Chapter 32
Angels speak by the
power of the Holy Ghost—Men must pray and gain knowledge for themselves from
the Holy Ghost. About 559–545 B.C.
1 AND now, behold, my
beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning
that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in
your hearts?
2 Do ye not remember
that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak
with the tongue of angels? And now, how could
ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the
power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the
words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what
ye should do.
Nephi is continuing his discussion of what we should do
after we enter the strait and narrow way.
Why, he asks, “do ye ponder these things in your hearts” (2
Nephi 32:1)? He remind us that he told
us we could speak with “the tongue of angels” after we had received the Holy
Ghost.
Talking to Helaman1, Alma2 told
him, “Yea, and from that time even until
now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance;
that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste;
that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Alma
36:24).
The voice of Christ announced to those who survived the
devastation at His death, “And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken
heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso
cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize
with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their
faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with
the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not” (3 Nephi 9:20).
“In addition to the cleansing power emphasized in the
language of the Nephite prophets, the Holy Ghost brings knowledge of spiritual
truths and enables men to speak with the tongue of angels, who also speak by
the power of the Holy Ghost (see 2 Nephi 32:2). And that which is spoken
by the power of the Holy Ghost, whether by men or angels, is the word of
Christ, which ‘will tell you all things what ye should do’ (2 Nephi 32:3). Or
in other words, as Nephi finally clarifies without metaphor, ‘if ye will enter
in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things
what ye should do’ (2 Nephi 32:5).”[1]
How do angels speak?
They “speak by the power of the Holy Ghost” and therefore speak the
words of Christ. This is why Nephi has
told us to “feast upon the words of Christ.”
Jeremiah used the feast analogy when speaking to the
Lord. “Thy words were found, and I did
eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I
am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts”
(Jeremiah 15:16).
“And again, it is only by trusting in Christ that it is
possible to endure to the end: ‘Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in
Christ ... feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end’ (2 Nephi
31:20). Here, feasting on the word of Christ is explained in terms of
receiving the guidance of the Holy Ghost, which ‘will tell you all things what
ye should do’ (2 Nephi 32:3; cf. 32:2, 4–5). The requirement of faith (trusting
or relying on the Lord) is never completed in the way that repentance and
baptism are. It must become the permanent mode of one's existence, or one will
not be able to endure to the end.”[2]
Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”
(Colossians 3:16).
Elder Neal Maxwell explains how this inspiration works,
using the example of the words of King Benjamin.
“We have no biography of King Benjamin; nevertheless, we
have his words. These are what we most need for our discipleship. The combined
efforts of the angel who inspired King Benjamin, King Benjamin himself, and the
selectivity of editor Mormon have given us high relevancy amid the paucity of
the Benjamin pages. Of course, while a special portion of King Benjamin's
sermon was directed by an angel, angels, in turn, ‘speak by the power of the
Holy Ghost’ in what is a seamless process (2 Nephi 32:3).”[3]
[1]
The True Points of My Doctrine, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
King Benjamin's Sermon: A Manual for Discipleship, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Maxwell
Institute.
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