Below I attempt to answer the question why did Nephi quote Isaiah chapters 2 through 14. I beleive it was because it foreshadowed Nephite history. This downloadable printable bookmark (Microsoft Word or PDF format) shows the evidence in summary.

Print, fold, cut and glue. Feel free to make changes under its Creative Commons 4.0 license.

Abstract

Nephi had revelatory visions in which he witnessed future events related to his posterity. In making a record for his people, he selected Isaiah chapters 2-14 describing events among the house of Israel that he perhaps perceived as similar or parallel to those experienced by the Nephites. These parallels are both story level and word level throughout the Book of Mormon, including Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard and the story of King Noah, Isaiah and Alma’s calls as prophets, apostate Nephites like Ephraim causing war, secret combinations as confederacies, and the destruction of the wicked both before and after the Savior’s personal ministry and a millennium-like period. Our latter-day biases keep us from understanding the Nephite perspective. Overcoming these biases would increase our ability to “liken” these chapters to our own day.

Introduction

In the April 1986 general conference, Elder Boyd K. Packer made his well-quoted statement about the “barrier” of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. The two shorter barriers in 1 Nephi 20-21 and 2 Nephi 7-8 are perhaps speed bumps compared to the concrete bunker of Isaiah in 2 Nephi 12-24.

Every four years, there are struggling parents who crash into this wall as they try to hold daily gospel study with their children. After struggling with those issues myself, and searching deeply for years, I have concluded our gospel academics have been inadequate here. As I have asked myself why Nephi chose to quote Isaiah chapters 2–14, I wondered if it is possible that in these chapters Nephi detected a pattern of events for the history of his people.

While there is no direct evidence Nephi saw in Isaiah a direct application to his descendants, if we compare the overall structure, themes and even certain words of this quotation with the structure of the Book of Mormon, the parallelism is remarkable. Viewed through this lens, Nephi might have given an example of how to liken Isaiah to specific situations, increasing our ability to do so as well. Doing so increases the power of our teaching and turns these difficult-to-understand Isaiah chapters into fascinating foreshadowing of the remainder of the Book of Mormon.[1]

Nephi’s Purposes

While much has been written about why Nephi quotes Isaiah, as analyzed latter in this paper, I find that few have asked why, out of all 63 chapters of Isaiah’s writings, he chose Isaiah chapters 2 to 14 for his most expansive quotation. (For the most part, this paper will only reference the 2 Nephi chapters.)

Nephi prefaces this large quotation from Isaiah by explaining that his “soul delighteth in proving unto [his] people the truth of the coming of Christ” (2 Nephi 11:4). Although Isaiah often speaks messianically, the chapters Nephi chose to include in his large quotation do not seem to contain the lengthiest references to the Savior.

Nephi says an additional major purpose is to “liken his words unto my people” (11:2, 8). While Nephi did see in vision the fate of his people and all the inhabitants of the promised land, as recorded in 1 Nephi 12 and 2 Nephi 26:2–10, both summaries focus on the sign of the Savior’s death, giving few details beyond wars, the sign at Christ’s birth, and destruction of the Nephites.

Nephi’s summary of his vision in 1 Nephi is understandably short, ending in preference to the writings of John the Revelator. Nephi’s exegesis and the small plates are not focused on Nephite history but on the Book of Mormon as a sign of the fulfillment of God’s covenants to Israel.[2]

Some who reviewed this paper find it very surprising to think we have not discovered what would be such an obvious purpose by Nephi, suggesting since he did not tell us that was his purpose, and it doesn’t seem to have been commonly taught in the nearly two centuries we’ve had the book, it cannot be the case. But we should consider the adage that the absence of evidence of linkage between Isaiah and Nephite history is not evidence of absence of such intent by Nephi.

My Discovery

My discovery came in an admittedly non-academic way after reading the text for months convinced there must be a clearer reason for Nephi to quote it. When I “liken” the scriptures to myself, I am surprised to read a passage and find it speaks to my situation so clearly. As I read 2 Nephi 22, a clear Millennial chapter two chapters from the end of the quotation, I noted how short it was. I wondered if it had some correlation to the very short book of 4 Nephi.

I knew both structures had nothing to do with the historical content of Isaiah or the Book of Mormon as chapters were not defined by Isaiah and 4 Nephi was not in the Book of Mormon until close to half a century after it was published. But I wondered if someone living during 4 Nephi would have been surprised how Isaiah’s verses described their situation? When Nephi read it, did he perceive it clearly described what he had seen in his vision of his descendants?

From that one insight, I looked at the following chapters, noting how negative they are, much like the negative content of the book of Mormon. And looking to the prior chapter’s description of the ministration of Christ, it is much like His ministration in 3 Nephi. The parallels continued in the preceding chapter with the destruction of Assyria in Isaiah, paralleling the destruction of the wicked at the Savior’s death. From this anchor, I began to search for more possible parallels.

Standard of Proof

What criteria can we use to determine if Nephi detected Isaiah’s text would parallel Nephite history? We should begin with clarity on what we mean by deliberately constructed parallel texts. In ancient writing, often one discovers a later author establishes a relationship with an earlier text in some way without explicitly exposing the relationship.

Sometime before abridging King Benjamin’s sermon, Mormon located the small plates of Nephi and decided to include them in his work. “For after I had made an abridgment from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin . . . I searched among the records which had been delivered into my hands, and I found these plates” (Words of Mormon 1:3).

While Mormon clearly wrote his abridgement after Nephi had quoted Isaiah, he gives no indication that he perceived an intent in Nephi’s quotation of Isaiah or that it affected his abridgement of Nephite history.[3] Excepting prophetic gifts of revelation, Nephi or Isaiah could not have created this kind of parallel text to Mormon’s abridgement before Mormon had written it.

Even with the possibility Mormon might have written parallels to Isaiah, why would we demand tight linguistic linkages from Mormon to prove that Nephi perceived in Isaiah foreshadowing of his people’s history spurring his quotation? The question is not Mormon’s impression of Isaiah, but could Nephi read it in a way foreshadowing Nephite history as recorded in Mormon’s writings.

What precedent is there, what is the appropriate standard to evaluate if Nephi might have perceived parallels? Welch notes Nephi’s prophetic vision was very clear about chronology of events. [4] And Nephi leaves us two accounts of his vision, both brief but with consistent chronology, each contributing one unique event. So we have four texts, two by Nephi, Isaiah’s, and Mormon’s abridgment.

Can we not begin by searching for broad outlines of topics in the texts? Admittedly, the sizes of the text vary, Nephi’s being the shortest but closer in size to Isaiah’s, with Mormon’s being much, much longer. Certainly there will be much in Mormon’s work which is not covered in the others, but the relationship between Nephi’s vision and Mormon’s text is very clear, while the length of Nephi and Isaiah’s writings are close. So a key aspect of this proof should be parallel presentation of major themes at least at the level of detail of Nephi’s descriptions in chronological order by all three authors as Welch noted.

Since (1) Nephi is over eighty pages into the Book of Mormon before he begins his quotation, (2) the structure and nature of the small plates and the lack of prophetic voice for centuries complicates that portion of the history, and (3) the consistency of Mormon’s abridgement starts at nearly page 150, analysis from the first of the Book of Mormon is difficult.

But since the Book of Mormon and each of Nephi’s descriptions ends with the destruction of the Nephites as recorded by Mormon, let’s start our analysis in reverse chronological order, searching for and choosing the latest Isaiah candidate passage for analysis. As we progress to earlier and earlier events, the parallelism should either strengthen or become convoluted.

Proof in Summary

1. Destruction of Nephites in the book of Mormon

Let’s begin with the last portion of Isaiah’s text in comparison to Nephi’s visions, which both end with the destruction of his people.

1 Nephi 12	2 Nephi 26
15 . . . the people of my seed gathered together in multitudes against the seed of my brethren; and they were gathered together to battle. 20 . . . the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed;	10 And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people. . . . they shall reap destruction. . . .

Gee points out the textual markers that begin and end Isaiah 2 to 14. Isaiah 2 begins with “The word . . . concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Nephi 12:1). Nephi terminates his quotation before the phrase “The burden of Moab” in Isaiah 15:1. Gee rightly notes how important these phrases are to marking the beginning and the end of a text.

Gee also notes a critical marker in the middle of Nephi’s quotation, beginning the last two chapters of it: “The burden of Babylon” (2 Nephi 23:1). A “burden” is a serious warning, as Gee writes. “Judah receives a ‘word’ while the rest [of the nations Isaiah writes about] receive ‘burdens,’ and [note this for later,] Assyria is omitted because the Assyrians are going to conquer or destroy all the kingdoms with burdens.” Gee uses this critical marker as a hinge upon which Nephi’s quotation turns, the contrast of Jerusalem with Babylon.[5]

The end of Mormon’s writings makes that same point in a dramatic way: by the time of Mormon, the Nephites—the original “Judah and Jerusalem” of 2 Nephi 12 in Nephi’s day—will be destroyed by the Lamanites, just as the Babylonians were destroyed by the Assyrians.

Viewed in this light, Isaiah in 2 Nephi 23 and 24 is a direct parallel to the book of Mormon. It is difficult to conceive of stronger parallelism between Isaiah’s quotation highlighted by an important phrasal marker, Nephi’s painful visions, and the conclusion of Nephite history. This is proof point one of our analysis.

2. Multiple Righteous Generations in 4 Nephi

Backing up from this point, the preceding Isaiah theme is a clear reference to the Millennium and a direct parallel to both Nephi’s vision of his people and the peaceful period of 4 Nephi.

1 Nephi 12	2 Nephi 26
11 . . . I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. . . . 12 . . . many of the fourth generation who passed away in righteousness.	9 But the Son of Righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness.

Nephi’s vision and 4 Nephi align completely with Isaiah in 2 Nephi 22: “And in that day . . . with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say: Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people. . . Sing unto the Lord. . . Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”[6]

We now have two very strong proof points in chronological order across all texts.

3. Twelve Disciples Called in 3 Nephi

Immediately prior to the period of peace, Nephi outlines how the Savior will choose twelve others to be ordained.

1 Nephi 12	2 Nephi 26
7 And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen 8 . . . Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed. . . . 10 . . . they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.	[Not mentioned]

With such strong proof points, simply backing up seven verses provides a completely plausible parallel to the ministry of the twelve disciples. In 2 Nephi 21:10–16, Isaiah identifies a second servant to the stem of Jesse “which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious” (2 Nephi 21:10). The work of the twelve is to “recover the remnant of his people” and “set up an ensign for the nations” (2 Nephi 21:11).

Although perhaps less absolute than the prior proof points, it is completely plausible and, in combination with the following point, becomes a very strong parallel to Nephi’s vision and the Book of Mormon again in chronological order.

4. Ministry of the Savior in 3 Nephi

Prior to the calling of the twelve, Nephi sees the ministry of the Savior.

1 Nephi 12	2 Nephi 26
5 . . . I saw the vapor of darkness, that it passed from off the face of the earth; and behold, I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord. 6 And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them.	8 . . . the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not . . . behold, they are they which shall not perish. [Verse 1] And after Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children . . . and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do.

Again, simply backing up nine more verses provides another very strong parallel, the longest Messianic passage in these Isaiah chapters, the ministry of the stem of Jesse in 2 Nephi 21:1–9.[7] This passage is not about His birth or the sign of his birth which will be considered later, the other direct references in these chapters to the Messiah. It is about the Savior’s ministration. “But with righteousness shall he 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.”

In this passage, His ministration is clearly linked to the following millennial period when “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb.” What more could we ask of a parallel? A fourth parallel proof point.

5. Destruction at the Savior’s Death in 3 Nephi

Prior to the Savior’s appearance, the sign of the Savior’s death is given.

1 Nephi 12

2 Nephi 26

4 . . . I saw a mist of darkness on the face of the land of promise; and I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire. . .

3 . . . there shall be signs given unto my people . . . of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish. . . . 5 . . . the depths of the earth shall swallow them up . . . and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. 6 And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions. . . .

Imagine the simplicity of backing up one chapter and finding destruction of the wicked. And that is exactly what we find in 2 Nephi 20, the destruction of Assyria, a chapter Gee noted is important in the structure of Isaiah.

“Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, send among his fat ones, leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. . . .and shall burn and shall devour his thorns and his briers in one day. . . And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. . . For the Lord God of Hosts shall make a consumption, even determined in all the land.”

It would be difficult to find a more fitting parallel in all of Isaiah to the destruction of the wicked at the death of the Savior, a fifth proof point in our analysis, in lock-step order across all texts with no gaps in content in Isaiah.

6. Sign of the Savior’s Birth in 3 Nephi 1

Nephi also says a sign of the Savior’s birth will be given to his descendants.

1 Nephi 12	2 Nephi 26
[Not mentioned	3 And after the Messiah shall come [In Jerusalem] there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth,

Again, following our rule of backing up to the next possible parallel, imagine finding a very clear parallel in 2 Nephi 19:2–9. Not only does it speak of the birth of the Savior, but by linking it to the Nephite example the broader context of the Isaiah passage becomes clearer.

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. . . . For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. . . . “

This is the first time we skip content in Isaiah not highlighted in Nephi’s vision. We’ll analyze this content later. Yet the clarity of this passage provides a sixth proof point in our analysis in perfect alignment.

7. Nephite and Lamanite Wars in Alma

Nephi also describes many generations of war among his people.

1 Nephi 12	2 Nephi 26
2 . . . I beheld multitudes gathered together to battle, one against the other; and I beheld wars, and rumors of wars, and great slaughters with the sword among my people.	2 . . . I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people.

Many passages in the Isaiah chapters speak of strife and conflict. This may be a confirmation of Nephi’s vision about “many generations” in contention. Yet the last occurrence of the word “war” in the Isaiah quotation comes two chapters before the sign of the Savior’s birth in 2 Nephi 17:1–9.

The “king of Syria, and . . . king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying: Syria is confederate with Ephraim. . . . Then said the Lord unto Isaiah . . . fear not . . . because Syria, Ephraim, . . . have taken evil counsel against thee. . . .Thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.”

This is a very powerful parallel description of a historical enemy: Syria (just like the Lamanites) confederating with former associates, Ephraim (just like Nephite dissenters), and conducting numerous wars against the Nephites throughout many chapters prior to the Savior’s birth.

Although again we have skipped some material in Isaiah, all texts are aligned chronologically on the theme outlined by Nephi. A seventh proof point.

8. Prophecy of Savior’s Birth

Let’s consider a possible additional proof point in Isaiah giving a sign of Christ’s birth in 2 Nephi 17:10–14: “Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depths, or in the heights above. . . . Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

As noted above, Nephi’s vision speaks of “signs given unto my people” (2 Nephi 26:3) in connection to the Savior’s birth. Proof point six is the fulfillment of the sign, but before fulfillment, a sign must be given.

Proof point six is given in 2 Nephi 19. To maintain chronological comparison, the prophesy must be before that. In the Book of Mormon, Samuel’s prophesy in Helaman 14 almost immediately precedes fulfillment in 3 Nephi 1. In Isaiah, the virgin prophesy is given in 2 Nephi 17, with chapter 18’s content between prophesy and fulfillment. This means Isaiah’s words in chapter 18, if they are parallel to anything in the Book of Mormon, must be out of chronological order with it to some extent.

Yet let’s consider the alternative. What if Isaiah’s prophecy had been given immediately before the child was born? In other words, what if these two Isaiah passages, the virgin conception and then birth, were next to each other? Would we have perceived it as a prophecy, or would we have simply considered it as part of the fulfillment, the conception and then birth of the Savior?

Thus, not only does Isaiah’s structure bless us by representing the five-year gap between Samuel’s prophesy and its fulfillment, but both passages are perfectly tuned to the events they mirror: Samuel, a prophet like Isaiah, gives a clear sign. And then two chapters later, it is fulfilled when “unto us a child is born.”

Samuel’s and Isaiah’s prophecy is an eighth proof point in our analysis.

From the seven points in Nephi’s sort descriptions of his vision, we have eight powerful proof points! They are all in perfect chronology, including proper placement of Samuel’s prophecy after the predicted wars but before the Savior’s birth. All the texts are in full alignment and these points cover more than half of the quoted Isaiah text and Mormon’s record of Nephite history.

After having his vision, if Nephi had started reading Isaiah 7 to 14, how could he have missed the parallelism? Certainly he was adept enough at likening Isaiah to his descendants to have detected the linkage. And with this evidence alone, it is hard to dispute why Nephi chose to quote these chapters of Isaiah.

Detailed Analysis

But then if his vision only covered the points he wrote about, why didn’t he just quote Isaiah 7 to 14? One reason is probably the phrasal marker starting with Isaiah 2. Another might be that while Nephi was commanded to not write about some aspects of his vision, he saw more unrecorded details about his descendants and perceived more parallels in earlier Isaiah chapters.

With the substantial evidence of points 1–8, it seems parallelism of the entire quotation is plausible. Through detailed analysis we will consider two additional proof points.

9. Story-level Parallels

In one account of his vision, Nephi indicates that before the death of the Savior, his people will be both wicked and righteous.

1 Nephi 12	2 Nephi 26
[Not mentioned]	3 And after . . . his death . . . the wicked . . perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them [compared to] 8 . . . . the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ . . . notwithstanding all persecution.

This description is so general, it is difficult to even correlate with specific instances of Nephite history, and thus it cannot be correlated directly to Isaiah. Based upon proof point five, the sign of the Savior’s death, it must happen before 2 Nephi 20, but that leaves many possible Isaiah chapters.

Even without specifics in Nephi’s visions, we can continue to compare story level parallels between Nephite history and Isaiah for earlier chapters. Below we’ll compare these with Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard in 2 Nephi 15 and Isaiah’s call as a prophet in chapter 16 to the books of Mosiah and early Alma. We’ll also look more deeply at the texts for each of the above established proof points. If these story parallels are consistent, with no deviation in chronological order, we will have evidence of proof point nine.

10. Episodic Strong Linguistic Parallels

As a counter to the general nature of story parallels, in detailed analysis we will examine some linguistic parallels all within the same general chronological order. They include:

1. Parable of the Vineyard: The lengthiest and perhaps deepest parallel of significant repeated words between Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard in 2 Nephi 15 and the story of King Noah in Mosiah 7-25.
2. Book of Helaman Parallels, including Christ described as the Rock (2 Nephi 18:13–17 and Helaman 5:12) and the description of the Assyrian invasion compared to a Lamanite attack (2 Nephi 18:6–8 and Helaman 1:18, 22–23).
3. Destroyed City List: The list of the cities destroyed by the Assyrian’s in 2 Nephi 20:27–32, and the Savior’s description of the cities destroyed at his death in 3 Nephi 9:3–10.
4. Destruction of people: Possibly the “Howl ye” language of Isaiah in 2 Nephi 23–24 and Mormon’s “O ye fair ones“ lament in Mormon 6:17–20

While not all of the same strength or character—and possibly none of them intentionally constructed parallels by Mormon—they provide confirmation that our story parallels are properly aligned. If Nephi were given glimpses of these moments of Nephite history in his vision, Isaiah’s words would have resonated powerfully to him. These parallels will be referred to as proof point ten.

Let’s perform our detailed analysis of the relationship between the Book of Mormon and Isaiah 2–14 but instead of in reverse order from the end, let’s jump to near the beginning of Mormon’s abridgement and Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard.

Parable of the Vineyard and King Noah

Although not mentioned in Nephi’s visions, the connections between Mormon’s abridgement and Isaiah are remarkable both for story-level parallels and shared words in Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard and Zeniff’s descendants’ sojourn in the land of Nephi. Note the following shared (or closely related) words in the two texts.

Isaiah Quoted in 2 Nephi		Mosiah
15:2	And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof,	9:8	And we began to build buildings, and to repair the walls of the city,
15:2	and planted it with the choicest vine,.	9:9	And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds, . . . and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did begin to multiply and prosper in the land.
15:2	and built a tower in the midst of it,	11:12	. . . he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land. . . .
15:2	and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.	11:15	. . . he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine–presses, and made wine in abundance;
15:11	Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, and wine inflame them!	11:15; 12:1–2	And therefore he became a wine–bibber, and also his people. . . . Yea, wo be unto this generation!
15:15	And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:	11:21	And except they repent . . ., I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies.
15:24	Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, their root shall be rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust. . .	17:14– 15	And now when the flames began to scorch him, he cried unto them, saying: . . . thy seed shall cause that many shall suffer . . . death by fire; . . . ye shall be smitten on every hand, and shall be driven and scattered to and fro, even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts.
15:25	Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them:	21:13	And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submitting themselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of their enemies.
15:26	And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth:	25:19	And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted unto Alma that he might establish churches throughout all the land. . . .

Even with so many word overlaps, the structures containing them are very different, leading me to conclude this is not an intentionally constructed parallel text, made even more unlikely as the passages come from multiple authors quoted by Mormon. The words themselves would not prove a connection between Nephite history and Isaiah without the story-level parallels.

But with the story elements, similarities between the texts are very clear, as seen in the comparison between Isaiah’s parable and Zeniff’s record.

Isaiah Quoted in 2 Nephi 15

Mosiah 9:1, 6, 8–10

1 And then will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

1 I, Zeniff, . . . . saw that which was good. . . . 6 And I went in unto the king, and he covenanted with me that I might possess the land. . . . 8 And we began to build buildings, and to repair the walls of the city. . . . 9 And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds . . . and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did begin to multiply and prosper in the land. 10 Now it was the cunning and the craftiness of king Laman, to bring my people into bondage, that he yielded up the land that we might possess it.

Significant correlation continues between the list of Noah’s offenses and Isaiah’s list of Israel’s. Note: elements of each have been grouped for comparability (another evidence of lack of planned construction) by themes of costly public works, debauchery, and pride.

Isaiah Quoted in 2 Nephi 15	Mosiah 11
8 Wo unto them that join house to house, till there can be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! 9 In mine ears, said the Lord of Hosts, of a truth many houses shall be desolate, and great and fair cities without inhabitant.	3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed [and] built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them. . . . 8 and he also built him a spacious palace, and . . . . 9 a tower near the temple; yea, [and] many buildings . . . by the taxation of his people.
11 Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night, and wine inflame them! 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. . . . 18 Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope; . . . 20 Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! . . . 21 Wo unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight! 22 Wo unto the mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;	2 And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness. 4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines . . . 6 in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity. . . . 14 And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots. 15 And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine-presses, and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine-bibber, and also his people.
13 Therefore, my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. 14 Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. . . . . 23 Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!	5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts. . . . 7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them. . . . 11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.

In fact, missed opportunities for shared words can be found as Limhi summarizes the history of the people in Mosiah 7:28–32 as compared to the conclusion of Isaiah’s passage in 2 Nephi 15:24–25 Isaiah saying, “Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, their root shall be rottenness.” But even though Limhi has just recounted the death of Abinadi, he does not use the words “fire” or “flame.” This is a clear miss of a possible parallel.

Both passages share the words “smitten” and the concept of anger, but the shared word of “chaff” is not parallel, Limhi saying, “And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind” (Mosiah 7:30). Isaiah’s chaff is consumed in the fire, but Limhi’s is reaped in the whirlwind.

In addition to missed opportunities for parallels, it is surprising one cannot find more direct correlations for some passages. For example, although Isaiah’s tone, including six “woes,” matches Abinadi’s preaching, I cannot find connections between Abinadi’s words and Isaiah, despite his extensive quotations of other Isaiah passages. Also, except for the story level parallels, I find no direct parallel between the conclusion of the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah in 2 Nephi 15:3–7 and a passage in the book of Mosiah.

So what to conclude from this detailed analysis?

1. The story Zeniff’s descendants is not a carefully constructed parallel to Isaiah.
2. But the overlap of the content of the passages is remarkably similar.

The question is not how Mormon or other authors reacted to Isaiah, but if Nephi could have seen these Nephite experiences in Isaiah’s words. The answer is a resounding yes.

Prophets are Called and Serve Missions

Story-level parallels continue strongly through Isaiah’s call as a prophet and the callings of Alma the younger, the sons of Mosiah, and even Amulek.

Isaiah’s narrative continues with a prophesy of what kinds of prophets will be called to gather the Nephites, those “whose arrows shall be sharp, and all their bows bent. . . . They shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry away safe, and none shall deliver” (2 Nephi 15:28–29). Such parallel capabilities are not limited to the obvious story of Ammon (Alma 17:36–39) but also Alma’s efforts with his sword in battle (Alma 2:29–31).

Each of these Nephite prophets felt feelings of inadequacy when called and some were deeply sinful, hearkening back to Isaiah’s statement, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (2 Nephi 16:5).

Isaiah asks “how long” he is to preach. He is told until “cities be wasted” (2 Nephi 16:11). The sons of Mosiah leave on a mission of undermined length (armed with their weapons), and Alma conducts several missions which often end in violence as he and others are expelled for preaching. The return of the sons of Mosiah precipitates a major war (Alma 28:1–6) while leading the repentant to live with the Nephites, like Isaiah’s prophecy that “a tenth . . . shall return” (2 Nephi 16:13). The other missions also result in listeners who return and are gathered into the Nephite fold.

Ricks presents an interesting framework for Isaiah’s call as a “call narrative,” finding nine similarities in the calls of John the Revelator and Lehi.[8] How does Alma’s call align as recorded in Alma 36?

(1) “A historical introduction that provides the setting of the vision.” Very clear in verses 1–6: “For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking to destroy the church of God.” (v 6).

(2) “The divine confrontation between the prophet and God or another holy being.” “Confrontation” of the highest order in verses 7–9: “And behold, he spake unto us, as it were the voice of thunder, and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet; and we all fell to the earth, for the fear of the Lord came upon us” (v. 7).

(3) “The prophet’s reaction to the presence of God or to the holy being and the things he has heard.” Very clear in verses 10-16: “And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul” (v. 16).

(4) “The ‘throne-theophany,’ an experience in which the prophet sees the throne of God.” Alma even links his call to Lehi’s in verse 22: “Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.”

(5) “The receipt of a heavenly book.” Ricks notes, “Although Isaiah’s account . . . does not mention a heavenly book, we learn that he takes one later (see Isaiah 8:1; 30:8),” although both those references are to Isaiah’s writing. Alma also does not mention a book, but he keeps the records as chief judge (Mosiah 29:42), and clearly speaks of his father’s words in verse 17: “I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.”

(6) “A heavenly song in praise of God.” Very clear in verse 18: “Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.”

(7) “The receipt of the prophetic commission.” Although not in the voice of the Lord, Alma clearly feels commissioned in verse 24: “Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.”

(8) “The prophet’s objection or protest.” Although not expressed as objection, Alma acknowledges opposition faced in verse 27: “And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.”

(9) “The reassurance from God that the call is divine.” Alma has confidence of his salvation in verse 28: “And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him in glory; yea, and I will praise him forever.”

Not only does Alma’s call qualify on every point, but it does so in nearly perfect order with Ricks’ criteria. The call of Alma the younger has a very strong affinity to the call of Isaiah as recorded in 2 Nephi 16. If Nephi in vision saw the call of Alma the younger, it would have been a very strong parallel to Isaiah’s call, particularly in combination with Nephi’s record of his father’s call.

Wars in The Book of Alma

Chronological parallel continues in Isaiah’s narrative with proof point seven “Syria is confederate with Ephraim” (2 Nephi 17:2). As noted, this is a good description of the many wars in the book of Alma, especially those involving the Lamanites and the Nephite dissenters. In Isaiah’s day, Ephraim and the other tribes of Israel, once closely associated with Judah, betrayed Judah in its associations with the gentile nation of Syria. Likewise, certain of the Nephites betrayed their own nation by joining the Lamanites in their invasion of Zarahemla. This chapter’s parallelism is less chronological, as this type of war is repeated over and over in the book of Alma (Alma 2, 16, 28, 43–63).

It is possible there is dual use of Isaiah’s words to Judah’s king, “Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God,” beyond Samuel the Lamanite’s prophesy. For example, Alma, acting as prophet, tells the warriors where to go to find the enemy (Alma 16:5–6), and at other times, prophets assist directly in battles (Alma 2:29, Alma 56–58). And in other chapters, their preaching includes signs of the Savior’s impending coming (Alma 7 and 34).

The Book of Helaman

The wars are immediately followed in Isaiah with proof point eight, with Samuel’s prophecy in 2 Nephi 17:14 correlating to the nearly last chapter of Helaman: “A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (2 Nephi. 17:14). Samuel says, “And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day” (Helaman 14:3).

Isaiah’s text turns quickly to dark themes, to “days that have not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah, the king of Assyria” (2 Nephi 17:17). Likewise, Samuel the Lamanite immediately gives the prophecy of the death of the Savior (Helaman 14:14–27).

Next is the material that is not strictly chronological in 2 Nephi 18, perhaps for the reason noted. This material parallels other material in the book of Helman, but with one slight deviations in chronology. Isaiah opens 2 Nephi 18 by naming his son as a sign for the Judean king. In Helaman 5:6 (note the slight mismatch), Nephi similarly tells his sons, “I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them.”

Isaiah next speaks of the king of Assyria coming to battle against Judah and nearly overrunning them, which compares very strongly to the Lamanites unexpectedly capturing the heart of the land of Zarahemla in Helaman 1 because of contention over leadership:

Isaiah in 2 Nephi 18:6–8

Helaman 1:18, 22–23

Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks. And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

And it came to pass that because of so much contention and so much difficulty in the government, that they had not kept sufficient guards in the land of Zarahemla; for they had supposed that the Lamanites durst not come into the heart of their lands to attack that great city Zarahemla. . . . And now when Coriantumr saw that he was in possession of the city of Zarahemla, . . . he did march forth with a large army, even towards the city of Bountiful; for it was his determination to go forth and cut his way through with the sword, that he might obtain the north parts of the land.

Isaiah’s description of “even to the neck” stunningly correlates to the earlier description of Nephite geography, “a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward.”[9] Even though this connection seems quite unusual, it is not likely a deliberately constructed passage. But again, it may well have been seen by Nephi as prophetic and confirms our understanding of Nephi’s quote.

Isaiah goes on to warn of certain alliances: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces” (2 Nephi 18:9). This parallels very strongly Mormon’s description of the formation of the Gadianton robbers (Helaman 2:13, 6:18–32) and foreshadows that they would “prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi” (Helaman 2:13).

The book of Helaman contains a second striking word-level parallelism in naming the Savior as the rock:

Isaiah in 2 Nephi 18:13–17	Helaman 5:12
Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself, . . . And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. . . . And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.	And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; . . . the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Again, it is unlikely that this isolated passage is intentionally constructed, but it serves the same purposes as the prior passage.

Isaiah’s next theme is about prophets providing signs to the faithful, saying, “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts” (2 Nephi 18:18). The book of Helaman contains three stories where prophets give direct signs to the people: (1) Nephi prophesying of the death of the chief judge in Helaman 7–9, (2) Nephi using the sealing power in Helaman 10–12, and (3) Samuel the Lamanite giving multiple signs in Helaman 13–15.

The book of Helaman ends with the people doubting “that such a being as a Christ shall come. . . . Why will he not show himself in this land as well as in the land of Jerusalem?” (Helaman 16:17), echoing Isaiah’s prediction of “trouble, and darkness, dimness of anguish” (2 Nephi 18:12).

Notwithstanding the slight deviations in chronology for Samuel’s prophesy and giving prophetic names, all other elements are in order in both Helaman and Isaiah.

The Books of 3 and 4 Nephi

Proof point six, the sign of Christ’s birth, compares to 2 Nephi 19, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light” (2 Nephi 19:2), followed by the great prophecy of Christ’s birth: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (2 Nephi 19:6). What a wonderful description of the sign of the Savior’s birth in 3 Nephi 1:15: “At the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.”

Isaiah almost seems to describe the universality of this sign in the Americas as he continues, “And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria . . .” (2 Nephi 19:9). However, he then describes the contentions between the Israelites and other factions: “that say in the pride and stoutness of heart: The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones. . . . For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of Hosts” (verses 9–12). This suggests the continuing divisions after the signs of the Savior’s birth, as recorded in 3 Nephi 1:22: “There began to be lyings sent forth among the people, by Satan, to harden their hearts, to the intent that they might not believe in those signs and wonders which they had seen.”

With the Nephites, these divisions lead to war with the Gadianton robbers and the death of two leaders, Giddianhi and Zemnarihah, as recorded in 3 Nephi 2–5. Isaiah describes a similar situation in his own time and country: “For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them. . . Therefore will the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush in one day. The ancient, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail” (2 Nephi 19:13–15).

Proof point five of the prophecy of Christ’s death is in Isaiah’s next chapter (2 Nephi 20), which describes the destruction of Assyria: “And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and shall burn and shall devour his thorns and his briers in one day; And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body. . . . And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them” (2 Nephi 20:17–19). This foreshadows very strongly the destruction among the Nephites at the Savior’s death in 3 Nephi 7–10.

In this section we come upon perhaps the strongest linguistic parallel, in the words of the Savior. Isaiah ends with a list of cities overrun by the Assyrian king, very much like the list of cities destroyed lamented by a voice from heaven at the Savior’s death.

Isaiah in 2 Nephi 20:27–32

3 Nephi 9:3–10

He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages. They are gone over the passage; they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramath is afraid; Gibeah of Saul is fled. Lift up the voice, O daughter of Gallim; cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. As yet shall he remain at Nob that day;

Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, . . . Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea, . . . Moronihah have I covered with earth, . . . Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, . . . Onihah . . . and the city of Mocum and . . . Jerusalem . . . Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, . . . Jacobugath . . . have I caused to be burned with fire. . . . Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire,

This passage, while isolated, seems more direct in its parallel construction. It is possible Mormon’s text originated in the 3 Nephi prophet’s record. Did Nephi³ have access to Nephi¹’s Isaiah quotation to construct it? Did Mormon create it? Or is it a literal quote of the voice of the Savior out of heaven?

Although each of these word parallel passages is isolated, having so many of them gives strong evidence of our analysis as noted in proof point 10, and opportunities for Nephi to see parallels.

Proof point 4—the Savior’s ministry—is described in Isaiah’s next chapter: “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, . . . and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he 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” (2 Nephi 21:2–4), correlating to 3 Nephi 11–26.

The stem of Jesse’s ministry in Isaiah starts the millennial period that followed: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,” (verse 6) and Christ shall set up “an ensign of the people” (verse 10). Similarly, 3 Nephi records that “they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another” (3 Nephi 26:19), for Christ had taught them, “Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you” (3 Nephi 18:16).

In proof point three (the twelve disciples), is dual usage of Isaiah’s passage about setting up an ensign possible? Could it suggest the twelve are holding up the Savior as the ensign as they establish His church? “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” (2 Nephi 21:12). The work of gathering correlates to the late 3 Nephi material on work of the twelve disciples in “preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus” (3 Nephi 27:1).

Just as the Book of Mormon parallel clarifies the “great light” at the birth of the Savior (2 Nephi 19:2; cf. 3 Nephi 1), modern-day revelation can illuminate this passage of Isaiah more clearly. For starters, D&C 113:1–6 clarifies that Christ is the stem of Jesse. But even with that clarity, the “root of Jesse” remains somewhat enigmatic. Using the parallel in the Book of Mormon to shed more light, we might detect in the Savior’s calling of Nephi to be the lead disciple a suggestion that he is one in a series of roots of Jesse whose “rest shall be glorious” (2 Nephi 21:10).

This Isaiah chapter ends with the Millennial period (proof point 2) by describing the elimination of envy among various groups: “Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim” (verse 13), foreshadowing 4 Nephi 1:17: “Neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites.” Concluding this crowning period, Isaiah exults, “Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (2 Nephi 22:3), as does Mormon, “And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings” (4 Nephi 1:18).

Destruction of the Nephites

For years I have thought it strange that Nephi did not end his quotation of Isaiah at the joyful Millennial hymn in 2 Nephi 22. Yet similarly, the Book of Mormon does not end with 4 Nephi. Isaiah’s words in 2 Nephi 23–24 suggest very closely Mormon’s description of preparation for the last battle of the Nephites. These two chapters should be analyzed as one logical unit because of the phrasal “The burden of Babylon” marker in 2 Nephi 23:1.

Mormon’s description of Nephite wickedness echoes Gee’s point that the entire quotation turns upon the contrast of Jerusalem to Babylon, or as Mormon would have likened it, from the early righteous Nephites to those in his day. “And it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people. . . . There never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people” (Mormon 4:11–12).

Even more specifically, one can see strong parallel images of gathering for battle, including women and children and terror.

Isaiah in 2 Nephi 23:4–5, 7–9, 24:21

Mormon 6:6–9

The noise of the multitude in the mountains like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together, the Lord of Hosts mustereth the hosts of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, yea, the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. . . . Therefore shall all hands be faint, every man’s heart shall melt; And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. . . . Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquities of their fathers, that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

Knowing it to be the last struggle of my people. . .we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah . . . knowing it to be the last struggle of my people. . . . And it came to pass that my people, with their wives and their children, did now behold the armies of the Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they await to receive them. And it came to pass that they came to battle against us, and every soul was filled with terror because of the greatness of their numbers. And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people with the sword, and with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the ax, and with all manner of weapons of war. . . .

These chapters also describe well the results of the battle with unburied dead:

Isaiah in 2 Nephi 24:19–20	Mormon 6:15
But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and the remnant of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land and slain thy people. . . .	and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth.

Isaiah’s writings about Lucifer also strongly portend Mormon’s howling lament about the destruction of the Nephites:

Isaiah in 2 Nephi 23:6, 24:9–12, 31

Mormon 6:17–20

Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand. . . . Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee: Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the noise of thy viols is not heard; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! . . . Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved;

O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.

In these howling laments, we may have a final word-level parallel as part of proof point 10.

One can find small parallels in the hopeful, concluding messages in both Isaiah and the book of Mormon. For example, Isaiah’s last chapter begins, “For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land” (2 Nephi 24:1), and includes a short ending coda: “What shall then answer the messengers of the nations? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it” (2 Nephi 24:32). This hopeful prediction might parallel Mormon’s concluding promise that upon repentance, Lehi’s descendants “will also know that [they] are a remnant of the seed of Jacob” (Mormon 7:10) and Moroni’s short concluding chapters.[10]

I find overwhelming evidence from this detailed analysis that Nephi could easily have seen Nephite history in Isaiah in 2 Nephi 15–24. In fact, I find no evidence in opposition to this idea. All of Isaiah’s content seems to have very strong parallels in Nephite history in almost perfect chronological order.

Early Chapters

This leaves us with Isaiah in 2 Nephi 12, 13, and 14. The early chapters of the Book of Mormon provide the least-convincing parallels to the Isaiah quotation. This may be in part because of their brevity. But it is not devoid of any possible linkages and presents no clear contrary evidence.

Nephi might have decided to quote Isaiah in 2 Nephi 12 based upon these parallels in his already completed writing:

• Isaiah sees a land “full of silver and gold,” treasures, and horses (2 Nephi 12:7), similar to Nephi’s discovery the new land full of the cow, ox, ass and the horse, and “all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper” (1 Nephi 18:25).
• “The mean man boweth not down” and is not forgiven, and the people descend “into the holes of the rocks” as leadership is taken away (2 Nephi 12:9, 17–21, and 13:1–2), and Nephi flees as his brothers, full of pride, attempt to slay him, resulting in depravity (2 Nephi 5:3, 6–9, 19–24).
• Isaiah writes of those who go up to the “house of the God of Jacob,” learn the word of the Lord and “walk in his paths” (2 Nephi 12:3), just as Nephi’s people construct a temple, have priests, teachers, and records, and live “after the manner of happiness” (2 Nephi 5:16, 26–29).[11]

With limited prophetic leadership due to what seems like general Nephite apostasy in the books of Jarom and Omni, there isn’t even someone to construct parallels if that was needed. Apostacy itself may be the major parallel. And we see that in the next Isaiah chapter (2 Nephi 13) and in the book of Jacob and the remaining small plates:

• Isaiah prophesies of poor leadership, babes ruling, and others refusing to “be a healer” (2 Nephi 13:4, 5, 7). Nephi dies, unnamed individuals rule in Nephi’s name, the people identify with tribes, and there is little recorded prophecy (Jacob 1:9–13, Jarom, and Omni).
• “The Lord standeth up to plead, and . . . judge the people” (2 Nephi 13:13), and Jacob diligently preaches in his role as priest (Jacob 1:17–19).
• Isaiah prophesies the ancients and princes “have eaten up the vineyard and the spoil of the poor,” grinding their faces (2 Nephi 13:14–15), and the Nephites are accused of searching “for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ores,” being lifted up in pride and afflicting and persecuting the poor (Jacob 2:12–13, 17, 20).
• “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes . . . the Lord will discover their secret parts” (2 Nephi 13:16–17), and the Nephites begin to “wax in iniquity, . . . committing whoredoms” and causing broken, tender, sobbing and pierced hearts (Jacob 2:23, 28, 35).

Stronger parallelism to post Nephite-apostasy is possible in Mosiah. 2 Nephi 14 is a very short, millennial-focused chapter, comparing favorably to the record of King Mosiah I and Benjamin. It seems the only event that would qualify for the predicted Nephite restoration (2 Nephi 9:53; 10:2).

• “Them that are escaped of Israel” (2 Nephi 14:2) and those who followed Mosiah I “flee out of the land of Nephi” (Omni 1:12).
• The people in comfortable dwelling places amid a tabernacle (2 Nephi 14:5–6) echo the Nephites gathered in tents to comfortably hear King Benjamin speak from the temple (Mosiah 2:1–6).
• Those remaining “in Jerusalem [who] shall be called holy, every one that is written among the living” (2 Nephi 14:3) are like King Benjamin recording the names of all covenanting adults after his address (Mosiah 6:1–2).

Although these parallels are less well-developed, they are plausible, which may have been all that was required for Nephi to see the entire history of the Nephites in his vision.

In summary, why did Nephi quote Isaiah chapters 2-14? 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 as shown by the striking parallels in every quoted chapter in this paper. Even if Nephi did not include it with such intent, at a minimum it was inspired by God’s prophetic gifts. Nothing should stop us from teaching these parallels clearly to students struggling to find meaning in Isaiah’s words.

Summary: Chapter Heading Analysis

The current Book of Mormon chapter headings for 2 Nephi 12–24 are copied from those in the Bible, which have greater Old Testament focus. They can be compared to new, proposed supplemental chapter headings which show application for every major theme in these Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon in almost perfect chronological order.

Although not in any way part of the original texts, chapter headings are likely the most important exegeses most readers will ever use and are thus important for broad-based, non-specialist appreciation of the text. They reflect our modern application of Isaiah’s words, giving an authorized overview of each chapter.

These proposed or supplemental headings would significantly enhance readers’ understanding of both the Isaiah chapters and the remainder of the Book of Mormon with application to Nephite history and to the latter-day implications.

Current Chapter Heading	Related Book of Mormon Content	Proposed Heading
12: Isaiah sees the latter-day temple, gathering of Israel, and millennial judgment and peace—The proud and wicked will be brought low at the Second Coming—Compare Isaiah 2. About 559–545 B.C.	1 and 2 Nephi	Nephi quotes Isaiah’s prophecies of Nephite and latter-day history. Comprising chapters 12 through 24. 12: Foreshadowing the latter-days, the Nephites gather, build a temple, and separate from the wicked Lamanites, who will be brought low—Compare Isaiah 2 and the books of 1 and 2 Nephi. About 559–545 B.C.
13: Judah and Jerusalem will be punished for their disobedience—The Lord pleads for and judges His people—The daughters of Zion are cursed and tormented for their worldliness—Compare Isaiah 3. About 559–545 B.C.	Jacob–Omni:	13: Prophecy of Nephite (Judah) diminished leadership and apostacy—Prophets plead for and judge the Lord’s people for their pride and sexual immorality—Compare Isaiah 3 and the books of Jacob to Omni. About 559–545 B.C.
14: Zion and her daughters will be redeemed and cleansed in the millennial day—Compare Isaiah 4. About 559–545 B.C.	Mosiah 1–6	14: Prediction of a Nephite restoration, like the millennial day—All shall be called holy—Glory shall rest upon every dwelling-place—Compare Isaiah 4 and Mosiah 1–6. About 559–545 B.C.
15: The Lord’s vineyard (Israel) will become desolate, and His people will be scattered—Woes will come upon them in their apostate and scattered state—The Lord will lift an ensign and gather Israel—Compare Isaiah 5. About 559–545 B.C.	Mosiah 7–25	15: Like wider Israel, the Nephites will be scattered—Woes will come upon them in their apostate and scattered state—The Lord will establish a church and gather them—Compare Isaiah 5 and Mosiah 7–25.[35] About 559–545 B.C.
16: Isaiah sees the Lord—Isaiah’s sins are forgiven—He is called to prophesy—He prophesies of the rejection by the Jews of Christ’s teachings—A remnant will return—Compare Isaiah 6. About 559–545 B.C.	Mosiah 26–Alma 42	16: Like Isaiah’s call, the Lord will call Nephite prophets—They will be rejected by some—A remnant will hear and escape desolation—Compare Isaiah 6 and Mosiah 26 to Alma 42.[36] About 559–545 B.C.
17: Ephraim and Syria wage war against Judah—Christ will be born of a virgin—Compare Isaiah 7. About 559–545 B.C.	Alma 2, 16, 28, 43–63, Helaman 14	17: Nephite dissenters (Ephraim) and Lamanites (Syria) wage war against the Nephites (Judah)—A prophet will proclaim signs of Christ’s birth and death—Compare Isaiah 7, Alma 2, 16, 28, 43–63 and Helaman 14. About 559–545 B.C.
18: Christ will be as a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense—Seek the Lord, not peeping wizards—Turn to the law and to the testimony for guidance—Compare Isaiah 8. About 559–545 B.C.	Helaman	18: Nephi’s descendants will be given prophetic names—Unrighteous associations shall not stand—Christ is the rock—Prophets provide signs and wonders to the faithful—Compare Isaiah 8 and the book of Helaman. About 559–545 B.C.
19: Isaiah speaks messianically—The people in darkness will see a great light—Unto us a child is born—He will be the Prince of Peace and will reign on David’s throne—Compare Isaiah 9. About 559–545 B.C.	3 Nephi 1–5	19: A great light will signal to all people that the Christ-child is born—The Prince of Peace will reign on David’s throne—Wicked leaders shall be destroyed—Compare Isaiah 9 and 3 Nephi 1–5.[37] About 559–545 B.C.
20: The destruction of Assyria is a type of the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming—Few people will be left after the Lord comes again—The remnant of Jacob will return in that day—Compare Isaiah 10. About 559–545 B.C.	3 Nephi 6–10	20: The destruction of wicked (Assyria) at Christ’s death will be a type of the Second Coming—Few people will be left—The remnant shall stay upon the Holy One of Israel—Compare Isaiah 10 and 3 Nephi 6–10. About 559–545 B.C.
21: The stem of Jesse (Christ) will judge in righteousness—The knowledge of God will cover the earth in the Millennium—The Lord will raise an ensign and gather Israel—Compare Isaiah 11. About 559–545 B.C.	3 Nephi 11–30	21: Like in the millennial day, the stem of Jesse (Christ) will personally minister to the Nephites—He will judge righteously and set up an ensign—Envy among all peoples will end—Compare Isaiah 11 and 3 Nephi 11–30. About 559–545 B.C.
22: In the millennial day all men will praise the Lord—He will dwell among them—Compare Isaiah 12. About 559–545 B.C.	4 Nephi	22: Centuries of Nephite peace will be a type of the Millennium—All men will praise the Lord—Compare Isaiah 12 and the book of 4 Nephi. About 559–545 B.C.
23: The destruction of Babylon is a type of the destruction at the Second Coming—It will be a day of wrath and vengeance—Babylon (the world) will fall forever—Compare Isaiah 13. About 559–545 B.C.	Mormon 1–6	23: The destruction of the Nephites (Babylon) will be a type of destruction at the Second Coming—All hands gather for battle— It will be a day of wrath and vengeance—Lands of the wicked will be left desolate—Compare Isaiah 13 and Mormon 1–6. About 559–545 B.C.
24: Israel will be gathered and will enjoy millennial rest—Lucifer was cast out of heaven for rebellion—Israel will triumph over Babylon (the world)—Compare Isaiah 14. About 559–545 B.C.	Mormon 7–Moroni 10	24: Israel will be gathered in the latter days—The Nephites will fall for their rebellion—The Lord will found Zion—Compare Isaiah 14 and Mormon 7 to Moroni 10.[38] About 559–545 B.C.

Conclusion

This paper presents a plausible answer to the question why Nephi chose those specific chapters using a framework of broad correlations between the texts, as supported by numerous detailed correlations. The results may be shocking to discover, but each revision of this paper strengthens the proposition. It seems likely the desert of understanding of these Isaiah chapters is going to blossom as a rose of appreciation for Nephi’s wisdom in including them.

Returning to Elder Packer’s talk, he said, “Those who never move beyond the Isaiah chapters miss the personal treasures to be gathered along the way.”[39]  As we use this approach the Book of Mormon becomes much clearer in Isaiah. His words are transformed from difficult to clear, because the rest of the Book of Mormon explains them in detail. As Nephi explained after expounding upon his Isaiah quotation, in the last days, the Lord’s word will be “gathered in one” (2 Nephi 29:14). And as Mormon said in nearly his last words, “For behold, this [the Book of Mormon] is written for the intent that ye may believe that [the Bible]” (Mormon 7:9).

This perspective on Nephi’s use of Isaiah has helped me appreciate so much more deeply:

• An application of the parable of the vineyard,
• An instance of scattering and gathering of Israel,
• How prophets are called to gather the willing, which protects them from wars,
• The clarity of the signs prophets give to those with faithful eyes,
• The Lord’s perfect plan of justice for the wicked, and
• The loving kindness of the Savior in gathering and perfecting the poor and the meek.

In fact, Nephi’s purposes of proving the coming of Christ and likening Isaiah’s words to his people come together more forcefully because the entire structure points to the coming of Christ in the Book of Mormon, foreshadowing the Savior’s return a second time. Truly, Nephi—or at least the Lord—hid a marvelous treasure by quoting Isaiah chapters 2–14.

A review of how existing scholars on this passage might react to this article can be found at existing Isaiah 2-14 Book of Mormon Scholarship. For a take on applying the Book of Mormon (and thus Isaiah 2-14) to our day is outline briefly in this post from from soon after 9-11: Book of Mormon and Signs of the Times.

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[1] For example, the Gospel Doctrine instructor manual “Key 1: ‘Liken all scriptures unto us’” could give specific examples of how Nephi had done this, helping students to then “watch these prophecies unfold” and “better understand Isaiah’s teachings and apply them in our lives” (Lesson 9, “My Soul Delighteth in the Words of Isaiah,” Book of Mormon: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual [1999], 37–41).

[2] Nicholas J. Frederick and Joseph M. Spencer (“Remnant or Replacement? Outlining a Possible Apostasy Narrative,” BYU Studies – Quarterly 60:1) argue that Nephi’s focus on the restoration of correct understanding of God’s covenants with Israel aligns with the purpose of his exegesis. See also 1 Nephi 14:25, 2 Nephi 29, 5:33, Jacob 1:2 and 3:13.

[3] There is a chance Mormon did not have Nephi’s quotation in hand from which to construct parallels for some or all of it. Mormon’s description of his abridgement as late as 3 Nephi 5:14–17 sounds as if it is composed of only his narrative, giving no hint of including the small plates, but is brief enough Mormon may simply have not mentioned them. Mormon. Similarly, although Nephi obviously wrote his record after Isaiah wrote his, Nephi may not have decided on the quotation until after much of his record was already created, thus reducing tightly constructed linguistic parallels.

[4] John W. Welch “Getting through Isaiah with the Help of the Nephite Prophetic View” in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications, 43, p. 23.  See quotation in scholarship review section.

[5] 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.

[6] The “burden” marker at the start of 2 Nephi 23 clearly echoes the change in tone between 4 Nephi and Mormon (and may in fact be signaled as a break by Mormon in 4 Nephi 1:23).

[7] The stem of Jesse passage is at least nine verses amid much longer positive passages, compared to other clear Messianic Isaiah passages which are much more isolated from positive messages, like “unto us a child is born” (2 Nephi 19:6-7) at perhaps two verses, and “a virgin shall conceive” (2 Nephi 17:10-16) at most 7 verses.

[8] Stephen D. Ricks “Heavenly Visions and Prophetic Calls in Isaiah 6 (2 Nephi 16), the Book of Mormon, and the Revelation of John” in Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch, eds., Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (1998) Maxwell Institute Publications, 43, p. 171-172.

[9] Alma 22:32. It is a curious construction that in three instances of defending this narrow “neck” of land, the Nephites “head” the Lamanite armies, the word being used three times in Helaman 1:28–30 alone. See also Alma 50:34 and 51:29–30.

[10] More consideration needs to be given to Jaredite history and Isaiah. The book of Ether repeats in some ways Nephite history presenting opportunities for repeat parallelism with Isaiah. Alternatively, because the Jaredites chronologically precede the Nephites, there may be parallelism between rock metaphors in 2 Nephi 12:21 and Ether 13:22. . . .

[11] Is it possible Isaiah 2 spoke very directly to Nephi’s experiences in a manner that even surprised him? Was the temple in the land of Nephi higher in elevation than the land of their first inheritance (2 Nephi 12:2–3)? Did the Lamanites in some way “please themselves” among the indigenous population, the “strangers” (v. 6) who were idol worshipers (v. 8) with an affinity for caves (v. 19)? Our knowledge is limited enough we should not dismiss the possibility.

[35] Zeniff’s descendants’ story comprises Mosiah 7 to 25.

[36] Mosiah 26 begins the call of Alma the younger. (His father’s call in Mosiah 17–18 might be included in the comparison.) Alma 42 ends Alma’s exhortations to his sons before a lengthy war.

[37] Two leaders being “cut off” (2 Nephi 19:14–15) perhaps correlates to the deaths of Giddianhi and Zemnarihah, as recorded in 3 Nephi 4 ending in chapter 5. Isaiah’s “Assyrian” (2 Nephi 20:5) may correlate to the aspiring king Jacob in 3 Nephi 7, the story beginning in chapter 6.

[38] Mormon 7 discusses the gathering of Israel, correlating well to the Lord having “mercy on Jacob” and still choosing Israel (2 Nephi 24:1). The book of Ether could be excluded from comparison by making the annotation “Mormon 7–9 and the book of Moroni.”

[39] Boyd K. Packer, “‘The Things of My Soul,’” Ensign, May 1986.

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