“For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.”

I love the promise that “strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.” As one living in ancient Israel, it must have been hard for Isaiah to truly envision the incredible outpouring of missionary work that would occur in the meridian of time and especially in our dispensation. But Isaiah more than any of the Old Testament prophets caught a glimpse of the incredible grafting of converts into the house of Israel. In later chapters he (or whoever wrote the last chapters whose authorship is disputed) even saw the spreading of the priesthood power and authority to those who were not yet a part of the house of Israel.

For Nephi and his family, this message would have been comforting. They were across the world and living among those who were not of Israel. Their neighbors likely had foreign customs and traditions. And yet Isaiah’s words might have helped reassure them that God was mindful of all of his Children. Not only were they not cast off, but they could help those not of Israel become grafted in through their witness of Christ.