Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
Some Book of Mormon Scriptures on the Relevance and Applicability of Isaiah
Beginning with chapter 15, Isaiah sends warnings to much of the world starting with Moab. These warnings are found in chapters 15 to 23. In some cases, Isaiah warns the nation of their impending destruction, especially those which surround Israel.
Isaiah 15-16
Dibon is known today at Dhiban in Jordan. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham (Gen. 19:37). There were battles between Israel and Moab during the reigns of Saul and David, but David defeated Moab “and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute” (2 Samuel 8:2). This payment of tribute evidently continued until after the death of Ahab when “the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel” (2 Kings 3:4).
•928 BC – David defeats Moab
•855 BC – Moab rebels
•715 BC – Isaiah writes chapter 15 (1st year of King Hezekiah's reign)
Moab King’s Account (after 855 BC rebellion)
“The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele dated around 840 BCE containing a significant Canaanite inscription in the name of King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tells how Chemosh, the god of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but at length, Chemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele)
“Omri was the king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab for many days, for Kemosh was angry with his land. And his son7 succeeded him, and he said — he too — “I will oppress Moab!” In my days did he say [so], but I looked down on him and on his house, and Israel has gone to ruin, yes, it has gone to ruin for ever!” (K. A. D. Smelik in Context of Scripture, Vol. II: 137-138)
Sometime during the Persian period Moab disappears from the extant historical record. Its territory was subsequently overrun by waves of tribes from northern Arabia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moab)
“The prophet [Isaiah] warns the Moabites that they will be destroyed, despite the fact that they are prosperous in trading and commerce. These two chapters create a wonderful chiasmas with the focus, or most important point, being in Chapter 16 verse 5 as seen below.
A1 Moab’s certain ruin (15:1)
B1 Moab’s grief expressed (15:2-4)
C1 The Lord’s grief over Moab (15:5–9)
D1 Moab’s plea for shelter (16:1–4)
E Security found in Zion (16:5)
D2 Moab’s pride (16:6)
B2 Moab’s grief explained (16:7–8)
C2 the Lord’s grief over Moab (16:9–12)
A2 Moab’s imminent ruin (16:13–14) (Motyer, 149) (Miller, Isaiah, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 207).
Moab:
Zion:
"Zion is not only a covert or protection, but is the destination for the spiritual refugee. Make no mistake about it, we are all spiritual refugees. We seek shelter from the heat of temptations. We want the promise of mercy, truth, judgment, and righteousness in our lives. In Zion, we find hope and peace. This verse is the center of the chiasmas in chapters 15 and 16 and is the focal point of these chapters. The most important point Isaiah wants us to understand in these chapters is that truth, judgment, and righteousness are found in Zion through Jesus Christ." (Miller, Isaiah, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 207).
Hasting (Heb. מָהִיר) - quick, prompt, skilled, ready
How does Christ help make our righteousness:
Moab:
•Between 722-720 BC, Moab, Philistia, Judah, and Edom rebel against Assyrian overlordship. The rising is apparently put down. Moab remains a vassel and is recorded as paying tribute to King Sargon II (Assyria), but still apparently being led by a native ruler rather than a newly-installed governor.
•This is a fulfillment of Isaiah 16:14 that Moab would rebell in three years time and become “small and feeble.”
Isaiah 17
•732 BC – Syria is taken by Assyria (Isaiah 17:1 -“Damascus is taken away”)
•715-712 BC – Isaiah writes chapter 17
Isaiah 18
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “I will read from the 18th chapter of Isaiah because this has to do with this latter day work. I think I will present it all. The way it begins in the King James Version is: “Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.” This is a mistranslation. In the Catholic Bible it reads: “Ah, land of the whirring of wings, beyond the rivers of Cush,” and in Smith and Goodspeed’s translation it reads: “Ah! Land of the buzzing of wings, which lies beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.” The chapter shows clearly that no woe was intended, but rather a greeting, as indicated in these other translations. A correct translation would be, “Hail to the land in the shape of wings.”
“Now, do you know of any land in the shape of wings? Think of your map. About twenty-five years ago one of the current magazines printed on the cover the American continents in the shape of wings, with the body of the bird between. I have always regretted that I did not preserve this magazine. Does not this hemisphere take the shape of wings; the spread out wings of a bird? (Old Testament Student Manual, 157)
How could the verses in Chapter 18 apply to the “land shadowing with wings?”
Isaiah 19-20
Egypt in Isaiah’s day:
Egypt’s “conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ will come through five acts that will bring them to God. First, they will be reconciled at the altar of the Lord and make a covenant to remember Him and become His people (vs. 19). Second, the Egyptians will have a personal relationship to God through prayer (vs. 20). Third, they will receive revelation from God and they will “know the Lord” (vs. 21). Fourth, they will act on this knowledge by making and keeping covenants (vows) as well as serving the Lord (vs. 21). Lastly, they will be chastened and healed as they “return even to the Lord” (vs. 22)” (Miller, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 237).
Isaiah 21
“President Harold B. Lee used verses [in Isaiah 21] to show what a prophet sees and understands about the power of Satan and his unseen hosts. He stated:
“In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord said that Satan drew after him a third part of the spirits whom God created, and that they with Satan became the force in the world to try to destroy the work of righteousness. That power was spoken of by Isaiah in a vision which he received which he called a grievous vision, in which it was said: “Set a watchman on the tower to tell what he seeth and report the coming of horsemen and chariots,” but a voice spoke out of Mount Seir saying, “Watchman, what of the night,” suggesting that, more to be feared than the enemies that could be perceived with the physical senses or could be seen by physical eyes were the powers of darkness that came unseen by physical eyes.
“That same thought was in the mind of the Master, no doubt, when he said: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). The Apostle Paul seemed to understand very clearly this same power when he declared: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). (Lee, in Conference Report, October 1949, 56)” (Miller, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 237).
Are there reasons for the “watchmen on the tower” to feel:
President Russell M Nelson: “And to each of you who has made temple covenants, I plead with you to seek—prayerfully and consistently—to understand temple covenants and ordinances. Spiritual doors will open. You will learn how to part the veil between heaven and earth, how to ask for God’s angels to attend you, and how better to receive direction from heaven. Your diligent efforts to do so will reinforce and strengthen your spiritual foundation” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/47nelson?lang=eng).
“The voices and pressures of the world are engaging and numerous. But too many voices are deceptive, seductive, and can pull us off the covenant path. To avoid the inevitable heartbreak that follows, I plead with you today to counter the lure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life--each and every day.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/59nelson?lang=eng)
“My brothers and sisters, I plead with you to make time for the Lord! Make your own spiritual foundation firm and able to stand the test of time by doing those things that allow the Holy Ghost to be with you always.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/59nelson?lang=eng)
Isaiah 22
Jerusalem
As the Assyrians began their invasion, King Hezekiah began preparations to protect Jerusalem. In an effort to deprive the Assyrians of water, springs outside the city were blocked. Workers then dug a 533-meter tunnel to the Spring of Gihon, providing the city with fresh water. Additional siege preparations included fortification of the existing walls, construction of towers, and the erection of a new reinforcing wall.
Encourage by Isaiah, Hezekiah gathered the citizens in the square and encouraged them by reminding them that the Assyrians possessed only "an arm of flesh", but the Judeans had the protection of Yahweh.
“Chapters 13–23 were mostly addressed to other nations but Isaiah taught and emphasized principles, blessings and warnings to the people and leaders of these nations that would give them hope and lead them closer to God. His purpose was to teach that truth applies to all of the world. Turning to God gives hope and peace—regardless of where you live. Isaiah compared nations and their leaders to events that will happen in the last days. Some of the doctrines that were taught in these chapters were:
- 1 Nephi 19:23-24 - Persuade to believe in Christ, hope.
- 2 Nephi 11:8 - Lift up your hearts, rejoice, liken.
- 2 Nephi 25:7–8 - Great worth, understand, for our day.
- 3 Nephi 20:11–12 Words fulfilled then covenant fulfilled.
- 3 Ne. 23:1 - Search diligently, great are the words of Isaiah
Beginning with chapter 15, Isaiah sends warnings to much of the world starting with Moab. These warnings are found in chapters 15 to 23. In some cases, Isaiah warns the nation of their impending destruction, especially those which surround Israel.
Isaiah 15-16
Dibon is known today at Dhiban in Jordan. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham (Gen. 19:37). There were battles between Israel and Moab during the reigns of Saul and David, but David defeated Moab “and the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute” (2 Samuel 8:2). This payment of tribute evidently continued until after the death of Ahab when “the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel” (2 Kings 3:4).
•928 BC – David defeats Moab
•855 BC – Moab rebels
•715 BC – Isaiah writes chapter 15 (1st year of King Hezekiah's reign)
Moab King’s Account (after 855 BC rebellion)
“The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele dated around 840 BCE containing a significant Canaanite inscription in the name of King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tells how Chemosh, the god of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but at length, Chemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele)
“Omri was the king of Israel, and he oppressed Moab for many days, for Kemosh was angry with his land. And his son7 succeeded him, and he said — he too — “I will oppress Moab!” In my days did he say [so], but I looked down on him and on his house, and Israel has gone to ruin, yes, it has gone to ruin for ever!” (K. A. D. Smelik in Context of Scripture, Vol. II: 137-138)
Sometime during the Persian period Moab disappears from the extant historical record. Its territory was subsequently overrun by waves of tribes from northern Arabia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moab)
“The prophet [Isaiah] warns the Moabites that they will be destroyed, despite the fact that they are prosperous in trading and commerce. These two chapters create a wonderful chiasmas with the focus, or most important point, being in Chapter 16 verse 5 as seen below.
A1 Moab’s certain ruin (15:1)
B1 Moab’s grief expressed (15:2-4)
C1 The Lord’s grief over Moab (15:5–9)
D1 Moab’s plea for shelter (16:1–4)
E Security found in Zion (16:5)
D2 Moab’s pride (16:6)
B2 Moab’s grief explained (16:7–8)
C2 the Lord’s grief over Moab (16:9–12)
A2 Moab’s imminent ruin (16:13–14) (Motyer, 149) (Miller, Isaiah, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 207).
Moab:
- Send “lambs” to “the mount” or the temple in Jerusalem (Isaiah 16:1)
- The plight of a refugee is desperate (Isaiah 16:2)
- "Take counsel” and “execute judgment” [or ‘advise us what to do, decide for us’] (Isaiah 16:3)
- Be a “covert” to refugees (Isaiah 16:4).
Zion:
- Will have a temple
- Gathering place for desperate refugees
- Gives counsel and executes judgment [or ‘advise us what to do]
- Is a “covert” to refugees.
"Zion is not only a covert or protection, but is the destination for the spiritual refugee. Make no mistake about it, we are all spiritual refugees. We seek shelter from the heat of temptations. We want the promise of mercy, truth, judgment, and righteousness in our lives. In Zion, we find hope and peace. This verse is the center of the chiasmas in chapters 15 and 16 and is the focal point of these chapters. The most important point Isaiah wants us to understand in these chapters is that truth, judgment, and righteousness are found in Zion through Jesus Christ." (Miller, Isaiah, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 207).
Hasting (Heb. מָהִיר) - quick, prompt, skilled, ready
How does Christ help make our righteousness:
- quick,
- prompt,
- skilled,
- ready?
Moab:
•Between 722-720 BC, Moab, Philistia, Judah, and Edom rebel against Assyrian overlordship. The rising is apparently put down. Moab remains a vassel and is recorded as paying tribute to King Sargon II (Assyria), but still apparently being led by a native ruler rather than a newly-installed governor.
•This is a fulfillment of Isaiah 16:14 that Moab would rebell in three years time and become “small and feeble.”
Isaiah 17
•732 BC – Syria is taken by Assyria (Isaiah 17:1 -“Damascus is taken away”)
•715-712 BC – Isaiah writes chapter 17
Isaiah 18
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “I will read from the 18th chapter of Isaiah because this has to do with this latter day work. I think I will present it all. The way it begins in the King James Version is: “Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.” This is a mistranslation. In the Catholic Bible it reads: “Ah, land of the whirring of wings, beyond the rivers of Cush,” and in Smith and Goodspeed’s translation it reads: “Ah! Land of the buzzing of wings, which lies beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.” The chapter shows clearly that no woe was intended, but rather a greeting, as indicated in these other translations. A correct translation would be, “Hail to the land in the shape of wings.”
“Now, do you know of any land in the shape of wings? Think of your map. About twenty-five years ago one of the current magazines printed on the cover the American continents in the shape of wings, with the body of the bird between. I have always regretted that I did not preserve this magazine. Does not this hemisphere take the shape of wings; the spread out wings of a bird? (Old Testament Student Manual, 157)
How could the verses in Chapter 18 apply to the “land shadowing with wings?”
- “Shadowing” – to protect, to defend a feeble people (v. 1).
- Send “ambassadors” to those who are “scattered and peeled” (v. 2)
- “Lift up and ensign on the mountains” (v. 3).
- Influence of God felt like “clear heat upon herbs” and “cloud of dew in the heat of harvest” (v. 4).
- God’s timing of the harvest and pruning (v. 5).
- Gathering of ‘a people scattered and peeled” to “the mount Zion” (v. 7).
Isaiah 19-20
Egypt in Isaiah’s day:
- Divided
- Weakened
- In a trade war with Assyria
- Will be invaded by Assyria (677 BC to 663 BC)
- Assyrian empire begins to disintegrate rapidly (civil wars)
- Psamtik I threw off his ties to the Assyrians circa 655 BC
- Battle of Megiddo - Egyptian force defeats a Judean force under king Josiah and managed to reach the last remnants of the Assyrian army (609 BC)
- The Battle of Carchemish – Egyptian army destroyed (605 BC by Babylonia, allied with the Medes, Persians, and Scythians) See Ezekiel chapter 30.
Egypt’s “conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ will come through five acts that will bring them to God. First, they will be reconciled at the altar of the Lord and make a covenant to remember Him and become His people (vs. 19). Second, the Egyptians will have a personal relationship to God through prayer (vs. 20). Third, they will receive revelation from God and they will “know the Lord” (vs. 21). Fourth, they will act on this knowledge by making and keeping covenants (vows) as well as serving the Lord (vs. 21). Lastly, they will be chastened and healed as they “return even to the Lord” (vs. 22)” (Miller, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 237).
Isaiah 21
“President Harold B. Lee used verses [in Isaiah 21] to show what a prophet sees and understands about the power of Satan and his unseen hosts. He stated:
“In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord said that Satan drew after him a third part of the spirits whom God created, and that they with Satan became the force in the world to try to destroy the work of righteousness. That power was spoken of by Isaiah in a vision which he received which he called a grievous vision, in which it was said: “Set a watchman on the tower to tell what he seeth and report the coming of horsemen and chariots,” but a voice spoke out of Mount Seir saying, “Watchman, what of the night,” suggesting that, more to be feared than the enemies that could be perceived with the physical senses or could be seen by physical eyes were the powers of darkness that came unseen by physical eyes.
“That same thought was in the mind of the Master, no doubt, when he said: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). The Apostle Paul seemed to understand very clearly this same power when he declared: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). (Lee, in Conference Report, October 1949, 56)” (Miller, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 237).
Are there reasons for the “watchmen on the tower” to feel:
- Their message is a burden (19:1)?
- Pained (19:3)?
- Dismayed (19:3)?
- Frightened (19:3)?
President Russell M Nelson: “And to each of you who has made temple covenants, I plead with you to seek—prayerfully and consistently—to understand temple covenants and ordinances. Spiritual doors will open. You will learn how to part the veil between heaven and earth, how to ask for God’s angels to attend you, and how better to receive direction from heaven. Your diligent efforts to do so will reinforce and strengthen your spiritual foundation” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/47nelson?lang=eng).
“The voices and pressures of the world are engaging and numerous. But too many voices are deceptive, seductive, and can pull us off the covenant path. To avoid the inevitable heartbreak that follows, I plead with you today to counter the lure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life--each and every day.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/59nelson?lang=eng)
“My brothers and sisters, I plead with you to make time for the Lord! Make your own spiritual foundation firm and able to stand the test of time by doing those things that allow the Holy Ghost to be with you always.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/59nelson?lang=eng)
Isaiah 22
Jerusalem
- Kidron Valley (22:1)
- Upper pool – Hezekiah’s tunnel (22:11) – lower pool (22:9)
- Broken down houses to fortify the wall (22:10)
As the Assyrians began their invasion, King Hezekiah began preparations to protect Jerusalem. In an effort to deprive the Assyrians of water, springs outside the city were blocked. Workers then dug a 533-meter tunnel to the Spring of Gihon, providing the city with fresh water. Additional siege preparations included fortification of the existing walls, construction of towers, and the erection of a new reinforcing wall.
Encourage by Isaiah, Hezekiah gathered the citizens in the square and encouraged them by reminding them that the Assyrians possessed only "an arm of flesh", but the Judeans had the protection of Yahweh.
“Chapters 13–23 were mostly addressed to other nations but Isaiah taught and emphasized principles, blessings and warnings to the people and leaders of these nations that would give them hope and lead them closer to God. His purpose was to teach that truth applies to all of the world. Turning to God gives hope and peace—regardless of where you live. Isaiah compared nations and their leaders to events that will happen in the last days. Some of the doctrines that were taught in these chapters were:
- Israel is redeemed through Jehovah’s gracious compassion (13:11; 14:1–2).
- Moab bases her appeal to Zion for shelter and that “a throne shall be established in loving kindness” (16:4–5).
- The Philistines are not allowed to rally themselves with Judah against Assyria, because Jerusalem is already inviolable through faith in Jehovah (14:32).
- The allied forces of Damascus and Israel had failed because they forsook the God of their salvation for idols (17:10).
- Ethiopia is converted to Jehovah through seeing God’s hand in history (18:7).
- Egypt is won to Jehovah’s worship through divine discipline (19:22).
- Edom’s fickle cry for light in the night (21:11–12) is not deep or sincere enough to secure her from rejoicing over Judah’s calamities, and therefore not sufficient to avert her deserved doom (34:10).
- Careless, godless abandon on the part of people in imminent peril of siege is a sin (22:14).
- A man’s pride, even of one who is a high officer of state, “shall bring him low” (22:16, 19).
- The profits derived from merchandise are no better morally than the hire of a harlot unless consecrated to the service of Jehovah (23:18) (see Robinson, The Book of Isaiah in Fifteen Studies, 95–96) (Miller, A Prophet’s Prophet, p. 268-69).