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.15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: 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.16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now 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. [1 Nephi 20:15–17]17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way thatthou shouldest go. [Isaiah 48:15–17]
Nephi had previously spoken unto his rebellious brothers “concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter days… . And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah” (1 Nephi 15:19–20). The 14 verse as interpreted above spoke of the gathering of the Jews after being taken into Babylon. These verses speak of the restoration of the Jews in the latter days, of whom Nephi spoke earlier.
There are many other chapters and verses in Isaiah that speak of the restoration of the Jews. Some of the more extensive ones are chapters eighteen, twenty-six, and fifty-two. The one whom the Lord “called him to declare” (v. 15) is, in my opinion, Joseph Smith and modern Israel. The gospel has been restored among modern Israel and they have been gathered to take the gospel to the rest of Israel. This interpretation comes from the next chapter of Isaiah (49) where those in the isles of the sea are gathered to be “my servant, O Israel, in whom [the Lord] will be glorified” (1 Nephi 21:1–3). This interpretation will be further verified in the following chapter of this work. The Lord has declared his plan to gather Judah “from the beginning” and, as will be shown in the following chapter, Israel was foreordained to be the gatherer. The Book of Mormon retention “have sent him” (v. 17) shows that all of the verses are speaking of Israel as the servant called by the Lord. The other retention “hath done it” verifies that it is the Lord’s work.