Hearken and Hear

Isaiah gave us these words of the Lord: “When I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not” (Isaiah 65:12). He said again in the next chapter: “When I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word” (Isaiah 66:4-5). Like President Nelson has repeatedly said, these words are an invitation to “hear Him” and to answer when He calls. We do not want that rebuke or this same description to apply to us: “They would not hear.” He calls to all of us then and now: “Wherefore hear the word of the Lord…. Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech” (Isaiah 28:12, 14, 23). Isaiah’s message was a continual call to hear the voice of the Lord; indeed his very first words were these: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken.” He said again in that first chapter: “Hear the word of the Lord… give ear unto the law of our God” (Isaiah 1:2, 10). As Isaiah said to Hezekiah so he says to all of us: “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 39:5).

            This language in Isaiah reminds me of the preface to the Doctrine and Covenants. In this the Lord invited all of us: “Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together.” He wants us to hear and hearken to Him. He continued, “Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear.” If we will not hear then we will be “cut off from among the people” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:1, 11, 14). Throughout this book of scripture the Savior continued to invite us of our generation to hear Him: “Hearken… and listen to the words of Jesus Christ, your Lord and your Redeemer…. Hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, while I speak unto you…. Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Lord, your God, and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful…. Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins…. Open ye your ears and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, whose word is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, soul and spirit; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 15:1, 25:1, 27:1, 29:1, 33:1). He knows our thoughts and words and feelings perfectly; He always hears us, but we too often fail to hear His voice and hearken to His counsels. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the word “hear” is just one letter off from the word “heart”—to truly hear Him we must do so in our heart just as He invited Oliver Cowdery to do: “Behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 8:2). We have to learn to hear not just with our physical ears but with our heart where the Holy Ghost will come and speak the word of the Lord to us. And these words of Isaiah will then describe us: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).