More on Isaiah 49, the great and abominable church and dust

I noted in a recent post that the great and spacious building = the great and abominable church, based on some textual connections between 2 Nephi 10 and 1 Nephi 8 and 11. Here is another one, perhaps even clearer, in 1 Nephi 22:14

And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.

In 1 Nephi 11:36

And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

I also posted recently on how 1 Nephi 22 and 2 Nephi 6 are linked in many ways as they both comment on Isaiah 49. Notice in 1 Nephi 22:14 that was just quoted, how the great and abominable church shall "tumble to the dust". Later, in the same chapter, verse 23, we read:

yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the devil are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust

Notice the wording, "they are those who must be brought low in the dust" as if Nephi already has talked about someone who must be brought low but now clarifies who that is. It could refer to just a few verses earlier, but I think he refers to Isaiah that he has just read. Nephi read Isaiah 49 in the previous chapter, his brothers asked what it meant and he is now explaining. In Isaiah 49:23/1 Nephi 21:23

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Avraham Gileadi comments on this verse:

A disparity exists between these same spiritual kings and queens of the Gentiles and other Gentiles who, instead of repenting, oppose Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 29:7-8; 54:15-17; 66:5). While the Gentiles’ kings and queens fulfill their roles of proxy saviors under the terms of the Davidic Covenant on the seraph level, those Gentiles who turn into Jehovah’s enemies end up bowing down before his people and licking the dust of their feet (Isaiah 45:14; 60:14; 66:5). Those who “know” Jehovah in the end are those who “hope in” or “wait for” (qiwweh) him through a time of adversity (Isaiah 19:21; 25:9; 52:6).

This disparity is not clear from the verse in Isaiah. You may get the impression from just reading it, that the kings and queens are also the ones who lick the feet of Israel. But the commentaries from Nephi and Jacob are consistent with what Gileadi explains, that these are two different groups among the Gentiles. When Nephi says that it is the "great and abominable church" or the "kingdom of the devil" that shall be brought to the dust, he is clearly referring to Isaiah 49:23 that he just read. In other words, those who shall bow down and lick the dust from off the feet of Israel are the great and abominable church. The pride of the world, that lifted up themselves shall be brought low in the dust with their "face towards the earth" and lick the dust of the feet of those they fought against. That is quite a powerful image.

The kings and queens among the Gentiles who will carry Israel, however, Nephi describes differently. 1 Nephi 22:8

And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.

So from Nephis comments we can infer that the Gentiles in the latter days will eventually be split in two groups:

1. Those who will be spiritual nursing fathers/kings and mothers/queens and to Israel, who shall bring about and support the marvelous work and bring it to Israel.
2. Those who unite with the great and abominable church, who fight against Zion

Jacob definitely supports that view in his commentary of this Isaiah passage. In 2 Nephi 6:12-13

12 And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things.

13 Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah.

Notice also how the green part is Jacob commenting and expanding on the last part of Isaiah 49:23.

Both Nephi and Jacob are great Isaiah commentators and show a deep understanding of his writings. It is also fascinating how they get their own revelations (like Nephi about the great and abominable church) and subtly tie it into Isaiah. The depth and complexity of the Book of Mormon does not cease to amaze me.

One final note: The symbolism of dust has been discussed extensively on this blog. When Jacob quotes Isaiah 49:22 - 52:2 in 2 Nephi 6-8, he starts and ends with this topic. In this post we have seen how Isaiah 49:23 links to Nephi's comments about the great abominable church tumbling to the dust. In Isaiah 52:1-2 we read

1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

2 Shake thyself from the dust

The Lord will cause those who fight against Zion to tumble to the dust and even lick the dust from their feet. At the same time he invites Zion to arise and shake herself from the dust. This is beautiful imagery used to illustrate the reversal of circumstances when the covenant people of old, who has been scattered, confounded and oppressed, are gathered again and enter into the new and everlasting covenant.

Internal consistency between 1 Nephi 14 and Ether 4

I noticed this example of internal consistency as I was studying the revelation given to Nephi to explain his father's dream.

Nephi is shown John the Apostle of the Lamb and told not to write the remainder of the vision, because John would.

In that same passage Nephi is given this additional detail:

26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel. (1 Nephi 14)

This seems to refer to the Brother of Jared, who came before Nephi. Moroni explains:

4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are. (Ether 4)

Christ and covenants

I just understood better why Isaiah is quoted so much in the Book of Mormon. The title page explains the whole purpose of the Book of Mormon

Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations

Christ and covenants, that's what it's all about. But the more I read Isaiah, the more I realize that this quote from the title page summarizes his writings perfectly. This is the theme all throughout the Book of Isaiah. Sometimes it's buried in a lot of symbolism that might be interpreted on different levels, especially his message of Christ. But a good indicator of how to best summarize Isaiah's message is what Book of Mormon authors say when they comment after having quoted Isaiah. It is always about this theme, no exceptions.

1 Nephi 20-21: Nephi reads Isaiah 48-49 and comments in 1 Nephi 22. He explains how the Jews will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel and be scattered, how the Lord will do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, that they will be an instrument in gathering the House of Israel, and that the "Lord God will make bare his arm" in the latter days and bring about the covenants and his gospel to the House of Israel, who shall know that the Lord is their Savior.

2 Nephi 6: Jacob starts reading the end of Isaiah 49 and comments in the same chapter. What he says is very similar to what Nephi says in 1 Nephi 22. (Details here)

2 Nephi 7-8: Jacob quotes Isaiah 50-52:2. His speech continues into chapters 9-10. This is how he starts his comments

1 And now, my beloved brethren, I have read these things that ye might know concerning the covenants of the Lord that he has covenanted with all the house of Israel—

2 That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation, until the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and fold of God; when they shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise. (2 Nephi 9)

Then he goes on to talk about the Savior and the atonement before returning to the topic of covenants and the gathering of Israel in the latter part of 2 Nephi 10.

2 Nephi 12-24: Nephi quotes Isaiah 2-14. Then he spends the next 6 chapters talking about the atonement through Christ and the marvelous work and wonder in the latter-days (while quoting some more Isaiah in between).

Mosiah 14: Abinadi quotes Isaiah 53. Then he spends the next two chapters talking about the salvation through Christ.

3 Nephi 16, 20-22: The Savior himself quotes several parts of Isaiah, Isaiah 54 among them. His own comments in these chapters focus on God's covenants with his children and the gathering of Israel. Language like we find in 3 Nephi 21:4 is repeated a lot

that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel

I have previously tried to summarize these teachings here.

The Book of Mormon authors are true to its purpose, even when they don't quote Isaiah. But since Isaiah's prophecies are so very well aligned with the purpose of the Book of Mormon, he is used quite a lot as a "second witness" to what the Book of Mormon prophets are testifying of.

Intertextuality and the Gathering of the Word

I don't believe it is controversial to state that the average believer in the Book of Mormon doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about the significance of its intertextuality with the Bible.

Until very recently, I'd have included myself in that camp.

After several months of focusing on finding examples of internal consistency, my attention to the care that went into producing this text was at an all-time high. As a result, my interest in attempting to understand the purpose of the intertextual connections was piqued.

I'm certain that I could spend the rest of my life studying this subject and I'd still have more to learn in the next life.

In this post, I'm going to attempt to flesh out an idea that has formulated in my head over the past few weeks.  Like many other ideas I post on this blog, this one is raw and still very much a work in progress.

To put it simply, I believe one of the purposes of the intertextuality between the Book of Mormon and other scriptures is to symbolize the gathering of God's word in the latter days.  It is a metaphor for the gathering of Israel. If the Book of Mormon is the instrument of gathering, then it is only fitting to have its words taken from many other scriptures throughout the history of mankind. What better way to lay out the case that God's promises will all be fulfilled than to bring about that fulfillment by means of a book which contains a carefully curated compilation of God's words to prophets throughout the ages?

I'll illustrate the careful attention these words deserve with a clever example of intertextuality between the sermon of King Benjamin and the Revelation of John.

First, Benjamin's description of the judgement which the words will bring upon those who do not give heed to them:

23 And now I have spoken the words which the Lord God hath commanded me.
24 And thus saith the Lord: They shall stand as a bright testimony against this people, at the judgment day; whereof they shall be judged, every man according to his works, whether they be good, or whether they be evil.
25 And if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls.
26 Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy could have claim on them no more forever.
27 And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever. Thus hath the Lord commanded me. Amen. (Mosiah 3)

Compare this passage to the following two clusters of verses from two different parts of Revelation:

10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14)

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20)

The intertextuality here is undeniable, and yet it would be very hard to claim that the passage in Mosiah 3 is simply plagiarizing Revelation.  Far from it.  The passages use the same phrases to underscore similar points.

See this paper for more classification and detail on intertextual connections.  I definitely don't claim to understand every aspect of this feature of the Book of Mormon text, but I believe examples like these provide very strong evidence in favor of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.

"A great division"

There have been numerous posts lately about the concept of The Two Ways, which is quite prevalent in the Book of Mormon. Lately, I have noticed this in particular in conjunction with prophecies of the latter days and the gathering of Israel in the books of Nephi. In Nephi's vision, the concept of "two churches" is introduced. 1 Nephi 14:10

And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

In 2 Nephi 10:16 we read

Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.

Based on further textual connections, it seems to me that the great and spacious building is basically the great and abominable church too. 1 Nephi 11:36

And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

1 Nephi 8:26-27

26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.

27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.

When considering these verses together, it seems fair to say that

• The great and abominable church = the whore of all the earth = the great and spacious building = the pride of the world = they who fight against Zion

Similarly to using different images and terms to describe this concept, its antithesis is also described as "Zion", "covenant people of the Lord" (2 Nephi 6:13), "church of the Lamb of God" (1 Nephi 14:10), etc. The context of the verses with these descriptions is typically prophecies about the fate of Jews and Gentiles and the restoration of God's covenants and gathering of Israel in the latter days. See for instance how these things are linked in 2 Nephi 6:12

And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children

So we are right here in the latter-days where covenants have been restored, witnessing the great and marvelous work and the gathering of Israel. I can observe that happening. What I cannot observe as clearly is that "there are only two churches" as per definitions above. I look around at friends and strangers and see much diversity, not being able to draw a clear line between those who are part of Zion and those who fight against Zion. But I have come to realize this is not what is meant. 1 Nephi 14:7 explains

7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

Incidentally, "the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken" refers to the great and abominable church just a few verses earlier. By restoring the covenants and commencing this great and marvelous work, everybody will eventually get the chance to decide. But the work is "everlasting". Most people today don't even know about the covenants the Lord is offering to them. As President Nelson says, the gathering of Israel happens on both sides of the veil.

2 Nephi 30:10

For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.

"A great division" will be caused. We don't see this division that clearly yet, but the banner has been raised and eventually each of us will have a decision to make. 

What is the word of God? -- Part 1

I've been thinking a lot about the "word of God" -- what it really is and what it means to "hold to the rod."

In these posts (post 1 and post 2) I presented an idea that the "iron rod" depicted in Lehi's dream might be something other than a handrail, as is commonly assumed.  There are beautiful lessons to be learned if we think of the "rod" as an invitation to participate in sacred covenants by a divinely-authorized messenger.

In this post, I'll summarize some of the results of my deep dive into the concept of the rod in scripture, and its connection to prophets, priesthood, covenants, judgment, and the atonement of Jesus Christ. We'll start with Moses and the symbolic meaning of the rod. Then we'll move to the Book of Mormon and end in the Book of Revelation.

The Symbol of the Rod

Moses' rod was a common-place tool he used to herd sheep.  This object became a powerful metaphor for his divinely-appointed role as the leader of the children of Israel. He performed miracles with it, including parting the Red Sea and providing water from the rock for the children of Israel. Moses' rod was a symbol of his prophetic power.

It seems that in Old Testament times, the rod is closely associated with the covenant:

36 I will judge you the same way I judged your ·ancestors [fathers] in the ·desert [wilderness] of the land of Egypt, says the Lord God. 37 I will ·count you like sheep [L make you pass under the rod/shepherd’s staff; Lev. 27:32] and will bring you into ·line with [L the bond of] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty]. 38 I will ·get rid of [purge out] those who ·refuse to obey me [revolt] and ·who turn [rebel] against me. I will bring them out of the land where they are now living, but they will never enter the land of Israel. (Ezekial 20, Expanded Bible)

From the Cambridge Bible, commentary on Ezekial 20:37:

37. to pass under the rod] According to the usage of the language (Leviticus 27:32, cf. Jeremiah 33:13) the rod or staff here is that of the shepherd, which he uses in counting his flock. “The shepherds carried a staff (Psalm 23:4; Micah 7:4; Zechariah 11:7) and used it in counting when they brought the beasts forth from the place where they were kept or made them go into it. It was customary to count the beasts every day (Jeremiah 33:23), usually at evening when they came home (Theocr. Ezekiel 8:16; Virg. Georg. iv. 436), sometimes twice, morning and evening (Virg. Ecl. iii. 34),” Dillm. on Leviticus 27:32. (source)

The same rod used by the shepherd to protect and number his flock could be used to strike an attacking beast.  Similarly, the word of God can guide us to salvation or cause us to stumble (see 1 Peter 2).

In light of this symbolism, I find deeper meaning in this psalm:

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23)

The pastoral symbols here fit into the millennial prophecies of Isaiah, from this post.

A Connection to the Temple and the Covenant Path

The rod is a tool used by a shepherd to size up and sort his flock. Similarly, the word of God is a tool used to size up and divide the believers from the unbelievers. Notice the symbolism used by John:

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. (Revelation 11)

John is commanded by the angel to measure the people with a rod.  It's a powerful symbol. The same rod that comforts His people can be used to smite the earth in judgment:

8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.
9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire. (2 Nephi 30)

Isaiah 49 in the Book of Mormon

The first time Isaiah is really quoted in the Book of Mormon, is in 1 Nephi 20-21. (Sure, there are small references here and there like "how beautiful upon the mountains" in 1 Nephi 13:37). Here Nephi quotes Isaiah 48 and 49. The next time Isaiah is quoted is in 2 Nephi 6-8. Here Jacob quotes what he has been instructed by Nephi to read to the people, which is Isaiah 49:22 - Isaiah 52:2. Consequently, Jacob is instructed to teach the people the words of Isaiah that are a continuation of the words Nephi taught his brothers in 1 Nephi. But there is an overlap because the last 5 verses of Isaiah 49 are repeated.

In 2 Nephi 6, Jacob starts out with the first two verses before launching into a lengthy comment. These two verses from Isaiah 49:22-23 read

22 Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

It is interesting to compare Jacob's comments on these two verses in 2 Nephi 6:8-15 with Nephi's comments in 1 Nephi 22 because his comments there are also given after having read Isaiah 49. They are very similar, and I suppose Jacob has learned a great deal from Nephi. Here are some examples.

"And after they have hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks against the Holy One of Israel..." (2 Nephi 6:10) 

"because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will they harden their hearts" (1 Nephi 22:5)

"they shall be scattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless..." (2 Nephi 6:11) 

"wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be hated of all men. Nevertheless..." (2 Nephi 22:5-6)

"they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance." (2 Nephi 6:11) 

"they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance" (1 Nephi 22:12)

"if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things. Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet" (2 Nephi 6:12-13)

"And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it." (1 Nephi 22:14)

"And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by bloodsheds, and by pestilence, and by famine. And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel." (2 Nephi 6:15) 

"Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel." (1 Nephi 22:18)

After his commentary, Jacob picks up right where he left off in Isaiah and maintains the natural flow of the text without saying anything like "OK, I'm going back to Isaiah now". We have seen that numerous times in the Book of Mormon. If you are not familiar with Isaiah 49, you cannot even tell where Jacob ends his remarks and goes back into Isaiah.

When Jacob is done reading Isaiah, he comments on what he has read and gives his own remarks with some Isaiah references interspersed, Nephi style, in chapters 9 and 10. For instance, in 2 Nephi 10:9, he refers to Isaiah 49:23 that he had read earlier

Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?

Those who think that this text comes from the mind of a poor farmer who just looked into a hat and dictated this without notes and manuscript, need to spend some more time with the Book of Mormon.

The Other Latter-day Gathering

Stisa's post about the gathering of scriptures a few days ago got me thinking about this verse in a new light:

14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever. (2 Nephi 29)

The gathering of Israel in the latter days is just one part of the prophecy -- the word of God is also prophesied to be "gathered in one."

Interestingly, these two gatherings began in large part with Joseph Smith.  Of course the priesthood and the ordinances were restored through him, but so were many scriptures.  We have the Book of Mormon -- which also contains many prophecies from the brass plates, the record of the Jaredites, in addition to the writings of many Nephite prophets. We also have the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, etc.

Why restore the words?

Nephi is taught in a vision why the words are to be gathered in one:

40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. (1 Nephi 13)

An angel teaches Nephi the importance of these words -- they will establish truth, make known the precious things which have been lost, and show men how to come unto Christ.

In the same passage we get this declaration, a set of themes which has been on my mind a lot lately:

37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be. (1 Nephi 13)

More Zenos references

The prophet, Zenos, has intrigued me for a while and I have made several posts in the past demonstrating how influential he was to Book of Mormon prophets. (Examples here, here and here) I noticed another interesting example in 2 Nephi 30. In verses 9 and 11-15, Nephi is quoting Isaiah 11:4-9. Verse 10 is interrupting the Isaiah quote with some sort of commentary on verse 9 before moving on. Here are verses 9-11

9 And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

10 For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.

11 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Verses 9 and 11 are a word for word quote of Isaiah 11:4-5. Verse 10 is sandwiched in there to comment on "slay the wicked" before he moves on with the quote. It is not the first time Nephi does something like this.

Now compare verse 10 with 1 Nephi 22:15-18

15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.

16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.

17 Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.

I have argued before that the unnamed "prophet" in the second half of 1 Nephi 22 is Zenos. In that case, Nephi is quoting or paraphrasing Zenos in 2 Nephi 30:10. The reason I find this interesting is the tremendous knowledge of the scriptures that Nephi demonstrates. He quotes Isaiah, feels for some reason that one of the verses needs more elaboration, is aware of the fact that a passage by Zenos helps clarify what Isaiah is writing, and paraphrases that before moving on with the Isaiah quote.

This is in fact very similar to what Nephi does in 1 Nephi 19:11 - 1 Nephi 22:28. Here he first quotes Zenos (19:11-19:17), then eventually he starts quoting Isaiah in chapters 20-21. In 22:1-14, Nephi comments on and keeps paraphrasing Isaiah. Then in 22:15-28, he seems to quote and paraphrase Zenos along with his own comments. This all comprises a coherent unit of text. To Nephi, Isaiah and Zenos seem to go hand in hand.

What little we have of Zenos' writings turns out to have had an influence on several Book of Mormon prophets's writings. Assuming that Zenos wrote a lot more than the few quotes we have in the Book of Mormon, I wonder how much else is influenced by him.

"Partakers of the Heavenly Gift" and the Tree of Life

I was struck by this particular phrase in 4 Nephi 1, which I had not previously connected to the tree of life.  Notice how these three verses circle around the same concept with slightly different words:

Alma-2's words in Zarahemla

62 I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life. (Alma 5)

Notice how Alma-2 speaks by way of commandment to the members of the church (those who have made covenants).  To those who have not, he speaks by way of invitation to become a partaker of the fruit of the tree of life.  I hadn't noticed how clearly this verse connects covenant-making (and keeping) with the fruit of the tree of life.

Mormon's description of the Nephites after Christ's visit

3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift. (4 Nephi 1)

All things in common + divine gift = ZION. Compare with this description of Enoch's Zion:

17 The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.
18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. (Moses 7)

Moroni describes a purpose of Christ's visit to the earth

8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen. (Ether 12)

Here we have a clear mention of "a way" that was "prepar[ed]" by Christ in order to allow us to become "partakers of the heavenly gift."

This all fits in nicely with Nephi's vision which explains the meaning of his father's dream, in which a prophet is called to prepare the way for Him, He ministers in "power and great glory," twelve followers are carried away in the Spirit, and then angels descend upon the children of men and minister unto them:

27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.
28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.
29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.
30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them. (1 Nephi 11)

This heavenly gift seems directly tied to partaking of the tree of life, and seems to be connected to the making and keeping of covenants.  The process of being "taken up" and then sent back down as an angel to minister to others fits right into this symbolism.  Just as Lehi partook of the fruit and immediately turned to offer it to his family.

What does it mean to partake of the fruit of the tree of life? I believe it is all about "covenant faithfulness." The Book of Mormon supports this idea.