(Isa. 52:1–3; Joel 3:17; refer in this text to 2 Ne. 8:24–25)
The first half of the verse is addressed to the Saints of the latter days who will be gathering to America. What does the Lord mean when he says to “put on thy strength”? Joseph Smith said: “He [the Lord] had reference to those whom God should call in the last days, who should hold the power of priesthood to bring again Zion, and the redemption of Israel; and to put on her strength is TO PUT ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE PRIESTHOOD, which she, Zion, has a right to by lineage; also to return to that power which she had lost” (D&C 113:8; emphasis added).
The Lord also instructs Jerusalem to put on her “beautiful garments.” This no doubt refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the beautifying of all her suburbs. At the present time the fulfillment of this prediction has almost become an obsession with the Jews. Even though they have been in a state of virtual war or siege ever since Israel became a nation in 1948, the Jews have spent great sums of money and tremendous energy rebuilding Jerusalem. The buildings are constructed out of “Jerusalem stone,” which is white limestone with a pink or beige hue. It is becoming one of the most beautiful cities in the world. However, in this verse the Lord is referring to a yet future time when it will have become sanctified following the great battle of Armageddon and after the sudden appearance of the Savior. It is in that day that it will indeed be a “holy city,” and the Lord declares that “henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.” Those sublime circumstances are far from the situation today. There are many people now treading the streets of that famous city (including Jews, Arabs, and Christians) who live unclean lives and violate the commandments of God continually. These are the uncircumcised of heart whom the Lord has declared he will one day cleanse from the city of Jerusalem in order that it might be prepared for the coming Messiah, who will no longer permit the uncircumcised to pollute its sacred precincts.
(W. Cleon Skousen, Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times [Salt Lake City: Ensign Publishing Co., 1984], 643–644.)