The Intersection of Priesthood, Faith and Language
Marcus H. Martins, Ph.D. - https://drmhmartins.com/martins.html
December 2024
A few perspectives from the scriptures:
"And
so great was the faith of Enoch that ... their enemies came to battle
against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth
trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and
the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of
the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared
greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power
of the language which God had given him." (Pearl of Great Price - Moses 7:13)
"And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth?" (Book of Mormon - Mosiah 27:15)
"And
it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak
unto them ... And behold, when they had said these words, the earth
shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison did shake as if they
were about to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall." (Book of Mormon - Helaman 5:26-27)
"And
it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud
of darkness ... And ... it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a
voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of
perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even
to the very soul--And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold
the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled
again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth" (Book of Mormon - Helaman 5:29-31)
"[The] word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit." (Doctrine and Covenants 29:30)
"And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth." (Pearl of Great Price - Moses 1:32)
"[He]
that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully ... Is not my word
like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the
rock in pieces?" (Bible - Jeremiah 23:28-29)
"Behold,
I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper
than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and
marrow; therefore give heed unto my word." (Doctrine and Covenants 11:2)
"For
thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I
will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come:
and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The
silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The
glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith
the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD
of hosts." (Bible - Haggai 2:6-9)
"And it came
to pass that [Jesus] went again a little way off and prayed unto the
Father; And tongue cannot speak the words which he prayed, neither can
be written by man the words which he prayed.
"And the multitude
did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did
understand in their hearts the words which he prayed. Nevertheless, so
great and marvelous were the words which he prayed that they cannot be
written, neither can they be uttered by man." (Book of Mormon - 3 Nephi 19:31-34)
"And
when [Jesus] had said these words, he himself also knelt upon the
earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he
prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard
him.
"And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath
never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous
things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father; And no tongue
can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the
hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and
heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our
souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.
"And
it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the
Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they
were overcome." (Book of Mormon - 3 Nephi 17:15-18)
"Behold,
thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared,
for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as
thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them." (Book of Mormon - Ether 12:24)
Possible alternatives to the verb "overpower": subdue; prevail; pacify; bring to their knees.
"[For] the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake." (Bible - Isaiah 24:18)
"Jesus
... went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him,
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. ... As
soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and
fell to the ground." (Bible - John 18:4-6)
A Few Personal Insights
At
the time of his unjust and sinful arrest, it is conceivable that the
Lord Jesus Christ may have used his divine power to pronounce in mortal
language the words "I am he". That might explain why those men fell to
the ground--the earth beneath their feet may have literally shaken at
the sound of those words. At that critical moment in the history of
this fallen world, the Lamb of God would not allow himself to be
arrested as "a mere man". His captors had to take him as who He really
was--"the Lord ... God ... the Great I AM". (Doctrine and Covenants 38:1)
As
we consider the intersection of priesthood, faith and language, we may
understand that the words of Christ, inspired by the Holy Ghost (2 Nephi 32:3; 33:1)
spoken in the authority of His name, while carrying out the many duties
for the salvation of the human family--preaching, expounding,
exhorting, pronouncing approved words of ordinances of salvation and
exaltation, prophesying, sealing--such words have physical effects in
nature.
Despite our natural mortal imperfections and
limitations, with the grace provided by the atonement of Christ we
strive to serve God with all our "heart, might, mind and strength",
with "faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of
God", remembering "faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,
brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence" and
"praying at the gates of heaven", speaking "the thoughts that [the
Lord] shall put into [our] hearts, and ... [declaring] whatsoever thing
... in [His] name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in
all things", as long as we are given power to utter them. (Doctrine and Covenants 4:2, 5-7; 100:5-7; 3 Nephi 28:14)
The
exercise of priesthood authority is manifested through the medium of
language. Although mortal languages are inherently imperfect and
powerless (Ether 12:23-28), in the temples of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, divinely-appointed words
are pronounced with exactness in sacred ordinances by men and women who
received the gift of the Holy Ghost and the proper authority. Once
accurately recorded (D&C 128:8-9), these words are acknowledged and validated in heaven.
In
temples, men and women who serve as ordinance workers enjoy the honor
of exercising the authority of the priesthood, officiating ordinances
and ceremonies in which they pronounce divinely inspired words that
traverse the veil of mortality and impact worlds without end.
Written
under inspiration by prophets and apostles, the words of these
ordinances are words of power that, when pronounced in faith and
reverence by someone with the proper authority, can have a permanent
effect on biology--whether of flesh and blood, or of spirit--on
physics, chemistry, time, and even over death itself. (Moses
1:32-35; 7:13; Ether 12:30; Joshua 10:12-13; Mark 5:35-42; Luke
7:11-15; John 2:6-11; 6:9-13; 11:39-44; Doctrine and Covenants 88:6-13,
41-42)
A few additional perspectives from the scriptures:
"[Let]
virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax
strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall
distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be
thy constant** companion, and
thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy
dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means
it shall flow unto thee forever and ever. The ends of the earth shall
inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell
shall rage against thee; While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the
noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and
blessings constantly from under thy hand." (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45-46; 122:1-2)
** Constant: invariable; unchanging; regular; ever present and available
"Therefore,
Helaman and his brethren went forth, and did declare the word of God
with much power unto the convincing of many people of their wickedness,
which did cause them to repent of their sins and to be baptized unto
the Lord their God." (Book of Mormon - Alma 62:45)
"And
it shall come to pass, when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom that
[those who were never to taste of death] shall minister unto all the
scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and
people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their
desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of
God which is in them." (Book of Mormon - 3 Nephi 28:25, 29)
"[Then], if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men." (Doctrine and Covenants 11:21)
Marcus H. Martins, Ph.D.
Auburn (Seattle), December 2024
https://drmhmartins.com/martins.html
Marcus
H. Martins is a professor emeritus and former dean of religious
education at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He wrote the book
"Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood", and
the manuscript "The Priesthood: Earthly Symbols and Heavenly
Realities". He has spoken at conferences and events in the United
States (where he has lived since 1990), Brazil, China, England, Hong
Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Portugal, Qatar, and
Singapore. Brother Martins joined the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in 1972 and became the first Latter-day Saint with
Black African ancestry to serve a full-time mission after the 1978
Revelation. He served twice as bishop, seven times as stake high
councilor, three times as temple worker, translator of the Book of
Mormon, and president of the Brazil Sao Paulo North Mission with his
wife, Mirian Abelin Barbosa. The couple has four children and eight
grandchildren.