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\u201cA Marvelous Work and a Wonder\u201d is one of the handful of biblical phrases that our religious tradition has given different meaning from what others understand. Where the phrase in Isaiah is often thought by non-LDS scholars to refer to the confounding of those who think they are wise, the similar language found in the Book of Mormon (2 Ne. 27) leads us to interpret this as a reference to the restoration of the Gospel. Indeed, the verse occurs after the reference in the same chapter to a wise man claiming he couldn\u2019t read a sealed book\u2014similar to what Martin Harris said happened when he visited Charles Anthon in 1828.<\/p>\n
But the phrase might also be used for other works that God does in our lives. Wouldn\u2019t we also call the sacrifice of our Savior a \u201cmarvelous work and a wonder?\u201d Isn\u2019t the process that each of us is going through as we come to this earth and learn and progress also something marvelous and wonderful?<\/p>\n
Regardless, for us this marvelous and wonderful phrase is clearly a reference to the Restoration. For LDS poetry, and for the mindset of Church members starting in the beginning of the Church, the Restoration is one of the major topics. In a very real sense, the Restoration is what made us different from everyone else. That\u2019s still true today, since Parley P. Pratt\u2019s restoration poem and hymn, The Morning Breaks, was introduced as the first hymn in the 1840 hymnal, and has been the first hymn ever since.<\/p>\n
Clearly, the idea of the restoration is crucial for our understanding of the Gospel.<\/p>\n
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While we associate the restoration with the \u201cmarvelous work and a wonder\u201d phrase, as I mentioned above the chapter in Isaiah does include a direct attack on the pride of those who think they are wise. I don\u2019t think that is by accident at all. It\u2019s not only the rejection of the idea of the Book of Mormon by academics like Charles Anthon, but also the entire mindset of Christianity, which was anything but open to the idea of a restoration.<\/p>\n
Today, each of us should probably give some thought to the possibility of pride and worldliness in our own lives. In the following poem, Orson F. Whitney doesn\u2019t address the pride and worldliness evident at the time of the restoration, but instead looks at the possibility of our own pride and worldliness. I love his opening line, \u201c\u2018Tis a sin to succeed sometimes,\u201d which is a bit shocking to our modern culture\u2019s emphasis on \u201csuccess.\u201d<\/p>\n
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by Orson F. Whitney<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
1890<\/p>\n
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The possibility that the \u201cmarvelous work and a wonder\u201d might also refer to Christ\u2019s role in saving mankind appears when we realize that similar imagery and symbols are used in both cases. For example, where Parley P. Pratt says \u201cThe Morning Breaks\u201d in referring to the restoration, others describe the advent of Christ as a dawning.<\/p>\n
This is even true for LDS poets, like Orson F. Whitney. Here his waiting for the dawn seems to be about Christ, but I think the poem could be read either way. In addition, it is also clearly about the growth and advancement of Zion (the Church in Utah in Whitney\u2019s conception), which was, at the time this poem was written, under pressure that was finally relieved the following year.<\/p>\n
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by Orson F. Whitney<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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