A Language of its Own by Lindsey Beus

Mankind has been obsessed with angels for a long time. Many songs and pieces of art are centered on the subject. A compliment on appearance or voice quality may be “you look/sound like an angel.” But what does it mean to speak with the tongue of angels as stated in 2 Nephi. Well, “Scripture is given by inspiration…” and so I believe there are several meanings behind this tongue (1).
One meaning could be taken from another scripture where Nephi is bothered by his prompting to explain so few revelations when the words are “knowledge… in plainness, even as plain as word can be” (2). Perhaps the tongue of angels is an ability given by the Holy Ghost to speak knowledge and truth in a plain form. That does not mean that the words will truly be very plain though, as they have been “written in weakness [but] will be made strong… for it persuadeth them to do good” (3). To make an odd Star Wars reference, this might be compared to the Jedi’s ability to persuade without using the flowery, erudite words, which might be thrown around by haughty people and politicians.
Another possible meaning could be as simple as prayer. The Spirit teaches a man to pray. The tongue of angels comes with the gift of the Holy Ghost, and so perhaps, the tongue of angels is the prayer of a contrite spirit on the righteous path. There is nothing sweeter to the taste than a true prayer, and perhaps that is the only gift needed. I personally know from experience that a truly felt prayer cannot be taught. Yes, we as members of the church learn the basics of prayer and how to say them properly out of respect, but a true prayer from the heart cannot be learned. My greatest prayer was a moment when I left the proper outline behind and truly spoke what I felt I had to say. However, nothing I said felt like I was saying it. For that moment, I felt like a heavenly being, having a heartfelt conversation with my dear creator. To me, that could easily be the tongue of angels, because those words were not my own but they expressed my feelings in a way that was beyond imagination.
The only other meaning that comes to me is the words of Christ. “Feast upon the words of Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (4). Nephi refers that we should yield to his words and “the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God…” (5). “Angels… speak the words of Christ” and so maybe that is what it means to speak with their tongue (6). Christ’s words can be found in prayers and they are plain and simple. Maybe it means all three.
Elder Jeffery R. Holland ” [testified] of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind” (7). I hope that every person can speak with such sweet words that could be described as a new tongue and should be spoken by angels. Along with those kinds words, we need to remember truth, prayer, and the words of Christ. Maybe then, everything else will fall into place. To me, the tongue of angels is any communication of love.
Works Cited
1. 2 Timothy 3:16
2. 2 Nephi 32:7
3. 2 Nephi 33:4
4. 2 Nephi 32:3
5. 2 Nephi 33:14
6. 2 Nephi 31 3
7. http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-10,00.html