Isaiah in 1 Nephi

Taken from the May 2009 Ensign Magazine, pg. 85

{Link}

I've never been able to appreciate Isaiah's presence in 1 Nephi before last night.

As I was reading this time I wanted to really know why he was there, and I think I have determined why.

We know that as Nephi and his family departed to their promised land that they had the scriptures with them. And I'm sure like all of us do, that Nephi read them often to learn of God, draw closer to him, and find enlightenment.

I'm pretty certain too, that as he was keeping a record, he wasn't aware that it would be scriptures later down the road. He always put that he was writing for his people, and hey, I am too. And I do in fact put scriptures in my journal, so that's how Isaiah ended up there.

As I was reading 1 Nephi chapter 21 which quotes from Isaiah 49, it struck me with clarity why Nephi was putting that in his "journal." {Nephi's Journal}

The chapter talks about his words being a sword, meaning painful to hear. Which his brothers thought he was overly harsh.{Harsh Words}

Isaiah talks about laboring in vain, and from that I'm guessing that Nephi felt like all he had done for his brothers was in vain. It just wasn't working out.

Isaiah later talks about Kings serving their servants. And from this I interpreted that Nephi was being told (which he was earlier on, and it upset his Brothers), that he would be over them even though they were the older siblings. {Brothers}{Brothers}

If you read the chapter from Nephi's perspective, it makes so much sense as to why he included it in his writings.

And, that was all the set up for the part that I really wanted to write about. I love it! And for now, it can be my favorite scripture.

It's from 1 Nephi 21 and is pulled partly from verses 15 and 16.

...Yea, they may ^cforget, yet will I not forget thee....Behold, I have graven thee upon the ^apalms of my hands...

Absolutely beautiful. Touching.

*Sorry if this didn't make as much sense as it should. I normally blog at night or during nap time, and it's neither of those, so the kids were all over me while I was writing.