Circle Squared
A Textual Analysis of the Book of Mormon
Chapter 22: "Hurry Up and Wait"
Chapter Summary:
Israel will be scattered upon all the face of the earth--The Gentiles will nurse and nourish Israel with the gospel in the last days--Israel will be gathered and saved, and the wicked will burn as stubble--The kingdom of the devil will be destroyed, and Satan will be bound. About 588–570 B.C.
As with Lehi's dream of the tree of life, Nephi's brothers have no idea what anything in Isaiah means. And understandably so. Isaiah is very confusing and hard to understand. This is why so many Jews and Christians and Mormons dispute what it all means.
Well, we are in luck. Nephi is going to put it all to rest. Not so lucky, however, is that Nephi's interpretation seems to have little to nothing to do with what Isaiah actually said.
Isaiah speaks mostly through metaphors and vague symbolism about the scattering of the house of Israel, and their subsequent regathering. Nephi's interpretation adds to this that the coming together of the house of Israel, which has been spread throughout all the isles of the sea, will be brought together through the Gentiles. In this context Nephi means that Europeans will come to America, scatter the remaining members of Lehi's family (Native Americans), and then set in motion the gathering of Israel.
Mormons often take this as prophecy of the creation of the state of Israel in the Middle East, but this does not match up well with what is being described here. The state of Israel, at most, is a partial gathering of a single tribe of Israel, not the house as a whole (12 tribes), which is what Nephi suggests. So, nearly 200 years after the original publication of the Book of Mormon we are still waiting for the other eleven twelfths of Nephi's interpretation of Isaiah's millennia-old prophecy. What's the rush?
In an attempt to get away with this shirking of accountability, Mormons claim fulfillment of this prophecy through those who receive a patriarchal blessing (a special blessing for Mormon youths, often associated with coming of age as an adult) where the officiant of the blessing declares of which house of Israel the youth is a member. This is in no way meant to be a literal descent, which could be tested through DNA (and we can't have that). This is a spiritual adoption. Whatever that means.
Furthermore, Nephi clearly states that not only will the entire house of Israel be gathered together from whatever captivity they are currently in, but they will all believe in Jesus as their messiah, which to a Mormon means the Jews will convert to Mormonism:
"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."
Nephi goes on to warn over and over again that the time "speedily cometh" that god will destroy "all that fight against Zion", most likely by fire:
"Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire."
Nephi ends this chapter, and the first book of Nephi, with yet another admonition for readers to take everything he says at face value. After all, Nephi and Lehi are not the only people to make these predictions and warnings, and we all know that the more people that believe a thing speaks to its truthfulness, no matter how ludicrous the claim. And if the reader does this, then god will offer an eternal reward. But if the reader does not, then an eternal punishment awaits. Now that's a moral system, if I've ever heard one.
I'm sorry, but even a liberal reading of these passages leaves far too many holes for me to take seriously the creation of the state of Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy. It looks more like reading between the lines and filling what ever gaps are necessary to maintain a fragile belief system. What is so speedy about a warning given over two thousand years ago? Why should any modern thinking person take this seriously? This sounds more like fear mongering by a primitive-minded evangelist: "believe me, or else!"