A Highway of Holiness for the Remnant -- Part 3

In the last few posts we've been looking at Isaiah's mention of a highway in the latter days.  In part 1, we connected the meaning of this symbol to the temple.  In part 2, we looked at how Isaiah, Joseph in Egypt, and Lehi prophesied that the recovery of the remnant would take place in the latter days.

In this post, we'll look at a few more references to this highway, and try to connect related symbols to the latter-day work of restoring the Everlasting Covenant.

Connecting other symbols

As we study this symbol of the Highway -- the Road to Being Holy -- it is worth taking note of the other symbols found in these passages.  So far, we've seen mention of an "ensign to the nations" and seen the symbol of going over water on "dry shod." More about both of those in future posts.

If we look at other mentions of this highway in Isaiah, we see several other interesting symbols, too. I've highlighted phrases and words that indicate a symbol (positive or negative) associated with the covenant. Some of these are self-explanatory, but others (in bold) are detailed below:

8 Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 And then, O house of Israel, behold, these shall come from far; and lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not. (1 Nephi 21/Isaiah 49)

"to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages" 

I have to admit, this wording made very little sense to me, so I looked at other translations, which include one that makes much more sense to me:

You will bring back the people to the land [L …to restore/rebuild the land] and ·give the land that is now ruined back to its owners

In the context of the creation-covenant connection, this verse suddenly makes much more sense. I  like this translation.  The restoration of the covenant realigns humanity with the purposes of the creation.

"They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places"

Here is the NIV translation of this section:

“They will feed beside the roads

    and find pasture on every barren hill.

We continue with this theme of restoring the creation to its bounteous state through the creation of a covenant people.

"by the springs of water shall he guide them"

He who has compassion on them will guide them

    and lead them beside springs of water. (NIV)

For me this evokes the time when Moses was commanded by the Lord to strike the rock with his staff and cause water to gush forth (see Exodus 17 or Numbers 20).  These are symbols to which we'll return.

"I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted"

The way of life is a path which elevates and exalts.

"the feet of those who are in the east shall be established"

Interestingly, this phrase is only found in 1 Nephi 21, not in Isaiah 49.  "Feet" as a symbol, represent

"a symbol for the traveling and effort required in bringing the Good News to others. "

Thus, the restoration of the covenant (as symbolized by the mountains and highways) are connected to the work of salvation.

"break forth into singing, O mountains"

The work of redemption brings about joy in heaven and on earth.  Doctrine and Covenants 84 contains many important teaching about the building of Zion, missionary work, and even includes a "new song" of redemption:

98 Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying:99The Lord hath brought again Zion;The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel,According to the election of grace,Which was brought to pass by the faithAnd covenant of their fathers.100The Lord hath redeemed his people;And Satan is bound and time is no longer.The Lord hath gathered all things in one.The Lord hath brought down Zion from above.The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath.101The earth hath travailed and brought forth her strength;And truth is established in her bowels;And the heavens have smiled upon her;And she is clothed with the glory of her God;For he stands in the midst of his people.102Glory, and honor, and power, and might,Be ascribed to our God; for he is full of mercy,Justice, grace and truth, and peace,Forever and ever, Amen. (D&C 84)

A Highway of Holiness for the Remnant -- Part 2

In my last post, we looked at Isaiah's mention of a "way of Holiness" and its connection to covenants and the temple.

Today, we'll look at another mention of the highway, and flesh out a context for this prophecy, specifically to the latter-days.

"Recover[ing] the Remnant"

2 Nephi 21/Isaiah 11 is one such example. The highway which will allow them to

11 And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ...
15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind he shall shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry shod.
16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. (2 Nephi 21/Isaiah 11)

Connection to the Restoration

We live in this long foretold day, when the Lord has set again to recover the remnant of His people for the second (and final) time. The highway which is prepared for this people -- to allow them to "go over dry shod" -- is the Everlasting Covenant administered in the Church, including the ordinances of the temple. Recall that "shall set again" is translated from the same Hebrew root that gives us the name Joseph. The restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith was part of the plan from the beginning.

Also recall that Lehi taught his son Joseph that Joseph in Egypt prophesied that he had:

"obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light—yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom." (2 Nephi 3:5)

It seems a central purpose for the restoration was not just to restore lost knowledge, but to restore the covenants which will protect us from drowning in the waters of the world, or the depths of hell.  The covenant path will allow us to avoid these pitfalls, into which we would otherwise be led -- out of darkness, out of captivity, into light and freedom.

The "mighty wind" of the Lord

It is worth noting that the use of the word "wind" in verse 15 could just as well have been translated "Spirit," giving us this reading: "...with his mighty Spirit he shall shake his hand over the river."

In the next post, we'll connect even more symbols associated with these verses, and we'll tie them in to the temple, or at least to the two ways.

Intertextual connections in 1 Nephi

I keep finding these subtle intertextual connections in 1 Nephi and wonder if Nephi put them in there intentionally? I think he did. Having studied the Book of Mormon deeper than ever for a few years now, I have come to realize that the text is far more detailed, complex and well-structured than I had thought before. Nephi didn't make the small plates until he had been in the promised land for a while and separated from his brothers. He could reflect on his life up to that point and I think he spent much time planning and perhaps drafting the text before he engraved it.

I pointed out an intertextual connection between 1 Nephi 11 and 15 some days ago. Reading chapter 18, I found two more. It seems that Nephi uses these to create a contrast, to show the readers "The Two Ways" and the consequence of choosing each of them. The example I linked does exactly that. The two examples I will give below do the same. In 1 Nephi 18:9-10

9 And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days, behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness.

10 And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be angry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity, that we should be swallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to speak to them with much soberness

1 Nephi 16:20 and 18:16

And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.

Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.

A Highway of Holiness for the Remnant -- Part 1

After reading Stisa's recent posts on rocks, I've found some interesting connections to common symbols in the scriptures, which I realize are much more closely connected than I had previously thought.

Today, I'll focus on the symbols contained in this verse:

8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. (Isaiah 35)

I had a hard time understanding these words, so I went to the Hebrew and looked into the roots of the words that I colored above.  Here is what I found:

Highway: This comes from the Hebrew word 'maslul' (a highway) which only appears once in the whole bible, in this verse. This root originates from another root 'salal' (to lift up, cast up) which indicates to me that a 'maslul' is a special type of way -- raised up and made straight.

a way: This comes from a much more commonly used root 'derek' (way, road, distance, journey, manner).

The way of holiness: this phrase is translated from two roots, the first is 'derek' and the second is 'qodesh' (apartness, sacredness).

So in this verse we have two unique names for this "derek", both of which have clear connection to covenant/Temple.  Here is how the Expanded Bible renders the verse:

A road (derek) will be there;
    this highway (maslul) will be called “The ·Road to Being Holy [L Way/Highway of Holiness].” (derek haqqodes)
·Evil people [The unclean; C ritually] will not be allowed to walk on that road;
    only good people [C those who walk in the Way of Holiness] will walk on it.
    No fools [C the morally corrupt who disregard God] will go on it. (source)

Taking the time to study these roots opens up meaning in other scriptures which make reference to "the highway," including Isaiah passages from the Book of Mormon that talk about the latter-day gathering of Israel. It now seems abundantly clear to me that this highway -- "the Road to Being Holy" -- is found in our covenants and the temple.

In the next post we'll look at more of these highway verses in Isaiah and find related symbols and their meaning.

Come, Follow Me -- February 3–9. 2 Nephi 1–5: “We Lived after the Manner of Happiness”

Here are additional resources for this week's Come, Follow Me lesson.

2 Nephi 1 -- Notes on poetry, the Book of Mormon "Proverb," being "encircled," misery, etc.


2 Nephi 2 -- Lehi teaches the true theology related to the fall, the Creation-Covenant connection, and devilish details.


2 Nephi 3 -- The gathering of Israel and the gathering of scriptures, the prophecy of Joseph, intertextual connections to Nephi's final sermon, etc.


2 Nephi 4 -- "Rock" poetry and "heart and soul" poetry, what it means to be carried away in the Spirit, Zenos' influence on Nephi's psalm, etc.


2 Nephi 5 -- Notes on the Lamanites' breaking of the Law of Moses, seeing the Lehites as "Israelites" rather than "Jews," etc.

Another rock metaphor

Both in the Old and New world, there were earthquakes and natural disasters at the time of Christ's death. There are many prophecies in the Book of Mormon that this would happen. We don't find these prophecies in the Old Testament, but we find them in two extra-Biblical sources from Old Testament times. One is in Moses 7:55-56

55 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Look, and he looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men;

56 And he heard a loud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all the creations of God mourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent

The other is in The Book of Zenos. Well, it's in the Book of Mormon, but Nephi is quoting Zenos in 1 Nephi 19:10-12

...be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel... And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend

If you have read my previous posts lately about rocks as symbol of Christ, you might guess where I'm going with this, highlighting the rending of rocks. I don't know why I hadn't realized before but the rending of rocks is a powerful symbol of Christ's death. The prophecy that rocks will be rent at Christ's death is also found in 1 Nephi 12:4 (Nephi's vision) and Helaman 14:21 (Samuel's prophecies). Then, of course, when Christ actually dies and the prophecies are fulfilled in 3 Nephi 8, we read

18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.

This is not the only time in the scriptures that an actual event also carries a sybolic meaning. The rocks that are "rent in twain" and "broken up" symbolize the broken body of Christ. Just as smiting the rock caused living waters to flow, so Christ's broken body can give us life eternal, connecting the symbolism of rent rocks back to the smitten rock in the Exodus. Reading 1 Nephi 20 (quoting Isaiah 48) along with Avraham Gileadi's Isaiah commentary, I found an interesting comment to verses 20-21, that talks about the water flowing from the rock and ties this to the gathering of Israel, that I have also posted a bit about lately.

20 Go forth out of Babylon, flee from Chaldea!Make this announcement with resounding voice;broadcast it to the end of the earth.Say, Jehovah has redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 They thirsted not when he led them through arid places:he caused water to flow for them from the rock;he cleaved the rock and water gushed out.

To find peace, Jehovah’s people must exit Greater Babylon—the world at large (Isaiah 13:1, 9, 11, 19)—in a new exodus to Zion from the four directions of the earth (Isaiah 11:11-12, 15-16; 43:6-8). Jehovah’s servant or voice and Zion’s watchmen announce it (Isaiah 52:7-12). As Jehovah provided water for his people when Moses smote the rock at Israel’s former wandering in the wilderness (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:7-11), so he provides water when that event repeats itself (Isaiah 41:17-18; 43:20; 49:9-12). Jehovah—his people’s rock—is their source of living water (Isaiah 12:2-3; 26:4).

Laboring In Zion versus fighting against Zion

Recently, I spent about a week diving deep into the concept of Zion, including its connection to the Everlasting Covenant, the work of redemption, and many other associated symbols.

As I revisit 2 Nephi, I'm reading the numerous references to Zion in a new light. Today, I'll focus on our actions as it relates to Zion. We can either fight against Zion and bring upon ourselves the consequences, or we can labor in Zion and participate in the Everlasting Covenant.

Laboring in Zion requires charity and an understanding that God desires salvation for all of His children, with me desire to get gain or praise:

29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.
30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.
31 But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish. (2 Nephi 26)

On the other hand, those who fight against Zion are left empty:

3 And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. (2 Nephi 27)

With these words, Nephi underscores the point that when we have felt the love of God, our most sincere desire is them to share that love with others. We cannot be complacent in Zion, we must labor diligently:

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell...
24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! (2 Nephi 28)

Building upon the rock -- Part 2

We looked at scriptures about building upon the rock in BC times in part 1. When Jesus appears to the Book of Mormon people, we see this theme coming up several times. I noticed this a while back, but this time I tried to analyze it more closely. There is a pattern here that I will try to summarize.

In 3 Nephi 11, after he has appeared and the multitude has come forth and witnessed for themselves, Jesus calls Nephi and 11 others and speaks to them specifically about his doctrine. In verses 39-40, he says

39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.

After this, Mormon creates a break in Jesus' words ("And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called..."). 

Then, Jesus again speaks to the multitude and gives the Sermon at the Temple that we know as the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew 5. As we know, this sermon ends with

24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (3 Nephi 14)

Again, immediately after this, Mormon breaks it up: "And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings". What follows is the talk on the other sheep and the gathering of Israel, healing of the sick, blessing the children and introducing the sacrament in chapters 16-18. After he has talked about the sacrament, towards the end of the first day of his ministry among the Nephites, Jesus says

12 And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.

13 But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them.

After a few more verses, Mormon breaks it up again in verse 17: "And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his disciples...". This time Jesus says a few more words to the multitude before he gives his disciples the power to give the Holy Ghost and departs into heaven.

What did we observe here? Jesus repeats the theme of building upon his rock three times during the first day of his visit to the Nephites. These all somehow seem to mark the ending of a segment of that day. I find it peculiar and don't really know what to make of it. At the moment, I'm just fascinated by the complexity and structure of the Book of Mormon. Like I've said before, these intricate patterns are not created by a poor farmer dictating a text while looking in a hat. 

But the message is quite clear anyway: We must give heed to the words of Christ and do according to them. Then we build upon the rock and get a sure foundation. This is the way of life. The alternative is not doing what he says or doing "more or less". This results in a sandy foundation and is the way of death.

Water leading to destruction and captivity

I've started to find a lot of really beautiful parallels as I've been paying attention to the concept of "the two ways" in the Book of Mormon.  The symbols associated with the Way of Life are often juxtaposed with the symbols of the Way of Death in beautifully poetic ways. Sometimes we have to look at the Book of Moses (or elsewhere) to better understand the connection.

Consider this description of God's sorrow at the wickedness of the people at the time of Noah in the Book of Moses:

28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?
29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?
...
31 ...how is it thou canst weep?
32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;
33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;
...
37 ... the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?
38 But behold, these which thine eyes are upon shall perish in the floods; and behold, I will shut them up; a prison have I prepared for them.
...
40 Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.
...
42 And Enoch also saw Noah, and his family; that the posterity of all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation;
43 Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked the floods came and swallowed them up. (Moses 7)

In this passage the tears of heaven at the wickedness of the people are clearly connected to the floods which consign them to "a prison ... prepared for them." The people reject the prophet and they are destroyed by a flood.

Contrast this with how Nephi describes Moses leading the children of Israel out of captivity:

2 Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. (1 Nephi 4)

In this passage, water is again used to destroy the wicked, but this time it is to accomplish the deliverance of a righteous people out of captivity.  Similar elements, different outcome. The people follow a prophet and they are led out of captivity, and their enemies are destroyed by the Lord with a flood.

Consider these words from Christ after ordaining twelve apostles upon arriving in the new world:

Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized... (3 Nephi 12)

In this instance, going down into the water brings about the death of the old creature -- the natural man -- and the birth of a new creature, "seed" of God (see Mosiah 15:11).