Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Near the beginning of Isaiah 40, after assuring Israel that her days of affliction are over, Isaiah describes a messenger with a hopeful admonition:

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Isaiah 40:3

The “wilderness” and the “desert” might be a representation of the trials Israel has experienced. The passage evokes people in the midst of tribulation but anticipating the arrival of God who will deliver them.

For Christians, this messenger represents a specific person. When Matthew introduces John the Baptist in his gospel, he explains, “For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Matthew 3:3). The Book of Mormon makes the same connection. Nephi tells us that after studying the brass plates, his father prophesied about the life of Jesus Christ, including “a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord.” Lehi says that this prophet, who would baptize the Messiah, would “cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; (1 Nephi 10:7).

Subsequent Book of Mormon allusions to this passage broaden its meaning. Alma, for example, told the people in the city of Gideon that the Spirit of the Lord had sent him with a message: “Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight” (Alma 7:9). Later in the sermon, Alma reassures the people that they are on the right track: “I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight” (Alma 7:19). In Alma’s version of the metaphor, God’s children don’t merely clear a path for Him; they follow a path which He has prepared for them.

In the city of Ammonihah, Alma issued the same invitation, although without the positive assessment of their current state. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been” (Alma 9:28). So preparation is necessary because God’s arrival is accompanied by His judgement.

About 75 years later, the Lamanite prophet Samuel characterized his message by echoing the same Isaiah passage: “He hath said unto me: Cry unto this people, repent and prepare the way of the Lord” (Helaman 14:9). The preparation is again tied to repentance, but this time coupled with a prophecy of the Savior’s imminent arrival, five years later (see Helaman 14:2).

Moroni also used this phrase when he characterized the message of ancient prophets to the Jaredite people: “There came prophets in the land again, crying repentance unto them—that they must prepare the way of the Lord or there should come a curse upon the face of the land; yea, even there should be a great famine, in which they should be destroyed if they did not repent” (Ether 9:28).

So for Samuel and Moroni, as for Alma, the admonition to prepare the way of the Lord is a call to repent, not merely a joyful announcement. Like John the Baptist, who said, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2), they interpreted the preparation as personal reform and alignment with God’s will. Isaiah’s assurance implies that God’s arrival will be a positive experience. Book of Mormon prophets urge people to repent so that it will be.

Today, I will prepare the way of the Lord by repenting and walking in His paths. I will anticipate a joyful reunion with God as I strive to follow the guidance He has given me.