"Bespeaketh"

There is an interesting verse in the Doctrine and Covenants that’s meaning has escaped me until recently when I finally stopped to look up a word in it. The verse is D&C 60:4, “For I, the Lord, rule in the heavens above, and among the armies of the earth; and in the day when I shall make up my jewels, all men shall know what it is that bespeaketh the power of God.” Always before I had assumed that the word bespeaketh meant speaks, but this time I realized that “what it is that speaks the power of God” didn’t make much sense. So as I instruct my students to do, I went to my dictionary and looked up bespeaketh. A definition about speak (to speak to with formality) is the second definition of the word, but the first definition is “to hire, engage, or claim beforehand.” The third definition is “to request” and the last definition is “to indicate; signify.”

The two definitions that fit best here are the first and last. So the phrase can be read as “what it is that engages the power of God” or “what it is that signifies the power of God.” Both of these make sense and give us beautiful insights as to what is to come. When the Lord gathers His righteous people—His jewels—all people will know that righteousness engages the power of God and all people will know that righteousness signifies the power of God. There will be such an obvious connection that no one will be left wondering how one obtains the power of God.

This is a beautiful promise. Right now so many people deny the power of God, but some day not only will no one deny the power of God, but they will all know what it is that brings the power of God into a person’s life. I can’t wait for the day!