I am excited that my books on Isaiah have arrived and are available. This two-volume set is designed to help students of the scriptures increase their understanding of the words of Isaiah. His writings persuade us to believe in Christ and they give hope to us in our day (see 2 Nephi 19:23-24). I have loved the hope that I have received through my study of Isaiah. Isaiah’s words are especially relevant for our day!

You can get a copy from Cedar Fort’s website. If you like what you read, please tell a friend. Enjoy!

This year I have been creating videos that I hope are helpful as we study the Book of Mormon.  I have also created videos that focus on the chapters of Isaiah that are quoted in the Book of Mormon.  I have a friend that has taken these videos and made them look quite professional.  I am really happy with the way that they have turned out.  If you would like to see these videos, you can find them at:

Study My Gospel

I hope you enjoy what we have created.

in 2020 we are studying the Book of Mormon in our home.  In my teaching, I sometimes use quotes to help deepen our learning of the topic.  As we go along, I am sharing many of these quotes on this site and I hope they are helpful to my seminary students, friends and especially my family.  These quotes can be found in my “Book of Mormon” section.   I hope you enjoy some of Brother Miller’s Notes.

If you are interested in watching the videos, they can be found at:Brother Miller’s Notes – Come, Follow Me for the Book of Mormon

In 1991 my father and I co-authored a book titled “Isaiah in the Book of Mormon:  A Guide to Spiritual Growth.”  Since then I have added, altered, expanded and rewritten our notes.  As I have been studying these chapters again, I started making short videos based on some of the principles that apply so well to us today.  I add a video every couple of weeks to my YouTube channel.  You can access these videos here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxcj_-gG5pXoxS1e_hI4tEg/featured?view_as=subscriber

My hope is that what I have in these videos and have written about Isaiah’s teachings in my blog (brotherrmiller.wordpress.com/) will help students of the scriptures increase their understanding of the words of Isaiah so that they are brought closer to Christ. 

I hope you enjoy what I have come up with.

We have spent the last 18 months studying the Book of Isaiah as a family.  We finished chapter 66 this past week and I guess if you really want to find out how it went you would need to ask our children.  I think back to when Christ spoke to the Nephites and said: “And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah” (3 Nephi 23:1).

I agree that “great are the words of Isaiah.”  For me, my study has brought me greater hope for the future, as well as for the world we live in.  Reading Isaiah helps me take a look at where I am in life and gives me a greater sense of divine discontent that motivates me to be more kind, more sincere, and more loving.  It really makes me want to be more Christlike.  Maybe that is one of the greatest benefits of studying the prophet Isaiah – it invites you to become close to God.

One thing that I never want to forget from our family study of Isaiah is “the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32:17).   We can feel this peace today and it is a harbinger of the peace that awaits us in its fullness in the world to come (see D&C 59:23).  I have felt that peace and realize that it is a taste of the peace that is in store for righteous saints.  That peace give us hope (or assurance) forever.

As we studied chapter 50 of Isaiah this past week a quote from Benjamin Franklin often came to mind  He is attributed to saying: “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”   To say the right thing, at the right time, and leave the wrong thing unsaid is the mark of a truly wise person.  Isaiah wrote “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary …” (50:4).  The word ‘learned’ (Heb. limmûwd) can also be translated as ‘instructed’ or ‘disciple.’  The tongue of the learned is one that has been instructed in righteousness. It is the tongue of a disciple. Disciples show their ‘good conversation [by their] works with meekness of wisdom’ (James 3:13).

I hope you enjoy my notes on chapter 50. It was a delightful chapter for me and encouraged me to build up others with what I say.

Isaiah 48 is a marvelous chapter and is the first chapter of Isaiah quoted in the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi 20).  Nephi teaches this chapter of Isaiah to his family shortly after their arrival in the Americas.  He introduces the words of Isaiah in 1 Nephi 19 by giving a small discourse on that which is of “great worth . . .  to the body and the soul.” (1 Nephi 19:7).  Nephi speaks of the prophecies of the crucifixion, and of the scattering of the Jews.  He centers on the many things that the Jews will suffer until there comes a time where they will “no more turn aside their hearts against the Holy One of Israel, then will he remember the covenants which he made to their fathers.”  (1 Nephi 19:15).  Nephi relates this to his people so that they would “remember the Lord their Redeemer,” (1 Nephi 19:18) especially when life’s furnaces of affliction further encourage them to remember their Lord.  Nephi next challenges his people, and those who will live in the latter days, to apply the words of Isaiah to themselves. (1 Nephi 19:20-24).

One of the major themes of this chapter is that there is no peace in wickedness and no salvation in idols.  God wants us to have joy and peace and will help us obtain that through life’s refining moments.  I hope you enjoy this wonderful chapter

This week one verse stood out to me as we studied chapter 43:

43:10  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

A Witness (Heb. ʻêd) is a testimony.  The phrase ‘ye are my witnesses’ could be translated as ‘your life is a testimony.’

If you put the phrase ‘saith the LORD’ at the beginning of this verse, the relationship between being a witness and a servant of God is more easily seen.  A servant has the responsibility to stand as a witness of the LORD.  The life of God’s servants stands as their testimony to the world. Servant witnesses are to know and believe in God as well as believe what He has told us.  Servant witnesses are also to understand.   To understand (Heb. Bîyn) is to discern, or see to the heart of what matters.  We need to know, believe and discern that Christ is the great ‘I am’ of the Old Testament, as well as the Savior.  As the Lord testified in the next verse:

43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

This week we focused on the theme of Isaiah chapter 41 –  Israel is the Lord’s Servant.  Each member of Israel can apply this theme to themselves.  Isaiah taught that:

1. We are God’s servants (41:8).
2. We are called to be like Abraham – a friend, loyal and trusted (41:8).
3. We are his chosen people (41:8-9).
4. God has called us from the chief men and women of the earth (41:9).
5. We are to ‘fear not,’ for God will strengthen, help, and uphold us (41:10).
6. Those who are against us will be ashamed and confounded and will perish (41:11).
7. They who war against us will be “as nothing, and as a thing of nought” (41:12).
8. While holding our right hand, God will say, “Fear not; I will help thee” (41:13).
9. God will mold us into powerful, unique instruments, enabling us to perform our work (41:15-16).

I loved the symbolism that Isaiah also taught in this chapter of the transformation of the lowly worm into a powerful instrument.  I hope you enjoy reading about the blessings of serving God as well as how God can transform the most inferior of all of us into instruments in His hands to do His work as you study the notes on chapter 41.