Isaiah not only gave Lehi’s descendants an understanding of God’s redemption of His chosen people; he also provided a template for personal conversion. Isaiah’s description of being called as a prophet in the throne room of God parallels two significant experiences in the Book of Mormon.
Isaiah’s experience opens with a vision of God “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” Isaiah adds that God’s “train filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). Isaiah’s immediate feeling is unworthiness. “I am undone,” he cries, “because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). Book of Mormon prophets taught that those who stand in God’s presence without being cleansed of their sins will feel an overwhelming desire to hide from Him. Alma, for example, said, “In this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence” (Alma 12:14).
A heavenly being—a seraph—flies to Isaiah with a live coal from the altar, reminiscent of the sin offerings performed in the temple. He touches the coal to Isaiah’s mouth, saying, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isaiah 6:7). In the Book of Mormon, after praying all day and into the night, Enos hears the voice of God, saying, “Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed” (Enos 1:5). Enos reports that his guilt was “swept away” (Enos 1:6). Alma similarly reports that when he cried out to Jesus in agony, “I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more” (Alma 36:19). God’s ability to instantly purge sins in both of these Book of Mormon events hearkens back to Isaiah’s experience.
Immediately after being cleansed, Isaiah hears God’s voice, asking, “Whom shall I send?” Without even knowing the nature of the assignment, Isaiah volunteers: “Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). Enos likewise reports that after he received a remission of his sins, he immediately “began to feel a desire for the welfare of [his] brethren” (Enos 1:9), and he later “went about among the people of Nephi, prophesying of things to come, and testifying of the things which [he] had heard and seen” (Enos 1:19). And Alma later reports to his son Helaman that since the time of his conversion, “I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste” (Alma 36:24).
So Isaiah’s template for individual salvation, which is followed at least twice in the Book of Mormon, is in three parts:
- Sorrow for sin
- Divine cleansing
- Service to God
Today I will follow Isaiah’s example, repenting and seeking forgiveness when I fall short of God’s expectations, and showing my gratitude for His sanctifying power by serving Him.
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