inquiringmind Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 What does 2 Nephi 31:3 mean?...the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding. (2 Nephi 31:3.)Does it mean the Lord always inspres prophets to use the exact words that most prfectly convey the whole truth on any given subject, or that He condescends to their language and understanding?
Robert F. Smith Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) What does 2 Nephi 31:3 mean?...the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding. (2 Nephi 31:3.)Does it mean the Lord always inspres prophets to use the exact words that most perfectly convey the whole truth on any given subject, or that He condescends to their language and understanding?There is no such thing as perfection in any use of human language, which is why no Scripture can be infallible, but is always subject to interpretation via the Holy Spirit -- without which one is left to human effort alone.Indeed, even to his servants the prophets, God says in D&C 1:24, "these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding."You may have noticed that the Book of Mormon manuscripts dictated by Joseph to his scribes are filled with very common, plain language which we today regard as ungrammatical, and which has been progressively edited to reflect a higher quality of English expression. Edited August 9, 2011 by Robert F. Smith
zerinus Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 (edited) What does 2 Nephi 31:3 mean?...the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; . . .“giveth light to the understanding” means that God enlightens our minds with His Spirit to enable us to understand His messages and scriptures correctly, in the way He intended them to be understood, and not be misunderstood. It also enables us to discern spiritual truth wherever it may come from. The following scriptures will be helpful in clarifying that:D&C 11:13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.D&C 32:4 And they shall give heed to that which is written, and pretend to no other revelation; and they shall pray always that I may unfold the same to their understanding.D&C 136:33 For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to enlighten the humble and contrite, and to the condemnation of the ungodly.JS–H 1:74 Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. . . .. . . for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding. (2 Nephi 31:3.)Does it mean the Lord always inspres prophets to use the exact words that most prfectly convey the whole truth on any given subject, or that He condescends to their language and understanding?It means a bit of both. God’s word when delivered by the power of the Holy Ghost is indeed infallible, meaning that it cannot lead us astray in doctrine or in morals. But just because something is the infallible word of God, it does not mean that we will always be able to understand them correctly unaided by His Holy Spirit. The truth of a word is independent of our ability to understand them correctly. For that to happen, there is something that we need to do to accomplish it, and that is to put ourselves in a condition that God can enlighten us with His Spirit, so that we can understand His messages in the way He intended them to be understood.The words of God are not always easy to understand. Some of them can be very difficult to understand. The writings of Isaiah for example are by no means easy to understand. Quite a lot of preparation, study, and inspiration is required for us to be able to understand them correctly. They are still the infallible word of God; but quite a bit of inspiration is required to enable us to understand them correctly.I like what the psalmist has said about the word of God:Psalms 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.I believe in the complete infallibility of the word of God. This does not mean that there cannot be a spelling mistake in it. It doesn’t even mean that the same ideas could not be expressed better or more clearly by someone else. What that means is that it is an unfailing guide in leading us to God and to His divine truth. It means that it cannot lead us astray in doctrine or in morals. It means that if heeded, it is an unfailing guide to eternal life. But there is a precondition, and that is that it needs to be understood by the light of the Holy Spirit as explained above. Edited August 9, 2011 by zerinus
CV75 Posted August 9, 2011 Posted August 9, 2011 What does 2 Nephi 31:3 mean? ...the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding. (2 Nephi 31:3.)Does it mean the Lord always inspres prophets to use the exact words that most prfectly convey the whole truth on any given subject, or that He condescends to their language and understanding?It means that Nephi speaks plainly because he delights in plainness. He delights in plainness because the Lord likewise works in plainness among the children of men. This plainness is reflected in (1) giving light to the understanding (see D&C 88:6-13) and (2) in speaking to men after their language so they can understand Him clearly (see D&C 1:24-28).Interestingly (IIRC), the older Doctrine and Covenants publications used a codeword “shinehah,” which means “sun” (a source of light) to disguise the word “printing press” (a source of printed language as spiritual light). So light and language seem to be almost synonymous with the Lord. We need to accept His definition and use of light and language to progress. The more we narrowly define these terms, the less spiritual meaning they carry unto our hearts.The whole truth on any given subject is obtained line upon line, precept upon precept. Prophets like Nephi deal with conveying the plain and precious things of the Gospel in as plain and simple language as possible. This is not to say that all of them always communicate on a fourth-grade reading level; in the gestalt the Lord’s servants speak to their audience members at their own level.Sometimes He gives them the exact words to say. This is a common experience among those giving priesthood blessings, testimony, etc.The matter of condescension applies (see 1 Nephi 11), but when the Lord condescends and we receive Him, our abilities to comprehend are increased. He gives us as much as we are willing to receive. This is a function of the language of the Spirit than of the written or spoken word.
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