Keywords

Isaiah, teaching Isaiah, Book of Mormon, Nephi

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Isaiah is an extremely important prophet—his words were endorsed by the Savior himself (see 3 Nephi 23:1). Because Isaiah’s words can be difficult to comprehend, religious educators have a significant responsibility to help their students understand them. Perhaps the best opportunity to teach Isaiah in a Sunday School, seminary, or institute setting is during a course in the Old Testament. The next best opportunity is when teaching the Book of Mormon. “Nineteen of Isaiah’s sixty-six chapters are quoted in their entirety in the Book of Mormon and, except for two verses, two other chapters are completely quoted. Of the 1,292 verses in Isaiah, about 430 are quoted in the Book of Mormon, some of them more than once (for a total of nearly 600). If all of the quotations from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon were moved into one place and called the book of Isaiah, it would constitute the fourth largest book in the Book of Mormon.” Nephi clearly made Isaiah an integral part of his two books. In fact, Joseph M. Spencer has argued that Nephi worked “to ensure that his readers would give their most sustained and dedicated study to the ‘Isaiah chapters.’ There is, then, an unavoidable irony about the way Isaiah is usually handled by Book of Mormon readers—that is, as a barrier.” Some teachers may not feel confident in their knowledge of Isaiah and therefore shy away from teaching these chapters. I confess that earlier in my career I would get through the Isaiah chapters as quickly as possible and often avoid the actual text of Isaiah. For example, when teaching 2 Nephi 6–10, I might briefly mention an Isaiah passage or two and then focus my time and attention on 2 Nephi 9. But because Nephi, Jacob, and other Book of Mormon prophets intently focus on Isaiah, religious educators should view helping students comprehend Isaiah’s words as one of their major objectives, both when teaching the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon. Most students can understand Genesis 39, 1 Nephi 8, or other such chapters on their own, but many need help with Isaiah 48–49 (1 Nephi 20–21).