Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
President Henry B. Eyring: “Now I will read to you my own experiment. . . [where] the Lord speaks directly to the heart with a different message. This is personal; it lets you look into my heart. Here is the instruction I followed.
“And now I write 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.” (2 Nephi 11:8)
“So, I began to read in 2 Nephi 12 and thought, “The Lord is speaking to me and wants to tell me something. What is it He wants to tell me directly?” Then I came to a verse in the Isaiah passages that jumped out as if it were already underlined.
“I will make you this promise about reading the Book of Mormon: You will be drawn to it as you understand that the Lord has imbedded in it His message to you. Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni knew that, and those who put it together put in it messages for you. . . .The book was written for [you]. There are simple direct messages for [you] that will tell [you] how to change” (CES Symposium on the Book of Mormon – 17 August 1990 – BYU).
Joseph Smith: “You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion—where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground.
“The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the Prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When Elders shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it” (TPJS p. 362).
Elder Robert D. Hales: “As Salt Lake City has hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have seen a partial fulfillment of many prophecies. The nations of the earth and many of their leaders have come. They have seen us serving alongside our friends in this community and our neighbors of other faiths. They have seen the light in our eyes and felt the clasp of our hands. “The mountain of the house of the Lord,” with its brightly lit spires, has been witnessed by 3.5 billion people around the world” (“Out of Darkness into His Marvelous Light,” April 2002 General Conference Address, online at lds.org).
2 Nephi 14:5-6: Verses five and six of this chapter were quoted by the Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith. Moroni said that these verses “were soon to be fulfilled.” (Messenger and Advocate, April 1835, p. 110)
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “When the Brethren stood on the summit, they looked over this valley to the south of them. It was largely barren, except for the willows and rushes that grew along the streams that carried water from the mountains to the lake. There was no building of any kind, but Brigham Young had said the previous Saturday, ‘This is the place.’
“The summit where they stood was named Ensign Peak out of reference to these great prophetic words of Isaiah: ‘And he [speaking of God] will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly’ (Isaiah 5:26)” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/10/an-ensign-to-the-nations?lang=eng).
Marion G. Romney: “This Church is the standard which Isaiah said the Lord would set up for the people in the latter day” (C.R. Apr. 1961,p.19).
The Prophet recorded that Moroni “commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament.” Joseph Smith then listed several passages from the Bible that Moroni quoted. He listed those passages in this order (see JSH 1:35–41):
Joseph Smith noted that: “He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here” (JS—H 1:41). “In 1835 Oliver Cowdery wrote three articles in the Messenger and Advocate regarding the appearance of Moroni to Joseph Smith. All of the articles were written in the form of epistles addressed to W. W. Phelps, and they are characterized by Elder Cowdery’s rich literary style. The letters contain lengthy discourses on the restoration of the gospel and the message conveyed to the Prophet by Moroni. In writing them, Elder Cowdery apparently used the opportunity to present to the Church some expositions on several gospel subjects, based on the things Moroni communicated to Joseph Smith. In two of the articles, appearing in February and April, he included scriptures that presumably were quoted or paraphrased by Moroni. The following compilation lists them in the order in which they appear in the narrative.
MESSENGER AND ADVOCATE 1.5 (FEB. 1835), P. 77–80:
1 Cor. 1:27–29
Isa. 29:13
Isa. 29:14
Isa. 29:11
MESSENGER AND ADVOCATE 1.7 (APR. 1835), P. 108–12:
Ps. 100:1–2
Isa. 1:25–26
Isa. 43:6
Ps. 107:1–7
Ps. 107:7
Jer. 50:4–5
Ps. 144:11–12
Isa. 2:1–4
Jer. 31:9
Joel 2:28
Isa. 4:5–6
Jer. 31:9
Ps. 144:13
Jer. 31:27–28
Isa. 2:3
Ps. 146:10
Jer. 31:32–33
Isa. 11:15–16
Isa. 1:7
Jer. 30:18–21
Jer. 16:16
Isa. 1:23–24
Jer. 31:1
Deut. 32:43
Deut. 32:23–24
Jer. 31:8
Source: Moroni’s Message to Joseph Smith.
Robert L. Miller: The angel Moroni stated that this verse was ‘soon to be fulfilled’ when he spoke in 1823. In the next ten years, the rod grew as Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, and was given from the stem (Christ) the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom so that he would be an instrument in the hands of the God to restore the ensign of the nations, and to gather the Lord’s people in the last days. The church can be seen as the branch that grew out of the roots (Christ). Even though a branch may be cut off (martyrdom of Joseph Smith), the church would remain strong and rooted in Christ. There is nothing between the roots and the branch. There is nothing that stands between Christ, and His Church; Between Him and His prophet” (Robert L. Miller, Isaiah, a Prophet’s Prophet, p. 110).
Ideas for teaching:
Study Guide for 2 Nephi 12-24 “The Isaiah Chapters”
“And now I write 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.” (2 Nephi 11:8)
“So, I began to read in 2 Nephi 12 and thought, “The Lord is speaking to me and wants to tell me something. What is it He wants to tell me directly?” Then I came to a verse in the Isaiah passages that jumped out as if it were already underlined.
“I will make you this promise about reading the Book of Mormon: You will be drawn to it as you understand that the Lord has imbedded in it His message to you. Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni knew that, and those who put it together put in it messages for you. . . .The book was written for [you]. There are simple direct messages for [you] that will tell [you] how to change” (CES Symposium on the Book of Mormon – 17 August 1990 – BYU).
Joseph Smith: “You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion—where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground.
“The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the Prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When Elders shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it” (TPJS p. 362).
Elder Robert D. Hales: “As Salt Lake City has hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have seen a partial fulfillment of many prophecies. The nations of the earth and many of their leaders have come. They have seen us serving alongside our friends in this community and our neighbors of other faiths. They have seen the light in our eyes and felt the clasp of our hands. “The mountain of the house of the Lord,” with its brightly lit spires, has been witnessed by 3.5 billion people around the world” (“Out of Darkness into His Marvelous Light,” April 2002 General Conference Address, online at lds.org).
2 Nephi 14:5-6: Verses five and six of this chapter were quoted by the Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith. Moroni said that these verses “were soon to be fulfilled.” (Messenger and Advocate, April 1835, p. 110)
President Gordon B. Hinckley: “When the Brethren stood on the summit, they looked over this valley to the south of them. It was largely barren, except for the willows and rushes that grew along the streams that carried water from the mountains to the lake. There was no building of any kind, but Brigham Young had said the previous Saturday, ‘This is the place.’
“The summit where they stood was named Ensign Peak out of reference to these great prophetic words of Isaiah: ‘And he [speaking of God] will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly’ (Isaiah 5:26)” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/10/an-ensign-to-the-nations?lang=eng).
Marion G. Romney: “This Church is the standard which Isaiah said the Lord would set up for the people in the latter day” (C.R. Apr. 1961,p.19).
The Prophet recorded that Moroni “commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament.” Joseph Smith then listed several passages from the Bible that Moroni quoted. He listed those passages in this order (see JSH 1:35–41):
- Mal. 3 (“part,” perhaps Mal. 3:1–4
- Mal. 4:1–6
- Isa. 11:1–16
- Acts 3:22–23
- Joel 2:28–32
Joseph Smith noted that: “He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here” (JS—H 1:41). “In 1835 Oliver Cowdery wrote three articles in the Messenger and Advocate regarding the appearance of Moroni to Joseph Smith. All of the articles were written in the form of epistles addressed to W. W. Phelps, and they are characterized by Elder Cowdery’s rich literary style. The letters contain lengthy discourses on the restoration of the gospel and the message conveyed to the Prophet by Moroni. In writing them, Elder Cowdery apparently used the opportunity to present to the Church some expositions on several gospel subjects, based on the things Moroni communicated to Joseph Smith. In two of the articles, appearing in February and April, he included scriptures that presumably were quoted or paraphrased by Moroni. The following compilation lists them in the order in which they appear in the narrative.
MESSENGER AND ADVOCATE 1.5 (FEB. 1835), P. 77–80:
1 Cor. 1:27–29
Isa. 29:13
Isa. 29:14
Isa. 29:11
MESSENGER AND ADVOCATE 1.7 (APR. 1835), P. 108–12:
Ps. 100:1–2
Isa. 1:25–26
Isa. 43:6
Ps. 107:1–7
Ps. 107:7
Jer. 50:4–5
Ps. 144:11–12
Isa. 2:1–4
Jer. 31:9
Joel 2:28
Isa. 4:5–6
Jer. 31:9
Ps. 144:13
Jer. 31:27–28
Isa. 2:3
Ps. 146:10
Jer. 31:32–33
Isa. 11:15–16
Isa. 1:7
Jer. 30:18–21
Jer. 16:16
Isa. 1:23–24
Jer. 31:1
Deut. 32:43
Deut. 32:23–24
Jer. 31:8
Source: Moroni’s Message to Joseph Smith.
Robert L. Miller: The angel Moroni stated that this verse was ‘soon to be fulfilled’ when he spoke in 1823. In the next ten years, the rod grew as Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, and was given from the stem (Christ) the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom so that he would be an instrument in the hands of the God to restore the ensign of the nations, and to gather the Lord’s people in the last days. The church can be seen as the branch that grew out of the roots (Christ). Even though a branch may be cut off (martyrdom of Joseph Smith), the church would remain strong and rooted in Christ. There is nothing between the roots and the branch. There is nothing that stands between Christ, and His Church; Between Him and His prophet” (Robert L. Miller, Isaiah, a Prophet’s Prophet, p. 110).
Ideas for teaching:
- Follow President Eyring’s example to read these chapters and look for how “the Lord speaks directly to [your] heart.”
- Look for Isaiah’s teachings that bring your closer to Christ, give you hope, or teach about the destiny of Israel.
- Assign class members a chapter (using a handout with suggestions) to study looking for how Isaiah’s message relates to Christ, Hope, “Liken” and the Destiny of Israel.
- Use the handout as a study guide to family discussions.
Study Guide for 2 Nephi 12-24 “The Isaiah Chapters”
