In him they shall find pasture

1 Nephi 19-22

It was lame of me to only leave one post to talk about these four amazing chapters. Alas, 'tis the way it goes. I read 19 and 20 yesterday and then my computer went insane, but my main thought was about Nephi including chapters from the book of Isaiah in his precious little writing space. It made me want to think hard about exactly WHY Nephi took the time to copy out these specific chapters. It's an interesting thought because we know that later on he brings in a huge chunk for us. It's amazing to be able to read Isaiah in its true, un-messed-with form (or as true as it was by the time Nephi got it on the brass plates). The Savior points out in 3 Nephi that Isaiah is where it's at. And in 1 Nephi 21, Isaiah basically tells us that the Lord told HIM that Isaiah's words would be all over the Earth.

21:8 Thus saith the Lord: in an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth...

It makes me think that no matter how spread out we are, the covenant people of the Lord have the words of Isaiah wherever we are. It is these words that are meant to give us hope and teach us what is to come. I think it might just be the only scripture that we all have in common. That's a pretty amazing thought...

I love Nephi, though. Have I mentioned that? If I go back to my question,"Why did Nephi put this chapter right here?", I want to think about what the answer might be. In chapter 19, Nephi talks about this second set of records that he's been commanded to make. This set has the spiritual history and revelations instead of the more secular goings on of his people. "Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred." And then, he teaches us of Christ and His mission here on the Earth. He expounds on how Christ will be smitten and eventually killed by a remnant of the house of Israel, which remnant will eventually be gathered and brought back to Him in the Lord's due time.

19:16 Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according ot the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.
17 Yea, and all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, saith the prophet; every nation, kindred, tounge and people shall be blessed.
18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer.
19 Wherefore, i speak unto all the housee of Israel, if it so be that they should obtain these things.

Ha! This is it. This is why Nephi throws chapters 20-21 in there (Isaiah 48-49).These chapters could almost be considered words of comfort for his people who are distinctly 'scattered' and far away from where they originated. Maybe Nephi put them in there to comfort himself. I imagine him reading those words of Isaiah whenever he fretted and worried about the fate of his people. How glad I am that he had the plan in front of him as a comfort and source of faith. And what was to stop him from putting it in front of us? Only a couple thousand years. Pfft. Hardly a hurdle at all!

The whole point of these soothing words can be found in chapter 21:

14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me--but he will show that he hath not.
15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Nephi is certainly not going to let us forget this. He'll do everything he can to convince us that the Lord will keep His covenants with us. I love chapter 22 because Nephi explains the Isaiah chapters to his brothers. He makes them quite clear and lays out the plan which is:

- The house of Israel will be scattered.
- We (Lehi and family) are part of that now.
- The Jews will be scattered as well as the rest of the tribes.
- The Gentiles will scatter OUR seed (Native Americans on both continents) but they will also be the means of teaching us the Gospel.
- The Lord will 'bare his arm' and gather everyone back together again.

12 Wherefore, he will bring them again out of captivity, and they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance; and they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer,  the Mighty One of Israel.

-  Christ will judge His people. The wicked and the GAAC will be destroyed. The righteous will be preserved.
- Satan will be bound for a while because of the righteousness of the people.

Sure, Isaiah said all of that in those two chapters, but Nephi's summary is also wonderful. I believe that Nephi's purpose in sharing pieces of Isaiah's writings with us was to give some hope to those who may read his words later on. Nephi loved his people dearly. and I know it must have caused him some grief to think of their eventual fate. All he does is bear amazing testimony of Christ, the eventual victory of good over evil, and the fact that the Lord will indeed remember His covenants with the house of Israel. And, most importantly, Nephi never fails to remind us that we are that covenant people.