Isaiah 1-12: “God Is My Salvation” (September 5-11)

The Prophet Isaiah Foretells Christ’s Birth” (detail), by Harry Anderson

“Great are the words of Isaiah,” said the Savior during His ministry on the American continent (3 Nephi 23:1). “My soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah,” said Nephi (2 Nephi 25:5, 2 Nephi 11:2). And Moroni urged us, “Search the prophecies of Isaiah,” adding, “behold, I cannot write them” (Mormon 8:23). About a third of the book of Isaiah is reproduced in the Book of Mormon, but Moroni clearly wants us to study all of Isaiah’s words, not only the chapters which he and his predecessors quoted.

For the next five weeks, we are going to follow these admonitions and study the book of Isaiah.

If you would like some practical tips, see my blog post Understanding Isaiah. That post also contains links to all of my posts about Isaiah, organized by chapter, in case you want to see what I’ve written about specific passages.

So what’s going on in the first twelve chapters? Note that eleven of these chapters (2-12) also appear in 2 Nephi 12-22. Nephi tells us that he is quoting these chapters in order to teach us about Jesus Christ. So let’s see what they say:

How do these chapters teach us about Jesus Christ? I would suggest the following strategy for reading them: Think of the challenges facing Isaiah’s people as a metaphor for your own life. We all need God’s grace to overcome the challenges we face, both external and self-inflicted. As Isaiah’s people face invading armies as well as their own sins, how do his words help them to exercise faith in God and receive His saving power?

Happy studying!


Blog Posts: September 7-11

“I Will Not Hear”

The book of Isaiah opens dramatically. The Lord tells the children of Israel that they have forsaken Him, that they are damaging themselves by their actions, and that He doesn’t want to be a part of it any more. In words that must have been shocking to Isaiah’s listeners, the Lord tells them to stop…

Tzedakah/Tze’akah

One of the hard things about being a parent or a teacher is when your children or students fall short of their potential. You can give them guidance, you can help them find opportunities, and you can provide encouragement and support. But the decision of whether to follow that guidance, take advantage of those opportunities,…

Hubris, Arrogance, and Haughtiness

Ezra Taft Benson said that pride manifests itself in different ways, which he called the “faces of pride.” Some of the manifestations he identified were selfishness, contention, defensiveness, and unwillingness to repent. (See “Beware of Pride,” General Conference, April 1989.) I’ve been thinking today about a few other manifestations of pride. These thoughts were prompted…

The Mountain of the Lord’s House

Moses ascended a mountain to talk with the Lord. (See Exodus 19:20, Exodus 24:12, Exodus 34:4.) Elijah followed a similar pattern (1 Kings 19:8-9), as did Nephi (1 Nephi 11:1, 1 Nephi 17:7, 1 Nephi 18:3, 2 Nephi 4:25) and the brother of Jared (Ether 3:1). Jesus also “went up into a mountain apart to pray”…

“I Pray That He’ll Use Us”

In a video about the Church’s efforts to provide training for neonatal medical professionals in developing countries, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “Prayers are answered in great measure…by God using other people. Well, I pray that He’ll use us. I pray that we’ll be the answer to people’s prayers.” (See “Video: Saving Babies from Becoming…

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