We have witnessed through history the fulfilling of the prophecies of Isaiah. In our day we have been given the keys of gathering from the prophet Moses, and Elias restored the blessings of Abraham through which all nations will be blessed (see D&C 110:11–12). We are part of this great latter-day work where we become the very individuals who help fulfill Isaiah’s prophecies. Wilford Woodruff describes this doctrine in terms of an experience he had as a young boy:
When I was a boy, there was an old man who used to visit at my father’s house. His name was Robert Mason, and I heard teachings from him from the time that I was eight years old and upwards, and they were teachings that I shall ever remember. And he taught my father’s household many important truths concerning the church and kingdom of God, and told them many things in relation to the prophets and the things that were coming upon the earth. But his teachings were received by but few. They were unpopular with the Christian world, but nearly all who did receive his teachings have joined the Latter-day Saints.
Prophets were not popular in that day any more than now, and I have often thought of many things which the old man taught me in the days of my youth since I received the fulness of the gospel and became a member of the Church of Christ.
He said, “When you read the Bible, do you ever think that what you read there is going to be fulfilled? The teachers of the day,” said he, “spiritualize the Bible, but when you read in the Bible about the dreams, visions, revelations and predictions of Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or any other of the prophets or apostles, relative to the gathering of Israel and the building up of Zion, … you may understand that it means just what it says, and that it will be fulfilled upon the earth in the last days. And when you read of men laying hands upon the sick and healing them, and casting out devils and working miracles in the name of Jesus Christ, it means what it says.” And he further said, “The church of Christ and Kingdom of God is not upon the earth, but it has been taken from the children of men through unbelief and because they have taken away from the gospel some of its most sacred ordinances, and have instituted in their stead forms and ceremonies without the power of God, and have turned from the truth unto fables; but,” said he, “it will soon be restored again unto the children of men upon the earth, with its ancient gifts and powers, for the scriptures cannot be fulfilled without it. I shall not live to see it, but,” said he to me, “you will live to see that day, and you will become a conspicuous actor in that kingdom, and when you see that day, then that which the prophets have spoken will be fulfilled.”
I did not join any church, believing that the church of Christ in its true organization did not exist upon the earth. But when the principles of the everlasting gospel were first proclaimed unto me, I believed it with all my heart, and was baptized the first sermon I heard, for the Spirit of God bore testimony to me in power that it was true.
And I believe that I should never have joined any church had I not heard the fulness of the gospel. I was greatly blessed in receiving it, and was filled with joy unspeakable, and I have never been sorry but I have rejoiced all the day long… . I thought of the teaching and words of the old prophet Mason, for he came the nearest to being a true prophet of God in his predictions and works of any man I ever saw, until I saw men administering in the Holy Priesthood. (Journal of Discourses, 4:99–100; see Jack M. Lyon, Jay A. Parry, and Linda R. Gundry, eds., Best-Loved Stories of the LDS People, vol. 2 [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999], 305–306)
Memories: How Far Can You See?
When my children were very small I used to enjoy placing them one at a time on top of the refrigerator, their little legs hanging down and their eyes wide open with anticipation. They seemed to enjoy having for a short time a new vista across the full extent of the room. When they had built up enough courage, they would jump down into my waiting arms and enjoy a dizzying ride around and around before being gently dropped to their feet on the floor. This same practice has been continued with the small grandchildren, who invariably insist that the activity be repeated over and over.
Life is an endless flow of opportunities to find new vistas that afford the privilege of seeing farther into the distance. In my youth, my father would often take us fishing in the high Canadian Rockies where, from the tops of the ridges, we could see astonishing views across the entire mountain range in all directions. Similarly, air travelers always find captivating the view of the earth below. Moreover, now that space travel is a reality, we can see, for the first time in history, the entire earth hanging in space.
Reading the words of Isaiah, for me, is not unlike those experiences of flight and high altitude. Of all the prophets, Isaiah seemed to have an especially keen gift of transporting us with eloquent wisdom to high places from which to view the panorama of God’s creation and plan of redemption from beginning to end.
It is up to Isaiah and other prophets of God to help us comprehend the divine influence at work on our behalf, to discern the Lord’s hand in the creation and forward movement of the grand design of heaven for God’s children. When Jacob, Nephi’s younger brother, needed corroborating testimony to support his theme of the destiny of Israel and the ultimate consummation of the covenant promises, to whom did he turn? Like his brother Nephi, he turned to Isaiah. (See 2 Nephi 6–8; compare Isaiah 49–52).
Note the breathtaking expanse and variety of Isaiah’s vision within these verses, extending as they did:
• to the latter-day Restoration: “I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people …” (2 Nephi 6:6);
• to the Exodus: “Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea …” (2 Nephi 7:2);
• to the ministry of the Savior: “I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (2 Nephi 7:6);
• to the gainsayers and self-righteous in all generations: “ye shall lie down in sorrow” (2 Nephi 7:11);
• to the ancient prophets of the covenant: “Look unto Abraham, your father …” (2 Nephi 8:2);
• from the Garden of Eden to the millennial kingdom in the same verse: “he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord …” (2 Nephi 8:3);
• to the day of judgment: “my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people …” (2 Nephi 8:5);
• to the renewal of the earth at the Second Coming: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment …” (2 Nephi 8:6);
• from the Old Testament days to the Restoration in one verse: “Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days …” (2 Nephi 8:9);
• to the latter-day gathering: “Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion …” (2 Nephi 8:11);
• from the Creation to Israel’s everyday struggles of oppression: “And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth, and hast feared continually every day, because of the fury of the oppressor …” (2 Nephi 8:13);
• to the travail of Judah in the final days of the world: “Thy sons have fainted, save these two; they lie at the head of all the streets …” (2 Nephi 8:20);
• and finally to the latter-day and millennial deliverance: “Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion” (2 Nephi 8:25).
Returning from an experience with Isaiah is analogous, in a way, to a homecoming from a hike through the high mountains, or the safe landing of an aircraft after a long journey, or the return of the space shuttle to earth. In a more domestic comparison, just as the grandchildren repeatedly jump with trust from the top of the fridge into the arms of the waiting grandfather below, we can, in like measure, “mount up with wings of eagles” (Isaiah 40:31) to the upper reaches of spiritual insight through the visions of Isaiah, and then return with greater understanding into the arms of the Savior, who is ready to say, “Welcome home.” (Richard J. Allen)