That ‘line upon line’ principle is very kind and merciful. (Isaiah 13-14; 24-30; 35)

13:7-8

"Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames." Six predictions:

1. All hands be faint.

2. Every man's heart shall melt.

3. They shall be afraid.

4. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them.

5. They shall be amazed one at another.

6. Their faces shall be as flames.

This feel familiar to what is happening now. Some are becoming weak and easily offended. There seems to be a shortage of selflessness and bravery. Fear is paralyzing for many. Many are becoming fixated on their ailments and trials.

It's interesting about people being amazed at each other and their faces shall be as flames. It's good imagery. What does someone look like where their faces are burning? To me, it's a desperate or angry or fearful look. I've seen people where their faces are contorted and their skin is red. It does look like their faces are aflame.

14:10, 12, 16

Satan is a pathetic, small man-child. Those who follow him will not be impressed when they see him. "All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?... How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" Satan has so much influence but is not an impressive individual.

"They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" I love the phrase "shall narrowly look upon." I picture people looking down at him. They'll attempt to focus their eyes through squinting and struggle to see him as anything more than a pathetic, small man-child.

14:13-14

Satan's biggest sin was pride. How pride led to his downfall indicates for us how abominable and harmful pride is. It always leads to something worse. For Satan, his pride led him to lose everything. "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."

For Satan, it was all about him. It was about what he could do. He was obviously a talented leader with strengths. But, those strengths became his weakness in that he started to believe that HE deserved the glory. He thought it was in his power to exalt himself. It was up to him to ascend to heaven.

This is a warning for us. We can't let our talent lead to pride. We can't begin to believe that it is completely up to us to ascend to heaven. We can't exalt ourselves. Sure, we must choose to follow God, but we must always view ourselves as followers - regardless of our ability to lead.

24:2

"And it shall be,

as with the people, so with the priest;

as with the servant, so with his master;

as with the maid, so with her mistress;

as with the buyer, so with the seller;

as with the lender, so with the borrower;

as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him."

No one's social standing will exempt them from the challenges that are coming to the earth.

24:11

"There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone." Even in the midst of this destruction that was a result of their wickedness, they will long for their wickedness. We humans are kinda lame. We often crave the thing that is getting us off track. We long for the cause of our sorrow. We are strange.

24:22

I often joke about wanting to enjoy a long life because the next life is so busy. There is a lot of work to do. It is mostly missionary work. Isaiah understood this. "And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." These visits will be conducted by missionaries in the spirit world.

If you're reading this and are believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, guess what you'll be doing shortly after you die? Put your spiritual walking shoes on!

25:4

"For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall." We want this said about us. We should actively look for those who are in distress and be a refuge for them.

How do you do this? I think an easy way is to look for those who may need support at church. Rather than give the obligatory greeting and move on, let's ask real questions. Let's pray for the Spirit to guide us in our interactions. The Spirit can help us see need in others. We can be prompted about who needs us this week.

It is possible that we can be a moment of reprieve for someone who is struggling. Actively looking for opportunities and responding to promptings is a way to serve the Lord and refine our ability to be selfless.

26:3-4

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Relying on the Lord can give us peace and calm our mind. If our mind is troubled by the current conditions that we face, our morale can be all over the map. If we are fixated on the Lord, an ever-constant being, our mind and mood will not be tossed side to side with the random events that happen to us.

"Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." The things of the Lord are eternal. The Lord isn't a fleeting source of strength. He isn't fickle. He isn't transient. He doesn't promise and then not follow through. Focusing on him is focusing on eternity. With our focus in eternity, the daily challenges we face will automatically become smaller.

26:10, 16

The wicked do not learn from being blessed. "Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness." The wicked generally change course only through trials. If a sinner makes a lot of money through sinning, he doesn't feel any desire to change course.

On the other hand, the righteous can be steered towards more righteousness through trials. "Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them."

28:10, 13

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." This is a often-quoted verse about how we receive instruction and wisdom from the Lord. He gives us little by little for several reasons:

• We cannot learn everything at once. It would overwhelm our brainpower.

• Learning and wisdom builds on each other. Some things must be learned before others. It starts with simple and then gets more complex.

• We must build our faith along with our knowledge. If we receive knowledge without faith, we may find that our spiritual strength isn't enough to support that knowledge. We are cognitively accountable without the ability to live up to it.

I think this is what verse 13 is talking about. "But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken." My progress can be summed up as "they might go, and fall backward." Our limited but growing spiritual knowledge gives us room to fail without being condemned.

I am way behind President Nelson in our spiritual growth. Partly because God grants wisdom little by little. I am not as accountable as President Nelson. God can be more understanding of my weaknesses as I have not learned the many principles that President Nelson has. I am 'allowed' more opportunities to fail without being condemned.

29:8

"It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion." Those who attempt to satisfy their needs through worldly means will never be able to do it. The natural man is never satisfied!

For example, we can yearn for money and work hard for it and receive it. We can become a billionaire and it still won't satisfy us. We can try drugs to make us happy but it will always leave us empty. There is no other source of lasting joy outside of the gospel.

29:13

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:" There are many hypocrites who claim righteousness but stray in secret. There are others who honor God at church and then don't lift a finger in His service throughout the week.

They don't truly 'fear' the Lord - meaning, they don't honor and respect Him. If they did, their daily lives would be consistent. There wouldn't be a Sunday vs. weekday version. Instead, they fear God in that their righteousness is driven by consequence avoidance. They don't break commandments because they don't want to be punished. They fear consequences. It is men who teach the concept of heaven and hell and fire and torment.

We need to be fully converted so that our fear (respect and love and honor) for God is genuine and the source of our righteous acts.

29:18, 24

Isaiah saw the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness." The Book of Mormon has done much in helping those who were blinded finally see. Those who have not heard true religion are suddenly all ears. I've listened to many converts who share how they were blind and now they see. The Book of Mormon has done much in convincing people in the truthfulness of this gospel. Including me.

"They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine."

29:21

"That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought." That first part really struck me. It used to be that free speech was a key feature of this country. Now, it's changing. People can be persecuted and canceled for their words. We need to be willing to offend each other so that open communication can happen. If we can make someone a criminal offender for their speech, we're definitely losing our freedom.

30:1-3

Much of this chapter is about Judah turning to political alliances to save them rather than turning to the Lord. "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion."

It is fine to make smart political moves and strategic alliances to benefit you and your people. However, if you're relying completely on yourself and others and forgetting the Lord, it will not lead to a positive outcome. We must always partner closely with the Lord and not attempt to figure things out independent of him.

It is better to make no alliances and no strategy and rely on the Lord than to do the opposite of that. We need to stop relying on ourselves. We are spiritual and mental babies and, no matter what, have the mindset that we need our Heavenly Father. We are not good one our own. Imagine how far a toddler would get if he never wanted help. That's us.

30:10

"Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits." People want to hear comfortable, uplifting messages from their leaders. They don't want reality or criticism. They want to be told that exactly what they are currently doing is perfect - that they don't need to change.

How much room does it leave for improvement if you're being told 'CONGRATULATIONS Eric! You're the best __________ in the whole world!' If I hear that, it doesn't exactly motivate me to improve and be better. Which we can all do...

30:21

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." This is how our lives can be. We can receive this type of real-time guidance. If we have our spiritual senses tuned, we can receive direction from on high.

It's not that we become puppets or that we can't make decisions for ourselves. But, we can request and receive help. Imagine the kind of direction you would give your child. You wouldn't tell them everything to do - you'd want them to make decisions. But, if asked, you would give counsel and give your opinion on the decisions they make. God is willing to do the same for us. If we remain teachable and listening.