Five Keys to Understanding Isaiah

To his faithful followers in the Americas, the Lord gave a commandment to "search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah" (3 Nephi 23:1). That commandment implies that understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ and the words of Isaiah go hand in hand. Unfortunately, many find the writings of Isaiah hard to understand. Nephi may have been aware of this difficulty, for he addresses his latter-day audience specifically in 2 Nephi 25, giving us five keys to help facilitate comprehension of Isaiah's words. These keys include being filled with the spirit of prophecy, living righteously in the last days, and understanding the geography and rhetorical tradition of the Jews.