Isaiah 40 introduces the prophecies of redemption and restoration that constitute the closing sections of Isaiah’s prophecies (40-66). It presents the credentials of Jehovah as one who is willing and able to save, restore, and bless His people (40:1-17, 21-31), in contrast to idols and graven images that can do nothing (40:18-20)… Isaiah teaches us that God is omnipotent, or all-powerful (40:3-5, 12, 15-17, 22-25), that He is omniscient, or all-knowing (40:13-14, 26, 28), that He is omnipresent, meaning that His power and influence are both everywhere and eternal (40:6-8, 21, 28), and that He is omnibenevolent, or all-loving and good (40:1-2, 9-11, 29).

Isaiah 41 compares the power of the Lord to that of impotent idols. The Lord illustrates His agency and omniscience by declaring that it is He who raised up the righteous man from the east (41:1-5) and the one from the north who will call upon His name (41:25-27).

This conquering deliverer is a type for the Messiah, often identified with Abraham or the magnanimous Persian king Cyrus, who allowed the Jews to return from Babylon. Moreover, the Lord chose Israel to be his servant (41:8-9) and will strengthen, protect and help His chosen people (41:14). He will make them mighty in battle, enabling them to thresh and winnow their enemies (41:15-16). He will nurture and care for the poor and needy among them (41:17). He will give them water and make their land to flourish (41:18-20). He will do all this that Israel “may see, and know, and consider, and understand” what “the hand of the Lord hath done” (41:20).

In contrast, idols have no volition but must be manufactured by carpenters and goldsmiths (41:6-7). They cannot act or reveal future and are but vanity, confusion, and an abomination to those who choose them (41:21-24, 29).

The testimony of the power, agency, wisdom, and love of God continues in Isaiah 43. The Lord assures us that He is our Redeemer, Savior, Creator, Guide, Protector, Defender and Healer (43:1-21). Though the people of Israel had failed to worship, obey, and recognize Him (43:21-24, 27-28), they are invited once again to remember Him, plead with Him, and be justified by Him (43:25-26).

[An important doctrine] of Latter-day Saints is the understanding that God the Father and God the Son are separated, distinct beings who share a common purpose, work, and glory. Latter-day Saints further understand that the Lord, Jehovah, the God who spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who parted the Red Sea and fed Israel manna in the wilderness is the same being who became known as Jesus of Nazareth in mortality. Divinely invested with authority of the Father, Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament.

In the final verse of Isaiah 44, as the Lord lists some of the wonderful things He has done and will yet do for His people. He identifies Cyrus, the mighty Persian who conquered Babylon (ca. 538 B.C.), as the one He will raise up to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple (44:28). This prophecy introduces Isaiah 45, which records a message directed to Cyrus.

Cyrus was a type for Christ as he conquered Babylon, restored the covenant people t their promised land, and helped them rebuild their cities, lives, an faith (compare 41:25). In this prophecy, given about two centuries before Cyrus’s birth, the Lord calls Cyrus by name, referring to him as His anointed, one raised up and empowered by God to conquer nations for the sake of Israel (45:1-4). The Lord describes His power and works for Cyrus (45:5-8, 11-12) and admonished the king to recognize His role in his establishment (9-10). After describing what God has done for him, the Lord tells Cyrus what he must do in return. Cyrus is to rebuild Jerusalem and let His “captive” people go (45:13). After instructions to Cyrus, Isaiah 45 continues testifying of God’s power and efforts to redeem and restore His people (45:14-25).

With vivid imagery the prophet foretells in Isaiah 47 how proud and pampered Babylon will become like a humiliated slave and be heft forsaken and barren (47:1-5, 7-9). Her punishment will be just recompense for her mercilessness, haughtiness, and conceit (47:6, 7-10). All this will befall her despite her acclaimed astrologers, sorcerers, and prognosticators (47:11-13). These diviners will not be able to save Babylon—or themselves (47:14-15).

Isaiah 48 and 49 are the first of Isaiah’s writings to appear in the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 20). Nephi quoted the chapters to his brethren that he “might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer” (1 Nephi 19:24).

Isaiah begins with a divine dialogue that demonstrates God’s patience, determination, and mercy The Lord speaks to those who “are come forth out of the water of Judah (48:1), or the waters of baptism (1 Nephi 20:1), who act as if they are righteous and obedient but in truth are not (48:1-2). Though they are stubborn and obstinate, with brows like brass and necks like iron, the Lord will yet declare that which is to come even to this hypocritical portion of the covenant people, lest they ascribe God’s work to their idols or to their own genius (48:3-8). Moreover, the Lord assures these rebellious people that He will not cut them off immediately, reminding them that they were refined and chosen in the furnace of affliction (48:9-11). Rather He invites them to hearken and come unto Him, their Creator and Redeemer (48:12-19). He encourages them to flee Babylon, promising them that if they do, He will provide for them, even as He provided water to flow out of the rock for their forefathers in the wilderness (48:20-22).

Isaiah 49 opens with another Servant Song(compare Isaiah 42)… our current Old Testament version begins with simple imperative, ‘Listen, O isles, unto me’ (49:1), [1 Nephi 21:1]… begins, “And again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel… Thus we learn that isles, as used by Isaiah, refers to the scattered covenant people.

After this introduction the Servant speaks to the isles in the first person. His words add a second witness to many of the truths taught in the first Servant song (42:1-7;49:1,5,6,8,9-13).

The Servant further explains that though he is both well prepared and powerful, having his mouth made ‘like a sharp sword’ and a ‘polished shaft,’ yet he is hidden in the Father’s hand and kept in the Father’s quiver (49:2), remind us again that the mortal Messiah conducted His ministry humbly and quietly in a part of the world that many of His contemporaries would have considered obscure and unimportant (see also 42:2-3).

The paradox continues in the following verses as the Servant present opposing perspectives on the accomplishment of His moral ministry. He observes that while on one hand His strength and labor might appear to have been spent in vain, for ‘Israel be not gathered,’ yet on the other hand He will have accomplished God’s work and is to be judged of the Lord (49:5). In response to the Servant’s observation, God assure him that though Jacob may not be gathered during His mortal ministry, His efforts would still be pleasing and glorious to the Lord, and God will strengthen Him (49:5). Thus we understand that while to some it might appear that Christ spent His labor and strength in vain, the Father knows that His Servant’s work will bring salvation unto the end of the earth (49:4,6). Though He may be despised of men, ultimately He is chosen of God, and kings and princes will come to worship Him (49:7).

After the Servant Song, the Lord assures the isles that though they may feel forsaken, He had not—and, in fact, cannot—forget them, for they are graven upon the palms of His hands (49:14-16). With further stirring imagery, the Lord then reveals how He will gather and restore His scattered and lost people (49:18-26)” (Making Sense of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009, 115-118; 122; 127-128; 134-135; 138-139).

“The message of comfort to Jerusalem, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned,” clearly refers to the latter days. The Anchor Bible translates this line “that her sentence is served, her penalty is paid.” Judah was to be sent through the “furnace of affliction (see 48:10), so the message given here is to be fulfilled after she has been through that furnace. At look at history and at present-day circumstances shows her still to be going through that furnace. The rest of the chapter also supports a Second Coming time period” (Great are the Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 141-142).

“John the Baptist was the prophet to prepare the way for the Lord’s ministry in the flesh in the meridian of time. He came again on 15 May, 1829, to restore the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood and thus commence the preparation for the Lord’s second coming (see D&C 13)” (Great are the Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 143).

“Old Testament prophecies about a messenger preparing the way of the Lord have had a double fulfillment (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3;1-4.) Besides referring to John the Baptist, these prophecies refer “… also to the coming of the Prophet Joseph Smith, because that messenger which was to come and prepare the way before [Christ] was to come in this day” (Doctrines of Salvation 1. Compiled by Bruce R. McConkie. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954, [Twenty-fourth Printing, 1980], 193).

“The Apostle Peter [and Isaiah] used these verses to emphasize the importance of living by the word of the Lord for security rather than trusting in the fragile elements of human flesh and earthly things” (Isaiah Speaks in Modern Times. Salt Lake City: Ensign Publishing Company, 1984, [Second Edition, First Printing, February, 1993], 522).

“The testimony that Jesus is the Good Shepherd was a figure of speech familiar to those accustomed to the pastoral conditions of Palestine. Jesus knew His hearers were acquainted with the prophecy that a shepherd had been promised the children of Israel. Isaiah prophesied that when God shall came down, ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd he shall gather the lambs with his arms.’ There was no mistaking what Jesus meant. He was their Lord—the promised Messiah! By likening false teachers and pastors to thieves and hirelings whose concern was for money, rather than the flock, Jesus repudiated all pretenders. A stronger indictment could not be imagined!” (“What Constitutes the True Church.” Ensign, May, 1977, 21).

“For inasmuch as God possess the attribute of knowledge, he can make all things known to his saints necessary for their salvation; and as he possesses the attribute power, he is able thereby to deliver them from the power of all enemies; and seeing, also, that justice is an attribute of the Deity, he will deal with them upon the principles of righteousness and equity, and a just reward will be granted unto them for all their afflictions and sufferings for the truths sake, and as judgment is an attribute of the Deity also, his saints can have the most unshaken confidence that they will, in due time, obtain a perfect deliverance out of the hands of all their enemies, and a complete victory over all those who have sought their hurt and destruction. And as mercy is also an attribute of the Deity, his saints can have confidence that it will be exercised towards them, and through the exercise of that attribute towards them comfort and consolation will be administered unto them abundantly, amid all their afflictions and tribulations. And, lastly, realizing that truth is an attribute of the Deity, the mind is lead to rejoice amid all its trials and temptation, in hope of that glory which is to be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ, and in view of that crown which is to be placed upon the heads of the saints in the day when the Lord shall distribute rewards unto them… when he shall bring them in the midst of his throne to dwell in his presence eternally” (Lectures of Faith. Salt Lake City: Deseret book, 1985, Lecture Fourth, 17, 55).

“The command to ‘keep silent before me’ may have reference to the Americas’ being kept hidden from the world let they be overrun by other nations (see 2 Nephi 1:8). ‘Let the people renew their strength’ could refer to the establishment of a free nation in the land of America that the Lord might accomplish his purposes (see 3 Nephi 21:4). After the free nation is established, the Lord commands to ‘let them come near’; this alludes to the restoration of the gospel, whereby Israel now come to him to be his people. ‘Then let them speak’ refers to the proclaiming of the gospel to the nations of the earth. All these things will bring about the purposes of the Lord (through his servants in the isles of the sea) to ‘let us come near together to judgment,” meaning ot commence the work of the last days, to sound a warning to all the nations of the earth so that they may either accept the gospel and be gathered to Israel or suffer the wrath which will follow the testimony of the Lord’s servants (see D&C 43:23-28)” (Great Are The Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 151).

“Abraham who was called by the Lord to leave the Ur of the Chaldees and go to the land of Canaan… where He was given ‘the nations before him’ extending from ‘the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates’ (Genesis 15:18). Isaiah seems to refer to Abraham’s smiting of the kings as he rescued his nephew Lot (see Genesis 14). A more positive identification of Abraham comes from verse 4 wherein the Lord makes reference to ‘calling the generations from the beginning” (Great Are the Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 152).

“Abraham was chosen in the pre-mortal life to be a ruler (see PGP, Abraham 3:22-23; Genesis 18:19) and was blessed that through the literal seed of his body the Lord would bless all the nations of the earth (Genesis 12:2-3; Abraham 2:8-11). These verses in Isaiah proclaim that the Lord was the one who had so ordained these things” (Great Are the Words of Isaiah, 152).

“Verse 5 describes the gathering of the nations to the Americans, as prophesied in verse 1. ‘The isles saw it, and feared,’ meaning thy responded to Jehovah’s call and, in the fear (love) of the Lord, ‘drew near, and came,’ and built up a might Gentile nation in the land of America (see 1 Nephi 22:7). Verses 6 and 7 describe the cooperation required of the people from many lands who firmly established a nation ‘that should not be moved.’ Actually, this could be a dual prophecy of the establishment of the nation and of the Church upon that land” (Great Are the Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 152-153).

“These verses identify the servant who is to speak. The Lord promised Abraham that his literal seed would bless the nations of the earth (Abraham 2:11). He now calls Israel the literal seed of Abraham, whom he has gathered from the nations of the earth to the islands (America) to be his servant in bring judgment upon all the nations of the earth… Thus chapter 41 is a prophecy of latter-day Israel, called initially to gather upon the isles of the sea (America) to be servant in the hand o the Lord to fulfill the covenant he made with Abraham to bear the ministry and the priesthood to the nations of the earth” (Great Are the Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 153).

“1 How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord, Is laid or your faith in his excellent word! What more can he say than to you he hath said, Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior, Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

2 In every condition, in sickness, in health, In poverty’s vale or a bounding in wealth, At home or abroad, on the land or the sea, As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand, As they days may demand, so they succor shall be.

3 Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, an cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

7 The soul that on Jesus hat leaned for repose I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake”

“The words of the seventh verse were repeated to Amanda Smith. It occurred “during the dark days of 1838 in Missouri” at a place called Haun’s Mill where “the state militia attacked the defenseless group and killed seventeen Saints, including… [her] husband and ten-year old son… Another son, Alma, had been seriously wounded. Amanda Smith gathered with other bereaved women and children at the home of one of the Saints. ‘In our utter desolation,’ she wrote later, ‘what we women do but pray?’ [A message was received from the militia]… they would have to cease praying or be killed… Amanda Smith stole out into a cornfield. ‘I prayed aloud and most fervently,’ she said. When I emerged from the corn a voice spoke to me. It was a voice as plain as I ever heard one. It was no silent, strong impression of the spirit, but a voice, repeating [the seventh] verse of the Saints’ hymn… From that moment I had no more fear. I felt that nothing could hurt me.’ The attackers later shared some food with the Saints, and Amanda Smith remarked: ‘The Lord had kept his word. The soul who on Jesus had leaned for sour had not been forsaken even in this terrible hour of massacre” (Our Latter-Day Hymns The Stories and the Messages. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1988, 115).

“We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. The Lord deliberately withholds from us the day and hour of his coming and the tribulations which shall precede it—all as part of the testing and probationary experiences of mortality. He simply tells us to watch and be ready. We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare or whatever lies ahead, he will then help us with whatever else we need” (“Stand Independent above All Other Creatures.” Ensign, May, 1979, 93).

“We came here penniless in old wagons… in addition to all this we have gathered all the poor we could, and the Lord has planted us in these valleys, promising that He would hid us up for a little season until His wrath and indignation passed over the nations. Will we trust in the Lord? Yes” (Journal of Discourses, 13. Liverpool: Horace Elderedge, 1871, Eighth Reprint, 1974, 217).

“By the end of the Civil War, the Salt Lake Valley had 227 canals irrigating over 150,000 acres of what would otherwise have been arid, unusable land” (The Life Story of Brigham Young. New York: Macmillan Co., 1930, 130).

“The Lord declares to the unbelieving that he has already raised up a great prophet from the north who came out of the east. This is probably making further reference to Abraham, who came to the land of Canaan from Haran in the north, but had previously come from Ur in the east. Unlike those who doubt the Lord, this great servant of God called upon the Almighty in humble prayer form the rising of the sun. Consequently, he is chosen of God to overcome all princes and powers. They will be subject to him, and to his posterity, as clay under the feet of a potter who mixs it by treading upon it” (Isaiah Speaks to Modern Israel. Salt Lake City: Ensign Publishing Company, 1984, [Second Edition, First Printing, February, 1993], 542-543).

“… the Lord says they can forget about all those wonders of the past. He is going to do something even more spectacular. It will be something new—a marvelous work and a wonder. This will take place in the latter days when Israel has been gathered together from the ends of the earth. The Lord will make a way for them in the wilderness, and rivers will begin to flow in the desert. It is interesting that the modern Jews returned to a wilderness and had to make it blossom as a rose. The Saints faced the same task in the Great Basin of the Rocky Mountains and the deserts of the nearby states where they settled” (Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times. Salt Lake City: Ensign Publishing Company, 1984, [Second Edition, First Printing, February, 1993], 565-566).

“for he [Lord] stirred up the mind of Cyrus, and made him write this throughout all Asia:-‘Thus saith Cyrus the King:-Since god Almight hath appointed me to the be the king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is that God which the nation of the Israelites worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea.’ This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies… This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished. Accordingly, when Cyrus read this, and admired the divine power, an earnest desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written; so he called for the most eminent Jews that were in Babylon, and said to them, that he gave them leave to go back to their own country, and to rebuild their city Jerusalem, and the temple of God” (The Complete Works of Josephus. Translated by Willian Whiston. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1991, Antiquities of the Jews, book XI, chapter 1:1-2, 228).

“Cyrus is the only Gentile king who is called God’s ‘anointed.’… Cyrus is in a sense a type of the Anointed One, the Lord Jesus Christ… when it is asserted that Cyrus is a type of Christ, it is not said that he was like the Lord Jesus Christ in every respect. The only intended resemblance is in the fact that Cyrus was the anointed one who delivered the people of Israel from their captivity. As such he points us to the greater Anointed One who saves His people from their sins” (Isaiah, the Salvation of Jehovah. Chicago: Moody Press, 1956, 77-78).

“Chapter 48 is in certain respects a recapitulation or summary of points touched on in chapters 40-47. The chapter is of special importance to students of the Book of Mormon because it is quoted in full in 1 Nephi 20” (The Voice of Israel’s Prophets. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1962, 111).

“Every verse of this chapter is quoted differently in the Book of Mormon. Some of these differences are significant… Chapter 48 foretells the destiny of Judah and declares the omniscience of God” (Great Are the Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 168-169).

“A neck like an ‘iron sinew’ is a neck that does not bend or bow down in humble prayer. A brow of brass implies thick headedness, or an unwillingness, to ponder and accept the counsel of God. Rather, the stubborn rationalize away inspired counsel and are prone to give credit to false gods of their own design and purpose… ” (Unlocking Isaiah. American Fork: Covenant Communications, Inc., 2013, 220).

“Nevertheless, the Lord now declares that He will not allow his anger and sense of justice to completely cut them off even though their abominable behavior deserves it. The Lord says He will ‘defer’ his judgment so that his calling as a Savior may not be nullified. His name is Jesus the Christ (the latter word is Greek for Savior). Therefore, He will be their Savior for his name’s sake, and He will put Israel through an extended course of training and discipline rather than cut them off” (Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times. Salt Lake City: Ensign Publishing Company, 1984, [Second Edition, First Printing, February, 1993], 606).

“Chapter 49 is one of the most important chapters in the whole book of Isaiah, because it also clearly foretells the mission of the Latter-day Saints and the destiny of the land of America in connection with the house of Israel. Nephi interpreted the chapter as foretelling that the land of America would receive some of scattered Israel, while his brother Jacob applied it both to the Jews in Jerusalem and to the Gentiles. Chapter 49 is of such importance that it ought to be studied diligently by every member of the Church” (Great are the Words of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 173-174).

” … taken together, the words Isaiah uses [49:1-9; 1 Nephi 21:1-9] to describe the helper of Israel in the latter days apply only to two beings: the Messiah and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Nephi and Lehi seem to know not only that Isaiah intended to prophesy of Jesus and Joseph Smith (see 2 Nephi 3), but also that the latter-day restoration of the gospel would help bring about the final redemption of Israel” (“Nephi’s Lessons to His People: the Messiah, the Land and Isaiah 48-49 in 1 Nephi 19-22” in Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. Edited by Donald W. Parry and John W. Welch. Provo: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1998, 107).

“The Savior… explains to the saints [members] that while they will be part of the important work of gathering Israel they will also be involved in the work of preaching the gospel to the gentile nations. As they bring the light of the gospel to the world they will provide the means of salvation to those who will listen to their message (Luke 2:32; Acts 13:47; D&C 86:11; LDS Hymns #329)” (Simplified Isaiah for the Latter-Day Saints. Orem: Granite Publishing and Distribution LLC, 2006, 203).

One symbolic meaning of the term “graven thee upon the palms of my hands” “would be that the covenant made by Christ (to atone for the sins of the world and to bring to pass the resurrection) would be sealed or completed by his being nailed to the cross. These nail prints in the palms of his hands would then be a sign to the world, and especially to the Jews, that he had kept his promise {see Isaiah 22:23, 25; Zechariah 12:10; 13:6; D&C 45:48-53)” (Great Are The Words Of Isaiah. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980, 181).

“The ‘when’ of the prophecy is now. Converts throughout the world have joined the Church and then have gone throughout the world seeking to reclaim the house of Israel and bring them back to the Lord” (Old Testament student manual 1 Kings—Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981, Second Edition, 193-194).