“O God…”

I never knew before today that there is a difference between “O” and “Oh.”

The single letter “O” is a vocative particle, which means that it specifies whom you are talking to. When you sing, “O Christmas Tree,” you are talking to the tree. When you sing “O Canada,” you are speaking to the country.

In contrast, the word “Oh” is an interjection, used to express surprise, disappointment, or another unexpected emotion.

Sometimes in the scriptures, the word “O” is used as an interjection, but most of the time, it’s used to identify the intended recipient of the message.

The expression “O God” is characteristic of the Old Testament, and particularly the book of Psalms. Out of 105 total appearances in the Old Testament, 95 are in Psalms. It only appears 3 times in the New Testament, and all three times, the author is quoting from Psalms. (See Hebrews 1:8, Hebrews 10:7, 9.)

In the Book of Mormon, the phrase appears on a handful of occasions:

• As Abinadi is burned at the stake, his final words before dying are, “O God, receive my soul” (Mosiah 17:19).
• When Lamoni’s father, the king of all the Lamanites, offers his first prayer, he begins by saying, “O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God…” (Alma 22:18).
• The Zoramites use this expression twice during their memorized prayer on the Rameumptom. Alma uses it three times in his own prayer commenting on that prayer. (See Alma 31:15-18, 27-28.) He uses it again later when he warns his son against praying like the Zoramites. (See Alma 38:14.)
• The expression appears four times in a passage from the prophet Zenos which Alma quotes to the Zoramites (Alma 33:4-9).
• As Mormon describes to his son the atrocities committed by their people, he exclaims, “Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from before thy face!” (Moroni 9:15).

In all of these instances, the phrase carries a tone of seriousness. A prayer that includes the phrase “O God” has a special intensity or earnestness. Consider also Joseph Smith’s prayer from the jail in Liberty, Missouri: “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1).

So it seems fitting that the prayers to bless the emblems of the Savior’s body and blood would begin with a similar earnestness. As recorded by Moroni, and as prescribed by modern revelation, both prayers begin with the words, “O God, the Eternal Father.” (See Moroni 4:3, Moroni 5:2, Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79.)

This Sunday, as I listen to a priest blessing the sacrament, I will pay particular attention to the beginning of each prayer. I will remember the scriptural context for the phrase “O God,” and I will respond to that phrase with a more intentional and heartfelt participation in the ordinance.