Mormon Terminology: Ensign

23 November

ensign-2Conference Report, Afternoon Meeting, April, 1961, p. 119; “This Church is the standard which Isaiah said the Lord would set up for the people in the latter days. This Church was given to be a light to the world and to be a standard for God’s people and for the Gentiles to seek to. This Church is the ensign on the mountain spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. It is the way, the truth, and the life.” – Marion Romney

2 Nephi 15:26-27 “And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them. 27 None shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken.”

Isaiah 5:26-27 “And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; 27  None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken.”

Isaiah 11:12 “And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

Today we’re taking a look at the Hebrew word ‘ensign’ found in Isaiah, Mormon speeches like the one listed above, and the Book of Mormon. Let’s first take a look at our text and how this word was used!

There are a few different Hebrew words for the English word ‘ensign’. Today we’re looking at the one used in Isaiah 5:26-27, and Isaiah 11:12.

The transliteration for ensign in these two examples is ‘nēs’, which means ‘a flag; banner, sail, (en-) sign, standard’, etc. The Lord used the word ‘ensign’ with this meaning 20 times in His word, all of which are located in the OT era.

In our first bible passage listed (Is. 5), ensign is used as a description for a flag of an army. A foreign army. This passage tells us God can call armies from afar to do His will, and He did just that. Foreign entities joined together to decimate Israel, and everyone from Assyria to Babylon pummeled God’s children over the course of several hundred years with the major takeovers beginning in the 8th century BC. Our second example in Isaiah 11:12 is a flag, or banner, used in a more tranquil setting; at the end of time.

With our history lesson behind us, we can now look at the two other subject matters!

1.Why did Mr. Romney say that Mormons would be the people everyone would look to in latter days?

Did he not realize Jesus will be gathering people together, and it won’t be in Utah?

The Church is not the ensign Isaiah referred to, nor will it be utilized by God as an example of true worshipers. By their own admission, Mormons don’t believe in the God of the Bible, so why would God use them as an ensign to represent Himself?

Why did Mr. Romney refer to the Church as ‘the way, the truth, and the life’? This is how Jesus referred to Himself in John 14:6!

Is the LDS Church claiming to be the Messiah???

2.The obvious plagiarism Joe Smith employed can’t be missed, even by the novice.

Why did Joe Smith insert the writings of Isaiah into the BoM?

What, if anything, does this passage in Isaiah have to do with people living on another continent?

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