What do angels do when they come? They are mostly messengers, teachers, and ministers. New converts, for instance, sometimes bear their testimonies after baptism about how two "angels" came to their door or stopped them on the street. The word for angel in Greek or Hebrew actually means messenger. And angels are God’s messengers. They deliver the message with utmost accuracy, and we must feast on each word, so that we can get the whole message right.
In April General Conference 2007, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke on the tongue of angels, and he brought in a dimension of it that is not often considered. Speaking of Nephi in this part of the Book of Mormon, he said:
So, brothers and sisters, in this long eternal quest to be more like our Savior, may we try to be "perfect" men and women in at least this one way now—by offending not in word, or more positively put, by speaking with a new tongue, the tongue of angels. Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail.
Because we are members of Jesus Christ’s Church who have been baptized and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, if we are living righteously, we actually have that gift of having the tongue of angels. That makes me consider, "What am I doing with this tongue of an angel that I have?" We do not want to desecrate that gift by having something come out of our mouth that is unworthy of the Lord, whose messengers we are. It should give us pause in all of our doings: "Am I speaking with the tongue of angels?"
Are not priesthood blessings spoken by the tongue of angels? By the words of righteous ministers, I learn. I feel comforted. I feel instructed. Sometimes I feel reproved. I feel led. I think it is a very specific and marvelous gift to have the tongue of an angel.
The same can be said for any ordinance. Several years ago, one of my young home teachers blessed the sacrament for the first time and I cried. I went up to him afterwards, and I just hugged him. "How did you learn to do that?" I asked him. He spoke so slowly and so carefully with all his heart, and I was deeply impressed by that. That was the power of a good father, mother, and quorum leader who had taught him what this is all about.
Are we teaching our children about this blessing? Do they know what they have? We are starting to get it, but we can do better. Even a newly baptized child has been given the gift of the Holy Ghost and is on the road back to the Lord’s presence. Our children need to know what they have and need to know what they are capable of. They need to understand the power that comes with these covenants, enabling them to speak with the tongue of angels. There is power in these words of Nephi. This is the doctrine of Christ, and this is what "the gift of the Holy Ghost" affords. This is one of the main things everyone can do with this gift, and this is why families get up early and stay up late to read their scriptures.
Book of Mormon Central, "What is it to Speak with the Tongue of Angels? (2 Nephi 32:2)," KnoWhy 60 (March 23, 2016).
Neal Rappleye, "’With the Tongue of Angels’: Angelic Speech as a Form of Deification," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 21 (2016): 303–323.
Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Tongue of Angels," Ensign, May 2007, online at churchofjesuschrist.org.