Isaiah 25:7-9 -- On Veils

"And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
Isaiah 25:7-9


When it talks about "the covering cast over all people" and refers to it as a "veil," it's interesting wording, because there are a lot of scriptures that talk about veils.  Some have kind of a negative connotation, like symbolic darkness from Satan in Moses 7:26, or the veil that blinds us to truth in 2 Corinthians 3:14.  We also read about "the dark veil of unbelief" (Alma 19:6) which can be cast away through conversion.

The Brother of Jared "could not be kept from beholding within the veil" (Ether 3:19), and hope is "an anchor of the soul . . . which entereth into that within the veil" (Hebrews 6:19).  We also read that if we are able to strip ourselves of jealousies and fears and are humble that "the veil shall be rent" and we will be able to see and know God (D&C 67:10).

This verse tells us about some amazing things that will happen when "the veil" is destroyed, some of which we also read about in Ether 4:15, D&C 38:8, and D&C 101:23.  Presumably this is the same veil which we know from modern revelation is also what separates us from our premortal memories and our postmortal relatives (many, many references, but examples: "Our Message to the World by Robert E. Wells October 1995, "The Power of God's Love" by John H Groberg October 2004, and "O Remember, Remember" by Henry B. Eyring October 2007).

In all cases the term seems to symbolize our separation from the light and truth and even the actual presence of God, and so when this verse, and all the rest, talk about the veil being rent or destroyed or people being able to see past it, is is a joyous thing... none perhaps more joyous than this one though, talking about death and tears and shadow being put behind us, and finally getting what we all have been waiting for all of our lives, to be able to stand in God's presence and know that he is here to save us. :)  No more veils.  Today, let's look forward to that day, and through study and prayer and fasting, let's make the veils in our lives as thin as we can, so we can bask in God's love even now.