Scholar Victor L. Ludlow comments on the importance of Isaiah in our day and age:
The following list suggests some reasons why Isaiah’s prophecies about the last days are so important:
As noted from the preceding list, most of the chapters in Isaiah contain important teachings and prophecies for us today. As we study Isaiah’s writings on various topics, five major themes soon become apparent:
“The Words of Isaiah”
Here are some interesting facts concerning the prophet Isaiah compiled and expressed by Monte S. Nyman:
There are sixty-six chapters, containing a total of 1,292 verses [which includes ninety verses not written by Isaiah—Chaps. 36–39] in the present-day KJV text of Isaiah. Nineteen of the sixty-six chapters are quoted in their entirety in the Book of Mormon, and two other chapters are quoted in their entirety except for two verses in each chapter. The first two verses of one other chapter are quoted in the Book of Mormon, and one verse from each of two other chapters. Eight chapters of Isaiah have verses quoted from them more than once, either completely or partially. Not counting these duplications, 425 of the 1,292 verses of Isaiah are quoted in the Book of Mormon. Of these 425 verses, 229 are quoted differently from those in the King James text, while 196 are identical… .
There are at least sixty-six quotations or paraphrases from the prophet Isaiah in the Doctrine and Covenants. Some of these are full verses, and some are only phrases… . Represented within the sixty-six passages are thirty-one different chapters of Isaiah.
Oliver Cowdery referred to thirteen passages from Isaiah which the Angel Moroni told Joseph Smith were being fulfilled in these latter days: Isaiah 1:7, 23–24, 25–26; Isaiah 2:1–4, 3; Isaiah 4:5–6; Isaiah 11:14–16; Isaiah 13:10, 13; Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 28:21; and Isaiah 29:11–12, 13, 14.
The Prophet Joseph Smith quotes or comments at least forty times concerning Isaiah. A study of these quotations and comments will show why the Savior said, “Search these things diligently … for great are the words of Isaiah” (3 Nephi 23:1) (“Restoring ‘Plain and Precious Parts’: The Role of Latter-day Scriptures in Helping Us Understand the Bible,” Ensign, Dec. 1981, 19–25).