Messenger Magazine

Singing in Tongues
A Long Forgotten Spiritual Gift

Posted on 1/1/2004 at 1:03:24 AM

Although currently unheard of in the LDS Church, and not very common in mainstream Christian Churches, the subject of singing in tongues or “singing in spirit” as it sometimes referred to, does come up occasionally amongst Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians. Looking at references to it on the Internet, it seems that in a few such congregations it may even be a regular occurrence, whereas in most others it may only be occasionally speculated about. …

The belief that God can and does inspire Christians to sing in an unknown tongue is usually derived from an epistle of Paul, in which he states, “I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”1. Presumably singing “with the Spirit” is interpreted to mean, singing as led to by God’s Spirit, rather than by using prewritten hymns. Perhaps it is supposed that when the Spirit speaks directly to us, it is in language unknown to humans, except those inspired to interpret it. Paul may again be alluding to this in the book of Romans, as he explains, “the Spirit itself maketh intercessions for us with groanings2 which cannot be uttered.”3. Likewise, the Psalms speak of singing “unto the Lord a new song,”4 which could be understood to not only refer to a song which no-one else has heard before, but to singing an inspired song which comes directly from God (and in His words).

Although many Latter-day Saints have heard stories of missionaries being able to miraculously speak in foreign languages that were previously unknown to them, the practise of speaking in unknown or heavenly tongues, although spoken of in the scriptures, has not been a feature of Mormon worship since before the turn of the twentieth century, when it would often take place in testimony meetings which then occurred on the first Thursday of every month. That this spiritual gift was quite common is well documented, both in the contemporary journals of the Saints, and subsequently by scholars, so we we will not touch much upon that aspect of it here, but it is interesting to note that the first recorded instance of this gift being used by a Latter-day Saint was also in song:

“The earliest account of tongues in Mormonism describes the ecstatic singing of Lyman Wight, a former Campbellite Disciple. Wight had taken charge of the new Kirtland Church of Christ while the first missionaries to that area returned to New York. Burning with charisma, Wight held up his hands before an 1831 congregation, and as his palms appeared to glow, he sang “a song which no one ever heard before, and which they said was the most melodious that they ever listened to. It was sung in another tongue.”5

Lyman went on to serve in several important positions in the Church, and was ordained an Apostle in 1841 (although he later fell away from the Gospel after the death of Joseph). He was not the only Apostle who had such an experience though. Lorenzo Snow, after addressing the Saints assembled at a conference in Manchester, England (where he was serving his mission) “concluded his address by singing beautifully in tongues.”6 Wilford Woodruff was another member of the Quorum of Twelve who also displayed this gift, as he recorded in his own journal, “I spent the evening with Priest Turpin at Bishop Whitney’s. Had a vary happy time in speaking, singing, hearing, and interpreting tongues, and in prayer with the family.”7 Both these men, as is well known, went on to be Presidents of the Church.
We have been left in no mystery either as to what the Prophet Joseph Smith thought about this, as can be seen from the recollection of Helen Mar Whitney (who had been a plural wife of his), as recorded in Woodruff’s diary many years later:

“Before they left Sister Whitney sung in tongues in the pure language which Adam & Eve made use of in the garden of Eden. This gift was obtained while in Kirtland through the promise of Joseph. He told her if she would rise upon her feet (while in a meeting) she should have the pure Language. She done so and immediately commenced singing in that language. It was as near heavenly music as any thing I ever heard.”8

Joseph did not just promise others this gift but was a participant in it himself, as an entry in his ‘Kirtland Revelation book’ shows - “Given by Joseph the seer, and written by F. G. Williams … Sang by the gift of Tongues and Translated.” This does not make it entirely clear whether Joseph did the singing or the translating, although in this author’s view as the wording is reminiscent of Joseph’s use of language, it was probably the latter. Either way it shows he also took part in this revelatory outpouring himself:

“Age after age has rolled away, according to the sad fate of man, countless millions for ever gone. At length the period of time has come that oft was seen by a prophetic eye and written too by all holy men Inspired of the Lord. A time which was seen by Enoch of God at a time when he stood upon the mount which was called the mountain of God. As he gazed upon nature and the corruption of men, of man and mourned their sad fate and wept and cried with a loud voice and heaved forth his sighs. …”9

It seems that singing in tongues was not a confusing mess of noise or a droning monotone dirge, but was instead quite melodious. In fact the Saints turned some of the songs into hymns and poems (such as one called Moroni’s Lament that speaks of his last days upon the earth). One L.D.S. Scholar in his own studies on the subject illustrates how musically complex singing in tongues could be:

“What strikes the reader of early Mormon accounts of singing in tongues is the mellifluousness and grace with which the songs seem to have been executed. The setting to music of strange syllables became a small art form unto itself. … A tongues duet in the Kirtland Temple was reportedly sung “simultaneously… beginning and ending each verse in perfect unison, without varying a word… as though we had sung it together a thousand times.” Elizabeth Ann Whitney of Kirtland sang in tongues with a voice remembered as both “birdlike and full of symphony.” And so far was the Mormon practice from the strenuous exercises of revivalism that at least one Mormon woman sang in tongues for two hours while sleeping.”10

Although one might think that beautiful singing that attended this gift might be enough of a reason for its existence, singing in tongues served many other purposes. For those who received or interpreted it, it would have undoubtedly been a greatly spiritual experience, as well as those who felt the spirit that attended it. But the Lord at various times also used this gift to reveal His will, and to warn or inform His children. This can be seen in the following example:

“One Sunday morning, while opening the meeting with prayer, the gift of tongues came upon me, but thinking of Paul’s words, that it is sometimes wisdom not to speak in tongues unless one is present who can interpret, and forgetting that a sister possessing the gift of interpretation was present, I quenched the Spirit, and it left me.

Immediately after, another brother spoke in tongues, the interpretation of which was, that “the Lord knew we were anxious to learn of the affairs of our brethren in Missouri, and that if we would humble ourselves before Him, and ask, He would reveal unto us the desires of our hearts.”

Missouri was some thousand miles from Portland. We accordingly bowed again in supplication before the Lord, and, after rising from our knees and re-seating ourselves, the same brother broke out singing in tongues in a low, mournful strain.
But judge our feelings when the interpretation was given, and was found to be some thirteen or fourteen verses of poetry, descriptive of affairs in Missouri, and the murder of our brethren there, telling us that just at that time - “Our brethren lay bleeding on the ground. / With their wives and children weeping around.”11

Just as being inspired to speaking in a foreign tongue has often attended missionary work from the days of Christ’s apostles, we should not be surprised to find that singing in tongues has also been used in spreading the Gospel. This particular story involved Dan Jones, who was one of the Church’s most successful missionaries in his home country of Wales, where he baptized thousands. One day a Hindu man from Bengal knocked on his door “seeking charity.” Elder Jones helped the man, taught him the Gospel, and took him to Church that Sunday. Not only did the Saints, who perhaps only knew English and Welsh, teach the man in “eight different languages of the East,” they also surprised him by singing in Malabar and Malay. This left such an impression upon the man that on the 21st of July, 1847 he became the first Indian convert to the Church.12
Another story shows us how the Lord can even use such a gift to protect the Saints:

“It was during a period of much trouble with the Indians. In 1867 the fort had been built to accommodate ten or twelve families. It was built of stone, with big, thick walls and heavy gates. My grandparents, with other families, lived in this fort for some time while the Indians were on the warpath.
One day the men left the women and children to go into the canyon for a load of wood. As the men didn’t expect to be gone for very long, and the Indians had not been bothering the families for some time, the gate was left unbolted.
Soon after the men left, several warpainted and vicious-looking Indians stalked through the gate and into the fort. The poor, frightened women caught up their children and hurried to my grandmother’s room. The Indians followed them to the door, banged loudly on it, and demanded food. The terror-stricken women did not dare refuse, and so allowed them to enter while they quickly set food on the table. Grandmother was able to conceal her fright more than the other women. As the warriors started gulping down their food, one of them, who appeared to be their leader or chief, motioned to her and grunted, “You sing now.”

Grandmother hesitated, not knowing what to do. She felt she could never control her voice for the fright she felt, hidden though it was. But at the second, more gruff, command, the sisters fearing for their own and their children’s lives, pleaded with her, “oh, please, Sister King, sing for them.” As the Indians began again to grunt, “Hurry up, sing!” she started to sing the first song that came to her mind, hardly realizing that it was a Latter-day Saint hymn, “O Stop and Tell Me, Red Man.” After the first verse she paused, but the Indians, who had stopped eating to listen, demanded more. The women were looking at her in astonishment.
When she had sung the entire four verses of the hymn, the Indians, to the amazement and relief of the little group, got up from the table and filed silently our of the door and out of the fort. The women flew to my grandmother. “Why Sister King, we didn’t know you knew the Indian language.” Grandmother stared at them. “Know the Indian language? I don’t!” “But you sang that entire song in their language,” they said excitedly. “That’s why they got up and left. They understood every word you sang to them!“
And so she had God’s spirit directing her. The message of that hymn went straight to the Indians’ hearts, and they left the frightened white people, went back to their camps, and pondered the words of the song.13

Despite the miraculous and faith-promoting nature of those accounts we have looked at so far - which are perhaps but a small selection of such phenomenon, most of which was probably not recorded – this gift seemed to have disappeared completely by around the turn of the century. However a woman was promised in her Patriarchal Blessing given in 1904 that “A time will come in thy life when thou wilt be required to sing in tongues; thou wilt be among a class of people, and the Lord will bless thee with their language.”14 We have no record of the fulfillment of that blessing however. The last time it was spoken about it in General Conference was in 1910 by Heber J. Grant, and no reference to it seems to have ever been made in the Ensign, or any current Church manuals.15
We might wonder what the reaction might be if someone were to sing in tongues at an LDS Church meeting in our day. The site might seem very strange to most members, as it is doubtful there is anyone still alive who remembered hearing it in meetings that took place in the 1800s. I began this article amazed to find any information on this subject, and was even more surprised to find an account of a woman who did indeed try to sing in tongues only a couple of decades ago, but I was probably not as surprised as the members of the ward who saw and heard it for themselves. In her own words:

“In the summer of 1980, I met a newly converted Mormon woman who was a former charismatic protestant. As our friendship grew, she encouraged me to seek after the gift of “speaking in tongues.” She gave me a self-help guide on the topic. On August 1, 1980, after putting the children to bed, I finished the reading of the book, and followed the instructions on how to open to “speaking in tongues.” As I followed the directions, I began to sing rather than speak in another language. I would start going up and down scales, as my voice seemed prompted to do. I felt a heightened sense of alertness and suddenly, I knew that I was singing songs from some ancient temples. …
The following day was Sunday, and in this altered state, I decided that I should stand up in the church testimony meeting and “speak in tongues.”
The first Sundays were always a day of fasting and then giving testimonies in the church meetings if we felt so moved. … My next memories were of being in the women’s meeting, and during the testimony time, standing and singing in tongues. I then interpreted to these dumb-founded women what it was I was saying. My charismatic friend then also rose and explained to the very perplexed Mormon “sisters” what was happening. … Someone ran for the Bishop of the Ward, and another hustled a nurse up to see me. Thereafter I was subjected to intense questioning from all of the male hierarchy, and released from all my church callings. My perplexed bishop announced to my husband that he could intensely feel the “Spirit”, but did not know what to make of this occurrence. He later decided that I was experiencing “Megalomania” and urged my husband to seek psychiatric help for me.”16

The author of that account is no longer a member of the Church, although they do not say if the reaction they received was the reason for this. Whether they were acting according with the Spirit we cannot tell, although the scriptures seem to recommend if not insist that a different person translate than the one who spoke in tongues.17

Although, from her recollection her Bishop seemed to think – at least at first – that she was inspired. We can only imagine what might happen in our own local L.D.S. Chapels if this occurred, but may hope that if the Spirit was present that the members would recognize it, and accept such a spiritual gift as God might wish them to. An aged member who lived through both the time in the Church when this was common and our more modern era when it has become almost unheard of lamented the loss of this gift during his lifetime, and we would do well to ponder upon his own reflection on this subject, which was printed in the official Church periodical of the time:

“I was somewhat startled a few days ago, while in conversation with a young brother who had just returned from a mission to Scandinavia, by hearing him remark that he had never in his life heard anyone speak in tongues…. He has filled an honorable mission, and is today strong in the faith, and yet, he has never heard and experienced one of the most common gifts of the gospel, as enjoyed years ago.
The remark was somewhat of a shock to me; because in the early days of the Church - where I was reared - there were so many of the Saints who enjoyed the gifts, and there were none among my acquaintances who had not heard the sweet sound of the gift of tongues. Many times there would be both speaking and singing in tongues, in the same sacrament meeting. The interpretation of tongues was equally as common as the tongues themselves. In fact, we were wont to regard the speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the relating of dreams and prophesying, as an essential part of the latter-day gospel.
If men now think they can get along without the gifts of the gospel, may not the time come when they may believe they can get along without its ordinances?*”18

A sobering thought!