In The Vision of All, Joseph Spencer draws on the best of biblical and Latter-day Saint scholarship to make sense of the so-called "Isaiah chapters" in the first two books of the Book of Mormon. Arguing that Isaiah lies at the very heart of Nephi's project, Spencer insists on demystifying the writings of Isaiah while nonetheless refusing to pretend that Isaiah is in any way easy to grasp. Presented as a series of down-to-earth lectures, The Vision of All outlines a comprehensive answer to the question of why Nephi was interested in Isaiah in the first place. Along the way, the book presents both a general approach to reading Isaiah in the Book of Mormon and a set of specific tactics for making sense of Isaiah's writings. For anyone interested in understanding what Isaiah is doing in the Book of Mormon, this is the place to start.
Praise for The Vision of All:
"Joseph Spencer uses a lecture style to gently ease his readers into what many Book of Mormon readers fear the most--Isaiah. Spencer's approach carefully replaces the fear with understanding, elucidates textual complexities, examines scholarly issues, and is remarkably helpful in showing his readers how and why we should care deeply about the presence of this Old World prophet in our New World scripture." -- Brant A. Gardner, author of Traditions of the Fathers: The Book of Mormon as History "With this book, Joseph M. Spencer has accomplished a remarkable feat. He has produced a reader-friendly, engaging study of the writings of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon that makes Isaiah accessible without overly-simplifying his theology and message. After reading Spencer's book, Latter-day Saints will more fully understand why Nephi devoted so much of his life and writings to Isaiah and why Jesus expressed to the Nephites that 'great are the words of Isaiah.' This book needs to be on the shelf of every serious Book of Mormon student." -- Nicholas J. Frederick, Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University, author of The Bible, Mormon Scripture, and the "Rhetoric of Allusivity"About the Author:
Joseph M. Spencer is visiting assistant professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He's the author of An Other Testament (Maxwell Institute Press, 2016) and For Zion: A Mormon Theology of Hope(Greg Kofford Books, 2014). He currently serves as the associate director of the Mormon Theology Seminar and as an associate editor of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. He and Karen, his wife, live with their five children in Provo, Utah.