Isaiah prophesied about 700 years before Jesus was born. Chapters 13–14 announce the fall of proud Babylon. In 14:12–15, Isaiah compares Babylon’s king to Lucifer. Lucifer said “I will” five times, tried to put himself above God, and was brought down. Moses 4:1–2 shows the other side of that premortal council. Satan demanded God’s honor. The Savior said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.” Chapters 24–30 and 35 look ahead to the last days. The Lord is a refuge from the storm in 25:4. Death is swallowed up in victory in 25:8, which Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 15:54. Those whose minds are stayed on Him get perfect peace in 26:3. Revelation comes line upon line in 28:10. The desert blossoms as the rose in 35:1. In 22:22–23, Eliakim receives the key of the house of David. He’s fastened “as a nail in a sure place.” Those words point to Jesus Christ. Compare Revelation 3:7.
The star of the week is Isaiah 29. Your Valiants can handle it as real prophetic evidence. Isaiah saw a people who would “speak out of the ground” and whisper “out of the dust.” That’s 29:4. Compare 2 Nephi 26:16. He saw a sealed book handed to a learned man who says, “I cannot; for it is sealed.” That’s 29:11. The same book goes to someone “not learned” in 29:12. And 29:14 promises a “marvellous work and a wonder.” Nephi quotes and expands this prophecy in 2 Nephi 27. He adds three witnesses who would see the book, in 27:12. And he adds the Lord’s promise in 27:20: “I am able to do mine own work.”
The fulfillment is in Joseph Smith—History 1:59–65. Joseph received the plates on September 22, 1827. That’s 199 years ago this very week. Moroni had buried them in a hill about 1,400 years earlier. Joseph copied some of the characters. In 1828, Martin Harris took them to Professor Charles Anthon in New York City. By Martin’s account, the professor called the characters true and wrote a certificate. Then he heard an angel was involved. He asked for the certificate back and tore it up. When Martin said part of the plates was sealed, Anthon replied, “I cannot read a sealed book.” Joseph was a young farmer with little schooling. He translated by the gift and power of God. The Book of Mormon was printed in 1830. Isaiah 29:13 shows up again in the First Vision. The Lord quoted it to describe the religions of Joseph’s day, in Joseph Smith—History 1:19.
Nine- to eleven-year-olds love a mystery that actually gets solved. They’re old enough to notice the pattern. Proud Lucifer falls. The proud professor misses the miracle. A humble teenager receives the book. That’s Isaiah 29:14: the wisdom of the worldly wise perishes, and God does His work anyway. Help them see that humble, line-upon-line learning is how they gain their own testimony of the Book of Mormon. Your 11-year-olds are getting ready for the temple, deacon quorums and Young Women classes. The restored priesthood and temples are part of the “marvellous work” Isaiah saw.