The Real Meaning of 42

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything” is calculated by a supercomputer to be the number 42.  I often hear colleagues joke about this when asked some complex question, responding that the answer is simply 42.  So I found it coincidental that the length of forty-two years randomly appears in a particular chapter in the Book of Mormon 3 different times.  In Moroni’s very condensed history of the Jaredites, he wrote briefly about many of the kings that ruled, some of which were wicked and some of which were righteous.  He recorded that the wicked king Riplakish “reigned for the space of forty and two years” before the people were so fed up with his taxes and abominations that they overthrew him.  Later a descendant of Riplakish named Levi “did serve in captivity after the death of his father, for the space of forty and two years.”  After this period of captivity for 42 years he obtained the kingdom again in his family, but this time he “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.”  Many generations later the kingdom was again taken from this family, and they were put in captivity.  One of the descendants was Com, who regained half of the kingdom and “reigned over the half of the kingdom forty and two years” before he was able to gain back the whole kingdom (Ether 10:8, 15-16, 32).  In each of these three instances, the period of 42 years represented some kind of undesirable state—an evil king ruled for that time, someone was in captivity for that many years, and the kingdom was in a divided state for that long.  In each of these cases surely it felt like the situation would never end to those people affected—42 years surely felt like eternity—but perhaps the message for us is that it always does end.  Wickedness and suffering will not prevail forever.

                Interestingly, the number 42 also appears in the book of Revelation a couple of times.  In a prophecy about the future, we read that “the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months” before the two prophets will come there and show forth the power of heaven.  In another chapter John wrote about a great beast, and “there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months” (Revelation 11:2, 13:5).  In both these cases again the story was similar as in the book of Ether—some very undesirable event and triumph of wickedness took place for a length of time of forty-two (though here it was months instead of years).  Ultimately, though, the reign of wickedness in the holy city and the rule of this beast was prophesied to end because the Savior would come to destroy the wicked and reign upon the earth.  Those who “had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” would “[live] and [reign] with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).  The beast will not prevail, but those who have faith in Jesus Christ and do not worship him will triumph over all suffering and wickedness.  If we can endure faithfully the “forty-two” months/years of trials then our deliverance will come and Christ will “wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4).  And that indeed is a real answer to the most perplexing questions of life and the universe—through Christ we can triumph over all life’s challenges.