The Power of Language
This week, we have been studying Genesis 6-11 and Moses 8. The stories of Noah and the Great Flood and the Tower of Babel are ones we are told as children. But they are not just children’s stories; they carry deeper meanings that are relevant to us in our time. I want to dive into the symbolism of the ark and Noah’s interactions with God. However, a single verse in Genesis 11 has had the greatest impact on me and has been the focus of most of my thoughts.
Noah lived in a time when the earth was full of violence. The type of violence is not described in the Bible, but is described in some detail in the Book of Enoch. In 1 Enoch 69:12, the fallen angel Kasdeja (or Kasdaye) is named as teaching humans “all the evil strikes of spirits and demons, and the strikes of the embryo in the womb to destroy it” (R.H. Charles translation, with variations across manuscripts). This is framed as part of broader corrupt teachings—like sorcery, cosmetics, and weaponry—that fueled pre-Flood wickedness alongside the Nephilim’s violence. We think of widespread abortion as a modern-day evil, but it is clear that the violence of Noah’s day is the pattern we see today.
Elder Neil A. Maxwell said, “Just as foretold, our days actually are fast resembling the days of Noah, especially notable for their pattern of corruption and violence (see Matt. 24:37; Gen. 6:11). No wonder the adversary steadily promotes all the ancient sins, not because he is uninventive but because his harvest is so constant.” This quote was from 1993, and violence has escalated since then. On a positive note, President Russel M. Nelson spoke about how the covenants we make in the temple are like spiritual arks that preserve us from the flood of wickedness and violence.
That leads me to the symbolism of the ark and of Noah and his family. This is the verse that describes Noah: “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” The statement that Noah was perfect in his generation reflects a temple-related blessing. This is followed by, “And Noah walked with God”, the culmination of our temple experience. (see Genesis 6:9) Noah had made covenants with God and had remained faithful to them. The rest of the world had abandoned them, which led to the flood that destroyed them.
Now concerning the ark. Noah was given very specific instructions to build the ark. The size, the type of wood, and the method of keeping the flood water (the thing that would destroy them) out of their place of refuge.
The Ark as a Temple
Noah was told to build the ark with three levels, similar to the kingdoms of glory, which, in most temples, symbolize degrees of glory. The ark, like the temple, is a place where we are separated and protected from the chaos and wickedness of the world. It is a place where righteous people go. Noah had the priesthood and was pronounced clean from the sins of his generation, and had been in the presence of God
“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.” This is a curious phrase. Why would Noah need to have the LORD shut him in the ark? Is this a metaphor of God sealing the family in a safe place until they emerge in a new world? The ark was covered or sealed with pitch. This reminds me of how the atonement of Jesus Christ both covers the repentant person and seals us as his own.
After doing some research, I learned that the ark preserved life through the waters of chaos. This harkens back to the creation story where God brought order out of chaos. In reality, Noah and his family left a world of violence and chaos and entered a new world where they could live according to God’s order.
In the New Testament, the story of the ark saving Noah’s family is likened to baptism, which delivers a person into a newness of life. This symbol of new birth is a metaphor for natural birth. Additionally, a mother’s womb could also be an ark of sorts that keeps the baby safe until the time of delivery. So both birth and rebirth are symbolized in the story of the ark.
Finally, on to the verse that intrigued me the most. It is Genesis 11:6. “And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”
I want to go through this, one thing at a time. People had begun to forget the covenant with God and do everything themselves. They wanted to make a name for themselves and abandon the name of God. They used brick, a man-made material, instead of stone that God made to build their tower. They wanted to reach heaven on their own.
The thing that facilitated it all was that they all had the same language. They could do anything they could imagine because the collective minds of the people could combine into a single knowledge base, allowing them to solve highly complex problems. All of this was made possible because of a shared language. However, the Lord did not confuse the language because of the power of a single language; it was because they didn’t act within the framework of covenants with God.
Why is this relevant to us? We are at the beginning of the age of Artificial Intelligence. AI is built on LLMs (Large Language Models). With AI, we can do almost anything we can imagine. Is it a bad thing, or something to fear? Yes, if we do it outside of a covenant relationship with God. If we leave God out of the equation, we risk making Artificial Intelligence God.
“The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth.” AI operates on a foundation of worldly knowledge. God’s intelligence is an eternal reality. It is light and truth.
So, how can we determine what is worldly and what is eternal truth? President Oaks’ first speech as a prophet restated President Nelson’s warning that without personal revelation, we will not survive spiritually. We will be swept away by a flood, not of water, but of information. We can seek refuge from the storm in an ark, the temple. Living a covenant life makes personal revelation possible.
The stories of Noah and the ark and the Tower of Babel are as relevant today as they were in history. If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we will enjoy the safety of the ark and not build our own towers to get to heaven.