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Sunday, March 24, 2019

Why does the Lord speak in the third person here? Mosiah 14:10

Why does the Lord speak in the third person here? Mosiah 14:10

Abinadi teaches the wicked priests of King Noah by quoting Isaiah.

And as usual, it's really hard to understand. The part that is difficult for me is the fact that this is the LORD speaking, aka Jehova, aka the pre-mortal Jesus Christ. Except it's really Isaiah speaking...but as him...speaking about himself...as if he's doing something to himself...and it's already happened. So weird. 

Let's compare the two verses:

Isaiah 53:10
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Mosiah 15:10
Yet it pleased the Lord [not LORD] to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin [no comma] he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord [not LORD] shall prosper in his hand.

Nowhere in the Book of Mormon is Lord written as LORD. It's written like that all over the Old Testament, and in almost all cases it means Jehovah, meaning Jesus Christ.

A comma is removed in the Book of Mormon text. This changes the meaning a tiny bit from: 

When a happens, then b, c, d, e.

When a happens then b, and then [later?] c will happen, and then [later?] d will hapen. 

I guess the main difference here is that in the Book of Mormon text points a and b are more closely linked to one another.

So what do they mean? 

In a 1995 talk called the Power to Heal from Within (that is a really mystical sounding talk title, IMO), Merrill Batemen, then presiding bishop, said: 
The Savior, as a member of the Godhead, knows each of us personally. Isaiah and the prophet Abinadi said that when Christ would “make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed” (Isa. 53:10; compare Mosiah 15:10). Abinadi explains that “his seed” are the righteous, those who follow the prophets (see Mosiah 15:11). In the garden and on the cross, Jesus saw each of us and not only bore our sins, but also experienced our deepest feelings so that he would know how to comfort and strengthen us.
Basically, Bateman is saying that this is one of the places in the scriptures that discusses how Jesus Christ will suffer for all of our sins and pains individually. I believe that he did this not just for the righteous people who follow the prophets, but for everybody. 

Answer:
I don't know why Isaiah had to speak messianically. It is confusing. But Matthew quotes Jesus Christ's reasons for teaching in parables in Matthew 13:14-15. I think it has to do with protecting our agency, allowing us to really choose faith. In these verses, Jesus Christ refers to Isaiah's prophecies, which is why I think they are both following the same pattern of reasoning.

Sometimes it's kind of irritating to me that it is this way, but as far as I know, I was not consulted. 

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