Doctrine: <Your super power> is the power by which God works! <Your super power> is evidence of the power and reality of your faith. <Your super power> reflects your testimony and understanding of who you are and who others are as children of God.
If you could have super power, what would it be? What would you use it for? Would it have limitations or rules for its use? Or, is the power to wield it absolute?
How would you use your super power to change your own life, the lives of others or the world?
Whether you realize it or not, if you are a human being, you already possess a super power—a very real, tangible, power that you use daily.
Consider the following quotes and see if you can guess what your super power is.
Dumbledore, Deathly Hallows: Word are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.
Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Proverbs 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are…sweet to the soul and health to the bones.
James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Alma 31:5 …the preaching of the word…had a more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword or anything else, which had happened unto them.
Matthew 12:34 …for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 12:36-37 But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Matthew 15:11 No that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Jeffrey R. Holland, The Tongue of Angels The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh: but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones.
Jeffrey R. Holland, The Tongue of Angels A woman’s words can be more piercing than any dagger ever forged, and they can drive the people they love to retreat beyond a barrier more distant than anyone in the beginning of that exchange could ever have imagined.
Jeffrey R. Holland, The Tongue of Angels With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail.
Emily Dickinson I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word.
Pearl Strachan Hurd Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs
Anonymous Don’t mix your words with your mood, you can change your mood but you can’t take back your words.
I suspect that after skimming all of these quotes you’ve come to the conclusion that your super power is words, or the power of speech. But, before you brush it off as a “let down,” and are disappointed that it wasn’t something more amazing, let me enlighten you just powerful and critical the power of speech is.
First, ponder the question, “How could words be so powerful? What could possibly make them so powerful that they could be considered a super power?”
Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught:
The Prophet Joseph Smith deepened our understanding of the power of speech when he taught, “It is by words … [that] every being works when he works by faith. God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light.’ Joshua spake, and the great lights which God had created stood still. Elijah commanded, and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months, so that it did not rain. … All this was done by faith. … Faith, then, works by words; and with [words] its mightiest works have been, and will be, performed.”
Wait a minute. Did you catch that? Speech is the power by which God works!
So, if we break that down, then we could say, to be a god one must have the power of speech. Meaning then, that because we, as humans, have the power of speech, that we are capable of becoming like God. And, in fact, if we didn’t have the power of speech (which I remind you is a super power) we couldn’t become like Him.
Elder Holland also implied (as well as several of the quotes/sources listed above) that the most powerful works of faith and individual authenticity are evidenced in our words. Our words can create and destroy both matter and people. Thus, words are the actual evidence of the power and reality of our faith.
Have you ever wondered how powerful your faith is? Have you ever doubted your faith? Well, then, how can you test its strength and power? Answer: review your daily speech.
If you want to know how powerful your faith is, review your speech to your family, friends, at work, at church or at school, over texts, and on your social media accounts. That will, without a doubt, reveal to you the current level and extent of your faith in God, His Son, and His plan.
Thus, if you want to increase your faith, you can do so by changing your daily speech. It’s that powerful.
In Matthew 25:40 we read:
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
We could replace the word “done” with “said.” Thus, inasmuch as we have said it unto one of the least of God’s children, we have said it unto Christ. Hmmmm, powerful, eh? But there’s more to this thought.
C.S. Lewis has a beautiful quote in The Weight of Glory:
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.
“All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations…” Meaning, we have the power to influence people toward godhood or what Lewis implies is some type of devilhood. We have the power to influence…
Granted, as potential gods and goddesses we are certainly in control of our own fates. We have the complete power of agency. But if fellow demigods are working against us, then it serves to reason that such powerful influence can be a major hurdle, even a major battle to overcome in such a process.
So, drawing from this scripture and quote it seems quite clear words are evidence of our understanding of who we are and who others are. If we want to know the depth of our testimony of our divine nature, of our possibility to become like God, then we merely have to review how we talk to ourselves and others. If we think we have a strong testimony that we are children of God but we talk to others as if they are something less…then perhaps our testimony is not truly what we thought it was.
It is one thing to know a truth. It is another thing to embody it. God doesn’t simply know truth, He embodies it. He is love. He is mercy. He is truth, etc. How we use our super, godly power of speech reflects directly on our ability to progress toward becoming like God.
We cannot become like God, ultimately, if we use our godly power of speech to demean ourselves or others. To do so is to literally fight against God and His children.
Now, this is quite a daunting revelation. But, don’t panic. Just begin today. Evaluate your words. Do they reflect what you believe to be the current level and extent of your faith? Do they reflect your testimony of your own divinity and the future divinity of others? Do you use your words to help others (and yourself) toward godhood? Or, do you use your super power to battle others, slowing them down on their upward journey?
Don’t just recognize where your super power is being used for ill. Sit down and ponder how you can begin the slow change toward using it for godly purposes. Make plans on how to implement what you are inspired to do. Practice. Evaluate when you fail and strengthen and adjust your plans. Keep trying.
The beautiful thing about this super power of speech is that you can begin immediately to use it well. Give a compliment. Offer encouragement. Apologize for a wrong. Share an uplifting quote on social media. Cease gossiping. Cease making light of others as a joke. Avoid sarcasm and demeaning intellectual forms of manipulation.
The super power of speech is so multifaceted and powerful. It can be used for good or ill in nearly every circumstance. Do not underestimate it. It is God’s reigning power. It is what gives you the potential to become like Him.
BT
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