2 Nephi 32:2

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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?

Quotes for Discussion

Holy Ghost

An intelligent being, in the image of God, possesses every organ, attribute, sense, sympathy, affection that is possessed by God himself.

But these are possessed by man, in his rudimental state, in a subordinate sense of the word. Or, in other words, these attributes are in embryo and are to be gradually developed. They resemble a bud, a germ which gradually develops into bloom, and then, by progress, produces the mature fruit after its own kind.

The gift of the Holy Ghost adapts itself to all these organs or attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands, and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates, and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form, and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.

Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, p. 61

It is the Holy Ghost who converts, teaches, and inspires. It is the Holy Ghost and His power that moves us, impressing ideas and concepts upon our hearts and minds that we’ve never thought about before or even believed, changing us over time. It is the Holy Ghost who reveals the Father’s will, who comforts and has the capacity to bring a change of heart more complete and transforming than anything this world has to offer. It is the Holy Ghost who is the Divine Translator and Revelator and who makes it possible for us to receive instructions from our Father.

We speak often of the gift of the Holy Ghost, but Nephi learned in his vision of the latter days that the Holy Ghost is a gift of pure power (see 1 Nephi 13:37). He gives us the power to feel peace, comfort, and reassurance even when circumstances in life are not peaceful, comforting, or reassuring. The power to speak a language, even the language of revelation, that only He is authorized to teach. The power to part the veil and commune with the heavens. The power to be transformed and changed, and even to put off the natural man and become “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us]” (Mosiah 3:190. The power to become like our Father and His Only Begotten Son.

Sherri Dew, God Wants a Powerful People, p. 8-9

The gift of the Holy Ghost is a gift of power. The Holy Ghost inspires and heals, guides and warns, enhances our natural capacities, inspire charity and humility, makes us smarter than we are, strengthens us during trials, testifies of the Father and the Son, and reveals all things to us (see 2 Nephi 32:5).

President John Taylor declared: “You may pour wealth, honor, influence, and all the luxuries of this world into the lap of man; and, destitute of the Spirit of God, he will not be happy, for that is the only source from which true happiness and comfort can come” (The Gospel Kingdom, 341).

If the Holy Ghost is the only source of true happiness, and because the Holy Ghost will show us everything we should do, it only makes sense to learn how He communicates—or, in other words, to learn the language of revelation. After we receive the Holy Ghost, we may ‘speak with the tongue of angels,” meaning the Lord’s language, the language of revelation (2 Nephi 32:2). Our challenge is not in somehow coaxing the Lord to speak to us; our challenge is understanding what He has to say and preparing and learning how to understand Him when He speaks (see D&C 6:140.

Ibid, p. 34-35

The gift of the Holy Ghost comes after one repents and becomes worthy….The Holy Ghost bears witness of the truth and impresses upon the soul the reality of God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ so deeply that no earthly power or authority can separate him from that knowledge.

President James E. Faust, “The Gift of the Holy Ghost—A Sure Compass,” Ensign, Apr. 1996, 4

The Spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:47-48

No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith [salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976], 328

President Boyd K. Packer taught: “The voice of the Spirit is described in the scripture as being neither ‘loud’ nor ‘harsh.’ It is ‘not a voice of thunder, neither…voice of a great tumultuous noise.’ But rather, ‘a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper,’ and it can ‘pierce even to the very soul’ and ‘cause [the heart] to burn.’ (3 Ne. 11:3; Hel. 5:30; D&C 85:6-7.) Remember, Elijah found the voice of the Lord was not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but was a ‘still small voice.’ (1 Kgs. 19:12.)

“The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather it whispers. It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all. (No wonder that the Word of Wisdom was revealed to us, for how could the drunkard or the addict feel such a voice?)

“Occasionally it will press just firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and expression, like Samuel of ancient times, ‘Speak [Lord], for thy servant heareth.’ (1 Sam. 3:10.)”

“The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan. 1983, 53

Now I am going to say something that maybe I could not prove, but I believe is true, that we have a great many members of this Church who have never reached a manifestation through the Holy Ghost. Why? Because they have not made their lives conform to the truth. And the Holy Ghost will not dwell in unclean tabernacles where perhaps the light of Christ remains. But the Holy Ghost will not dwell in unclean tabernacles or disobedient tabernacles. The Holy Ghost will not dwell with that person who is unwilling to obey and keep the commandments of God or who violates those commandments willfully. In such a soul the spirit of the Holy Ghost cannot enter.

That great gift comes to us only through humility and faith and obedience. Therefore, a great many members of the Church do not have that guidance. Then some cunning, crafty individual will come along teaching that which is not true, and without the guidance which is promised to us through our faithfulness, people are unable to discern and are led astray. It depends on our faithfulness and our obedience to the commandments of the Lord if we have the teachings, the enlightening instruction, that comes from the Holy Ghost.

When we are disobedient, when our minds are set upon the things of this world rather than on the things for the kingdom of God, we cannot have the manifestations of the Holy Ghost. Did you ever stop to think what a great privilege it is for us to have the companionship of one of the members of the Godhead? Have you thought of it that way? That is our privilege, if we keep the commandments the Lord has given us.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Address to BYU student body, Oct. 25, 1961, or Church News, Nov. 4, 1961, 14