The Servant and the Servants

I. The Servant Songs — Isaiah's Prophetic Blueprint

Isaiah contains a series of passages — the Servant Songs (Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52–53) — describing a singular figure who is called, hidden, revealed, rejected, and ultimately vindicated. In its first layer, this is Jesus Christ. But in its full reading Isaiah's prophecy contains a second layer: the Davidic Servant who comes in the spirit and power of Christ in the last days to prepare the way for His return. The distinction is critical. Isaiah 49 speaks of a servant whose mission is to restore Jacob — something Christ does not do in the same way, being already in the presence of the Father. This servant is formed in the womb, a mortal being, whose calling is to bring Jacob back (Isaiah 49:5).

II. The Rod and the Root — D&C 113

Joseph Smith's interpretive key for Isaiah 11 is preserved in D&C 113. Isaiah 11:1 says: "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." Joseph explains: "It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power" (D&C 113:3–4). The Root is a second figure — a descendant of Jesse and Joseph unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood and the keys of the kingdom, raised as an ensign for the gathering in the last days (D&C 113:5–6).

“What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter? Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.”

Two figures — the Rod and the Root — with distinct missions. The Rod is the witness and companion; the Root is the one who holds the keys and gathers Israel. They labor together as Moses and Joshua did — one holding the authority, the other executing the mission at his side.

III. The Servant's Mission — Hidden, Suffering, Revealed

Isaiah 49 tells us this servant begins in obscurity — hidden in the shadow of God's hand (Isaiah 49:2), laboring apparently in vain (Isaiah 49:4), called while yet in the womb (Isaiah 49:1). Isaiah 53 tells us he is despised, rejected, acquainted with grief — misidentified and dismissed by those who should have recognized him. But: "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11). The rejection is not the conclusion. Malachi names him the Messenger of the Covenant: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me… even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in" (Malachi 3:1). He prepares the temple and the people for the Lord's return.

“Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.”

IV. The Body of Servants — The Gathered Remnant

The Servant does not operate alone. D&C 86:8–11 describes "the lawful heirs, who have been hid from the world with Christ in God" — those foreordained to come forth and bring Zion. Around the Servant, a body of servants gathers: those who were chosen in the pre-mortal council to labor in this final harvest. The Twelve are re-gathered under the Servant's call — not the Twelve of institutional appointment, but those whom the Lord Himself selects in the last days (D&C 84:2–5).