My Heart Doth Magnify His Holy Name

We typically use the word magnify in the Church to describe how we should treat our callings or responsibilities. This kind of usage is also in the scriptures. For example, Jacob wrote, “I, Jacob, according to the responsibility which I am under to God, to magnify mine office with soberness, and that I might rid my garments of your sins, I come up into the temple this day that I might declare unto you the word of God” (Jacob 2:2). The Lord said in our day, “For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:33). He also said to a group of His Saints, “That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:80). In these instances, the word signifies a complete devotion to one’s duties and a desire to fulfill them in the most complete way possible. The meaning of the word in general is to enlarge, just as a magnifying glass makes things look bigger. So perhaps here in this sense as it relates to our callings, we might say we increase their importance to ourselves relative to other things. We don’t have to increase the size of our responsibilities, but we understand their significance and see them as more important (magnified) compared to other worldly pursuits.

Given that, I was interested in how Nephi used the same word as he prophesied about the Savior’s atonement. He wrote, “Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name” (2 Nephi 25:13). This language reminds me of Mary when Elisabeth rejoiced at her coming to visit while Mary was carrying the Savior. Mary declared, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name” (Luke 1:46-49). For Nephi and Mary, the word magnify seems to signify praising and worshipping the Lord. Perhaps we might say that for them, He was magnified in the sense that His importance was made bigger in their souls than other worldly pursuits. Nephi and Mary worshipped Him with all their hearts and their greatest desires were related to Him.

I think that we too can magnify the Lord as we learn to keep our covenant to always remember Him. As He remains at the forefront of our minds, He becomes magnified relative to other things; not that we can devote 100% of our thoughts and attention directly to the Savior, but He can always be most important relative to other things that occupy our time. In the same chapter as the above words from Nephi, he also described in more detail what it looks like to magnify the Savior: “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” We should speak of Him, write of Him, and rejoice in Him often as we go about our daily duties. Our thoughts should be turned to Him frequently as we reach out for help and give thanks to the Lord throughout our day. I love this injunction that Nephi then gave, “And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out” (2 Nephi 25:26, 29). As we strive to do that, we will surely be magnifying the Lord just as Nephi and Mary did.