(Isa 11:1-12) And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
According to the LDS, Joseph Smith is “the root of Jesse,” spoken of by Isaiah:
“The explanation of Isaiah 11:10 given in Doctrine and Covenants 113 implies that while Christ is the root of David, he is not the root of Jesse mentioned by Isaiah. There are two reasons for this conclusion. First, the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith in verse 2 identifies Christ as the stem of Jesse; he does not identify Christ as the root of Jesse. Second, verse 6 indicates that the root of Jesse is a servant of Christ to whom keys are given “in the last days” to gather Christ’s people.”
Article: Isaiah Interpreted
See also:
Seminary Teacher’s Manual 2017, Lesson 34: 2 Nephi 21–24
Book of Mormon Study Guide 2013
Book of Mormon Student Manual: Chapter 11
Prophesies in the Bible about Joseph Smith; Ensign 1989
D&C 113 contains the revelation received by Joseph Smith concerning this prophesy, in which he identifies the “root of Jesse” as “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.” (D&C 113:6) Hence the reference to verse 6 in the above and the conclusion drawn by the LDS that this is a reference to Joseph Smith.
No mention at all of Paul’s letter to the Romans, which mentions this prophesy made by Isaiah:
(Rom 15:8-12) Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
How in the world can “the root of Jesse,” spoken of by Isaiah, to which Paul is here referring, be speaking about Joseph Smith?
But, if that is not proof enough, let us examine this
(Mat 2:23) And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Where is that prophesy?
According to Michael Rood, Matthew is referring to Isaiah’s prophesy concerning the “BRANCH” (Netzer) that “shall grow out of his (Jesse’s) roots.”
You can jump to the 12:05 mark if you don’t want to watch the whole video
The prophesy in Isaiah cannot possibly be about Joseph Smith, if it is about the Messiah, a fact that seems to be established by Matthew (not to mention the context of Isaiah’s prophesy).
Ironically, even the LDS Church website mentions this connection between Isaiah and Matthew:
“Matthew’s reference to a prophecy that Jesus would be a Nazarene (2:23) is interesting when it is considered that our present Old Testament seems to have no statement as such. There is a possibility, however, that Matthew alluded to Isa. 11:1, which prophesies of the Messiah as a Branch from the root of Jesse, the father of David. The Hebrew word for branch in this case is netzer, the source word of Nazarene and Nazareth.”
So how, then, do they get to Joseph Smith being “the root” out of which both “the stem” and “the rod” grow?
Where Mormon Doctrine Falls Apart 