Ether 12:24 -- On Mighty Words

"And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. 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."
Ether 12:24


What I find interesting here is that written words can be overpowering. We don't usually think of it in quite this way, but we see this in life... we read life-changing books, or a verse of scripture just sears itself into our minds. So, is that a spiritual gift, or is it separate from the words, and the spirit is just testifying of truth, or is there a spiritual infusion in there somehow that bakes a spiritual message into those words, and anyone who is paying enough attention can get that message?

To take the idea farther, it isn't just written words. In the previous verse Ether mentions that God has made them "mighty in word by faith, but not . . . mighty in writing." And 2 Nephi 33:1 shares the same idea, saying that "when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men," clearly attributing the power to the Holy Ghost.

I have has a similar experience looking at a painting... having an overwhelming spiritual reaction to it, as though the spiritual message was just there, waiting for me to trigger it. So, perhaps even more ways of communicating can be infused with meaning/spirit/truth.

And then you have the verses that talk about "the Word was made flesh" (John 1:14) and the whole creation story where God says something and then it happens, and you have to wonder how powerful true words, spoken or written, or just true communication can be.

The idea also adds kind of a new meaning to the phrase repeated throughout the scriptures similar to "he that hath an ear, let him hear" ... perhaps indicating that there is a spiritual message to be found in these words, if we are in tune or spiritually perceptive enough to get it.

Today, let's consider the mightiness of our words, not just in preaching, but in the way they can affect or inspire the people around us. Let's take the power of communication seriously, and work to be in tune with God, feeling his spirit in our lives, and I think that we will be opening ourselves to a whole new layer of communication.