2
Ne 14:1 seven women shall take hold of one man
So
many men will be killed in the destructions and wars will which accompany the
Second Coming that there will be an incredible difference in the number of
living males and females. The culture of Isaiah, understandably, is reflected
in his prophecies—as in the statement, ‘only let us
be called by thy name to take away our reproach.’ Anciently, a woman who
could have no children was described with the unflattering adjective, “barren.”
This was because great emphasis was placed on marriage and a woman’s ability to
have children.
“…’seven women’ (meaning simply a lot
of women) will request a man’s hand in marriage. Economic problems will be such that these women will be willing
to provide their own food and clothing, contrary to the usual marriage
customs. According to the Hebrew
scriptures (Exodus 21:10), a man was required to provide a wife with food and
clothing; but in this case Isaiah observes that the women are willing to waive
that right. Having a good knowledge of
the importance of marriage, they request a man to take away their
reproach. In Isaiah's day and, indeed,
in many parts of the Near East today, it was and is a disgrace to remain
unmarried.” (Book of Mormon compendium, by Sidney Sperry, chapter 11, 2
Nephi14)
Wilford
Woodruff
“I had been reading the
revelations…[when] a strange stupor came over me and I recognized that I was in
the Tabernacle at Ogden. I arose to speak and said…I will answer you right here
what is coming to pass shortly….I then looked in all directions…and I found the
same mourning in every place throughout the Land. It seemed as though I was
above the earth, looking down to it as I passed along on my way east and I saw
the roads full of people principally women with just what they could carry in
bundles on their backs…It was remarkable to me that there were so few men among
them…Wherever I went I saw…scenes of horror and desolation rapine and
death…death and destruction everywhere. I cannot paint in words the horror that
seemed to encompass me around. It was beyond description or thought of man to
conceive. I supposed that this was the End but I was here given to understand,
that the same horrors were being enacted all over the country…Then a voice said
‘Now shall come to pass that which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet That seven women shall take hold of one man…’” (Journal
of Wilford Woodruff, June 15, 1878 as taken from Isaiah: Prophet, Seer,
and Poet, by Victor L. Ludlow, p. 109)
2
Ne 14:2 the branch of the Lord [shall] be beautiful and glorious
In
the next chapter of Isaiah, the prophet will compare the house of Israel to a ‘vineyard in a very fruitful hill’ (2 Ne 15:1).
Isaiah may be referencing the prophecies of Zenos and the parable of the
olive-tree (Jacob 5). This is important because it helps us to understand that
the branch represents a part of the house of Israel in the last days. ‘Joseph…obtained a promise of the Lord, that…God would
raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a
branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the
covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the
latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness
unto light’ (2 Ne 3:5).
2
Ne 14:3-4 they that are left in Zion and remain in
Jerusalem shall be called holy
The
past several verses have been speaking of the dawn of the Millenial day, when
evil is destroyed and the glory of the Lord redeems Zion and Jerusalem. In
order for that glorious day to come, the wicked must first be destroyed. Those
that are left must be holy enough to dwell on the newly cleansed earth, ‘when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the
daughters of Jerusalem.’ During the Millenium, the earth will exist in a
terrestrial state. Only those worthy of a terrestrial (or higher) glory will be
allowed to live at that time. DC 88:98 speaks of the celestial inhabitants of
the earth during the Millenium; DC 88:99 speaks of the terrestrial inhabitants.
The next two verses describe those of a telestial glory and those of Perdition
which will not be allowed on the earth during the Millenium, ‘they live not again until the thousand years are ended,
neither again, until the end of the earth.’
Joseph Fielding Smith
“At the close of the sixth thousand
years and at the opening of the seventh, since the fall, the earth and all that
remain upon its face will be changed from the telestial condition of wickedness
to the terrestrial condition of peace and order. This is the day when the earth
‘will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory,’
as declared in the tenth Article of Faith…
”For one thousand years this
terrestrial condition will prevail. All things upon the earth that have
subscribed to the telestial law will have been removed, and creatures of the
terrestrial order will remain.” (Church History & Modern Revelation,
vol. 2, pp. 64-5)
2
Ne 14:5 a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of
a flaming fire by night
One
might be tempted to interpret this scripture figuratively if the literal events
had not already taken place. When Moses brought the children of Israel out of
Egypt, he protected and guided them by means of a cloud of smoke by day and a
pillar of fire by night:
‘And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to
lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to do
by day and night.’ (Ex 13:21).
‘And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel,
removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before
their face, and stood behind them:
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of
Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by
night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.’ (Ex 14:19-20)
Apparently,
the glory of Zion will be as when the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt with a
mighty hand. He will fight their battles such that the wicked (who are soon to
be destroyed) will say, ‘Let us not go up to battle
against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot
stand’ (DC 45:70). As literally as described in Exodus, Zion will be
protected by the cloud of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night.
Orson Pratt
“The time is to come when God will meet
with all the congregation of his Saints, and to show his approval, and that he
does love them, he will work a miracle by covering them in the cloud of his
glory. I do not mean something that is invisible, but I mean that same order of
things which once existed on the earth so far as the tabernacle of Moses was
concerned, which was carried in the midst of the children of Israel as they
journeyed in the wilderness. Did God manifest himself in that tabernacle that
was built according to the pattern which he gave unto his servant Moses? He
did. In what way? In the day time a cloud filled that tabernacle. The Lord
intended his people to be covered with the cloud continually, and he intended
to reveal himself unto them, and to show forth his glory more fully amongst
them; but they sinned so much in his sight that he declared—‘My presence shall not go up with this people, lest I
should break forth upon them in my fury and consume them in a moment.’ Because
of their wickedness he withdrew his presence, and his glory in a great measure
was taken from them; but still Moses was permitted to enter the tabernacle, and
to behold the glory of God, and it is said that he talked with the Lord face to
face--a blessing which God did intend to bestow upon all Israel had they kept
his law and had not hardened their hearts against him. But in the latter days
there will be a people so pure in Mount Zion, with a house established upon the
tops of the mountains, that God will manifest himself, not only in their Temple
and upon all their assemblies, with a visible cloud during the day, but when the
night shall come, if they shall be assembled for worship, God will meet with
them by his pillar of fire; and when they retire to their habitations, behold
each habitation will be lighted up by the glory of God--a pillar of flaming
fire by night.
“Did you ever hear of any city that was
thus favored and blessed since the day that Isaiah delivered this prophecy? No,
it is a latter-day work, one that God must consummate in the latter times when
he begins to reveal himself, and show forth his power among the nations. This
is what the words of our text mean, the first verse of the 60th chapter of
Isaiah—‘Arise and shine, for thy light is come, and
the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’”(Journal of Discourses,
vol. 16, pp. 82-3)
2 Ne 14:6 a place of refuge
Zion will be a place of physical and
spiritual refuge to the pure in heart.
‘For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light
may be a standard for the nations;
And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon
her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from
wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.’ (DC 115:4-6)
‘And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a
city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;
And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the
Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and
it shall be called Zion.’ (DC 45:66-7)
Joseph
Smith
“…The time is soon coming, when no man
will have any peace but in Zion and her stakes.
“I saw men hunting the lives of their
own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and
daughters seeking the lives of their mothers. I saw armies arrayed against
armies. I saw blood, desolation, fires. The Son of man has said that the mother
shall be against the daughters, and the daughter against the mother. These
things are at our doors. They will follow the Saints of God from city to city.
Satan will rage, and the spirit of the devil is now enraged. I know not how
soon these things will take place.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
p. 161 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon
compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 134)