Quicken/ing

The process of change that takes place by the power of God to enable an earthly body to endure the presence of God.¹Quick is an adjective that comes from the Middle English quik andfrom Old English cwic, meaning “living, alive, animate, characterized by the presence of life.”² The phrase “quick and the dead” originates in Tyndale’s 1526 translation of the New Testament: I testifie therfore before god and before the lorde Iesu Christ which shall iudge quicke and deed at his aperynge in his kyngdom (2 Timothy 4:1 KJV) and is repeated in the Book of Mormon in Moroni 10:7. The word quick is repeated six times in the Teachings & Commandments, e.g. “whose word is quick and powerful.” Quicken as a verb originates c. 1300, quikenen, meaning “come to life, receive life,” also transitive, “give life to,” and “return to life from the dead.” The earlier verb was simply quick (c. 1200).³

“The glory of God doesn’t allow you to see God; as the Scripture tells us: For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the spirit of God (T&C 56:3).”⁴ God dwells in everlasting burnings. In order to be with or near Him, a man must be quickened to endure the presence. Does that mean that in a quickened state it is impossible for a quickened being to manifest itself in a solid form?⁵ When Jesus showed Himself unto the Nephites, what form was His body in? What is the difference between water as a solid, water as a liquid, and water as a gas? In science, the difference between these three is “temperature.” But using a scriptural word, the difference is quickened. In one condition, it is quickened; in another condition, it is less quick. There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure and can only be discerned by purer eyes. “We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified, we shall see that it is all matter.”⁶ “Quickening is the word that gets used in Scripture, and oddly enough, quickening is actually a pretty good word to use to describe what happens when something approaches such power, such glory, such temperature, such heat that if you and I were exposed to it for even a second, it would destroy us — because we’re living at a level in which we’re tangible.”⁷

Quickening can also apply to the enlightening of our minds and understanding. And the power of my spirit quickens all things (T&C 16:3). This is the light of Christ, as also he is in the sun and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made ;… And the light which now shines, which gives you light, is through him who enlightens your eyes, which is the same light that quickens your understandings (T&C 86:1). The Lord “giveth light unto the understanding” according to the heed and diligence given to what has already been received. Mankind cannot understand some things (even if they are explained) if they do not have the necessary light to permit that understanding. Light and truth attract one another. When mortals approach God, they do so by degrees, not merely by study. They find themselves gaining light that quickens their understanding. What they cannot understand at first gains clarity only after a period of living true to the things they already have.⁸ “Is being quickened in the spirit like the baptism of fire?… you can have the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost and have your mind opened up so that you comprehend things that were not comprehendible. One of the best descriptions that we’ve got of this in the Scripture is what happened after Joseph and Oliver went out and baptized one another based upon the commandment that they were given by John the Baptist. Afterwards, Joseph makes the observation in his history: ‘Our minds being enlightened, we were able to comprehend the more mysterious passages of scripture in a manner we could never previously attain to’ (see JSH 14:4). What that meant was: Having been quickened by the spirit, having been enlightened by the baptism of fire, having received the Holy Ghost, this awareness came to mind. See, the Scriptures become an extraordinarily valuable basis for unlocking (with the power of the Holy Ghost) the understanding of eternity, whether it’s opened up in a vision or simply comprehension as you read the Scriptures. Scriptures got composed by people under the influence of the Holy Ghost. And so, they reduce their understanding, comprehending, or ‘having opened to their mind’ to words on a page. But the words on the page are not the content. The content was what the spirit inspired. So, if you read with the power of the spirit like Joseph and Oliver were doing, then what comes alive in these passages is the same extended view, comprehension, light, and truth that extended knowledge as a result of that.”⁹

Quickening is a term that can also be applied when one is born of the spirit. And thus [Adam] was baptized, and the spirit of God descended upon him. And thus he was born of the spirit and became quickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of Heaven saying, You are baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost (Genesis 4:10). Adam, as an example for all, was born of the Spirit and quickened in the inner man.