During this past Conference, I reflected on where I am on the path back to Our Father above, and how much further ahead I want to be; on who I am now and who I could be. As I reflected more, I eventually questioned:
“On a scale from Laman to Nephi, how much do I actually Listen to a Prophet’s voice?”
“When I turn off the tv following conference, do I follow his counsel or do I continue to be the same person I was prior to his talk?”
As I continued to ponder question after question, I arrived at three basic but important questions about Prophets, which I would like to focus on today:
1.What is a Prophet?
2. Why are Prophets important?
3. How can we sustain the Prophet?
What Is a Prophet?
Surely, he is a man, just like us. He makes mistakes and has flaws, just like us. But unlike us, he was called to that holy calling by the Lord, and the Lord qualifies whom He calls.
Alma, a prophet from the Book of Mormon, explained what this call entails:
For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are to come.
And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again. (Alma 5:44,49)
The role of a Prophet is to preach the gospel, and to command all men to repent and to believe in Jesus Christ. Prophet’s are the Lord’s mouthpiece.
In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord makes it clear that “whether by [His] own voice, or by the voice of [His] servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).
Another important concept about Prophetic roles is how they learn the Gospel.
In Chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel, we read, “Prophets learn the Gospel of Jesus Christ by revelation” (Pg. 32).
This is evident in the Book of Amos:
Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
Alma also testifies of this to the multitudes in Zarahemla:
Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me. (Alma 5:45-46)
In addition, the Prophet leads the Church here on earth under the direction of Jesus Christ; in the absence of the Prophet, The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles leads the Church.
The Apostle Paul illustrated this in his epistle to the Ephesians:
Ye... are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19-20).
Prophets and apostles are the foundation of the Church, being led by Christ, the cornerstone that holds the Church together. Without Prophets and Apostles, without the priesthood they bear, and without the keys they hold, the Church would fall into apostasy, as we saw with the Church in ancient times.
Speaking of these fundamentals of Church Leadership, President Eyring taught:
First, Jesus Christ is the head of the Church in all the earth. Second, He leads His Church today by speaking to men called as prophets, and He does it through revelation. Third, He gave revelation to His prophets long ago, still does, and will continue to do so. Fourth, He gives confirming revelation to those who serve under the leadership of His prophets. ("The Lord Leads His Church", Oct 2017)
In answer to the first question: “What is a prophet?”, they preach the gospel, are taught the Gospel by revelation, and lead His Church under His direction.
Why Are Prophets Important?
Their importance in our lives is illustrated in Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life:
10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.
11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.
12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. (1Ne 8:10-12)
The Prophets know the way to the tree. It has been revealed to them by the Holy Ghost. They have partaken of the fruit, and they understand its worth. Their souls have been filled with joy, and they are desirous for us to partake of the fruit as well. To continue:
13 And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a river of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.
14 And I looked to behold from whence it came; and I saw the head thereof a little way off; and at the head thereof I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go. (1Ne 8:13-14)
Think about that for a minute. Think about Nephi; stalwart, unwavering, full of faith Nephi. The same man who profoundly uttered:
I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. (1Ne 3:7)
Nephi, who, under threat of his own life, remained true to his proclamation of faith, was “led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand, the things which [he] should do” and witnessed the multitude of miracles that led to his retrieval of the brass plates (1Ne 4:6). Nephi, who built a ship based on a blueprint received by revelation from God. Nephi, for whom an entire civilization was named after. He was even called as the next prophet! And yet, even he was lost without his prophet, and “stood as if he knew not whither [he] should go.” To continue:
15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.
Prophets beckon unto us. They declare the gospel unto us with a “loud voice.” Every six months, we hold a General Conference of the Church. We just concluded the 187th Semiannual General Conference a couple of weeks ago. Which also means there have been 187 annual conferences, for 374 in total. Think of that. 374 General Conferences full of teachings and writings of apostles and prophets. That’s a lot of beckoning. That’s a lot of learning. That’s a lot of calls to repentance.
16 And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.
17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.
18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit. (1Ne 8:15-18)
Now it is up to us to choose. We can either heed the prophets’ warnings, as did Nephi, Sariah, and Sam, or we can discount them, as Laman and Lemuel did.
Ezekiel also teaches us the expedience of having prophets in our life . Said he:
1 Again the word of the Lord came unto me (Note: Ezekiel, the Prophet, is learning by revelation), saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people (Note: God is calling Ezekiel as his spokesman), and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: (Ezk 33:1-2)
In ancient times, encampments were fortified with a coast of rocks surrounding the encampment, with a tower erected, on which they would place one man as a watchman, or lookout. To continue:
3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning (like Laman and Lemuel in Lehi’s vision); if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning (Nephi, Sariah, and Sam) shall deliver his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
7 ¶ So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. (Ezk 33:3-7)
The prophets are our watchmen today. They are on the tower, and they can see overtop the “coast of rocks”. They see what we cannot. When we gain a testimony that the prophet is indeed a prophet of God, we must listen when they sound their trumpets, even when we don’t fully understand.
Prophets are imperative in our lives because they teach us the Gospel and God’s Commandments. They know the way back to our Heavenly Father and will lead us there, if we let them.
How Can We Sustain the Prophet?
The first step to sustain the Prophet is to obtain a testimony that he is who he says he is.
When I was baptized, I had a testimony born of the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I also had a testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored church. My testimony of the prophet at the time, Gordon B. Hinckley, on the other hand, was born of logic. Everything else the missionaries had taught me, I knew to be true, so I took them at their word concerning President Hinckley. It was a weak spot in my testimony when friends and family not of our faith would challenge me about it. All of that changed, however, one of the first times I heard him speak. It was the Priesthood Session of the April 2006 General Conference. He spoke on kindness, on eliminating hatred from our lives and our society; he spoke of doing good, of serving others. The spirit bore witness to my soul that he was, in fact, a Prophet of God, and the Senior Apostle whom Christ had chosen to lead His Church. I loved listening to him; he had a gentleness about him. The more I heard him speak the more I felt of his Christ-like love for me, and the more I grew to love him. I obtained a testimony of the Prophet of God, and you can too.
Another way we can sustain the Prophet is to seek counsel from him. We can listen to him in General Conference. We can read his articles in the Ensign and New Era. When we need help we can seek out the Prophet’s counsel and his words will speak to us.
In the onset of the war chapters of the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni illustrated how to sustain the Prophet. We read:
19 And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing… But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shields—therefore, they were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the Nephites.
22 Behold, now it came to pass that they durst not come against the Nephites in the borders of Jershon; therefore they departed out of the land of Antionum into the wilderness, and took their journey round about in the wilderness, away by the head of the river Sidon, that they might come into the land of Manti and take possession of the land; for they did not suppose that the armies of Moroni would know whither they had gone.
23 But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the wilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp; and Moroni, also, knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men unto him, desiring him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the Lamanites.
24 And it came to pass that the word of the Lord came unto Alma, and Alma informed the messengers of Moroni, that the armies of the Lamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might come over into the land of Manti, that they might commence an attack upon the weaker part of the people. And those messengers went and delivered the message unto Moroni.
25 Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon, lest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army and marched over into the land of Manti. (Alma 43:19, 22-25)
Moroni had a very pressing need to know the location of the Lamanites, so he sought the Prophet’s counsel. Once Alma told Captain Moroni where to take his army, the chief captain did not hesitate. He didn’t wait for his spies to return and confirm what Alma had told him. He had received direction from the Prophet and he followed it immediately, and was victorious.
Another example of following Prophetic counsel again comes from my early experience in the Church. Almost immediately after I was baptized, I was given the priesthood and ordained a Priest. Shortly thereafter, I was issued a calling to be the second assistant in the Priest’s Quorum (I was 17). I was excited about my first calling. I felt needed, I felt important, I felt like I mattered. A few weeks later, I was given an assignment to teach the lesson in Priesthood. I knew next to nothing about the Church, save that it was true, and here I was asked to give a lesson on faith. For many, faith is a simple topic, but I felt overwhelmed. I studied a lot that week preparing my lesson and my grasp of the Gospel basics grew. I gave my lesson, which wasn’t grandiose by any means, but I made it through. It wasn’t until I was on my mission that I found the talk by President Hinckley, “Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep” from which I quote:
I have said before, and I repeat it, that every new convert needs three things:
A friend in the Church to whom he can constantly turn, who will walk beside him, who will answer his questions, who will understand his problems.
An assignment... Every convert deserves a responsibility… Of course the new convert will not know everything. He likely will make some mistakes. So what? We all make mistakes. The important thing is the growth that will come of activity. As a part of this process of giving responsibility, it is proper and very important that the new convert, if he be a man, is ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.
Every convert must be “nourished by the good word of God” (Mni 6:4).
My bishop followed this to the tee. Because he diligently heeded the Prophet’s Counsel, he ensured that I did not fall by the wayside. Because he followed the Prophet, I am here today. Because he listened to a Prophet, my life has been blessed beyond measure.
Last year, President Monson challenged us to make reading the Book of Mormon part of our daily lives. As I have followed his direction, I have felt a yearning to know more about the gospel; to read longer everyday. I have a greater desire to read the scriptures and I have found that I have enjoyed reading them even more since the Prophet’s challenge.
I know that President Monson was a Prophet of God, and I express my condolences to his family, friends, and associates. I know that another Prophet will be called, and I will sustain him with the same faith and fervor. I bear my witness that Prophet’s play an essential role in the building up of the kingdom of God, and they are His servants. As we listen to them and follow their teachings, our lives and the lives of those around us will be blessed, and we will be led safely home to our Father Above.
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