Just as I'm Riveted to My Seat....Along Comes Isaiah

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i·sa·iah

Just as I'm in the beginning chapters of the Book of Mormon, riveted to my seat, reading once again about the adventures of one of my favorite families: Lehi, Nephi, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and all the rest, there comes a series of passages quoted from the Prophet Isaiah. I always wondered why the Book of Mormon had to turn on a dime and go from fascinating to completely confusing with all that Isaiah-ese.

I am only now finally beginning to embrace the words of Isaiah. Not that I understand all of them, but I am starting to appreciate and find peace in them. Trying to let my mind go and visualize what Isaiah was trying to tell me personally is an interesting exercise. Jesus told the Nephites that "great are the words of Isaiah". Nephi thought the words were so important that he read them to his brothers, even though every time I picture him doing that, I see his brothers rolling their eyes in disgust! Mormon thought they were so important he included them in the abridgement of the Book of Mormon when writing materials and space were so limited. Obviously we are in desperate need of his words, yet somehow many of us just don't connect to them.

"I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.....Then said I: Wo is unto me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Also, I heard the voice of the Lord saying; "Whom shall I send; and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me. And he said: Go and tell this people--Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not." 2 Nephi 16:1-9 and Isaiah 6

 

This passage from 2 Nephi 16 particularly caught my attention. Isaiah was one of the privledged few to have actually seen the Lord. When he saw the Lord, he said he was 'undone'. When we read the Scriptures we're supposed to somehow 'liken' ourselves to whatever is happening. I feel 'undone' a lot of the time. He was undone because he said he was a man of unclean lips and dwelt with people who had unclean lips as well. I feel the very same way. In his vision, I liked that a seraphim (definition: one of the celestial beings hovering above God's throne or a member of the highest order of angels) flew to him with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar, and put it on Isaiah's mouth. With that, Isaiah's iniquity and sin were purged. I can picture in my mind what a beautiful sight that must have been and how blessed and humbled Isaiah must have felt.

Next, I love that Isaiah heard the call of the Lord. The Lord needed help. Who should he send? Who would help the cause? I love how the uber-righteous always jump at the chance to help, no matter what the consequences. Didn't Isaiah end up meeting his demise by being 'cut asunder'? But I digress. Of course Isaiah would help as he spoke similarly the words that the Savior had previously spoken "Here am I, send me". Isaiah went and did just what was asked of him. He went and preached to the people, but they understood not. They could see him, yet they perceived him not.

Are some of the people Isaiah is trying to preach to, with little result, us of the modern church? Every time we skip or skim the pages of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon or say it's too confusing are we indeed doing exactly what what prophesied by the Lord himself.

Am I hearing yet understanding Isaiah not, seeing him, but having no perception of who he really is and what he's trying to teach to me? When the Lord calls, will I answer "Here am I, send me"?