Isaiah Spake Many Hard Things

"Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which I have written, which have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah. For behold, Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews." (2 Nephi 25:1).

What did Nephi mean when he said that Isaiah spake things that were hard for his people to understand? The obvious answer to that question is elucidated by the last part of the verse: "for they [knew] not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews." His people did not generally have the education or experience or knowledge to fully understand Isaiah's prophecies. Maybe they didn't have the desire to understand Isaiah. I think this holds true for many people today. The common 'complaint' I hear about Isaiah is that the book is difficult to understand. It can be if you do not understand that Isaiah's language is highly symbolic but at the same time it is very direct and literal, meaning it refers to specific events. It's also repetitive; meaning that Isaiah states the same thing multiple times in multiple ways.

I will not get into ways of understanding Isaiah - the best way is to spend time reading the book and praying for understanding - because that is not the purpose of this post. I wanted to share another quote and insight from Hugh Nibley about what he thinks is the reason that Isaiah is "hard...to understand". I have been quoting him a lot recently because I have been reading his Teachings of the Book of Mormon Part 1, which is a transcript of lectures he gave in his Book of Mormon class at Brigham Young University in the 1980s.

"'Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand.' Isaiah himself often mentions the fact that the people ask him to speak smooth things [i.e., the people want Isaiah to tell them only things that make them feel good and that they want to hear]. They want to hear smooth things. I am not going to teach you smooth things, he says. If I just gave you the smooth things you want, you wouldn't need them.... If the scriptures told us only what we wanted to hear, of course we wouldn't need them.

"You notice it all changed under the rabbis; the interpretations became different. Isaiah is much too literal [for them], etc. Then, of course, they accepted the University abstractions and became more philosophical and intellectual in the interpretation of everything." (Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon Part 1, 2004, p.249).

In short, Hugh Nibley's explanation of why Isaiah is hard to understand is because Isaiah does not speak "smooth" things to the people, he told them things that were hard to hear because he condemned their wickedness. He was a prophet who simply "told it like it was." I think Hugh Nibley's insight adds to our understanding of Isaiah. Yes, his writings can be difficult to understand because of his language and his symbolism, but then again, the book of Isaiah is not as difficult to understand as many people believe. Isaiah simply wrote many difficult things for the wicked to understand, for he prophesied about the Messiah and the temple and the way to salvation. He wrote of many things that would transpire in the last days - in our day - the restoration of the gospel, the building of temples, and so forth. Great are the words of Isaiah.

Geography of the Book of Mormon?

Hugh Nibley sums up my view of discussions about Book of Mormon geography: "[The Nephites] journeyed in the wilderness for many days [to get away from Laman and Lemuel]. We don't know how many many is. Book of Mormon geography is a waste of time. I wouldn't touch it with a forty-foot pole. Never have; it's not necessary. Some day we'll get more information, I suppose. Everybody has tried their hand at it. I don't know why; it doesn't make any difference." (Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon Part 1, 2004, Covenant Communications).

I know some, maybe even many LDS Church members, disagree with that sentiment but we do not know where in the Americas the Book of Mormon events took place. We can speculate all we want and say, "Well Joseph Smith [purportedly] said this" or "This narrow neck of land is the Panama isthmus or this particular area in modern Mexico or Guatemala or the Great Lakes region." Whatever; we do not know where the Book of Mormon events took place and speculating about them is a waste of time. Again, I know some disagree but I wanted to offer my opinion on the matter. Maybe we'll learn more in our lifetimes but for now there are much better things upon which to focus, like the basic doctrines of the gospel: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, and the Holy Ghost.

Do I have no intellectual curiosity about matters such as Book of Mormon geography? To the contrary, I find it a fascinating topic; fascinating but a waste of time. We simply do not know and even if we did, it is not important. Knowing just where King Benjamin was exactly when he gave his marvelous farewell address does nothing for our salvation but knowing, believing, and living what he taught does. I would love to know Book of Mormon geography - we have fairly compelling evidence of how and where Lehi and his family went after they left Jerusalem but after that? It's anyone's guess.

Hugh Nibley on the Council in Heaven

I'm going to share one more Hugh Nibley quote for now. This quote provides an interesting perspective (not necessarily entirely true, but interesting) on the Council in Heaven during our pre-earth life.

"I was going to say that the Council in Heaven is quite a theme here [in newly-discovered early Christian documents], especially that Doctrine of the Abbatôn by Bishop Cyril of Alexandria. We won't go into that. The accounts of the Council in Heaven are that when the creation was proposed, it was voted down because the Earth complained that she would be defiled. The people up there all decided that there would be too much suffering, too much wickedness, too much defilement in this world. There was a deadlock, and they didn't know what to go on until one person volunteered and said, 'I will pay the price; I will take the blame.' You know who that was. When he did that, the whole chorus broke out and 'the morning stars sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for joy.' That was the famous Creation Hymn. See, our word poem comes from Creation Hymn. The poem was the original Creation Hymn, the hymn that was sung in the heavens to announce the glory of the creation - all the earliest poems are. The Greek poiema means creation. It was the Creation Hymn. The muses first sang it together with the Greeks, etc. You have many references to that. They broke out in hymn because it was the Lord that made it possible to go on with the creation, carry this out, and allow this to happen. Even in spite of all this wickedness and corruption, he would pay the price. Only one person could clean up that mess, and he would do it." (Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon Part 1, Covenant Communications, 2004, p.215).

One thing I love about Hugh Nibley's writings and teachings is that he was able to take diverse sources - anything from ancient Egyptian writings or histories to modern events - and link them to the gospel. Hugh Nibley was someone who could see Truth in just about anything. That is something that Joseph Smith taught - that we should seek the good and true in all things. "One of the grand fundamental principles of 'Mormonism' is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may" (Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith, annotated by Richard Galbraith, Deseret Book Company, 1993, p.351).

Hugh Nibley on Law

While reading Hugh Nibley's Teachings of the Book of Mormon Part 1, I came across this insightful quote (of course, almost everything he wrote was insightful):

Our word law comes from lag, the old Scandinavian, Norse word.... Well, the law is the guidance, and you have to have it to get there. It's not the goal - it's the way that gets you there. It's like the iron rod; you cling to the iron rod. We love iron rods, and think is we have an iron rod we already have it made. We just keep the iron rod, and that's our goal. The iron rod is just to get you to the temple. That is not supposed to be the temple. It's not supposed to be the object. You don't stick to the law all the time.

We have the Ten Commandments, the laws of Moses. Ah, yes, there is the law as far as this goes. But it is written for barbarians, as Paul tells us.... In chapter 2 [of Hebrews] here, it says the law is going to get your there. Now what are the Ten Commandments? Do you have to be told every day that you shouldn't kill? That you shouldn't lie? That you shouldn't commit adultery? That you shouldn't bear false witness? Do you have to be reminded of that? No, the time comes, the Lord says, when 'the law is written in their hearts.' Only a savage or a barbarian would have to be told over and over, 'Now, you mustn't kill anybody today.' But we still have to be reminded. We think if we've kept the law, then we are saved - that's all there is to it. But that's not it at all. That's where it begins. This is the least requirement. It starts out with the Word of Wisdom, for example. Do we have to tell people every day, 'Well, don't go out and get drunk'? We don't have to be told that. Even with smoking now, people are warned; we don't have to go to the Word of Wisdom for that. Most of you [BYU students] would never think of doing those things. It wouldn't occur to you because, as it says when it is given to us in Doctrine and Covenants 89, this is adapted to the weakest of all Saints; this is the lowest requirement. This is the mere beginning - the least thing that can be expected of you. We start with the Word of Wisdom. It's the same thing with tithing." (Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon Part 1, Covenant Communications, 2004, p.208).

What Hugh Nibley said reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures: "For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified" (Moses 6:60). When we are baptized we keep the commandment. When we follow the commandments, when we keep the law, we are simply doing just that - keeping the commandments and the law. The laws are not saving - they are not the goal, they merely help us get to our goal, which is "the temple" as Hugh Nibley said; I would like add that it is really the temple in heaven that is our goal (see Isaiah 6:1 - "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.").

Even the Holy Ghost is not enough; yes, we are justified by His presence, we are absolved from guilt, but that is not enough. If keeping the commandments and feeling the Spirit are not enough for salvation, what is? The blood of the sacrificial Lamb; the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. It is only through Him that we are saved. The law does not save us, it simply provides a path; Jesus is the Way. He is the only way to salvation and exaltation. The point Hugh Nibley made is that laws do not save us, Jesus does.

Master Mahan - Part 2

Continuing with the story:

"18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.
  19 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
  20 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering;
  21 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
  22 And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?
  23 If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;
  24 For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.
  25 And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.
  26 And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.
  27 And Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren." (Moses 5:18-27).

The commandment and covenant Adam and Eve and their children had received was to offer up animal sacrifices in the similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of God. It was a blood sacrifice in expectation of the Atonement of the Son of God. Abel offered up a blood sacrifice, Cain did not. Cain listened to Satan and tried to offer up the fruit of the ground - whatever he farmed - instead of offering up an animal sacrifice. He offered a sacrifice but not the sacrifice the Lord required; Cain offered up the sacrifice Satan wanted him to. Satan knew the sacrifice would be rejected. Satan knew how Cain would react - he knew he would be upset and curse God. He was and he did.

Then Cain started off the deep end - he made a pact with Satan; it was a pact of secrets and murder for gain. "And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers’ daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God. And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands. And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret. And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness." (Moses 5:28-31).

Cain dealt with Satan in secrecy. Cain became Perdition - a destroyer (Latin: perdere - to destroy) of truth; one who gave away his covenants for new ones with the devil. Cain was promised that he would rule over Satan - Cain had at least kept his first estate whereas Lucifer did not. From God Cain received the title Perdition, from himself (and possibly from Satan) he received the title of Mahan, which is of unclear meaning but based on context probably means something close to "master [owner, holder, keeper] of [a] secret." (This interpretation agrees with what Hugh Nibley believed the title meant. See Hugh Nibley, Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price, p.12. In this document Dr. Nibley suggests that the word Master is not the English word master, but derives from Arabic word Mustirr ("keeper of secret") and Mahan is related to the Sanskrit word maha ("great"); source). Cain's covenant with Satan included a penalty of death for those who revealed it (this was a covenant that Cain's friends, some of his brothers and sisters and their families, made too). Satan promised to deliver Abel into the hands of Cain. Cain would also reap the riches of his brother - his flocks.