than it just being there automatically. I suppose that we must allow it to happen with our good choices.
11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.	11 Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away.	Here 2 Nephi 8:11 adds that not only will the redeemed by glad, but they will be holy as well (implying repentance is required for this kind of happiness). Since the joy is to be everlasting, this fits very well.
12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;	12 I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto grass?	It seems to me that 2 Nephi 8:12 has some equivalent wording here. The major change, however, is the removal of “a” from the KJV to make it clear the Lord wants us to not be afraid of man.  This makes much more sense.
15 But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name.	15 But I am the Lord thy God, whose waves roared; the Lord of Hosts is my name.	I think the KJV wins this one, with that phrase that shows Isaiah is referring back to the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. This makes me think that Nephi might have accidently left some things out while copying the text.

Just as some extra background, comparing man to grass is apt when we consider how grass withers so quickly after days of hot sun and no moisture.  This imagery is supposed to remind us of the short span of mortal life and how temporary the power of the wicked is.

 To me, the overall message of these selected verses is that the Lord wants us to remember Abraham.  We can remember the problems he faced trying to live righteously in a wicked world. (After all, it was in his days that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.)  Abraham was quite alone, even with Sarah.  And yet he was protected because he was faithful.

The Lord wants those of us who have His law written on our hearts to not fear the revilings of men. He promises that we will have everlasting joy and that the sorrow we experience will only be a temporary thing, and He will comfort us, and that we don’t need to be afraid of men because their power only lasts for a short time.  Instead, we can remember that our God was the one who parted the Red Sea and showed great power to save His people.

I think this is a great message for today.