The Twisting of Isaiah 29

I am going to be more serious now.

The next chapter in Isaiah, 29, has interesting stuff in it as well. This is not as scary as how I interpreted a passage from chapter 28.

Verses 9-12 of Isaiah 29 is about how there is a deep sleep poured out upon the people and their prophets and seers see and prophesy nothing. There is a great metaphor in there about how trying to see a vision is, for the people of Israel is like reading a sealed book.

"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot for it is sealed:
"And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."

You would never guess what Joseph Smith did to it! He took verses 11 and 12 and twisted them so they would be a prophecy of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. According to Joseph Smith and his Book of Mormon witnesses, there was a sealed portion of the golden plates, the plates from which the translation of the Book of Mormon was taken. No one could read it. But somehow, Joseph Smith decided to make up a story about a scholar telling him, when he sent over someone with some characters from the plates, that he couldn't read a sealed book, meaning the gold plates. Basically, this scholar refused to read or interpret these characters, which were copied onto a piece of paper.

Look in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 27: 15-21:

"But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book: Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show them unto the learned, saying: Read this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say: Bring hither the book, and I will read them.
"And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God.
"And the man shall say: I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.
"Then shall the learned say: I cannot read it.
"Wherefore it shall come to pass, that the Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned.
"Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.
"Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work."

Here we have the beginning of the twisting of a negative prophecy about the Israelites in Bible times to a positive prophecy about the Book of Mormon and its assessment by faithless and worldy scholars in the nineteenth century. Is this far-fetched? Why yes of course.

Read the canonized Joseph Smith--History in verses 63-65. It sounds like this story was either made up or twisted around to sound, again, like Bible prophecy from Isaiah.

At this point, I am sort of annoyed at Joseph Smith. He also uses Isaiah 29: 13-14 as well. According to the LDS Church, verse 14 prophesies the coming of the LDS Church, that it is the "marvellous work and a wonder" in verse 14. Again, go to 2 Nephi 27 to get this one re-quoted in verse 26. And verse 13 is quoted as well in verse 25 to describe the preachers of his day as being far from the Lord despite all their speaking of him. It is a way of saying that Joseph Smith was supposedly told, by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the first vision, that none of those churches in Joseph Smith's home town, or in the world, were true. (See Joseph Smith--History verse 19.)

I must say that Joseph Smith worked hard to convince Latter-day Saints through the ages that their church and their Book of Mormon were both the truest on earth. And it worked!

It doesn't work on me anymore. I am doing closer, more honest readings of the Bible. And, sorry, Joe, but it doesn't work on me anymore. No more Joe Smith magic is blinding my eyes.

Sayonara!