Isaiah speaks to our time

I recently taught the LDS Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class (adults). The lesson was on the first six chapters of the Book of Isaiah. Section one in the lesson manual had a very interesting and important list of “warnings and prophecies” that the church manual said applied both to Isaiah’s day and to our own.

That list is included here (please keep reading below the list). In addition to those who had access to the instructor’s manual in the “Gospel Library” app on their phones, I included the list in a handout to the class. The manual asks the class to discuss “How are the conditions described in the following scriptures evident in the world today?”

1. Isaiah 1:3–5 (Rebellion against the Lord)

2. Isaiah 1:11–15 (Religious ceremonies without meaning or faith)

3. Isaiah 2:7–8 (Worship of worldly things and military security instead of the Lord; note that horses and chariots were used as instruments of war in ancient times)

4. Isaiah 2:11–12 (Pride)

5. Isaiah 3:5 (Oppression of other people and failing to honor older people)

6. Isaiah 3:9 (No shame for sin)

7. Isaiah 3:14–15 (Taking advantage of the poor and failing to care for them)

8. Isaiah 3:16–24 (Emphasis on outward physical beauty at the expense of righteousness and good character)

9. Isaiah 5:8 (Greedy desires to own more and more material things)

10. Isaiah 5:11–12 (Constantly seeking worldly pleasures instead of seeking the Lord and his work)

11. Isaiah 5:20 (Saying that evil things are good and good things are evil)

12. Isaiah 5:21 (Trusting in oneself instead of in God)

13. Isaiah 5:24 (Despising the commandments and word of God)

When I first saw this list while preparing the lesson, I felt I was reading an ancient prophetic prediction of the Trump administration, the Republican Party, and Fox News. I still strongly feel that way. My problem was trying to figure out how to make the lesson “plain” without mentioning anything “political” that might cause upset or dissension in the class. After much prayer and struggle, I decided to essentially provide the class with the prophetic warnings (the list) and let THEM react to and discuss the items on the list that stood out to them.

I testified to the class that every one of these problems were strongly present in our country and in our state (Utah) RIGHT NOW. I also mentioned that it is easy to say “THEY are sinners,” and “THEY need to repent,” but reminded the class that the scriptures were written to remind US of the need to repent. Isaiah was preaching to the CHOSEN PEOPLE, not to the Assyrians or the Babylonians.

I then gave the class five minutes to silently select one or two of the warnings from this list and read the accompanying scripture verse(s). Then I asked for comments for about 15 minutes of the class time. It was like a Testimony meeting when no one wants to speak. A few people finally mentioned #8 (emphasizing outward physical beauty) and #10 (seeking worldly pleasures). One person mentioned #11 (saying evil was good and good was evil), but that person’s subtle subtext was against gay marriage, and NOT about the shameless liars and deceivers in our current government. Most of the comments were on #12 (trusting self over God), but no one mentioned any particular person in politics, government, entertainment, or the media that was “wise in their own eyes.” It would certainly have been easy to name an example, but perhaps the class members, too, were being politically cautious.

Near the end of the 15 minutes, after another long silence, I pointed the class to #2 (religious ceremonies without meaning) and said that that scripture shocked me when I read it. The Lord states that he “hateth” and was “weary” of the people’s burnt offerings, incense, feasts, solemn meetings, and even their prayers. In other words, he was tired of all their religious observances, because, he said, “your hands are full of blood.” I reminded the class of the charge to not partake of the sacrament “unworthily” and pointed out that NONE of our religious practices or observances mean anything if they are not done righteously. Isaiah was describing a society that still went through the motions of being the Chosen People, but had lost the blessings of the Lord through their oppression of the elderly and the needy, and through their greed, shallowness, selfishness, pride, worldliness, materialism, militarism, self-justification, and lies.

I wanted to remind the class that the 2018 election was just weeks away and suggest they use this list of prophetic warnings as they evaluate the candidates they vote for. I am not sure whether I just didn’t have the courage to speak up, or whether the spirit led me to stay quiet on that matter. I believe the spirit WAS present during the class. I had thought that at least some members of the class would speak up on the “more difficult” (more political?) issues from this list, like #7 (abusing the poor) or #5 (oppressing the elderly) or #3 (militarism). It didn’t happen.

I could look back on this lesson and say that the class picked the easy topics, that they took the easy way out; but I prefer to believe that the class members were perhaps feeling and thinking about some of these topics more deeply, and more personally, than they may have before and just didn’t have the words to express their, perhaps complex, thoughts and feelings. The tone, the spirit, the feeling in the room during the discussion, and even during the long silences, was not one of denial or avoidance or stubbornness, but one of thoughtfulness, concern, and perhaps a bit of embarrassment.

I did get a few complements after the lesson. I believe I got some people thinking. I doubt I changed any Republicans into Democrats, but I hope at least some of the class members will be more aware, thoughtful, and prayerful, on these issues in the future. Given the astonishing clarity and the stunning modern relevance of Isaiah’s warnings, we, as Church members and as a Country, had better repent soon if we don’t want to repeat the consequences suffered by the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (and Rome, and the Maya, and the Jaredites, and the Nephites, and….).

Sources: Old Testament: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, Lesson 36, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Isaiah’s Warnings about the Last Days,” A Sunday School lesson plan by Brian Ferguson.