The Divine Imprint of God on His Words

Something the average person of faith may not be aware of is that when God inspires His servants to write His word to the world, those writings invariably carry the imprint of Deity. In this instance I am referring to the practice among the ancient prophets of using special numbers to reinforce and emphasize the message they were delivering. 

I personally do not ascribe to numerology in the sense of “hidden” or “esoteric” (that is, “special insider”) messages that portend grave disasters. The numbers I am referring to are quite simple and direct, but therein is the strength of their usage. For example: “3” refers to Deity or presidency in the priesthood; “7” refers to the priesthood power in the Church as well as the priesthood authority present in the Church congregations when the Lord considers that Church to be His; “10” refers to the commandments, and “12” refers to the quorum of twelve apostles/high priests and the gathering of Israel. There are more. These numbers (and others) appear frequently throughout the Old Testament, New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price. They are also present in the Apocrypha (those books that were placed in the oldest Bible manuscripts but were not considered of equal worth to the Testaments in the middle ages) and the (beautiful) Quran. But what of the Doctrine & Covenants? 

The presence of these numeric emphasis markers (as I choose to call them) in ancient writ is, perhaps, understandable: it could be said that the ancients had developed a method of instruction that made use of such devices to enhance their teachings. But would we expect to find such numbers used to enhance teachings in the Doctrine & Covenants, modern revelations revealed predominantly to Joseph Smith, Jr., in modern American English, in a rural American northeast setting?

I would like to refer to Section 43, from February, 1831. In this revelation (named “Section”; for my Muslim fellows who share with me a love of Al-Ilah “Allah”, and Jewish fellows who, part for part, call Him “Ha-Eloah” or more often “Elohim”, these are “Surahs” or “Chapters/divisions”), the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to Joseph Smith and expresses His pain and sorrow at the world’s unwillingness to allow Him to gather them. Focus on the words that denote “utterance”. Doctrine & Covenants, Section 43: 23-25:

…Hearken, O ye nations of the earth,

and hear the words of that God who made you.

O, ye nations of the earth,

how often would I have gathered you together

as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,

but ye would not!

How oft have I called upon you by

1.      the mouth of my servants,

2.      and by the ministering of angels,

3.      and by mine own voice,

4.      and by the voice of thundering,

5.      and by the voice  of lightnings,

6.      and by the voice of tempests,

7.      and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms,

8.      and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind,

9.      and by the great sound of a trump,

10.   and by the voice of judgment,

11.   and by the voice of mercy all the day long,

12.   and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life,

and would have saved you

with an everlasting salvation,

but ye would not!

What impressed me most about the use of the number 12 here by our Savior when speaking to Joseph Smith is that He, my Lord and Savior, left a divine imprint on His words by utilizing the same “manner of speech” that He had used when speaking to His ancient prophets. The use of repetition here called my attention, led me to repeat the list, and upon several rehearsals I counted up 12 uses of synonyms for “utterance”. The result was that I perceived special emphasis on the idea of the Lord laboring diligently to “gather” His people. I also benefited by pausing, re-reading and scrutinizing and studying the passages out—as the reader is no doubt meant to do--because I found myself contemplating what the symbols (lightnings, trump, etc.) were meant to convey. I also noticed details I had missed in my more casual initial reading. Such is the beauty of the pattern of God’s speech to His children; His speech is not only clear to the mind, it beckons each person to consider it longer, deeper, and contemplate its personal application. Upon first reading, I found these verses (ayahs) to be beautiful. Upon more careful study, I found them to be moving, both emotionally, and moving to greater action as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I mentioned that these words have a "divine" imprint in reference to the number 12 (12 instances of "utterance"). However, the most divine imprint that I received here is the personal knowledge that these words are in fact truly the words of my Savior, and this knowledge or witness comes from the Holy Ghost, a special Messenger who testifies of all truth directly from the presence of God, but personally to my mind, and my affections or heart. My Muslim brethren inherited their word for “Holy Ghost” from Aramaic, RuhUlQudus, which etymologically is Ruh ‘Spirit’ ul ‘the’ Qudus ‘Holy’. RuhUlQudus corresponds to the Hebrew “Ruakh HaKodesh” (literally) ‘Spirit the-Holy’. So I ask myself, “what good is knowing any of the divine imprint in the speech of God if this knowledge does not motivate me to serve God better?” Well, therein lies the purpose. Let all serve God better today, and every day. If you love God, Allah, Elohim, study His word, and find meaning in life as you do His will.

James Weller