When God called Isaiah to be a prophet, He warned him that the people would not be receptive to his message:
Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Isaiah 6:9
In the King James Version, it sounds as though the prophet is commanding the people not to understand him. Nephi clarifies this passage, rendering it with positive commands from the prophet and negative responses from the people:
Go and tell this people—Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not.
2 Nephi 16:9
In both versions, God tells Isaiah to make the people’s heart fat, their ears heavy, and their eyes shut, preventing them from being converted and healed (Isaiah 6:10; 2 Nephi 16:10).
But Isaiah later prophesies of a book which will overcome this lack of perception:
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Isaiah 29:18; compare 2 Nephi 27:29
During the Savior’s life, He healed the deaf and the blind (see Matthew 11:5). He did the same during His visit to the Americas following His resurrection (see 3 Nephi 17:7, 9; 26:15). But this book, which Nephi identifies as the Book of Mormon itself, will cure spiritual blindness and deafness, the very maladies which characterized Isaiah’s audience, and the very maladies which prevented them from receiving God’s healing power. Isaiah goes on to say that the book will bring joy to the meek and the poor, understanding to those who had erred or murmured (Isaiah 29:19, 24; 2 Nephi 27:30, 35).
How can a book do this? Perhaps because a person can read and ponder a book alone, free from social pressure and distractions. That quiet aloneness may enable some messages to penetrate the heart more deeply than is possible in a public setting. Perhaps conversion, being an individual process, requires some level of solitude.
Today I will engage meaningfully with the word of God, knowing that it has power to open my eyes and my ears, so that I can more accurately perceive and understand spiritual truths.
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