“Even as a Man Telleth Another in Mine Own Language”

Brant Gardner

Moroni declares his witness to the truth of his writing. Even though the writing might be weak, there will come a time when he shall meet all face to face, and there in the more powerful speech he will be able to powerfully confirm what he may only attempt to record in the weakness of his writing.

[even as a man telleth another in mine own language]: Moroni tells us more here about the method of prophecy than we learn in any other scripture. Of course it does not mean that all prophets receive revelation from the Lord I precisely this manner, but surely for Moroni, the experience was personal, interactive, and in “mine own language.” It is perhaps this last statement that is the most important aspect of our understanding of the prophetic experience.

The Lord is certainly not constricted to any earthly language. When the Lord speaks to a prophet, that prophet understands in his/her own language. This is only to be expected, but it emphasizes the uniqueness of the experience. We have records of inspired men who have written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, English, Egyptian (Nephi) and Reformed Egyptian (Moroni). It is possible that Moroni spoke a different language than that in which he wrote. For all, there is the same God. The communication from God to man is therefore more important for the meaning than the words. We should not be surprised that any scriptures may be translated, because it is the communication of meaning that supercedes the words themselves. We need not speak the language of God to understand what he wants of us. That message can be encoded in many languages.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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