Isaiah’s veiled meanings should not be veiled to the latter-day saints. Therefore, we will try to make sense of all of Isaiah’s references in this chapter. The easiest way to look at this chapter is as a description of the missions of two individuals: Christ (v. 2-9) and Joseph Smith (v. 10-16). In this chapter, one of the hardest verses to understand is verse 1.
For a scripture that was specifically interpreted in the Doctrine and Covenants, this is still a confusing verse. The D&C specifically explains who is the “stem of Jesse” and hints at the identity of the “rod” (see DC 113:1-4). But there are still terms in the verse which need explaining. For instance, who is the “branch”? Should we interpret the “branch” to be the same individual as the “rod”? What does the term “his roots” mean? Does the word “his” in verse 1 refer to the same person as the word “him” in verse 2?
For the sake of clarification, let’s make a list of terms and their interpretation:
We can see from this list that all we know for sure from DC 113 is that the “stem of Jesse” is Christ. The next question, then, is “who is the servant spoken of in DC 113:4?” Let’s assume for the time being that the servant is Joseph Smith. This interpretation has been made by others and will be discussed later.
The next problem is identifying the “branch.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie has explained in no uncertain terms that the “branch” refers to Jesus Christ (see quotation given below).
At this point we have explained almost everything, but we still need to know what is meant by the term “his roots.” The tendency to equate this term with the term “stem of Jesse” must be avoided. To understand this term we need to understand one of Isaiah’s literary devices: inverted parallelism. Isaiah uses inverted parallelism in many of his couplets. The fact that the parallelism is inverted is the key to understanding the passage.
Consider the following examples of inverted parallelism:
Isaiah 2:3 "for out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
Isaiah 11:13 "Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
And Judah shall not vex Ephraim."
Isaiah 63:2 "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel,
And thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?"
Isaiah 11:1 "a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
And a branch shall grow out of his roots."
Note that the concepts in blue match each other, as do the concepts in red. Now we can understand that the term “his” refers to the same person as the “rod” or Joseph Smith. The term “his roots” refers to the lineage of Joseph Smith through Jesse, David’s father (as described in DC 113:6). This explanation is entirely reasonable because Christ (as the Branch) also came through the ancestry of Jesse.
This interpretation equates the “stem of Jesse” and “the Branch” which both refer to Christ. And it demonstrates the common lineage of Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ that was alluded to in DC 113:6. Using this scheme, let’s try to fill in the interpretation for our list of terms.
This interpretation requires that we accept the revealed truth that Joseph Smith was both a descendant of Joseph of Egypt and a descendant of Jesse (or of the tribe of Judah). Victor Ludlow explains:
"The Book of Mormon contains an important prophecy about a descendant of the ancient Joseph who would also be named Joseph and who would do a great work of salvation among the Israelites to bring them to the knowledge of God’s covenants in the last days. (2 Ne. 3:6-11, 14-15.) Joseph Smith, Jr., is this Joseph. His patriarchal blessing identifies him as the heir to the promises of Ephraim (son of the ancient Joseph), and he is called a pure Ephraimite by Brigham Young. (DS 3:250-54; WTP, pp. 125-27)
"There is not the same recorded evidence of Joseph Smith being a descendant of Jesse through the tribe of Judah. However, there were occasions in earlier Church history when a number of the brethren, including Joseph Smith, claimed that they shared lineage with Jesus in the tribe of Judah. (See Life of Heber C. Kimball [1988], p. 185; JD 4:248; Journal of President Rudger Clawson, pp. 374-75; Ivins Journal, p. 21.)
“In short, Joseph Smith fulfills the requirements as a descendant of Joseph through his son Ephraim. He was also a descendant of Judah through Jesse, and he may have descended through the same lineage as Jesus.” (Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet, by Victor L. Ludlow, p. 172)
Brigham Young
“It was decreed in the counsels of eternity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, that he, Joseph Smith, should be the man, in the last dispensation of this world, to bring forth the word of God to the people, and receive the fullness of the keys and power of the Priesthood of the Son of God. The Lord had his eyes upon him, and upon his father, and upon his father’s father, and upon their progenitors clear back to Abraham, and from Abraham to the flood, from the flood to Enoch, and from Enoch to Adam. He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from its fountain to the birth of that man. He was fore-ordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 108 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.94)
Bruce R. McConkie
"Christ is the Son of David, the Seed of David, the inheritor, through Mary his mother, of the blood of the great king. He is also called the Stem of Jesse and the Branch, meaning Branch of David. Messianic prophecies under these headings deal with the power and dominion he shall wield as he sits on David’s throne, and have reference almost exclusively to his second sojourn on planet earth.
"Jesse was the father of David. Isaiah speaks of the Stem of Jesse, whom he also designates as a branch growing out of the root of that ancient worthy. He recites how the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; how he shall be mighty in judgment; how he shall smite the earth and slay the wicked; and how the lamb and the lion shall lie down together in that day—all of which has reference to the Second Coming and the millennial era thereby ushered in. (Isa.11.) As to the identity of the Stem of Jesse, the revealed word says: ’Verily thus saith the Lord: It is Christ.’ (D&C 113:1-2.) This also means that the Branch is Christ, as we shall now see from other related scriptures.
"By the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord foretells the ancient scattering and the latter-day gathering of his chosen Israel. After they have been gathered ’out of all countries wither I have driven them,’ after the kingdom has been restored to Israel as desired by the ancient apostles, in Acts 1:6, then this eventuality, yet future and millennial in nature, shall be fulfilled: ’Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ (Jer 23:3-6) That is to say, the King who shall reign personally upon the earth during the Millennium shall be the Branch who grew out of the house of David. He shall execute judgment and justice in all the earth because he is the Lord Jehovah, even him whom we call Christ.
"Through Zechariah the Lord spoke similarly: ’Thus saith the Lord of hosts:..I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH….I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day [meaning that the wicked shall be destroyed and the millennial era of peace and righteousness commence]. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.’ (Zech. 3:7-10.) Of that glorious millennial day the Lord says also: ’Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne.’ (Zech. 6:12-13.)
"That the branch of David is Christ is perfectly clear. (The Promised Messiah, pp. 192-194 as taken from the 1981 Old Testament Institute Manual, p. 148)