2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, thatthe mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. [2 Nephi 12:2–3]3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. [Isaiah 2:2–3]
Nephi’s quotes from the plates of brass have preserved several significant details. The King James scholars italicized “that” because they were unsure of the correct translation (v. 2). The Book of Mormon and the JST have rendered “that” to “when.” This is a very significant retention from the plates of brass. It specifies the time when the Lord would begin to establish the two nations of Israel in Zion and Jerusalem. Their establishment will lead to the ushering in of the Millennium.
While many Latter-day Saints believe that the establishment of “the mountain of the Lord’s house” in the tops of the mountains represents the Salt Lake Temple (v. 2), it has a broader application. Some Old Testament prophets label Zion, the whole of America, (TPJS, 362 quoted above) as the “everlasting hills” of the “ ancient mountains.” Part of Jacob’s blessing to Joseph, found in Genesis 49:26, reads: “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” Moses blessed Joseph “for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills” (Deuteronomy 33:15). This would suggest that Isaiah’s prophecy relates to the whole continent, not just Salt Lake City. Wherefore, the first temple built in the “everlasting hills” of the Americas in this dispensation was the Kirtland Temple in 1836, and the Lord appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in that temple on 3 April 1836 (see D&C 110).
President Charles Penrose taught that the Savior’s second coming will occur in three phases: (1) his appearances in the temples of Zion, unbeknown to the rest of mankind; (2) his appearance to the distressed and nearly vanquished sons of Judah; and (3) his appearance in glory to the world. Actually, there have already been several appearances of the Lord in his temples, since a temple is his holy house. Elder Harold B. Lee once stated: “I know that this is the Lord’s work, I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he’s closer to this Church and appears more often in holy places than any of us realize excepting sometimes to those to whom he makes his personal appearance. I know it and the time is hastening when he shall come again to reign as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.”
Further, in answer to the Prophet Joseph Smith’s yearning prayer—”When will Zion be built up in her glory, and where will thy Temple stand, unto which all nations shall come in the last days?” (Section heading of D&C 57)—the Lord designated the land of Missouri as the place of the city of Zion, and “Independence is the center place; and a spot for the temple” unto which all nations should come (D&C 57:1–3). When the Savior visited the Nephites (A.D. 34), he gave them a sign for when “I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion” (3 Nephi 21:1). The sign was the coming forth of the Book of Mormon (see vv. 2–7). He warned the Gentiles of that day: “And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.” He then promised:
22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob [or Joseph see 3 Nephi 15:12–13], unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;
23 And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.
24 And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. [3 Nephi 21:21–24]
The building of the New Jerusalem is to mark the gathering of all the tribes of Israel, and the work of the Father in gathering his people from all the nations of the earth (see 3 Nephi 21:24–29). The building of the temple in Jackson County, Missouri, seems to be the final fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah that the mountain of the Lord’s house would be established in the tops of the mountains. Thus Isaiah’s prophecy commences with the building of the Kirtland Temple and extends to the future building of the temple in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.
In a broader sense, the establishment of the kingdom of God occurred earlier, on 6 April 1830, and was the commencement of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 2:2–3. The temple could not be built until the kingdom was established. According to Oliver Cowdery, the angel Moroni quoted Isaiah 2:1–4 to Joseph Smith in September 1823 as one of the prophecies which was about to be fulfilled. The Kirtland Temple was completed in 1836. At the dedication of that temple, Joseph Smith, by revelation, declared:
62 We therefore ask thee to have mercy upon the children of Jacob, that Jerusalem, from this hour, may begin to be redeemed;
63 And the yoke of bondage may begin to be broken off from the house of David;
64 And the children of Judah may begin to return to the lands which thou didst give to Abraham, their father. [D&C 109:62–64]
Following the dedicatory prayer, Joseph sent Elder Orson Hyde to Jerusalem to dedicate the land for the return of Judah as the revelation had decreed.
However, the temple in Salt Lake City is the major forerunner of the temple in Independence, Missouri. It is the ensign lifted unto the nations until the time the temple in Missouri is built. According to President Harold B. Lee, Elder Orson Pratt, who was one of the members of the twelve at the time, declared that the coming of the pioneers to the tops of the mountains was the beginning of the fulfillment of that prophecy. He “delivered an oration on that occasion, in which he declared that this was the beginning of the fulfillment of that prophecy that out of Zion should go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Ensign, Nov. 1971, 15).
Isaiah’s prophecy clearly designates two headquarters for the righteous children of Israel in the latter days. President Joseph Fielding Smith declared: “there shall be two headquarters: Zion and Jerusalem, and out of these cities shall go forth the word of the Lord, and his commandments, not only to those who are members of the Church, but unto the nations of the earth, when his kingdom is fully established.” While the establishment of the Church in 1830 began the fulfillment of this prophecy, building the Salt Lake Temple was also a sign that the Jerusalem headquarters would soon be established. The gathering of the Jews was to be a slow process, but its commencement closely paralleled the movement of the Mormon pioneers to the West. The Salt Lake Temple was completed in 1893, after forty years of labor with periodic interruptions. “In 1878 an organization of the Jews was formed called the lovers of Zion, the purpose being to establish the Jews in Palestine. The Zionist Federation, was commenced in 1896, and the first conference of this organization was held in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897.” Just as the temple took many years to build, so had the movement of the Jews took many years.
One of the early beginnings was the journey of Elder Orson Hyde, under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith, to dedicate Palestine for the return of the Jews. It is of interest to note that Elder Hyde was sent a short time after the Kirtland Temple was completed. The dedication took place on the Mount of Olives on 24 October 1841 (see HC, 4:454–59). With the establishment of both headquarters, the Church members were to gather to Zion and the Jews to Jerusalem: “Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion. And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountain of the Lord’s house” (D&C 133:12–13). In the early days of the Church, however, Jews who were converted to the gospel were to gather in Zion rather than Jerusalem (TPJS, 180).
While verses 2 and 3 are usually treated as one prophecy, there are some unique aspects of verse 3 which may relate to a later time than the establishment of the temple. Of course, the settlement of the Saints in the valley of the Rocky Mountains brought people from many nations, but subsequent converts to the Church brought thousands more to those valleys from all over the world. Elder Mark E. Petersen wrote of the influx of immigrants to the Rocky Mountains as a fulfillment of this prophecy. He also referred to the tourists who visit Salt Lake Temple Square and the Church General Conferences as further fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that many people would say, “Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.”
In verse 2, Isaiah says that “the Lord’s house shall … be exalted above the hills.” Elder Petersen pointed out that all of the various translations of the Bible emphasize the “ temple hill,” and that most temples are built on eminent sites. He also identified the general conferences of the Church as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that “out of Zion shall go forth the law.” This is especially true as these conferences are broadcast to the world by radio and television. However, PresidentGeorge Albert Smith taught a broader concept as he dedicated the Idaho Falls Temple. He taught that the “going forth” of the “law” is the establishment in the world of governments similar to “our constitutional form of government.” In referring to this dedicatory prayer, President Harold B. Lee later said:
I have often wondered what that expression meant, that out of Zion shall go forth the law. Years ago I went with the brethren to the Idaho Falls Temple, and I heard in that inspired prayer of the First Presidency a definition of the meaning of that term “out of Zion shall go forth the law.” Note what they said: “We thank thee that thou hast revealed to us that those who gave us our constitutional form of government were men wise in thy sight and that thou didst raise them up for the very purpose of putting forth that sacred document [as revealed in Doctrine and Covenants section 101] …
We pray that kings and rulers and the peoples of all nations under heaven may be persuaded of the blessings enjoyed by the people of this land by reason of their freedom and under thy guidance and be constrained to adopt similar governmental systems, thus to fulfill the ancient prophecy of Isaiah and Micah that “ … out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” [IE, Oct. 1945, 564; Ensign, Nov. 1971, 15]
The Prophet Joseph Smith also equated the “law” with the theocracy of God that will rule during the Millennium, as described in verse 4 (TPJS, 248–52). Elder Orson Pratt interpreted Isaiah’s reference to “the law” as follows: “Out of Zion shall go forth the law says the prophet. What law? A law to regulate the nations, a law teaching them how to be saved, a law informing the kings and emperors and the nobles of the earth how they can save themselves, and how they can save their dead” (JD, 14:350). These interpretations combine the political and spiritual aspects of the law.
While Zion’s camp was on Fishing River, Missouri, June 22, 1834, the Lord gave a revelation to Joseph Smith saying that the redemption of Zion must wait for a little season:
10 That they themselves may be prepared, and that my people may be taught more perfectly, and have experience, and know more perfectly concerning their duty, and the things which I require at their hands.
11 And this cannot be brought to pass until mine elders are endowed with power from on high.
12 For behold, I have prepared a great endowment and blessing to be poured out upon them, inasmuch as they are faithful and continue in humility before me. [D&C 105:10–12]
The endowment of power comes in the Temple. The people are prepared there by being taught more perfectly. They know more perfectly what the Lord requires as they make covenants to live as they have been instructed. Therefore, as Isaiah said: the Lord “will teach us [perfectly] of his ways, and we will [covenant to] walk in his paths” (2 Nephi 2:3).