In answer to the question why did Nephi quote Isaiah chapters 2-14 in 2 Nephi 12–24, in this paper I show that although there is no direct evidence that Nephi deliberately quotes Isaiah to foreshadow Nephite history, it is a very convincing text to be read that way.

Before reading my assessment of the scholarship on these chapters below, read Why Did Nephi Quote Isaiah Chapters 2–14? To Foreshadow Nephite History.

Although a non-professional, I am enough of a student of the scriptures and scholarly writing on Isaiah in the Book of Mormon to recognize the extra-ordinary claims.  And of course, extra-ordinary claims require extra-ordinary evidence.  Assessment of others’ views of these claims is part of that.  Notwithstanding the many others’ deep scholarly efforts on this passage of Isaiah over many years, my review indicates that by and large, the purpose of these chapters in the Book of Mormon has been impenetrable to everyone, including scholars. 

It seems these chapters of Isaiah are the stepchild of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. We seem completely stuck in our Old Testament views when we study them—if we pay any attention to them at all. If we try to apply them, we default to latter-day application. Almost no one asks directly what Nephi’s view was when he starts quoting Isaiah. We have not likened Isaiah to Nephi’s life very effectively.

The footnotes contain references to initial scholarly works I reviewed.[1]  A more systematic review of most essays in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon related to 1 and 2 Nephi should suffice to demonstrate my point.

“Getting through Isaiah with the Help of the Nephite Prophetic View”

Welch’s essay (titled above) makes many of the same points this paper makes about the difficulty of understanding Isaiah. The paper’s purpose is to ask “How did the Nephite prophets understand the future? It then shows that the answers to that question explain why and how the Nephite prophets used certain texts of Isaiah as they did.”[2]

As noted, Welch notes the importance of Nephi’s prophetic view in 1 Nephi 11–14 and in not imposing our latter-day perspective on them. “Nephi’s explanation is more systematic and more definitive than Lehi’s, for Nephi sought and obtained specific information about the chronological and historical meaning of the things he and his father were shown. . . .That prophetic view significantly centered on Nephite concerns, and thus it did not focus in any detail on several themes that figure much more saliently in the modern LDS worldview. For instance, the Nephite prophets were greatly concerned about the first coming of Christ; they had less concern about his second coming.”[3]

Notwithstanding Welch’s insightful observation about what Nephi is and is not talking about, he finds practically nothing in 2 Nephi 12–24 of any chronological significance.  And then he seems to repeat the error he warns about by skipping over the relevancy to Nephi’s descendants before the first coming of the Savior with a prophetic view that begins with the Savior’s coming.

Additionally, while Welch deeply analyzes Nephi’s quotation of Isaiah in 1 Nephi 19–22 and Jacob’s quotation in 2 Nephi 6–10, he gives Isaiah 2–14 a short shrift, only marginally analyzing it in a section titled “The Role of Isaiah in Nephi’s View in 2 Nephi 25–30,” which doesn’t include the chapters in the title. It includes citations (none quoted) of only sixteen verses from 2 Nephi 12–24, and those chapters didn’t warrant a column in summary Table 3 alongside Nephi’s and Jacob’s other Isaiah quotations (though it has room for analysis of Jacob 4—6). [4]

“Nephi’s Use of Isaiah 2-14 in 2 Nephi 12-30”

Two essays which follow Welch’s also miss Nephi’s perspective, but they analyze chapters 12–24 more deeply.

Seely’s essay follows Welch’s lead in pulling from the Isaiah chapters references to the Savior’s coming: “Nephi placed great emphasis on the coming of the Messiah, one of the central themes of Isaiah.” But Seely’s analysis of the actual Christ-center words in the Isaiah quote is shorter than his analysis of Nephi and Jacob’s introductions or exegesis.[5] Why are the insights about this central theme in Isaiah so short? How can we find more centrality to the message from the three short Messiah-focused passages Seely references? Is it not by finding greater linkages to the entire structure of the Isaiah passage as done in this paper?

In a section titled “The Succession of Nations in Nephi’s Quotation of Isaiah,” Seely next outlines major themes in Nephi’s quoted chapters. “The Isaiah texts in 2 Nephi 12–24 deal with the succession of the Old World peoples and kingdoms of Judah, Ephraim, Syria, Assyria, and Babylon.”[6] While this is no doubt true from Isaiah’s perspective, why is Nephi’s view of Isaiah as if he is standing in Jerusalem, not having lived more than half his life in the new world?

Why didn’t Seely search for analogues in Book of Mormon peoples? As shown in this paper, one can quickly see that Judah can be the Nephites, Ephraim some dissenters, and Assyria the Lamanites. Who, then, is Syria? Could it be the Ammonites, Amlicites, Amalekites, or Amalickiahites (just to list the A’s), or any of the others, all the way to the Zoramites? For members of the Church who diligently and deeply study the Book of Mormon, how much more insightful would Isaiah’s words be if they could make the connection to examples described so much more expansively by Mormon?

The bulk of Seely’s essay focuses on the issues of pride in the Book of Mormon and in Isaiah’s teachings using six selected verses from the Isaiah quotation.[7] The analysis of pride is insightful, but like most Isaiah analysis in these chapters, six verses is a very small percentage of the total quotation, and it makes no use of the story Isaiah might be expressing.

“The Selection of the Isaiah Sections in the Book of Mormon”

As noted in the paper, in the same volume Gee’s essay explains at length how Nephi likely identified the beginning and end points of his quotation. But Gee bluntly admits, “the question of why Isaiah 2–14 is quoted in particular remains unanswered.” Without exploring any of the possible reasons, he immediately jumps to, “Of all the quotations Nephi could have used, he purposefully gave us what Isaiah saw of Jerusalem . . . and Babylon.”[8]

The article is deeply insightful about the structure of Isaiah: “Readers need to follow the complex structure of Isaiah and think about how the Isaiah passage functions in its original context. For example, Isaiah chapters 7–12 are one succinct unit, a prophecy given to king Ahaz sometime in the first three years of his reign (2 Nephi 17:1).”[9] Imagine if Gee’s knowledge were applied to this paper, perhaps explaining why Nephi’s description of his visions begin in 2 Nephi 17:1, according to proof point seven?

But therein is the problem. There is very little application of it to the Nephites. For example, notice in this long analysis of Isaiah’s text, Gee inserts but one Nephite element, the Gadianton robbers.

In two sections (2 Nephi 12–22 and 23–24) Isaiah contrasts Judah and Babylon. One is interested in “the mountain of the Lord’s house” (2 Nephi 12:2; 21:9), while the other is interested in the “mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north” (2 Nephi 24:13). Judah has “the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee” (2 Nephi 22:6), while in the midst of Babylon reigns “Lucifer, son of the morning” (2 Nephi 24:12). The “remnant of Israel” shall return to Jerusalem (2 Nephi 20:20–22; 1 Nephi 21:18–25), but the Lord shall “cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew” (2 Nephi 24:22). The two countries have different reactions to the banner lifted “upon the high mountain” (2 Nephi 12:2–5; 21:10–14; 23:2–5); the “day of the Lord of hosts” befalls each, but for one it is great and the other it is dreadful (2 Nephi 12:10–22; 23:6–22). Like the Gadianton robbers, the guerrilla warriors of the Book of Mormon, Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-baladin), a crafty and cunning guerrilla warrior, ruled Babylon in Isaiah’s day (Isaiah 39:1–2, parallel to 2 Kings 20:12–13).[10]

In his extensive list, why didn’t Gee point out how the Book of Mormon shows the Nephites’ spiritual descent from Jerusalem to Babylon? Why don’t we find passages in the Book of Mormon related to Isaiah for each one of those points (as outlined in this paper), describing them in more expansive Book of Mormon language? If done, this one paragraph becomes a very powerful paper, likening or applying Isaiah to Nephi’s descendants so we can then try to apply it in our own lives!

Without searching for why Nephi quoted those chapters, Gee stated that Nephi “gave us what Isaiah saw of Jerusalem . . . and Babylon.” But that begs the same question we asked of Seely: why can’t Nephi see anything but what “Isaiah saw” of Jerusalem and Babylon?

If Alma tried to follow Nephi’s challenge to liken Isaiah to himself, would he try to understand Babylonian hatred for eclipses and similar historical facts about Syria and Assyria, separated by half the world and centuries from Isaiah? Could he really hope to “think about how the Isaiah passage functions in its original context”? If that was important to understand, why didn’t Nephi teach his “children after the manner of the Jews” (2 Nephi 25:6)?

From these essays, I couldn’t agree more with Welch about 2 Nephi 12–24 when he says, “Much more could be said about . . . the Nephite prophetic view and the ways in which that view governed or influenced how the Nephites read their sacred texts”![11]

Missing Nephi’s Perspective

In a separate volume, Brown provides an interesting attempt to put himself more into Nephi’s shoes. But even this is not focused on 2 Nephi 12–24.  He argues it is possible Nephi had unstated reasons for his earlier quotation of Isaiah 48 and 49 in 1 Nephi 20 and 21: “Nephi supplies us with his reasons—public reasons, it turns out—why he had included chapters 48 and 49 of Isaiah at the end of his first book. I believe, however, that he kept other poignantly personal reasons largely to himself, allowing those reasons to be expressed principally by others,” what Brown calls Nephi’s “acutely personal inducements.”

He analyzes this quotation for “dimensions of family feelings about abandoning home,” finding resonance with words like “wanderers” and “cast out from Jerusalem” in Jacob 7:26. “The deep, at times terrible, impact that the desert trek made in the soul and memory of Nephi, I believe, can be seen in his choice of Isaiah passages. . . .”[12] I believe Brown’s insights can be taken further.

Nephi might have quoted it to also prophesy what was about to happen again in his family. Read this way, Nephi directs his quote to his brothers who, like the wicked in Jerusalem, “swear by the name of the Lord . . . yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness” (1 Nephi 20:1; cf. 1 Nephi 17:45–46). This independent analysis agrees with Skinner’s in his essay on this Isaiah quotation in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon: “These introductory words of Isaiah apply so well to Laman and Lemuel, who often act wickedly but consider themselves righteous.”[13]

Skinner ends analyzing the first Isaiah chapter with a similar observation, “These verses are especially well suited to Nephi’s family, particularly to the rebellious and spiritually impoverished brothers.” [14] But he makes no application to the family in between the two observations, instead discussing Cyrus and other Old Testament themes and in the rest of the essay offers nothing more “to address their personal circumstances (see 1 Nephi 19:24),” which Skinner clearly identified as Nephi’s second objective in the quotation.[15]

Skinner turns to 1 Nephi 21, and completely to the latter-days.  The chapter “refers to our modern dispensation.”[16]  After reviewing the attributes of Isaiah’s unidentified servant, he concludes that “Nephi and Lehi seem to know not only that Isaiah intended to prophesy of Jesus and Joseph Smith, but also that the latter-day restoration of the gospel would help bring about the final redemption of Israel.”[17]

Instead of a latter-day focus, why cannot Nephi have seen reflections of his own or his father’s call—which emulate the Savior’s own call and set an example for Joseph Smith—in the phrases, “I have called him to declare, I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous” (1 Nephi 20:15; cf. 1 Nephi 2:19–24) and “he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword” (1 Nephi 21:2; cf. 1 Nephi 17:54). Further, might Nephi have seen their mission to help “raise up” and “restore” Israel and to be a “light” to the Gentiles by creating their records (1 Nephi 21:5; cf. 1 Nephi 13:35)?

Dual use of this quotation, both looking back and forward—all measured in decades, not millennia—seems a much more fitting end to Nephi’s carefully constructed first book[18] and his invitation to “liken” it because it concerns his and his brothers’ descendants “according to the flesh” (1 Nephi 19;21, 24; 22:2–3). Nephi might even have hoped his brothers would “liken” the quotation to themselves realizing without repentance they would soon be “cut off” (1 Nephi 22:18–21; cf. 1 Nephi 2:21). If all the applicability to Laman and Lemuel’s lives is less immediate than two thousand years away, let’s give them a pass for not being able to pay attention.

An Unfeeling Parent?

A more applicable yet dual use for the larger Isaiah quotation seems much more likely, showing God’s repeating patterns in the last days but also directed to Nephi’s descendants, “my people, and . . . unto all my children” (2 Nephi 11:2). As Brown asked for 1 Nephi 20–21, what might have been Nephi’s personal reasons for 2 Nephi 12–24? Consider the most heart-rending statement in Nephi’s exegesis, if not his entire writings: “O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord” (2 Nephi 26:7).

Nephi cares deeply about his descendants!

And why would that care be extended only to those living two thousand or more years later, ignoring the thousand years right in front of him ending with those bearing his name being destroyed. (1 Nephi 19:8, see also 1 Nephi 12:11, 12, 19)? Nephi may have had a deep need for privacy, never recording his wife’s name or anything about his children, but absence of evidence should not be taken as evidence of absence of feelings about them. Nephi’s quotation is included in his record of his “most precious” things (Jacob 1:2).

There is clear evidence the reason for his quotation is very personal: “But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry. . . . And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day” (2 Nephi 33:3, 12).

One senses that he has not written off descendants bearing his name, that he hopes his quotation will help change history. True hope in Christ requires nothing less.

The Coming Nephite Apostasy

If I am arguing for a view of the Book of Mormon as a connected text including application of Isaiah, then what to make of Jacob’s sermon and quotation in 2 Nephi 6–10 just prior to Nephi’s long quotation?   In the same volume, Thompson deeply analyzes the possible setting for it, generally avoiding the mistake of suggesting that these chapters are all about the latter-days, except in reference to 2 Nephi 10.

His passing reference to the chapter says it has about the theme of latter-day restoration of the Jews discussed in 2 Nephi 6:8-11.[19]  The curious thing is 2 Nephi 10 seems clearly to not be about that at all.  Welch shows how 2 Nephi 6:8-11 aligns with the Nephite prophetic view in 1 Nephi 11–14.[20]  But Welch and Thompson ignore a clear distinction between who Nephi is talking about after the destruction of his people and who chapter 10 is about.

After being shown the destruction of his people in 1 Nephi 12:19, Nephi consistently refers to “the seed of my brethren” in every instance through the remainder of his vision (1 Nephi 12:20; 13:10–14, 38-39). In 2 Nephi 10, the subject is clearly Nephi and Jacob’s seed in the flesh “he has promised unto us that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would preserve them; and in future generations they shall become a righteous branch unto the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 9:53).

Jacob can’t really be talking about the intermixed Nephite biological descendants restored only in the latter-days. He continues describing “many” of his children “according to the flesh.” “Wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer” (2 Nephi 10:2, emphasis added).

The only plausible recorded Nephite event for fulfillment of this restoration—making this righteous branch—is Mosiah I’s escape from the wicked (mirroring Nephi’s similar escape) which leads to King Benjamin’s restoration (Omni 1:12–19).  The text is clear: Jacob and Nephi’s descendants are restored to become the righteous branch.  If they are restored, then there must have been an apostasy.  This pattern is clearly visible in a parallel reading of Isaiah in 2 Nephi 13 and 14.

Nephite Kings

Thompson’s essay discusses at length Old Testament festival traditions, which may echo Jacob’s sermon. But he notes, “the bulk of the Isaiah passages and . . . Jacob’s sermon . . . focused on the role of the Messiah, the ideal king.”[21]  Unlike many essays in this volume, he briefly finds an intra-Book of Mormon connection, linking Jacob’s sermon to King Benjamin’s speech.  

But then he curiously says, “Unlike Benjamin’s speech, the Book of Mormon gives no background for Jacob’s sermon. . . . One needs to turn to the sermon itself, hoping that something within it will reveal the context in which the speech was given.”[22]  Is the context of his sermon really that obscure?  Beyond the ideal king quote, Jacob’s assigned theme is about Gentiles kings and queens nurturing Israel’s children (1 Nephi 21:22-23). What meaning did Nephi find in this theme when he quoted it to his brothers, and did it resonate when he was appointed king despite his reservation “that they should have no king” (2 Nephi 5:18)?  Why did Nephi next assign that passage to Jacob?

Then in the sermon, Jacob says in 2 Nephi 10, “But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance. And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles. . . . For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.” (2 Nephi 10:10–11, 14).

Since Nephi’s vision is clear that the Gentiles show up in the Americas after the destruction of his people (1 Nephi 11-14), our simple interpretation of any reference to Gentiles must be in the latter-days, notwithstanding Welch saying Nephite prophetic concerns “did not focus in any detail” on modern LDS themes.[23]. 

Alternatively, is it not possible that the Nephites were then scattered among “Gentile” indigenous people, like the Jews in Jerusalem were?  Sorensen clearly believed so.[24] Could the assigned restoration theme be about Nephite restoration under Mosiah I? Were perhaps the Nephites nurtured by what might have been considered the “Gentile” leader of Zarahemla in his degenerate state (Omni 1:12–19)? Might the theme have powerfully resonated with Nephi from a similar welcome by an indigenousness people after his escape prompting the assignment? 

And might Nephi have further likened the Isaiah passage to himself as he attempted to emulate the Savior, being “learned,” “not rebellious,” and giving his back to his brothers the smiters (2 Nephi 7:4–6)?  In escaping his brothers, was he not “redeemed,” with gladness and singing, the Lord asking him, “where is the fury of the oppressor?” (2 Nephi 8:11–18) Could Nephi have attempted to be an example of the ideal king, a meek and lowly lamb? Was Jacob concerned that kings would lead to apostasy?  Did this have some impact upon Mosiah II’s ultimate governmental reforms?

Obviously, for me these essays beg many, many questions about our views of Isaiah in Nephi’s writings.  Answering them will certainly not be through some direct quote from the authors. Thompson’s complaint about lack of context for Jacob’s sermon sounds a bit like the shoulder-shrugging that Nephi didn’t explain his purpose so we’ll never understand his view of it. Why are we so hesitant to see the clarity of it in context of the total book but, like Thompson, we’ll attempt to do things like tease out faint echoes of Israelite autumn festivals?

Fresh Perspectives

These reviews are of course not comprehensive analysis of the essays—I’m not qualified to offer those—but narrowly focused on if they make Isaiah more accessible. For the most part they don’t meet my expectations.  They have added two minor points to my original paper besides Ricks’ framework connecting Isaiah and Alma’s calls.

I have wondered why I had these insights when so many learned people could not seem to read the sealed book (2 Nephi 27:20). But inexperience can generate surprising insights.  In writing this paper, my determination has grown thinking about the humble people in the world who spend time consistently with the Book of Mormon, love it, and are struggling to love these twelve chapters.

As Elder Packer noted, these chapter stop people from reading the Book of Mormon.  They need more help than these essays.  Even if there is no connection between Nephite history and these chapters as I have proposed, there must be more meaning than what we have taught! Here’s my attempt at finding meaning in these chapters: Why Did Nephi Quote Isaiah Chapters 2–14? To Foreshadow Nephite History.

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[1] Examples include Gileadi who outlines “four keys” to understanding Isaiah in general, as given by Book of Mormon prophets, and outlines themes within the structure of Isaiah such as “apostacy in Isaiah 1-9,” but he does not ask why Nephi chose those specific chapters. Avraham Gileadi, The Book of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from The Book of Mormon [1989], 9, 20. See also Parry review of the book, Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011, Volume 4 Number 1 Article 46.

More recently, in Ludlow’s presentation “Purposes for Quoting Isaiah in the Book of Mormon,” Isaiah 2–14 is of secondary importance to other quotations and not specific to the Book of Mormon context. Victor L. Ludlow, Brigham Young University Education Week devotional, August 21, 2006. Also, while not focused on the Book of Mormon, Ludlow’s Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet (1982) uses the Book of Mormon extensively to explain Isaiah, including “Major Doctrines Taught by Isaiah” (50–69) and “Messianic Prophecies” (53–55) but gives no direct reference to the Book of Mormon appearance of the Savior, and does not address potential fulfilment in the Book of Mormon in “Prophecies of the Last Days” (55- 57).

In answer to the question, “Why are chapters 12 – 24 in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon?” Hickenbotham instead answers the question “why so many chapters of Isaiah were included in the Book of Mormon,” not why those specific chapters are quoted. Michael Hickenbotham as quoted by Trevor Holyoak, “Why Does Nephi Quote from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon?”, July 25, 2019, FairLatterdaySaints.org.

Farley’s analysis of the structure of 2 Nephi is an example of attempting to impose a latter-day bias on Nephi’s quotation when he notes “a latter-day motif is not apparent in 2 Nephi 11.” S. Brent Farley, “Nephi, Isaiah, and the Latter-day Restoration,” Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, (1989), 227–39.

[2] John W. Welch in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications, 43, p. 19.

[3] Ibid, 23.

[4] Ibid, 28–30. The passages cited from 2 Nephi 12–24: Isaiah 5:24–30, Isaiah 3:15, Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 8:14, Isaiah 9:16, Isaiah 10:25, Isaiah 11:10–11, Isaiah 11:4, and Isaiah 14:19.

[5] David Rolph Seely in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications 43, 152–153.

[6] Ibid. 154.

[7] Ibid. 168, 161–164. Verses used are 2 Nephi 15:21, 2 Nephi 13:15, 2 Nephi 19:20, 2 Nephi 20:2, 2 Nephi 12:11, and 2 Nephi 12:8.

[8] John Gee, “‘Choose the Things That Please Me’: On the Selection of the Isaiah Sections in

the Book of Mormon,” in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications. 43, 73.

[9] Ibid. 84.

[10] Ibid. 75; emphasis added.

[11] John W. Welch in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications. 43, 30.

[12] S. Kent Brown, “What Is Isaiah Doing in First Nephi? Or, How Did Lehi’s Family Fare So Far from Home?”, From Jerusalem to Zarahemla: Literary and Historical Studies of the Book of Mormon (1998), 9–27.

[13] Andrew C. Skinner “Nephi’s Lessons to His People: The Messiah, the Land, and Isaiah 48-49 in 1 Nephi 19-22” in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications. 43, 100.

[14] Ibid. 104.

[15] Ibid. 99.

[16] Ibid. 104.

[17] Ibid. 107.

[18] Noel B. Reynolds, “Nephi’s Outline,” Book of Mormon Authorship: New Light on Ancient Origins (1982), 53–74.

[19]John S. Thompson “Isaiah 50-51, the Israelite Autumn Festivals, and the Covenant Speech of Jacob in 2 Nephi 6-10” in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications. 43, p. 139.  The other references are three about remembering (p. 130), and one about the name of the Lord (p. 132).

[20] John W. Welch in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications, 43, p. 26.

[21] John S. Thompson “Isaiah 50-51, the Israelite Autumn Festivals, and the Covenant Speech of Jacob in 2 Nephi 6-10” in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications. 43, 139.

[22] Ibid. p. 100.

[23] John W. Welch in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications, 43, p, 23.

[24] Sorenson, John L. (1992) “When Lehi’s Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There?”, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 1, No. 1 , Article 2, pp. 14-17.