Gift of Tongues - 1 Corinthians 14:1-12

The spiritual gift of charity is to be sought after by us, meaning that we are to practice it’s principles until the love of God is so deeply ingrained in us that we actually do love God and everyone else the way that Christ does. While it is the “better way”, there are many other spiritual gifts, and the one that gets the most attention in chapter 14, and honestly probably the most high-profile spiritual gift known in Christianity is the gift of tongues. It’s interesting because I’ve seen tv shows that depict congregations “speaking in tongues” and it honestly looks crazy, like they are possessed of the devil. I think about who I know the Savior to be and at no point does it come across as him being flashy or look like he might possible be demented. It’s like the aspect of charity that “doth not behave itself unseemly”? if anything ever appeared to be unseemly, it would be standing up in the middle of a congregation and making sounds that no one else could understand.

If I had to predict how the gift of tongues would work based on what I know about Jesus, I would think that it would be someone quietly speaking to someone else in a language that the speaker didn’t already know. They would be speaking about the gospel and it would basically be the Holy Ghost communicating to the listener through the body of the speaker. That isn’t flashy, that doesn’t call attention to oneself or make a show about how spiritual that person is. The IM says that the gift of tongues is the least of all the spiritual gifts, but is focused on so much of the time. It even notes that there are some denominations that don’t consider a person spiritual born again until they speak in tongues. Now this opens up a host of problems, such as “if the language is unknown, who verifies that it was actually an unknown language and not just gibberish the person made up?” “How often do you have to speak in tongues to continue your conversion?” There’s a lot that goes into it, it’s definitely a problematic way to assess spiritual maturity. 

But let’s think for a second why the gift of tongues would be such a big deal among Christians. It’s pretty obvious to me, the appeal is that it is a public display on stage for all to see. The gift of tongues isn’t something that someone does by themselves at home alone, it is in full view of the other parishioners, therefore by performing this feat one is able to make sure that the rest of the congregation knows just how spiritual and “chosen” they are. While speaking in tongues, or speaking a language that you don’t know, is very important to missionary work, it’s not critical to the basic happenings of every day discipleship. Paul very clearly teaches that it is not manifesting the spiritual gift of tongues that build testimony of Jesus Christ in others, but prophesy.

We talked a few weeks ago about what prophesy actually is, and I always considered it something that is specifically for the Apostles and Prophets, but what we learned previously is that prophesy isn’t seeing in to the future, but bearing testimony of Jesus Christ. The IM quotes the Prophet Joseph Smith as teaching, “’every other man who has the testimony of Jesus’ is a prophet… Thus, in the sense used in speaking of spiritual gifts, a prophet is one who testifies of Jesus Christ, teaches God’s word, and exhorts God’s people.” Paul gives very specific examples of how the gift of tongues and the spirit of prophecy are different.

First, let’s think about the difference technically. If someone is given something to say in an unknown language, surely what is meant to be said would be to testify of Christ, because that’s the only purpose of spiritual gifts. So if the gift of tongues really did come from God, then the message would be bearing testimony of Christ. The message for someone demonstrating the spirit of prophecy would also bear witness of Christ, his mission, and the gospel. So basically the messages would be the same, the only difference would be the words spoken. So if the message is the same, we can deduce that the it would only be profitable if the audience understood what was being said. If the gift of tongues is employed to convey the message, it would really only work if the speaker was using a language that was readily understood by the audience. Otherwise, really, the whole episode would just be entertainment that didn’t really benefit anyone.

This is exactly the point that Paul makes saying that one who speaks in tongues that no one around him can understanding, “speaketh not unto men, but unto God.” As would be expected, the gift of tongues where neither speaker nor hearer understand the words “is very easy for Lucifer to falsely duplicate… and confuse the members of the Church.” Satan is old, he probably knows all the languages ever spoken throughout human history, he knows human nature and our tendency to want attention and to feel superior to our fellow beings. Like the question that came up with the other denominations, this gift would be difficult to verify authenticity, and could be confusing and make people look crazy. Because of this, the IM quotes Elder Robert D. Hales as teaching, “We are told by prophets in this dispensation that revelation for the direction of the Church will not be given through the gift of tongues.”

This is pretty in line with how Jesus has run his church the whole time with a structured leadership, and now with such wide spread global communication, only one man who receives direction from God for the Church as a whole. We know that gospel doctrine, principles, and policies are not preached one time in one obscure talk from long ago, they are preached frequently, publicly, and by multiple leaders. So one person standing up in sacrament meeting in Holland, speaking in tongues isn’t going to dictate church policy, because that’s not how it works. 

Paul explains “he that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.” So while some might see the opportunity to speak in tongues as a way to demonstrate their spiritual greatness, the gift of prophesy is more universal in the audience that it can reach. Paul makes his point saying that if he came to visit them and spoke in a language that they couldn’t understand, “what shall I profit you?” Unless there the gift of tongues is accompanied with the gift of the interpretation of tongues, then it really doesn’t mean anything. As an example, Paul compares a “pipe” to a “harp.” I think that a pipe is like a pipe flute. The article covering this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com paraphrases Paul’s words, saying, “If you can’t distinguish the difference between a flute and a harp, then you are hearing noise, not music.” If you can’t understand the words being said, you are not being edified, you are being entertained. I like that, that’s a good one.

Another example Paul gives is that of a trumpet sounds, asking, “if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” The article quotes President Harold B. Lee as remarking, “In a stake conference, a serviceman said something about the importance of trumpet calls to a military man. There is reveille at daybreak, which summons men to the days’ duties. There is the trumpet call that means assemble, or to assemble or fall into military order. There is the mess call… There is the call that means forward march. There is the call that means a call to arms, to prepare for battle. And then there is taps, a signal to extinguish all lights in military quarters and to go to bed or to preserve silence; it is also used at a military burial. One can imagine the utter confusion if a military commander were to fail to give correct instructions to the bugler. If the individuals in the military encampment were not taught sufficiently to understand each trumpet call, one can likewise fancy the confusion.”

Being an army vet, I can understand this reference. If the word of God is to be taken into our lives, we have to understand what is being said, we have to be taught the principles in a way that makes sense to us. And if the message is encoded in a language that we don’t understand and no one else does either, then hearing it doesn’t do us any good. Paul makes this exact statement saying, “so likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? For ye shall speak into the air.” 

Imagine being on a military base and the trumpet calls are there, but there are a bunch of other calls happening all the time as well. Paul says that there are “so many kinds of voices in the world,” and the article quotes James E. Faust as noting when he gave a talk once that while his audience could hear his message, “imagine, however, what would happen if all of a sudden a heckler in the back of this hall start to yell obscenities; another on my left began to contend with him; another on my right began to debate with his neighbor; someone in the center turned on a recording of some loud music. Soon a chorus of raucous, rival voices would smother my voice, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to deliver a spiritual message to you. Such is the situation in the world. The Spirit’s voice is ever-present, but it is calm… The Adversary tries to smother this voice with a multitude of loud, persistent, persuasive, and appealing voices.”

If we were in a meeting to be spiritually fed and one speaker got up and said a bunch of words that we didn’t understand, it would be difficult for us to receive God’s message that was meant to be delivered by that individual. It would probably make us feel weird, make that person look insane, and completely stop our spiritual vibing that we had going on. Paul says, “therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.” Instead of being uplifted and spiritually strengthened, the encounter will leave us divided from the speaker and from the message that we needed to hear.

So Paul admonishes, “even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.” He recognizes that it can be a complicated process of human emotions to seek after spiritual gifts, and he seems to appreciate that they are earnestly seeking and desiring to have spiritual gifts, like they have been commanded to do. But he says that they need to take it back a notch and remember that the purpose of a spiritual gift is to build up the kingdom of God and that they are to wield any gift that they receive for that purpose. Even though it might be tempting, even subconsciously so, to make a big show of what God’s given you, and have people respect your knowledge and spiritual strength. We might even be able to convince ourselves that it would be beneficial to the gospel for people to see you as a spiritual leader, because then you could help them, but that’s not the way the Lord wants us to go about helping others grow spiritually. And really, that thought is misplaced because other people’s spiritual status has nothing to do with us, it is the Holy Ghost who helps others do the growing. We are only there to do what we can and any benefit that God gives us isn’t to make ourselves popular or to be seen as special or fancy, but it’s only so that others can be benefitted in their gospel journey.