Thought: I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct
of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get
nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other Book. (Joseph Smith
HC 4:461)
Book of
the Week: "Vol. 2 - Verse by Verse-The Book of Mormon" Andrew Skinner
and Kelly Ogden.
Gary's
Green Verses
|
Date
|
Chapter
|
Verse
|
Comments
|
|
May
3
|
Alma
29
|
4
|
The
Lord will help me obtain what I really desire. I should pray for my desires
|
|
May
4
|
Alma
30
|
60
|
You
can't trust Lucifer.
|
|
May
5
|
Alma
31
|
5
|
There
is no way to influence the world, or our part of it, than by sharing the
word.
|
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May
6
|
Alma
32
|
21
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Faith=Hope.
Faith is not seeing. You can't have faith in something not true.
|
|
May
7
|
Alma
33
|
23
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Jesus
is the Word to be planted. We can do all this if we WILL.
|
|
May
8
|
Alma
34
|
32-34
|
This
life is designed as a place for me to prepare to return to God.
|
|
May
9
|
Alma
35
|
16
|
When
we see the conditions of vs. 15, we should take the action of vs. 16.
|
|
May
10
|
Alma
36
|
3
|
4
promises for those who put their trust in God: Supported in trials; troubles;
afflictions & lifted up at last day.
|
I would refer you to one of my all-time heroines, Chieko
Okazaki (whom, unfortunately we lost last year), and the chapter “Being
Enough,” also in her book of 2002 by Bookcraft, Being Enough. If ever
there was a woman who understood the efficacy of the gospel message, it was
she. She also had the education, grace, and enthusiasm to validate each of our
God-given gifts. On p. 7, she says, “This mortal probation is not a test of any
of those things [accomplishments, expectations, etc.]. It is an invitation to
walk with faith with the Savior, and his promise is that he will make up all of
our deficiencies. That’s what grace means. That’s what grace is for. If we will
give Christ our trust, then He will provide everything we lack, ‘good measure,
pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.’”
Monday, May 07 2012 "Meridian Magazine The Real Reason Kate is Less Active By Joni Hilton
Isaiah in the Book of
Mormon
I. ACTS 8:26-29 - How can I except some man should guide me?
Isaiah 53:7-8
1.
The Book of Mormon
2.
Old Testament Student Manual, pages
130-210
3.
Great are the Words of Isaiah, Monte S.
Nyman
4.
Isaiah Made Easier, David Ridges
5.
Christ and the New Covenant, Jeffrey R.
Holland
6.
Isaiah, Prophet, Seer and Poet, Victor L.
Ludlow
7.
Understanding the Book of Isaiah, Don and
Jay Parry
8. Isaiah, Plain and Simple, The Message of
Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, Hoyt
W. Brewster
9.
Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times, Clean
Skousen
10.
Isaiah In the Book of Mormon, Don Parry
& Jack Welch
11.
Unlocking Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, Victor
L. Ludlow
12.
Book of Mormon Reference Companion, Dennis
L. Largey Ed.
13.
Isaiah for
Airheads, John Bytheway
14.
Simplified
Isaiah for the LDS, David R. Minert
2. D&C 52:14 - A pattern in all things. The Drain.
3. The Pattern
A. HARD WORK 1) Isaiah 6:8-10 and Matt. 13:10-14 2) 3 Nephi 23:1 3) Is. 28:9-10 -
Line upon line
B. SPIRIT OF PROPHECY 1) 2 Nephi
25:4 - Spirit of Prophecy - 1 time in Bible (Rev. 19:10) 20 times in BOM 2) 2
Nephi 25:2 - Do not do the works of darkness (what are some works in our days
that would keep us from having His Spirit always to be with us?) 3) Alma 17:2-3
4) Jacob 4:14 - A little warning about seeking for meat before milk 5) Not only
are we entitled to the Spirit of Prophecy ourselves, we also have access to the
written words of prophets and others who have this spirit. (Ken Godfrey and
prayers and missionaries story)
C. UNDERSTAND THE MANNER OF
PROPHESYING AMONG THE JEWS - 2 Nephi 25:1 1) Law of Moses - One of Isaiah’s main objectives was to bring
people to a consciousness of the covenants of the law. The law was designed to
bring people to Christ. Isaiah began his book with a quotation from the son of
Moses (Is. 1:2; Dt. 32:1). Isaiah was able to communicate very effectively with
those who knew the law, for he did not need to explain in detail what he meant
by each word or phrase. My wife talking with a physician about medical
terminology is an example. 2) Poetic Language - The Old Testament is about 1/3 poetry.
Beyond the “poetic books; Job, Psalms, Proverbs, it is especially prominent in
the prophetic books. Isaiah is about 90% poetry. They used poetry because their
works were transmitted orally and poetry made it easier to memorize. They used
memory devices or patterns. The most common pattern in Hebrew poetry was Parallelism.
It was not rediscovered until 1753. The past 250 years have brought great
strides in understanding Old Testament parallelism. In parallelism, a thought,
idea, grammar pattern, or key work of the first line is repeated in the 2nd
line. There are at least 7 different types of parallelism in Isaiah. Three of
them are Synonymous (Is. 1:3), Contrasting (Is.
1:19-20) and Chiasmuas (introverted),
where the pattern of words or ideas is stated and then repeated, but in a
reverse order. (Isaiah 3). 3) Dualism - Multiple
fulfillment - Isaiah 13-23 - Woes upon 9 different nations. Babylon of then and
now. Isaiah 14:12-14 - Lucifer and the King of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar?) 4) Esoteric Words & Symbols - Words of limited
understanding; mountain of the Lord’s house, the stay (the protector) the staff
(the support of walking stick) mia maid, laurel, stake center. 5) Symbols - 21
categories identified by Victor Ludlow - Persons, Actions, Anatomy, Animals,
Objects, Colors, Numbers. We learn symbols from our youth. (Flag, Sacrament,
Baptism, 1 Nephi 8, Revelation, Isaiah, Temple)
D.
STUDY ALL OF THE SCRIPTURES
1.
66 CHAPTERS – 1292 VERSES IN ISAIAH
2.
239 CHAPTERS – 6580 VERSES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON
3.
JESUS IS MENTIONED IN 233 OF THE CHAPTERS IN THE
BOM
4.
JESUS IS MENTIONED IN 391 OF THE 425 ISAIAH
VERSES IN THE BOM
5.
JESUS IS MENTIONED 3471 TIMES IN 6580 BOM VERSES
6.
JESUS IS CALLED BY ABOUT 100 NAMES IN THE BOOK
OF MORMON
7.
JESUS IS CALLED BY ABOUT 61 NAMES/TITLES IN
ISAIAH
8.
ABOUT 1/3 OF ISAIAH IS IN THE BOOK OF MORMON
9.
THE D&C HAS ABOUT 100 REFERENCES TO ISAIAH
10.
ISAIAH IS QUOTED AT LEAST 57 TIMES IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT (BY JESUS, PAUL, PETER AND JOHN)
11.
THERE ARE 35 QUOTATIONS, PARAPHRASES AND
COMMENTARIES ON ISAIAH IN TPJS.
12. 32 of our Hymns list Isaiah
passages as references
E. . KNOW THE SOCIAL SCIENCES A. LIFESTYLE (farming techniques
and tools) B. GEOGRAPHY - 2 Nephi 25:6
(106 DIFFERENT PLACES NAMED) C. A. HISTORY - Isaiah 37 & 38
COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH IN THE
BOOK OF MORMON
1 Nephi 15:20
1 Nephi 19:21-24 1
Nephi 20 &21
1 Nephi 22 1
Nephi 20 &21
2 Nephi 6:4-5, 11, 12, 14 2
Nephi 7 & 8
2 Nephi 9:1-3 2
Nephi 7 & 8
2 Nephi 11:1-8 Nephi’s
Commentary on Isaiah, Jacob and Nephi as the original 3 witnesses.
(Look
at 2 Nephi 11 & 25 as bookends)
2
NEPHI 25:18, 26, 27 2
Nephi 12-24
Mosiah 12:25-32 Priests
ask question of Abinadi
Mosiah 15:1-28 Abinadi's
Commentary on Isaiah 53 (Mosiah 14)
3
NEPHI 16:17-20 Commentary
on Isaiah 52:8-10 as the Savior talks about the latter-day gathering.
3
NEPHI 20:10-46 Christ
teaches the gathering. Note vs. 40 from Isaiah 52 and Mosiah 12
3
NEPHI 23:1-4 The
commandment to search!
MORMON
8:23 Moroni
tells us to search
Four
main purposes for quoting in the Book of Mormon: 1) Repentance & the judgments of God. 2) God's
covenants & promises to Israel. 3) Messianic prophecies and 4) events
relating to the latter days.
First Nephi 20 (Isaiah 48)
Nephi begins his extensive quotations from Isaiah, not from
the beginning of the words of Isaiah but from near the end, because the message
of hope and redemption in Christ in Is. 48 & 49 fit the message he was
continuing in 1 Nephi 19. (Read Ch. Heading for 1 Nephi 19 and also vs. 19-24)
He uses Isaiah to substantiate what he has been teaching; 1. Believe in Christ.
(They had disregarded Nephi’s testimony so he adds Isaiah’s. 2. Israel has been, is being and will be
scattered and we are a part of that scattering. 3. Because God knew that we
were going to be scattered, he also provides hope for us to be gathered again.
20:1- To covenant people who are not true to the covenant. Out
of the waters of baptism is not in the OT. It was added by Joseph Smith to the
1840 edition of the Book of Mormon.
20:2 - They like the status of being a chosen people, but they
fail to see the obligation side of being a covenant people.
20:3 - The Lord sites his past performance in predicting.
20:4 -It has not been hard to make predictions concerning
Israel because they are obstinate, slow to turn from the
direction they had in mind and hard headed. Neck is an iron sinew. (Sinew=tendon,
a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that
usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Those
who will not bow before the Lord (Dt. 9:6; 31:27) Brow Brass,
Members who will not give their mind or thoughts to the Lord (Ezek. 3:7-9)
20:5 - Israel has been shown the prophecies way in advance by
God so they can’t give credit to false gods they are prone to worship. (Story
of Abram and Terah)
20:6 - Fess up, I have been right in my predictions of your
wickedness. The Lord has and does know and reveal the future. The new things
may refer, among other things, to the prophecy concerning Israel’s deliverance
through Cyrus (Is. 42:9; 43:9). Hidden things refers to the mysteries of God as
revealed in temples or in other God ordained ways.
20:7 - I have been telling and you have not been listening,
but I have spoken them anyway so that you would know that I knew and far enough
in advance so Israel could not say that they knew without God.
20:8 - Israel has been a sinful nation since Sinai (the womb).
Thou wouldst deal very treacherously is a reference to betrayers.
The preceding verses were a reminder to Israel of her
traditional wicked ways. It applied very well to Laman and Lemuel and to many
of us today.
20:9-11 - The Lord has not given up on Israel. He will use
their afflictions to refine them. His love for them guarantees their standing.
He is so patient.
20:10 – In the process of refining metals, intense heat is
used to burn off the grosser elements and impurities. Israel’s initial furnace
was their servitude in Egypt. All saints need this refining process. Christ is
the refiner (Mal. 3:2-3; Zech. 13:9).
20:11 – The Lord knows us. We will receive the promised
blessings. They will not be given to someone else. See Abraham 1:18.
Name=priesthood.
20:12,13 – Israel’s call goes from before the earth was formed
(first) and will go on for the duration of the earth’s existence (last) Jesus
is also the first and the last. He has always been there for us and always will
be. We needn’t worry about His being there for us. (See Exodus 4:22 where the
Lord refers to Israel as his first born.) The right hand is the hand of
authority. It is the covenant hand.
20:14-21 - “Isaiah next turns to God’s panoramic and prophetic
perspective of Israel’s destiny. He reveals, through prophecies that carry double
meanings, the many redemptive events that will occur in Israel’s
future, as well as the several redeemers who will be raised up to help bring
about God’s desires and purposes for his chosen people.” (Skinner, p. 102, Isaiah
In The BOM).
20:14 – who among them hath declared these things. This may refer to Isaiah, Jesus,
another prophet or more likely to all who preach the gospel. The Lord hath
loved him=Sperry and Skinner say it was Cyrus. Nyman says Israel. Victor
Ludlow says it is Christ. I think it is Cyrus as a type of Christ. Babylon is a
symbol for all of the wicked nations and people of the world.
20:15 - Christ shall make Cyrus’ way prosperous. Also refers
to the messenger of declaring these things. The message seems to be that God
has a plan and he will prosper all those He needs to see that the plan is
carried out. (See 1 Nephi 9:6)
20:16 - God sent this composite deliverer.
20:17 – Christ is the master teacher. See Isaiah 2:3
20:18 - Israel has not taken the easy way. The peace spoken of
would be as an ever-flowing river. Our righteousness as constant as the waves
in the ocean.
20:19 - Things could have better. God blesses us through our
posterity both in this life and also with eternal offspring.
20:20 - Israel’s deliverance from Babylon. Also the
deliverance of anyone from the Babylon’s of our own life. (D&C 133:5-14
20:21 - God helped in Moses’ time and he will help again
spiritually and physically.
20:22 – The blessings mentioned in this chapter are
conditional upon our righteousness. This chapter should have greatly influenced
Laman & Lemuel and their group. It should have great relevance to us also.
I Nephi 21 (Isaiah 49)
Remember from 1 Nephi 19:23-24 that
Nephi is going to quote Isaiah because of Isaiah’s ability to do three things
1)Testify of Christ 2) Address their personal circumstances and 3) provide hope
for their future. Nephi is teaching his people that they are part of the
fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy of the scattering of Israel.
In chapter 20:1-8 he reminds Israel
(and Laman & Lemuel and us) of their wickedness. In the rest of that
chapter he tells of their captivity and of his deliverance of them because of
his love for them.
As we go to chapter 21 Isaiah moves
to the latter days. President Wilford Woodruff says this: “The revelations that
are in the Bible, the predictions of the patriarchs and prophets who saw by
vision and revelation the last dispensation and fulness of times plainly tell
us what is to come to pass. The 49th chapter of Isaiah is having fulfillment.”
Compare verse one of Isaiah with
verse one of 1 Nephi 21
Both announce the scattering. The
Nephite text identifies religious leaders as a cause of the scattering. Chapter
49, starting in the 2nd half of verse 1, identifies a servant of the Lord who
is to deliver the latter-day scattered Israel. Many refer to him as the
“suffering servant.” This same servant
is further described poetically in
Isaiah 42:1-4; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12. The Jews say that it is a depiction of
their nation as a whole, others say it refers to Isaiah himself, Joseph Smith, Ephraim,
Cyrus and various Old Testament prophets. The preeminent servant is Jesus
Christ. Many individuals from the house of Israel are in some ways types of
Christ in their lives and in their efforts to bless those they serve. Let’s
look at how Isaiah describes him.
1
NEPHI 21:1-9
1. He has been called from the
womb. Foreordained. (vs. 1; 2 Nephi 3:7-9, 14-15; D&C 127:2 Abr. 3:27;
Moses 4:1-4; Luke 1:31; 2:21).
2. His mouth was like a sharp
sword. He speaks with authority (vs. 2; D&C 18:35-36, 21:5).
3. He was hidden in the shadow of
the Lord’s hand. Calling and election (vs. 2; LDCBM p. 66-67).
4. He was made a polished shaft. Refined
(vs. 2; TPJS p. 304).
5. He was hidden in the quiver of
the Lord. (vs. 2; D&C 86:9).
6. He would say that he had labored
in vain. (vs. 4; D&C 121:2).
7. He would speak in the name of
the Lord. (vs. 5; D&C 52:1).
8. He would know that he was
foreordained. (vs. 5; D&C 127:2, TPJS p. 365).
9. His life’s work would be to
gather Israel, even when Israel did not want to be gathered. (vs. 5; Mormon
8:16).
10. He would be the Lord’s servant
to gather Israel. (vs. 6; D&C 110:11,16)
11. He would be a light unto the
Gentiles. (vs. 6; D&C 86:11).
12. He would be hated, but also
have the gospel be taught to government leaders. (vs. 7; JSH 1:33; D&C
1:23).
13. He will be given to Israel for
a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate
heritages. (vs. 8; D&C 1:17-22)
14. He will set free the prisoners
and shepherd the chosen people. (vs. 9; D&C 138:29-35).
Vs. 10-12 - The Mountains of the
Lord- the Lord proclaims that he will use the servant mentioned before and will
shield and protect and uses the symbolic terms of not hungering or thirsting,
mountains, highways for the gathering. (D&C 133:26-31) Sinim=China? Far
East? Phoenicia?
Vs. 13 - "As this latter day
gathering unfolds it will be a cause of great rejoicing both in heaven and on
earth. The people of Israel will be established in Jerusalem while the saints
of God are establish in the New Jerusalem (America). Both groups will no longer
be subject to the persecution of the world but will be preserved and protected
by the marvelous power of the Lord. (Isaiah 44:23).
Vs. 14 - A discourage prophet asks
if Israel has been forsaken
Vs. 15 - Can God forget us?
Vs. 16. - graven upon the palms of
my hands, a possible allusion to the marks of the crucifixion. Thy walls are continually
before me is an indication that the Lord is ever mindful of his people.
Vs. 17 - The posterity of Israel
will quickly turn upon their enemies and their enemies will depart.
vs. 18 - Those who gather become
like a wedding gown for the bride (the covenant people) who is waiting for the
groom. (Christ)
vs. 19-21 - the gathering places
will not seem large enough
vs. 22-23 - The Gentiles (by
nationality) but Israelites by genealogy will gather the Lord's covenant
people. Explained in I Nephi 22:6-9.
24-26 - God will preserve Israel
1 Nephi 22:1-end of chapter
