3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

Isaiah’s prophecies would have had added resonance to the Nephites. These verses describing the transformation of wilderness into Eden would have not only spoken to a future day, but reminded them of recent history. Had they not been led through the deseret to a garden place? Had they not crossed the ocean and discovered a great wilderness? Had they not built a piece of Eden through the construction of a temple and the consecration of the land to God? They had seen God fulfil these promises in their own lifetime, and therefore could foresee the great day of deliverance with clarity and hope.

“5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people. The isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.”

And when Isaiah speaks of “[t]he isles” waiting on the Lord, I can imagine the joy that these people must have felt. Here was God acknowledging their faith and devotion. He knew them and was mindful of them. Because of Christ. They were saved.



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