THE MIGHTY ELIJAH PART 3

 

Jehovah Creates the Earth by Water Rane

The most important part of Elijah’s mission was the Melchizedek Priesthood sealing power by which things that are bound or loosed on earth are bound or loosed in heaven (D&C 128:8-18). He was the last prophet to have this power before the time of Jesus Christ.

He appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moses and conferred the keys of this priesthood on Peter, James and John (Matt 17:3). He appeared again, with Moses and others, on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Ohio Temple and conferred the same keys upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (D&C 110:13-16). It is for this purpose that he did not taste death. This was the second part of his earthly mission.

Elijah’s ascension into heaven on a chariot of fire is one of the most endearing accounts in the Old Testament. Elisha’s grief at the parting is heart rendering. As he cried after him, calling him ‘father’, he rent his clothes into pieces in his distress (2 Kings 2:11,12).

There is a significant connection between Elijah’s mission and the planet we presently live on. When Moroni delivered his message to Joseph Smith, he said that the earth would be wasted if Elijah didn’t come to restore the sealing power (D&C 2:2-3). Malachi goes so far as to say that if it were so, the Lord would smite the earth with a curse at His coming (Malachi 4:5).

Our Mother Earth which gave us physical birth (Moses 2:7) was foreordained and consecrated to establish on its face a family system patterned after the order of heaven and to become the future celestial abode of exalted sons and daughters of God. She also has a mission to accomplish like the rest of us.

Had Elijah not come to restore the sealing priesthood power to bind us together, the earth would not have accomplished its foreordained purpose and would not have been able to answer the end of its creation. All men and women would be forever without root and branch, meaning without ancestry and posterity that would otherwise extend into eternity.

Enoch learnt from his encounter with Mother Earth that she had a soul as deep as the river. Grief came  over him and made him weep when he heard her call us her children and witnessed her mourn over our wickedness (Moses 7:48). So overcome was Enoch at her suffering that he asked God three times, ‘’when shall the earth rest” (v 49,54,58).

You think the earth has no soul? Consider how she groaned when the Son of Man was lifted up and all nature suffered at the death of its creator (Moses 7:56; 1 Nephi 19: 12). Imagine this big beautiful perfect planet, the workmanship of God’s hands, with a soul as tender and real as you and I, utterly wasted at Christ’s coming…..Imagine how Father Adam and Mother Eve would feel to see this earth wasted after they paved the way for humanity by ‘the sweat of their brow’ (Moses 5:1). We think we have it hard…..we don’t even have to slice our bread…

When the end comes, this earth will be celestialized and crowned with the Father’s presence to be an eternal abode for those who will accept the sacrifice of His Beloved Son who was lifted upon the cross of redemption so that we can return to live with Him on this Mother Earth forever (D&C 88:17-20). 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE GREATNESS OF GOD:

 

 

When the heavens opened and Enoch was clothed upon with glory, he was admitted into God’s presence where he was shown ‘the world for the space of many generations’ (Moses 7:3,4)

After he beheld God’s immense power of creation, he beheld something he didn’t count on.  He saw God weeping over his disobedient children and in amazement he asked: “How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” (v 29) In that instant Enoch saw not only God but the Father (v 33).

If you know what it feels like to be a parent, multiply that by infinity and you will begin to understand who God the Father is: the depth of His love, the depth of His sorrow, the depth of His mercy, the depth of His forgiveness, the depth of His desires to elevate and exalt His children, the very depth of who He is. Enoch did not only understand this but felt it as the Father told him of all ‘the doings of the children of men and their wickedness’ (v 41). So deep was Enoch’s understanding and his empathy that ‘his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook’ (v 41).

If we could but get a glimpse of the Father’s heart we would trust, trust, trust……we would trust His very plan for each of us, explicitly. We would trust His Beloved Son and His power of redemption and we would follow Him to the ends of the earth. If we could just see Him as Enoch saw Him…..and we can.

There is a promise that the Saviour made which makes this possible: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23). If you think this cannot be a literal appearing, think again.

On 2 April, 1843, Joseph was given some clarification regarding certain scriptures and among them was the scripture from the Gospel of John which confirms that the Father and the Son may appear personally to men: “John 14:23 – The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance, and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.” (D&C 130:3)

Jesus was born so that He could reveal to us the Father and Jesus atoned so that we could come back to the Father. The Father and the Son are one in greatness, power, glory and majesty (D&C 50:43; 93:3; 3 N 11:27; John 14:9-11). They are also one in their role of Father (Ether 4:7; Alma 11:38-9; Mosiah 15:4; 16:5). By knowing and loving one, we know and love the other.

Through The One who willingly laid down His life so that we might live, we can, like the prodigal, return into the loving arms of the Father of all creation. May we honour the greatness of Him who holds us in the palm of His hand through the life that we live that we might be the source of His joy forever.

 

I pleaded with you,

In the beginning,

To bring me home again to Thee.

I promised to heed every call,

To avoid every danger,

To abhor every sin.

 

I have laboured, Father,

to bring joy to Thee

and to be worthy

Of Your love for me.

 

When my time comes,

I will come home to Thee

and I will wait

 at heaven’s door knocking

Until I hear the angels sing. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Return of the Prodigal by Pompeo Batoni)

THE POWER OF ENOCH

 

In my last post about Enoch, I expounded on the power he was endowed with to overcome the enemies who sought the destruction of the Church of God he established in his day. To recap:

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and 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". (Moses 7:13)

 

After I wrote that post, I was reminded of the early pioneers in our dispensation and the persecution and destruction they endured and then I also remembered Nephi’s vision of us in the last days wherein he saw the enemy that will ‘gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth to fight against the Lamb of God and the saints of the church of the Lamb’ (1 Nephi 14:12-14)…… and I wondered what is yet awaiting us.

 

Now for the good news. There is something very interesting about the power the Lord gave to Enoch. It would seem this power was not only for him but was also to be had by his every  descendant.  The interesting thing being is that every mortal is a descendant of Enoch.  

 

Enoch was the Father of Methuselah who was not translated with his father’s city but who died the year of the flood (Moses 8:3-7). Methuselah was the father of Lamech, who was the father of Noah.  Everybody that has been born on this earth after Noah is Noah's descendant and therefore a descendant of Enoch.  The Lord made an oath with Enoch regarding his power which is found in Joseph Smith Translation:

 

"For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself, that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God, to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers, and this by the will of the Son of God which was before the foundation of the world". (JST Appendix in Genesis 14:30, 31)

 

Have you ever read of a power so great? It’s a power which greatness must equal the greatness of the enemy of all righteousness we have to fight in the war we are all engaged in.  And what is this power? It is the power of the priesthood.

 

The scriptures are clear that the saints of God are endowed with this power in the temple (D&C 95:8; 109:22). This is where we make covenants which in turn endow us with the power of the saving ordinances of the priesthood. We cannot stand in the presence of God without the mantle of the priesthood upon us.

 

The oath sworn by God to Enoch and his seed is a promise made to us.  All mortals who embrace the power of the priesthood have been promised that by their faith they can do the very works of Enoch. These works lead us to only one place……Zion.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Restoration by Liz Lemon Swindle)

A YOUNG LAD CALLED ENOCH

 

Enoch is the greatest example of what God can make of us. He should be known more for his process of becoming than for the fact that he and his city were translated, as important as that is.

Enoch was only 25 years old when he was ordained by Adam to the Priesthood, long before his father and grandfather (D&C 107:48). He grew up in the land of Cainan among the people of righteousness and was taught ‘in all the ways of God’ by his father (Moses 6:41).

Not only was he relatively young compared to his predecessors who were well into 3 digits when called to the ministry, he had a serious problem. He pointed out to the Lord that he was very unqualified. He was young, he had a speech impediment and people hated him (Moses 6:31). It was also a perilous time, a time when Satan had great dominion among the people, when wars and bloodshed raged and ‘a man’s hand was against his own brother, in administering death, because of secret works, seeking for power’ (v 15).

 

But God needed something that Enoch had going for him to preach repentance to a failing society. He was righteous and He trusted God. The Lord acknowledged his lack of confidence and gave him some iron clad promises that would ensure his success, namely, that no man will afflict him, that He will give him utterance and will justify all his words and that He will make him so powerful that mountains will flee before him and the rivers will turn from their course (Moses 6:32-34). And then this: “Therefore walk with me” (v 34). Have courage, have no fear, have only trust in me.

 

Enoch did walk with God  (v 39) and because of it he became a brilliant young prophet whose words pierced the hearts of the crowds who came to hear him: “The mobs surrounded the hills and high places from which he spoke and the scripture says “all men were offended because of him” (Moses 6:37)….and his reputation spread like the east wind before him. The people anticipated his arrival in each new locality and messengers brought words that he drew near…(v 38)” (W. Cleon Skousen, “The First Two Thousand Years” p 160)

 

And because he walked with God “no man laid hands on him; for fear came on all them that heard him” and “the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence." (Moses 6:39,47).

Unfortunately, not only the converted feared but the proud and the wicked multitudes who had assembled to hear him became highly offended by his preaching and eventually came pouring over the hills and plains to slaughter the people of God. And this is when came the display of incredible power of God through a young prophet called Enoch:

 

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and 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". (Moses 7:13)

 

It was an incredible life of an incredible patriarch. He who allowed God to make something great of him to participate in God’s greatest work and His glory, that of ‘bringing to pass immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: My Father's Work by Chris Brazelton)

 

WORDS OF POWER

 

I am passionate about words. I believe in the beauty of words and I believe in their power. I am most  passionate about words of faith.  Consider Enoch who was called to his holy calling when he was ‘slow of speech’ (Moses 6:31). The Lord promised him that He will give him ‘utterance’  and He will ‘justify’ all his words (Moses:32-34). So because Enoch trusted this promise, his weakness turned into his greatest strength and he became  so powerful that when he spoke the people trembled and could not stand in his presence (Moses 6:47). 

 

Worthy spoken words have the power to resonate with the spirit of God and empower us to achieve things we could not ordinarily do on our own.   An  example of this is calling upon the power of the Atonement to enable us to overcome a certain weakness or to receive a healing. I have had experience to this end and can testify that the power of the Atonement, when prayed for, can heal you, as does hearing His word which ‘heals the wounded soul’ (Jacob 2:8). The vibration of words carries with it power that creates a pathway for manifestation of that which we pray for.  Admonition to pray is prolific in scriptures for exactly this reason.

 

Spoken word and faith are inter-related. The great exemplar in this is the Saviour himself, who created the world and man by the power of His word (Jacob 4:9; Mormon 9:17; Genesis 1; John 1:1). I believe when the Saviour spoke the words of creation, He spoke by the power of faith. This is obvious to me through a small incident in His mortal life when He came upon a fig tree that had no fruit to feed His hunger. He cursed the tree and the tree withered the moment He spoke  (Matthew 21:18-21). When His disciples marvelled at what they saw, Jesus told them that if they had faith and doubted not, if they said the word for mountains to move, it would be so (v21). This is supported heavily in the Lectures of Faith but more on that later.

 

Dare to create the life that God would want you to have by becoming your best self. Aim higher than you have ever aimed before. The Saviour wants you to be like Him, in every way. He would have you learn to harness the power of faith that you might rise to godhood through your power of creation.  That power is already in you……He made sure of it.

 

You are the God of power and might;

You enliven my spirit;

You bring me to life.

You make of me what I alone could never be,

You light my way into eternity.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Worlds by Greg Olsen)

WALK WITH ME

 

If there is anyone who is a better example of God’s power in their life, it is Enoch. I am enthralled by him. He became what he alone could never become. A stammering man of speech, he became a spiritual giant of words in whose presence people trembled when he spoke (Moses 6:47; 7:13), as already mentioned. He became this person accepting the most sublime invitation ever uttered by God: “Walk with me” (Moses 6:34). And walk with God Enoch did, and ‘was continually before His face’, for 365 years, making him 430 when he was translated with his city (D&C 107:49; Moses 6:39). This walk revealed God to him and earned him the visions of all the hosts of heaven and of eternity (Moses 7:3,4)

 

What enthralls me about Enoch is this: by walking with God, he became like God. Moses records this in the most endearing way as he recounts the way that Enoch became a man of sorrow who wept with God over the people (Moses 7:41,44); over the earth (vs 49,58); and over the heavens and its host, with such intensity that all eternity shook (v 41). Can you imagine anguish such as this? 

 

So powerful did Enoch become that his whole city followed him in walking with God, becoming Zion, the pure in heart, a city that was  taken from this earth (Moses 7:69), but the Lord promised him that he will return and here is hope of all hope, for us: “…great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve” (v 61). We can only surmise that His people are those who walk with Him.

 

Walking with God is a personal journey of seeking after righteousness and being filled with the light of truth. It means that others can ‘see’ God in you and desire to walk with Him too. Besides Enoch, the scriptures state that Noah and his sons walked with God (Moses 8:27), as did Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 48:15) and even Moses’ brother Levi (Malachi 2:4-6), because ‘the law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips’ (v6).

 

We can walk many paths in life. The roads are endless, but there is only one road where the Saviour beckons: “Walk with me”.

 

You flowed like a river through my heart

Showing me the wonder of You;

You lifted my eyes higher to see the majestic view.

You parted the heavens for me

And helped me see what I alone could never see;

You gave me the hope and the might

To be what I alone could never be. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

RESCUING THE LOST

"For the Son of man is come to save that which

was lost.

How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, 

and one of them be gone astray, 

doth he not leave the ninety and nine, 

and goeth into the mountains, 

and seeketh that which is gone astray?

And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, 

he rejoiceth more of that sheep, 

than of the ninety and nine

which went not astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father

which is in heaven, 

that one of these little ones should perish."

Matt 18:11-14

Indeed it is not the will of the father that not one of us should perish. A will that sacrificed one of us for the good of all of us. Such is the love of a Father who desires to give us His all, who desires to give us eternal life. And so Jesus came to protect us, love us and claim us as His own. A shepherd who loves the one and will go and seek the one until that one is no longer lost. It matters not to Him how the sheep became lost or why, all that matters to Him is the rescue. How glorious and wise to relay His love for His sheep in such a poignant way. By leaving the ninety and nine he is not saying to them that they are not as important as the one that was lost, but to impress upon them that in Him is found true safety and protective care. In other words, by leaving the ninety and nine the Saviour was saying to them: 'If you get lost, I will come find you for this is what I do, I am come to save that which was lost."    

Since the beginning of man, the Lord has relied on His 'under shepherds' to do His work. Such under shepherds are found in prophets, Church leaders and anyone who possesses the truth. We are commanded to seek out and rescue the lost sheep but more often than not, we allow feelings of inadequacy to hold us back. We tell ourselves that we are not important enough or skilled enough for people to listen to us and believe our words when in fact we as the under shepherds and are endowed with power to do this sacred work. When Moses was called to his holy calling, in trepidation he replied that he was 'slow of speech'. The Lord replied, "Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say" (Exodus 4:10-12). In other words, 'do not suppose that this is your work, but mine, and you will say what I want you to say and I will empower you to say it'. 

When doing God's work, the power of the word is in God. It is never in us. When we speak with the tongue of angels, it is not by our brilliant skills but by the power of the Holy Ghost which not only empowers the bearer of the word but gives understanding to the hearer also. Such was the case for Enoch who was made mighty despite his claim that he also was of 'slow speech'. The Lord's reply was the same to him as it was to Moses: "Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance..." (Moses 6:32). So Enoch did and so great grew his power that when he spoke the word of the Lord, the earth trembled, and the mountains fled and the rivers of water were turned out of their course and all nations feared greatly 'so great was the power of the language which God had given him" (Moses 7:13) Not all went well for Enoch in the beginning though as he started his ministry. Even though he proclaimed the gospel with a 'loud' voice 'all men were offended because of him' (Moses 6:37). This is when most of us would give up. Fear of rejection and offence is a strong emotion so our rescuing efforts never get off the ground or become aborted when the going gets tough. Enoch, however, did not give up and he was rewarded, he was rewarded with rescuing a whole city, a city which became so righteous that the Lord took it unto Himself. 

The Lord never gives a commandment without attaching a blessing to it. Such is the case with the mission of rescue. The blessings attached to this work should negate all the fears we might have of rejection and offence and inadequacy. Proclaiming the gospel comes with a two-fold blessing. The Lord says clearly that if we get rejected, we will 'dwell with Him in His glory' and if we don't get rejected and those we are preaching to accept the testimony which is given to them, we shall have 'joy in the fruit of our labours' (D&C 6:29-31). In short, we cannot lose. Either way, rescuing will yield rewards.

And what of those who need to be rescued? How long and how hard should we expend our efforts, our time and our energy in offering them salavation? For as long as it takes. We should never give up on those who are receptive, even in the smallest way and proclaim them a 'hopeless cause'. Consider this example: "Like many of you, I have shared the gospel with some who are soon baptized or activated, and others - such as my nonmember friend Tim and his less-active wife, Charlene - take much more. For over 25 years I engaged Tim in gospel conversations and took Tim and Charlene to temple open houses. Others joined the rescue; however, Tim declined each invitation made to meet with the missionaries. One weekend I was assigned to preside at a stake conference. I had asked the stake president to fast and pray about whom we should visit. I was shocked when he handed me the name of my friend Tim. When Tim's bishop, the stake president, and I knocked on the door, Tim opened it, looked at me, looked at the bishop, and then said, 'Bishop, I thought you told me you were going to bring somebody special!' Then Tim laughed and said, 'Come on in, Merv.' A miracle occured that day. Tim has now been baptised, and he and Charlene have been sealed in the temple. We must never give up" (Elder Mervyn B. Arnold, To The Rescue: We Can Do It, Ensign May 2016, p 54). 

There was a time in my life when I was lost. I was attending Church every Sunday and living the gospel but in my heart I was harbouring resentment, feelings of betrayal and acute aloneness. I was freshly divorced and felt terribly betrayed by God. I had done all the right things from the time of my baptism and yet there I was with my heart in shreds and my life a shambles. Sometimes we see people at Church regularly and we do not know that they are lost in corridors, in Sunday School lessons, in fake smiles. But the Lord knows. He knows and He will reach out and send his under shepherds to find them and cradle them in the arms of His love. Such was the case for me. Following my divorce I moved and changed wards. I came into a freshly created ward where the Relief Society President was someone who was prepared by the Lord to be in that calling to rescue me. Through intricate, spiritually engineered sequence of events this sister was placed in my new ward and she became my source of security when I had none. She cried with me and she loved me and she cared for me. And she was not the only one. The Lord provided two other people who held me up, my Bishop and another sister who became my mentor and confidant for many years but my true under shepherd when I was hanging by a thread was my Relief Society President. To her I owe much more than I can repay for she provided comfort and grounding to me when I could not stand alone. She was sent at a particular time for a particular season in my life. I owe a debt of gratitude to her for her willingness to find the one that was lost.

"Our Saviour, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us.

He knows and loves YOU.

He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are.

He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings.

Your fears. Your tears.

It matters not how you became lost - 

whether because of your own poor choices or because of

circumstances beyond your control.

What matters is that you are His child.

And He loves you.

Because He loves, He will find you.

He will place you upon His shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he brings you home, He will say to one and all,

'Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost'"

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"He Will Place You On His Shoulders

and Carry You Home"

Ensign May 2016

ENOCH AND THE WORDS WE SPEAK

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and 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". (Moses 7:13)

When Enoch was called of God to cry repentance to the people of his day he, at 65, considered himself 'but a lad' and totally inadequate for the calling.  Not only was he relatively young compared to his predecessors who were well into 3 digits when called of the Lord, he was also highly unpopular and was 'slow of speech' Moses 6:31).  I imagine he lacked a lot of confidence and people thought him weak.  The Lord however, gave him five promises that convinced Enoch he had nothing to fear and enabled him to follow when the Lord told him, 'Therefore, walk with me' (Moses 6:34).  Among the five promises were two I think are worthy of extra attention.  Enoch was promised:

1.  "I will give thee utterance" (Moses 6:32)
2.  "All thy words will I justify" (Moses 6:34)

It is interesting to me that: 1.  the Lord would choose a man who had a stumbling block to the very task the Lord needed him to fulfill and 2.  that He was mindful and sensitive enough to Enoch's insecurity because of his speech impediment to the point that He would reassure him by addressing the problem in his promises. He could have very easily said to Enoch, "don't worry about anything, just walk with me".  This is such a clear indication that the Lord knows us and has compassion for us and how we feel.

Enoch did walk with God and because of it he became an incredibly powerful man.  Because of his trust in God and his promises, the Lord turned his weakness into his greatest strength.  Going from what I imagine was a stutter he went on to become the master of words.  The scriptures record:

"And as Enoch spake forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence." (Moses 6:47)

There is something very interesting about the power the Lord gave to  Enoch. It would seem this power was not only for him but was to be had by his every descendant.  The interesting thing being is that every mortal is a descendant of Enoch.  Enoch was the Father of Methuselah, who was the father of Lamech, who was the father of Noah.  Everybody that has been born on this earth after Noah is Noah's descendant and therefore a descendant of Enoch.  The Lord made an oath with Enoch regarding this power which is found in Joseph Smith Translation:

"For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself, that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God, to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers, and this by the will of the Son of God which was before the foundation of the world". (JST Appendix in Genesis 14:30, 31)

The oath sworn by God to Enoch and his seed is a promise made to us.  All mortals who receive the Melchizedek Priesthood have power promised to them by their faith to do the very works done by Enoch. (Ted Gibbons, SS Old Testament Lesson 5)  This means the Lord will magnify us in our callings to serve Him and will bless our efforts to bring others unto him by making us powerful even as Enoch.  All is needed is faith on our behalf to make this power active.

I am very fascinated with Enoch and how powerful he became in his speech.  I love words.  I fully believe in their ability to uplift or destroy.  The scriptures tell us that God created the world by the power of His word (1 John 1:1).  The Universe is made up of energy.  Different types of energy have different frequencies. Words also have energy and they resonate at different frequencies.  Words stem from thoughts and thoughts stem from words.  They both produce vibrations which produce emotions which produce action which produce desired results.  When you yell at someone out of anger, your intent is to hurt them by the words that you say and most often than not, you succeed because your words produce emotion in the person you are attacking.  Our words can be like poisonous barbs on the fragile souls of our children when we criticize them and lash at them in anger.

Just as damaging our words can be to others, they can also be damaging to us.  Constantly saying to ourselves that we are no good and that we can't do things would produce terrible emotions in us such as depression, low self-esteem and lack of confidence.  We tend to believe who we tell ourselves we are.  We can however, turn this around and start saying powerful words to ourselves. The Japanese scientist, Dr Emoto, has proved that if water or food is exposed to a written word, it will respond to that word.  Food and water exposed to words such as 'war' or 'hate' deteriorated quickly during his experiment, whereas those exposed to words such as 'love' and 'thank you' had not deteriorated.  Those who speak words of love and encouragement to their plants witness their plants flourishing in conditions where they would not normally thrive.

Our words play a major role in the law of attraction.  Because words have vibration, they attract to us what we talk about.  If we constantly say "I'm always sick", you will most likely be coming down with every infection and cold going around.  If you constantly say, "I never have money", the money that you receive will slip through your fingers like water.   Whatever we constantly say basically determines our reality.

I believe language was given to us not only for communication but to uplift and edify.  There is power in spoken word, especially when those words are words of eternal life.  We are commanded to worship and praise God through prayer and to teach others the doctrine of Christ for the salvation of their souls. When we pray we must address deity with utmost respect, reverence and gratitude. This in turn increases our faith in God and helps us feel closer to Him.  How else can we show reverence and expect the Father to honour our petitions?

When we speak the words of eternal life, these words resonate with the spirit of God and empower us to achieve things we could not ordinarily do on our own.  For instance, the words you speak about Jesus Christ and his Gospel when telling someone about the Church will resonate with the spirit of God which will enable you to proclaim the truthfulness of the Gospel with confidence and boldness you did not previously have. Another example is calling upon the power of the Atonement to enable us to overcome a certain weakness. The vibration of the words with which we plead for help will attract the power we are asking for and need.  I believe this is why we have been commanded to pray.  We cannot receive something we do not invite into our lives through the vibration of words that attracts the thing we need. When we pray, we create a pathway for manifestation of that which we want in our lives.

Immoral language corrodes our spiritually sensitive souls.  Using immoral language and swear words attracts darkness which creates negative emotions within us. They are words which disempower us in many ways. Consider this story by Elder Boyd K. Packer:

"A number of years ago I went with a brother to tow in a wrecked car.  It had been a single car accident, and the car was demolished, the driver, though unhurt, had been taken to the hospital for treatment of shock and examination.

The next morning he came asking for his car, anxious to be on his way.  When he was shown the wreckage, his pent-up emotions and disappointment, sharpened perhaps by his misfortune, exploded in a long stream of profanity.  So obscene and biting were his words that they exposed years of practice with profanity.  His words were heard by other customers, among them women, and must have touched their ears like acid.

One of my brothers crawled from beneath the car where he had been working with a large wrench.  He too was upset and with threatening gestures of the wrench he ordered him off the premises.  'We don't have to listen to that kind of language here' he said.  And the customer left, cursing more obscenely than before.

Much later in the day he reappeared.  Subdued, penitent and avoiding everyone else, he found my brother.

'I have been in eh hotel room all day', he said, 'lying on the bed, tormented.  I can't tell you how utterly ashamed I am for what happened this morning.  My conduct was inexcusable.  I have been trying to think of some justification, and I can think of only one thing: In all my life, never, not once, have I been told that my language was not acceptable.  I have always talked that way.  You were the first one who ever told me that my language was out of order.'

Isn't it interesting that a man could grow to maturity, the victim of such a vile habit, and never meet a protest? How tolerant we have become!
(Boyd K. Packer, "The Clean Voice of Youth", New Era, Jan. 1976, 5)

King Benjamin warned his people about the condemnation that can come upon them if they misuse the power of words.  Why would he mention words?  Because out of words are born deeds and deeds can lead us to destruction. Here is how he put it:

"But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words,  and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith, of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish.  And now, o man, remember and parish not."  (Mosiah 4:30)

Alma in contending with an unrighteous lawyer from Ammonihah called Zeezrom, whose career depended on the craft of persuasion and use of words, had this to say to him:

"For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence." (Alma 12:14)

When Enoch spoke with the power of God,  people trembled.  There is only one way that power could have been given to him and that is through the Holy Ghost, through which all truth and things of the spirit come. We too can have the power of Enoch if we live worthy to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. According to Nephi, it is by this power that angels speak:

"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?

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore they speak the words of Christ....."
(2 Nephi 32:2,3)

Language is a powerful tool and when we learn to use it properly, especially under the direction of the Spirit, it can be forceful and commanding.  It was so with Enoch for the scriptures record:

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and 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". (Moses 7:13)

We might not be called as Enoch was, to accomplish miraculous tasks.  We might not need power to move mountains or stop rivers in their course.  We, however, can possess power to uplift, beautify, ennoble, encourage, inspire.....all with the words that we speak.  Words that can bring life and joy and peace. And all this with the ultimate language, the tongue of angels.