What greater revelation could there be than the manifestation of divine truth directly from the Savior Himself? During His post-resurrection visit, the Savior teaches the people the higher code of righteous conduct for their lives and opens up the vision of God’s immortal plan of salvation—from the beginning even until the end, when He will return in glory to the earth at the beginning of the millennial reign. He testifies of the heavenly commission of the prophets (“great are the words of Isaiah”—3 Nephi 23:1), commands that the canon of scripture be pondered and studied continually, directs that omissions be corrected, and supplements what the people have already received by giving them key prophecies from Malachi. Truly the words of the prophets from the past give insight and meaning to our lives. They teach us the precious doctrines that enrich our lives and bring us closer to our spiritual objectives as we understand and apply them. All such prophecies point to the atoning mission of the Savior, who is “the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9).
The Lord testifies of the greatness of the words of Isaiah—“For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 23:2)—and encourages the people to search the words of the prophets as the source of truth unto salvation. When we come to understand Isaiah, we will truly understand the role of the house of Israel. “A major reason for searching Isaiah’s prophecies, as declared by the Savior and confirmed by Nephi and Jacob, is that Isaiah spoke concerning all the house of Israel and the covenants unto them which were to be fulfilled in the latter days” (Monte S. Nyman, Great are the Words of Isaiah [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1980], 3).
It is instructive that the Lord demonstrates for the people the actions He calls for, for He expounds the scriptures unto them, even “all things” (3 Nephi 26:1) from the beginning until the consummation of His work. What greater instruction concerning the word of God can one have than from the Word Himself?