[1] Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel,
and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who
swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear
not in truth nor in righteousness.
[2] Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay
themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of
Hosts is his name.
[3] Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they
went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did show them suddenly.
[4] And I did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron
sinew, and thy brow brass;
[5] And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came
to pass I showed them thee; and I showed them for fear lest thou
shouldst say -- mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my
molten image hath commanded them.
[6] Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare them?
And that I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden
things, and thou didst not know them.
[7] They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the
day when thou heardest them not they were declared unto thee, lest thou
shouldst say -- Behold I knew them.
[8] Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine
ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and
wast called a transgressor from the womb.
[9] Nevertheless, for my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise
will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off.
[10] For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of
affliction.
[11] For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer
my name to be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another.
[12] Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am he; I am the first, and
I am also the last.
1 Nephi 20
1 Nephi 20 is our first introduction to Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, and therefore our
first opportunity to shrink and be intimidated. But in fact, of all the Isaiah chapters, I find this
one to be the most clear and with the most direct and urgent message for readers of the Book
of Mormon.
Generally when we read Isaiah it seems that he jumps from topic to topic, time period
to time period abruptly, with no smooth flow of conceptual development.
“Isaiah’s mind was quick, sensitive, and scintillating. Apparently his mental muscles
flexed themselves by perpetually leaping about with lightning speed. While this was merely an
intellectual exercise in psychological gymnastics for Isaiah, his humble readers are confronted
with a continuous series of fantastic strides forward, backward, skyward, and sideways. This is
because Isaiah takes the poet’s approach, sweeping excitedly and impressionistically through the
heights and depths of his visions, rather than methodically recording each phase of the
revelation the way most prophets have done.” – Cleon Skousen
Perceiving a disjointed style in his writing, we use it merely as a “good quote book”
(Andrew Hedges).
Not being a scholar, I can say neither yay nor nay to this approach. It’s usually the best
we can do. But I do assert that this particular chapter, 1 Nephi 20, is coherent and cohesive. It
is not a random chapter that Nephi chose to close his first book with. It has directions straight
from the Lord for every reader of the Book of Mormon, both those who are initially reading it
to ascertain its truthfulness, and those who have read it multiple times and have a bright
testimony of its divine origin.
The language is not wandering and wordy, but dense with meaning, intended to pierce
our understandings. The structure is firm, and in understanding the structure we can see more
clearly how the parts relate to one another, thus further enhancing the message.
As we might expect, we will encounter obvious metaphorical language as well as wellestablish symbols. Without understanding the symbolism we miss part of the message as well
as the coherence of the whole.
We will parse every verse in this chapter. We will then discover structure, and use that
to uncover even more aspects of this astounding message that has been in our Bibles and Books
of Mormon all these years.
1 Nephi 20:1
Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come
forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the
Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.
The prophet is making a solemn proclamation to a certain group. Characteristics:
1. They are of the house of Jacob. Jacob is Israel.
2. They are called by the name of Israel, as opposed to being of the seed of Israel.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Jacob received the new name of Israel, so these people have also received the new
name of Christ (see Mosiah 1:11,12; 5:7-9)
They come from the “waters” of Judah. “Waters” in the Bible often represents
revelation (e.g. “Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words
of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as
the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass” (Deuteronomy
32:1,2).
Specifically, they come through the revelation given to Judah. Judah – the Jews – wrote
the Bible, a vast reservoir of spiritual waters which has brought many to God.
They come out of the waters of baptism. Joseph Smith later added this phrase as a
prophetic interpretation. They join the family of Israel through baptism – they have
officially been inducted as Christians.
They recognize God
BUT they lack truth and righteousness, at least in their speech.
1 Nephi 20:2
Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God
of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.
Isaiah continues to specify the group to whom this message is directed. He reasserts
that they claim to be the people of God, His holy congregation. In fact, it is from the holy city
that the law of God goes forth. They claim to have authority to propound His doctrine. They
claim to accept Him, but they do not “stay themselves” on Him. They do not stay loyal to Him,
they do not rely on Him. He is not their support. That is elsewhere.
This God whom they worship with their words but not with their lives is the God of
Israel, the God of the Bible. The verse emphasizes that He is the Lord of Hosts. He is the God
of conquering armies, the only One who has the ultimate victory, and the One with whom all
these people should side, rather than whatever it is they are “staying upon.” He is the God of
not only Israel but numerous peoples, the hosts of all the earth, and He knows all these hosts
and the individuals in them.
1 Nephi 20:3
Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my
mouth, and I showed them. I did show them suddenly.
This is God’s message to that group:
1. He told them “former things.”
2. He takes credit for them learning these things – they went forth out of His mouth.
3. He showed these things
When God declares and shows something, we call that “revelation.”
4. This revelatory event happened suddenly, quickly, not over time.
1 Nephi 20:4
And I did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow
brass;
Isaiah takes “stiff-necked” and “hard-headed” to a new level by imputing metallic body
parts to this group of people. They are iron-clad. Their iron-sinewed neck will not turn, so
they will continue on in whatever direction they’re going, and they will not turn for anything.
Their brass brow will not admit anything to enter their heads that wasn’t already there. But
God gave this revelation in spite of the resistance it would receive, and because the people
needed it. He knew that in their obstinacy this was the only way to get their attention.
1 Nephi 20:5
And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came to pass I showed them thee;
and I showed them for fear lest thou shouldst say--mine idol hath done them, and my graven
image, and my molten image hath commanded them.
Because the group to whom the prophet/Lord is speaking are of Israel, and are initiated
by baptism, we should not expect to find literal graven and molten images used as idols. This is
a figurative expression meant to encompass whatever it is that these people have chosen to
replace their true worship of God. He showed them, revealed to them something before they
were able to learn it from any other source.
1 Nephi 20:6
Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare them? And that I have showed thee
new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.
Since the Lord has shown this special thing to this group of people, He wants them to
declare it. He wants them to tell others, to testify of the things and of His power in showing
these things.
The Lord says that, though He said previously that they were “former things,” yet now
He calls them new things. They were hidden things, and He caused that they should no longer
be hidden. No one knew of them until He revealed them.
1 Nephi 20:7
They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them
not they were declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say--Behold I knew them.
Again the Lord repeats that this thing is totally new in the experience of the people to
whom He is speaking. They had no idea of these things until they were told, when it was
declared unto them. They have no way to say, “Well, I already knew that. I was already
familiar with that idea.” Although He has already called them “former things from the
beginning,” He also calls them something newly created, and not known from the beginning.
He has said that He wants them to “declare” them. Someone is doing what He asks,
and declaring them to this group. This is how people learn of these new-old things: first the
Lord declared them, and then the Lord asks those who know to continue taking the message
and declare it to the rest of the people.
1 Nephi 20:8
Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine ear was not opened;
for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the
womb.
At first glance the Lord is repeating Himself in this verse. Yes, He already told us that
these people had not heard or known the things that He was revealing to them. But when He
says “from that time thine ear was not opened,” we realize that He’s progressing in telling the
story. They did not know, they had not heard; but when the time came that He declared it to
them, they still did not know, because they refuse to open their ears to His message. They had
not heard or known, and, when given the opportunity, they still do not hear or know.
The Lord knew they would behave this way.
1 Nephi 20:9
Nevertheless, for my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from
thee, that I cut thee not off.
The Lord introduced this group of people as some who are called by the name of Israel.
Israel’s God is the Lord, so to be of Israel is to be God’s people, to be called by His name.
These people do call themselves the people of the Lord, and because of that, He will not impart
to them the punishment that He might otherwise do to those who reject what He gives them.
Sometimes when God gives a great new revelation, those who reject it are destroyed,
or cut off. Those who did not follow the prophet Noah drowned in the flood. The Egyptians
who rejected the prophet Moses saw the destruction of their land through the plagues, and the
drowning of their armies in the Red Sea. His own people who rejected him were swallowed up
in the earth. The people who rejected the prophet Samuel the Lamanite were destroyed in a
flash of catastrophes. The Jews of Jerusalem who rejected the Son of God when He came
among them were, a few decades later, destroyed and scattered for centuries.
God says that although these Christian people to whom He speaks will, by and large,
reject His new revelation, we need not expect the destruction that He could pour out. In this
case He will withhold that sort of immediate judgment and consequence.
1 Nephi 20:10
For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
This group of people have already suffered or will suffer, and through that suffering have
emerged or will become a better people, stronger and more pure. Their suffering is not due to
the random acts of the universe, but God has allowed it, or perhaps even directed it.
1 Nephi 20:11
For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my name to be
polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another.
A cursory reading of this verse presents the God of the Old Testament who our
popular culture loves to hate: selfish and jealous. And that may have been a satisfying and
effective portrayal in a previous culture. Since we know Him as our very loving Father, it is well
to look more deeply into what He may truly be saying about Himself in this verse.
What a person does for their own sake is to further their own agenda, to accomplish
their own goals. God has told us that it is His work and glory “to bring to pass the immortality
and eternal life of man.” So this thing that He is doing, this old-new truth that He is revealing,
is designed to guide us, His children, toward eternal life.
He has previously expressed (verses 1 & 2) concern over how this group of people take
His name. People who claim to honor and live by His name are doing so without truth and
righteousness, and without relying upon Him, thus polluting His name. This new project will
bring them back, so that those who bear His name will also walk His righteous way and believe
His truth.
We know that long ago “another” wanted the glory of the Father, and he proposed to
earn that glory by bringing all back into the presence of God, without the need for a suffering
Savior, and without the need for individual choice. (Moses 4:1) Satan is still seeking and fighting
for what he desired before we even came to this earth, God’s honor, and he is still luring God’s
children away from His path with fair promises. Therefore God, too, is still in that battle. This
new revelation will be a new weapon for the Lord, both a defensive weapon and an offensive
weapon. It will further people’s ability to resist the devil’s snares. It will also give people more
opportunity to choose sides, for agency is foundational in the Father’s plan.
1 Nephi 20:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am he; I am the first, and I am also the
last.
This verse harks back to verse one, causing one to suspect that these two verses
encompass a chiasm. In fact, even the phrase “I am the first and . . . the last may be a clue to
encourage us to notice this literary form.
Before we explore the message as a chiasm, let’s recap what we’ve discovered thus far:
We have discovered that God has a message specifically directed at the Christians of the world,
those who know Him through the Bible. This is the nature of the message:
1. He wants believing Christians to pay attention to the message or revelation. (v. 1)
2. The revelation consists of former things. (v. 3)
3. God takes credit for the revelation. (v. 3)
4. This revelation came quickly. (v. 3)
5. This revelation will generally be rejected. (v. 4,8)
6. This revelation did not come through any traditional channels. (v. 5)
7. God wants those who receive this revelation to declare it to others. (v. 6)
8. The revelation consists of new things. (v. 6)
9. The revelation was previously hidden. (v. 6)
10. No one had any idea of the content of this revelation before it came from God. (v. 7)
11. Some people are following God’s request to declare this revelation to others. (v. 7)
12. Although this revelation is a major project of God, He will not follow it up with
destruction of those who reject it. (v. 9)
13. However, He will cause or allow unpleasant events which will help people accept the
revelation. (v. 10)
14. This revelation will help those who accept it in their journey toward eternal life. (v. 11)
15. This revelation will enable those who believe the Bible to believe more fully in Him, and
follow and obey Him. (v. 11)
16. This revelation will be a weapon in His hands against the destructive influence and
power of Satan. (v. 11)
Even without delving further into the chiasm, it is clear by now that the message, the
revelation, is the Book of Mormon.
1. God wants believing Christians to pay attention to this message or revelation.
The Book of Mormon came forth in the midst of the Second Great Awakening, to a
people who were supposedly turning devotedly to Christ through the Bible.
2. The revelation consists of former things.
The Book of Mormon is a record of the former inhabitants of this continent.
3. God takes credit for the revelation.
Through angels, God led Joseph Smith to the gold plates. Joseph never claimed any
authorship or ability to read or translate the plates, but always credited it to the “gift
and power of God.”
4. This revelation came quickly.
This translation process took about 65 working days, really a very short time to
produce a literary work of such magnitude and complexity. (That should be a hint that
God is the source of it.)
5. This revelation will generally be rejected.
The Book of Mormon has been more maligned than any other book in the history of the
world. It is particularly rejected by those who claim to believe in the Bible – only the
Bible. They do not allow God to speak again.
6. This revelation did not come through any traditional channels.
The Book of Mormon did not come through the accepted channels of archaeology or
theology. No scholar or academic can use it as a feather in his cap.
7. God wants those who receive this revelation to declare it to others.
The leadership of the Church has continually urged the members to share the Book of
Mormon with others. “Flood the earth with it!” said Ezra Taft Benson.
8. The revelation consists of new things.
While the Book of Mormon dovetails with the Bible in its worship of God, the stories
and people described are totally new and separate.
9. The revelation was previously hidden.
The Book of Mormon, in the form of gold plates, was hidden in the Hill Cumorah, “until
God found one faithful” to bring it forth.
10. No one had any idea of the content of this revelation before it came from God.
No one had any idea that any native American people were descended from the house
of Israel, or that they had had a Christian society, before the Book of Mormon asserted
these things.
11. Some people are following God’s request to declare this revelation to others.
Tens of thousands of missionaries leave their homes every year to take the Book of
Mormon and its message of Christ and restoration to people all over the world.
Additional tens of thousands of individual Latter-day Saints share the gospel with their
neighbors. All of them testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
12. Although this revelation is a major project of God, He will not follow it up with destruction of
those who reject it.
Rather than destroying the unbelievers, God allowed the unbelievers to drive His
people out of the “land of the free” to the wilderness, where they were able to incubate
and grow to a mighty people.
13. However, He will cause or allow unpleasant events which will help people accept the revelation.
It appears that sooner or later the Christians of the world will experience the sort of
tribulation that will cause them to truly seek God, and recognize His voice in the Book
of Mormon.
14. This revelation will help those who accept it in their journey toward eternal life.
Every word of the Book of Mormon leads the reader to reverence and obey God.
“The Book of Mormon will bring a man nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than
any other book.” – Joseph Smith.
15. This revelation will enable those who believe the Bible to believe more fully in Him, and follow
and obey Him.
The Book of Mormon walks hand in hand with the Bible, convincing the world of its
truth, growing together to resolve false doctrines and contentions, and establishing
peace among those who accept it. (see 2 Nephi 3:11,12).
16. This revelation will be a weapon in His hands against the destructive influence and power of
Satan.
The Book of Mormon exposes the wiles of the devil by illustrating his tactics in former
times, so that we can recognize them today.
“The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. … It fortifies the humble
followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our
day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have
today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we
might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and
philosophical concepts of our time” -Ezra Taft Benson
We will now look at these verses as a chiasm, to discover more of the message
embedded in the structure.
1:1,12. In the first verse, the people speak in God’s name, but without authority or
truth. They are called by the name of Israel, but they are not listening to Him. In verse 12,
God Himself, and not a surrogate, speaks. While God has chastened them for their
unwillingness to hear His new message, nevertheless He still refers to them as “my called.” His
arm of mercy is still extended, though He speaks harshly of them.
II:2,11. When people do not “stay themselves” on God, they do not seek and accept
what He is offering, eternal life by His terms, which is His glory. It doesn’t really matter where
they are staying themselves, they are giving glory to “another.”
III: 3-4, 8-10. The Lord sent these old-new words forth from His mouth, but they
were rejected because His people had iron necks and brass brows. The fulfillment verse says
their ear did not hear (what came from God’s mouth), and consequently He will refine them
through a furnace of affliction, which of course will melt that hard metal and make it pliable (to
hear His word).
Although God’s people will largely reject His voice in the Book of Mormon and in the
latter-day prophets, God still lays claim to His people. He says they will be tried in the furnace
of affliction. Without context, we might place this anywhere in history, where Christians have
been persecuted. But placed in this historical scenario, the message is that further persecution
awaits the Christian community, and this persecution will lead to the humility required to
accept all of God’s words and works, including His latter-day revelations, activities, and
organization.
IV: 5,7. The people being addressed are not going to ignore this old-new message from
the Lord. But neither are they going to accept it from Him. Instead, they will look at it from
another angle – from their own wisdom, or the wisdom of those who they worship as idols.
God revealed the Book of Mormon at the very beginning of the restoration of the
gospel, ushering in the dispensation of the fullness of times. There have been so many theories
of the origin of the Book of Mormon promulgated by people who choose not to believe Joseph
Smith’s simple explanation that it was a translation from gold plates, by the gift and power of
God. It was not translated by the learned; it did not come from the seminaries, or from
archaeologists. If it had, it would merely have been one of many tidbits of an ancient
civilization.
V: 6. In the climax of this chiasm, the Lord addresses those who have seen and heard
this old-new hidden thing that He has given them, willing them to “declare them.” Those who
know this message are bidden by God to declare this message: To declare it with faith that it
comes from the mouth of God, as well as with understanding that it will mostly be rejected.
God has explained that He showed the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the
gospel to His Christian people, and it was mainly rejected. But He now speaks to those who
do believe it – to the Latter-day Saints. They are called, not only to believe, but to declare. He
has done His part in revealing these ancient scriptures: now He calls upon believers to share
their testimonies. If Latter-day Saints do not share the Book of Mormon with others, as
commanded by God, how are they any different from those described in verses 1 and 2, who
claim to know God, but do not follow His way?
13 Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath
spanned the heavens. I call unto them and they stand up together.
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these
things unto them? The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he will fulfill his word
which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and
his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans.
15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called
him to declare, I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the
beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord
God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
17 And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have
sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by
the way thou shouldst go, hath done it.
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments--then had thy peace
been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.
19 Thy seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the
gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from
before me.
20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing
declare ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath
redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to
flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also and the waters gushed out.
We now examine the second half of 1 Nephi 20. Again, we will find that the message is
coherent and connected. We will also find that it follows from and complements.the first
message, names, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and God’s encouragement for all of
us to testify of the Book of Mormon.
1 Nephi 20:13
Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the
heavens. I call unto them and they stand up together.
This verse uses creation imagery. As indicated in Doctrine & Covenants 88:6-61,
“earth” in the scriptures often refers to the kingdom of God on earth (as opposed to “world”),
The heavens often refer to the three kingdoms of glory or kingdoms of heaven, where people
are assigned according to the laws they are willing to obey, and who they choose to love (only
themselves, themselves and others, or God first and others and themselves).
Looked at purely from a literalist standpoint, this verse is an aside, reminding the reader
that God created everything, whether it’s the 2000-star heavens that Isaiah saw, or the many
orders of magnitude more galaxies that we currently see with powerful telescopes. The reason
that Israel should harken to God is because He is powerful, and has been from the beginning.
Recognizing the figurative meanings of these images gives a more continuous, less
choppy reading. In the first half of this chapter, God has been speaking to a particular,
described group of His children, namely, the self-professed Christians. Now He broadens our
view to include everyone on the planet. God is here saying that this old-new thing He is
revealing (the Book of Mormon) will lay the foundation of His kingdom on earth. He says that
He oversees all the peoples of the world, and understands them in their various levels of
spirituality. He even speaks to them and they respond, according to their various capacities.
This new revelation will help all the world, whether they are primitive, Telestial Kingdom types,
or helpful, Terrestrial Kingdom dwellers, or dedicated Celestial Kingdom workers.
1 Nephi 20:14
All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them?
The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he will fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and
he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans.
Now, in addition to the first group which was called to hearken, God calls to “all ye,” all
His children throughout the world. He calls to His children in all the kingdoms that He has
helped establish according to their levels, the Muslims, the Jews, the Hindus, the followers of
Confucius, of Zoroaster, of Buddha. They, too, are called to hear this old-new message.
He asks who among all these kingdoms has declared this message to them. This
reminds us that the revelation of the Book of Mormon did not come from the Christian
seminaries or from archaeology, as pointed out in verse 5. Nor did it come from any of the
other great world religions. It truly was new.
For the first time God mentions an individual who has declared these things. He says
that He loves him, and also reassures that whatever is said in this message will be fulfilled. We
know that the individual who first declared these things was Joseph Smith, the translator of the
gold plates. God loves him and upholds his work. Joseph Smith’s work was the whole of the
Restoration of the fulness of the gospel in the latter days, the establishment of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
God moves again to large people groups, prophesying something upon Babylon and the
Chaldeans. Babylon is a symbol of worldliness and wealth, and the Chaldeans represent man’s
wisdom and learning. How will God’s pleasure come upon the riches and popularity of the
world, and how will His arm come upon the philosophies and false ideas of our culture? In
particular, of course, how will these kingdoms be affected in relation to this old-new thing that
He is presenting? How will they be impacted by the Book of Mormon and the Restoration? Is
this a prophecy of destruction, as so many Old Testament prophecies seem to be? Will the
riches and wisdom of the world contribute to God’s work, though obviously they’d rather not?
1 Nephi 20:15
Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called him to declare, I have
brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
The Lord continues to speak of Joseph Smith, saying that He Himself will speak to him.
God called him to declare these things.
God says He called him and brought him, and then the man, by his own choices,
prospered. God takes credit for loving and speaking to and bringing this person, and giving him
the message to declare, but as far as the rest of it, the man goes on his mortal way just as other
men do.
“Prosperous” can have such a wide range of meaning in the scriptures. To our
Babylonian minds it means having financial abundance. Joseph Smith was not successful
financially, as prophesied in the Doctrine & Covenants, just after the organization of the church:
“And in temporal labors thou shalt not have strength, for this is not thy calling” (Doctrine &
Covenants 24:9).
More broadly, to prosper means to improve in one’s situation, to have successful
enterprises, to have a growing family and/or sphere of influence. It is a positive word; the Lord
is indicating that He approves of Joseph Smith’s individual endeavors.
1 Nephi 20:16
Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, from the time that it was
declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
Unlike the previous verses of this chapter, which are the words of God speaking, this
verse seems to be the words of that man whom the Lord chose to declare the old-new things,
Joseph Smith. He invites everyone to hear the message that he is transmitting from God. He
does not speak in secret, meaning he does not exclude any from listening to this message. He
has been faithful since he first heard the message, in declaring it. He testifies, as God did in the
previous verse, that he has been called and sent by God, and that he acts under the direction of
the Holy Spirit.
God said He “brought” the man. The man says God “sent” him. The literal meaning of
the word “apostle” is “one sent forth.”
1 Nephi 20:17
And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have sent him, the Lord thy God
who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it.
Once again God is speaking. He is repeating the message He gave in verse 15, but more
emphatically and eloquently. This, coupled with the intervening very differently-voiced verse,
causes one to suspect that this is a chiasm. We will proceed on that premise.
In verse 15 God stated His identity as “the Lord.” In verse 17 He expands that with
several names – the Lord, the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and the Lord thy God.
In verse 15 God declares that He has spoken. In verse 17 He says that He has done it.
In verse 15 God said of the man that He has called him and brought him, and in verse 16
the man said that God sent him. In verse 17 God concurs that He sent him; the man truly is an
apostle, one sent by God.
In verse 15 God says that the man will make his way prosperous. In verse 17 He
reminds his hearers that He is the One who teaches them (and the man) to profit.
God reminds His hearers of His various names, denoting aspects of His character that
bless them. He asserts that He teaches them profitable, helpful things for their lives, He leads
them in correct paths of happiness. Now He has sent someone with a message from Him. Can
He state any more strongly that they should listen and heed Joseph Smith, this messenger with
old-new information?
1 Nephi 20:18
O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments--then had thy peace been as a river, and thy
righteousness as the waves of the sea.
This is one of those great quote verses in Isaiah that people love to lift out and enjoy in
isolation. We all love the description of peace like a river, though the righteousness part often
takes second place or is forgotten. A popular Christian song celebrates “I’ve got peace like a
river, . . . joy like a fountain, . . . love like an ocean” without bothering with righteousness.
Likening scriptures unto ourselves is good, and we can enjoy the superficial sentiments
of the song. But this verse, as the others, is carefully placed here in a specific context – that of
God’s testimony that Joseph Smith acted as His servant in the translation of the Book of
Mormon and the other work of the restoration of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This verse continues to balance with verse 15. Here the Lord eloquently expands on
the idea of a “prosperous way.” The chosen and faithful man’s way – what Joseph Smith taught
in the Restoration - is prosperous. If they had followed God’s commandments as declared by
this servant, the people to whom God is speaking – everyone at this point – would have
enjoyed such beautiful peace and righteousness, the best and most desirable kind of prosperity.
These tremendous blessings were offered to everyone, but regrettably they refused them.
1 Nephi 20:19
Thy seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name
should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
In this verse the Lord continues to describe the prosperity which the people of earth
would have received, had they hearkened. These blessings are family blessings – big family
blessings.
Rebeckah’s family blessed her, “Be thou the mother of thousands of millions.” Psalms
127:5 says, “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that
hath his quiver full of them.”
Our society today, believing a paradigm of scarcity, no longer values or even respects
large families. Ironically, while many individuals choose childlessness in order to maintain their
independent lifestyle, and not be tied down with the care and responsibility of a child or
children, at the same time our culture criticizes those who do bear more than their allotted 2.1
children on the basis of selfishness.
The Lord abruptly switches from blessings lost to the destruction that happened instead.
Yet the destruction mentioned is not of the people, “thee,” but of “him,” Joseph Smith, the one
who was called and sent, and who declared God’s message. If they had hearkened, he would
not have been cut off and destroyed. It may be also that “his name” has something to do with
his seed and offspring being cut off from before the Lord.
1 Nephi 20:20
Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this,
utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
Once again there is an abrupt change in the tone of this scripture. God (or Isaiah) turns
from His alternative view of what might have been to giving commands in the face of what is.
In verse 14 the Lord said His pleasure and His arm would come upon the Chaldeans,
which I found ambiguous. The doubt is removed in verse 20, where those who listen to the
Lord are told to go forth and flee from these areas or these viewpoints. But this flight is not in
panic; it is with singing and joy. Babylon and Chaldea have nothing to offer compared to the
Lord’s blessings. Those who listen to His message are again called to sing it, declare it, tell it,
utter it. We can also know that He will love all those true messengers, as He said He loved the
original messenger in verse 14.
The Book of Mormon teaches the redemption of Jacob, which comes through the
Messiah, the Christ. Mormon, the book’s author, wrote in the title page, “Which is to show
unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers;
and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever – And
also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST.”
1 Nephi 20:21
And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out
of the rock for them; he clave the rock also and the waters gushed out.
This short verse is dense with meaning at different levels, as well as structurally strong
and binding.
At the most obvious, surface level it refers to the historical exodus of the children of
Israel from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, and the miracles that accompanied that trek.
We can take this reference at face value (and without context) as an assurance that, whatever
the obstacles and difficulties, God was able, is able, and will be able to help His people
accomplish His objectives, and to save them.
During the Exodus, the Lord directed the prophet Moses twice to bring water from a
rock. The second time he did not follow the instructions precisely, and also took the honor
unto himself. He was subsequently chastised by God, but God nevertheless honored his
prophetic position. It is God’s prerogative to correct His prophets, none of whom is perfect,
not the people’s. The Old Testament details several cases where the people criticized Moses
and suffered a consequence for their rash judgement. Number 12 describes Miriam becoming
leprous when she criticized her brother, and Number 16 tells of how the earth opened up and
swallowed Korah and his fellows after their rebellion against the prophet.
These verses as a whole describe the mission of the prophet Joseph Smith. Many
people today like to second-guess how Joseph Smith lived his life. Neither the Lord nor the
Church make the assertion that Joseph was perfect, but the Lord does commend him for his
faithfulness in his work, and for “making his way prosperous.” By reminding us of the prophet
Moses, even in his weakness, the Lord implies that it may be as spiritually dangerous to deride
the prophet Joseph as it was physically disastrous to criticize the prophet Moses.
Structurally, as the conclusion of this chiasm, verse 21 balances with verse 13, the
beginning verse. Verse 13 features symbolic creation language of the heavens and earth, which
represent the kingdoms of God. Verse 21 features symbolic creation language of rocks and
water. Verse 1 also emphasized water, so verse 21 binds the whole of this revelation as one
coherent treatise.
Again we can recall that water represents revelation – that which comes from above
and nourishes the soul. Moses gave it, and Joseph gave it, and it flows through the depths of
the Book of Mormon.
Verse 21 also presents us with another change of voice. The Lord is no longer speaking
directly, nor is it “he” who first received the old-new message. It must be Isaiah. In the verse
that reminds us of the great prophet Moses, who received so many revelations to begin the
Israelite nation, the verse that teaches that God will give revelation, a prophet himself is
speaking.
Furthermore, the verse has reference to the Savior. He is the Rock, and revelation and
healing do flow from Him. The Latin word for “nail” is “clavus.” Indeed, the Rock was claven,
which was the only means of bringing the Living Waters to mankind. In conjunction with verse
13, this salvation is offered to everyone. Every person, living according to whatever measure of
light they and their culture have been given, is invited to come unto Christ, to discover Him in
the Book of Mormon, to be led by Him, and thirst no more.
To recap the second chiasm:
1:13,21. God, the Father of lights (James 1:17), has from the beginning intervened in
the lives of individual people and cultures, to give them the light and knowledge that they were
willing to receive. Latter-day Saints are called to offer the fullness of the gospel to everyone,
“golden” or not. Each person on earth has the capacity to choose to follow Jesus Christ, to be
cleansed and made whole through His atonement. Each person can find fulfillment and healing
in the Living Waters.
II:14,20. The world – the current culture – values money and power, secular
knowledge and a spirituality lacking God. God wants to point everyone towards Joseph Smith
and the work that he accomplished. Rejecting the culture created by unenlightened humanity is
not a dismal project – it is a joyful lifestyle, one of love and redemption.
III:15,17-19. Testimony. The world mocks it, and the saints live by it. Here God
testifies of the prophet Joseph Smith, stating as strongly as possible that he was sent and
commissioned by God Himself, and He wants everyone to listen to his message of the Book of
Mormon and gospel restoration.
Verses 18 and 19 are God’s lament that the world did not accept what He offered them
through Joseph Smith’s message and work. He lists four specific items that would have blessed
humanity in this glorious renaissance, this unparalleled golden age.
1) There would have been peace.
2) There would have been righteousness.
3) There would have been posterity. The world today condemns population growth,
but God planned His earth to accommodate all the children He intends to send here (see
Doctrine & Covenants 104:17). That increased population would have been able to work
together to solve all the problems of humanity, based on the principles of living and interacting
that Jesus has revealed in the scriptures, and as dimly practiced today in His restored Church.
4) Joseph Smith would not have been martyred. Instead of having his name mostly
spoken of for evil, he would have been revered as one of the greatest humans in history.
Joseph the Great would have led the world to peace and prosperity, not conquest and
bloodshed.
Imagine the world that God offered us: peace and prosperity, righteousness and
posterity, and history books teaching of people who did great things to help their fellowman,
rather than those who instigated strife and contention, wars and bloodshed. Culture could
have been created in the image of the kingdom of God, rather than the degraded, selfish values
we find today.
How realistic is this vision? Without any further explanation, I asked practicing Latterday Saints to respond to this question: Name 4 ways in which the world and history would
have been different if the world had accepted the message of Joseph Smith, the Book of
Mormon, and the restoration of the fullness of the gospel?
There are an infinite number of answers to such an open-ended question, yet the vast
majority of these respondents listed peace and righteousness, and many listed posterity. These
four answers are not the only “right” answers, but they are the Lord’s opinion of what’s
important.
IV:16. The climax of the chiasm is Joseph Smith’s own testimony, his defense of his
work. He declares that the Lord called him and sent him, that the message he gave was from
God, and he was faithful in what God called him to do.
As the central point of this section of scripture, what is the take-away do-it message for
the reader? It dovetails with the first chiasm, which was to stress our duty to testify of the
Book of Mormon to the world. We are also to testify of the prophet Joseph Smith and all
aspects of his mission. As a human he was no doubt imperfect, and there is no end of people
trying to dig out the details of that. But details aside, God is pleased with his work, and He
wants us to testify of Joseph Smith as part of the great work God is doing in the latter days.
These two splendid chiasms stand together in the Bible and the Book of Mormon
bearing their silent and compelling witness of the Book of Mormon and the prophet Joseph
Smith. While the witness of those speaking from the dust is of necessity silent, it urges us to
open our mouths and testify. Joseph was faithful; he did not speak in secret. He testified of
God’s great work throughout his life, whatever the cost. We are called to do the same.