There is a group of passages in Isaiah that causes a lot of speculation in LDS (and wider Christian) circles. In reality, there are many such passages, but here I’m referring to those relating to an end times servant, sometimes called the ‘Davidic servant’. Throughout Isaiah, the prophet uses a combination of King David, Moses, and the future Cyrus as types of the future end times servant.

In Isaiah 49, the Lord is speaking to this servant, who has been labouring in vain to bring the children of Israel back to God. ‘I have spent my strength for nought,’ says the servant. (Isaiah 49:4) But God is looking on the servant and seeing that he can do much, much more than ‘only’ bring Israel back to Him – this despite the servant’s apparent lack of success thus far.

‘And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.’ (Isaiah 49:6)

I’ve come across numerous theories about who this servant is or will be. Some say he will be someone named David because the Lord works in patterns and it will be a ‘second David’, and therefore must have the same name. Some have claimed to be this end times servant (usually while hiding their identity). Some LDS say that the end times servant is Joseph Smith and that he will return, either miraculously raised from the dead or resurrected. A spin on this latter point is that Joseph will be reborn as a new of his ‘multiple mortal probations’ (if you haven’t heard of this fringe doctrine, see the footnote below¹). Some say this end times servant has already come and is currently hidden to the world². Still others say the servant is Christ Himself and there will be no other.