Rejoice for All Men

As Nephi explained why he was quoting Isaiah, he said this: “And now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my people shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men” (2 Nephi 11:8). He labored much to engrave the words of Isaiah in his record so that all of us who would have the Book of Mormon would life up our hearts and rejoice. Perhaps he was thinking of these powerful words of Isaiah which he later quoted: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation. Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation…. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee” (2 Nephi 22:2-6). Nephi wanted us to have the words of Isaiah so that we would come unto Jehovah and partake of His salvation.

               There are many other passages from Nephi’s quotations of Isaiah which he may have also had in mind as teachings that should cause us to rejoice. For example, we have these words describing the Millennium: “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the earth excellent and comely to them that are escaped of Israel…. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and a covert from storm and from rain” (2 Nephi 14:2, 5-6). The righteous will be protected and blessed with the presence of the Lord. In this life and the next He will be our shadow from the heat and our refuge from the storms of life. Another passage that Nephi quoted was Isaiah’s call to the ministry and his vision of the Savior: “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” He also saw the angels in the presence of the Lord: “And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory…. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (2 Nephi 16:1-7). We can lift up our hearts at these words knowing too that our sins likewise can be purged by the Savior. And surely Nephi wanted us to rejoice in the coming of the Savior with these passages of Isaiah: “Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign—Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel…. 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” (2 Nephi 17:14,19:6). Nephi knew that Isaiah had seen the Lord as he had and wanted us to be able to rejoice in the coming of the Messiah to save us.

               I believe that Nephi also wanted us to learn of the gathering of scattered Israel in the passages of Isaiah that he quoted, and this should surely bring us joy to understand the covenants of the Lord. Isaiah wrote, “The remnant shall return, yea, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God…. 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…. For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob” (2 Nephi 20:21, 21:12, 24:1). We can lift up our hearts knowing that the Lord will remember Israel and His covenants to gather His people who will have Him to be their God. These and many other passages that Nephi wrote down from Isaiah show why Nephi rejoiced in the words of Isaiah and used them to teach his posterity and us.