Friends, I couldn’t sleep last night.

About 2:00 am, I got out of bed, thinking about Isaiah 29.

Heading downstairs to the home study, I thought I would start my inquiry by seeing what Joseph Smith said about the chapter, so I pulled out the Joseph Smith Translation (Orem:  Granite Publishing, 2006).

What has Joseph done?  Well, I found out in the pre-dawn darkness that Joseph has added almost 900 words to the chapter.

Can I be transparent with you?  In these months of Isaiah study, God has used this ancient prophet to sharply chasten my sinning, rebellious self.

I have come to deeply love and cling to the phrases and words of this major prophetical book.  And this particular chapter is crucial.  I felt convicted last night in our Isaiah study when a brother shared the Word.  But earlier this morning around 2:30 am, I felt like Joseph threw the biblical text from my desk and thrust a whole new text in front of me.

Surely, there must be a general authority out there or a BYU Dead Sea Scroll scholar that would possibly treasure a fresh reading of the Great Isaiah Scroll itself.  Is the Isaiah of Isaiah 29 allowed to speak anew with authority in 2007 in the corridor?

Honestly, I am angry at the moment.  But in my search, I am going to really get angry if I am told one is pharisaical, divisive, or unloving for hungering and insisting upon the very phrases and words of God in Isaiah 29.  That would be turning things completely upside down, wouldn’t it?

Fiercely thinking of Isaianic heart issues at the moment . . .