I CAN FOLLOW THE PROPHET BY...

Transcription

1 I CAN FOLLOW THE PROPHET BY... A few weeks ago, I got into my car and as I was traveling along my way, I looked down at the speedometer. To my horror, it was broken! I could not determine what speed I was traveling how fast or how slow. What should I do? My daughter said, Mom, just follow the flow of the traffic. But, what if the traffic is going too fast? How will I remain safe? How will I keep my family safe? How will I keep from getting a traffic ticket? This analogy applies to the prophets. The prophet is our speedometer he helps us to know and understand what speed to travel throughout our lives. If we do not follow the guidance of the prophets, then we follow the world we just follow the flow, and hope we travel along with a righteous group of people. But, what if we don t? Living in our secular world, we can find peace and joy by following the counsel of the ancient and modern-day prophets. The remaining text is made up of testimonies, scriptures and counsel given to us by many of the prophets. ADAM And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shall repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. Moses 4:5-8, 12 ENOCH And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good. Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world: and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me. Moses 6:32-34, 47 NOAH And it came to pass that Noah prophesied, and taught the things of God, even as it was in the beginning. And it came to pass that Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying: Hearken, and give heed unto my words; Believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not. And thus Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord; for Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation; and he walked with God, as did also his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Moses 8:16, 23-24, 27

2 ABRAHAM And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after they name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father, And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed ( that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. Abraham 2:9-11 MOSES And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all. And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me. And calling upon the name of God, he beheld his glory again, for it was upon him; and he heard a voice, saying: Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God. And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou shalt deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen. Moses 1:6,17,25-26 JONAH And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. (Jonah 2:2) Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:38-40 ISAIAH Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: Isaiah 1:16-19 NEPHI And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: 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. For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved. And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree? And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. 1 Nephi 3:7, 6:4, 15:23-24

3 MOSIAH But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage. Mosiah 7:33 ALMA (the younger) For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil. I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life. And now as I said concerning faith faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. Alma 5:40, 62, 32:21 JESUS CHRIST Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Matthew 7:7,8 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Luke 18:16 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5 If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost,... 3 Nephi 9:20 But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you; 3 Nephi 12:44 For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 3 Nephi 13:14-15 And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you. And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. 3 Nephi 18:6-7 MORONI And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. Moroni 7:33, 46-47; 10:4-5

4 JOSEPH SMITH JR. Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about. And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fullness; And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father- That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. Doctrine and Covenants 4:2;76:19-24 BRIGHAM YOUNG I like shouting Hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith. Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe 1954, 458. It matters not whether you or I feel like praying; when the time comes to pray, pray. If we do not feel like it, we should pray till we do. Discourses, 44 * JOHN TAYLOR We are not alone! God is with us, and He will continue with us from this time henceforth and forever. Quoted by B.H. Roberts in The Life of John Taylor 1963, 325 * WIILFORD WOODRUFF We are expecting to live together forever after death. I think we all as parents and children ought to take all the pains we can to make each other happy as long as we live that we may have nothing to regret. Quoted by Leonard J. Arrington, ed., The Presidents of the Church 1986, 137 * LORENZO SNOW Jesus has commanded us to be perfect even as God, the Father, is perfect. It is our duty to try to be perfect, and it is our duty to improve each day, and look upon our course last week and do things better this week; do things better today than we did them yesterday, and go on and on from one degree of righteousness to another. In Conference Report, Apr. 1898, 13 * JOSEPH F. SMITH If the Saints obey this counsel (holding home evening ), we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influence and temptations which beset them. In James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , 4: * HEBER J. GRANT That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased in Conference Report, Apr. 1901, 63 * GEORGE ALBERT SMITH There is a line of demarcation, well defined, between the Lord s territory and the devil s. If you will stay on the Lord s side of the line you will be under his influence and will have no desire to do wrong; but if you cross to the devil s side of the line one inch, you are in the tempter s power, and if he is successful, you will not be able to think or even reason properly, because you will have lost the spirit of the Lord. Sharing the Gospel with Others, sel. Preston Nibley 1948, *

5 DAVID O. MCKAY Every member a missionary. In Conference Report, Apr. 1959, No other success can compensate for failure in the home. Quoted from J.E. McCulloch, Home: The Savior of Civilization 1924, 42 * JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH The Lord bless you and keep you, which most assuredly will be so as you learn his laws and live in harmony with them. Be true to every trust. Honor thy father and thy mother. Dwell together in love and conformity. Be modest in your dress. Overcome the world, and do not be led astray by the fashions and practices of those whose interests are centered upon the things of this world. In Conference Report, Apr. 1972, * HAROLD B. LEE Take time for family home evening. Draw your children around about you. Teach them, guide them, and guard them. There was never a time when we needed so much the strength and the solidarity of the home. In Conference Report, Apr. 1973, 130 * SPENCER W. KIMBALL We do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or even solely to be instructed. We go to worship the Lord. If the service is a failure to you, you must have failed. No one can worship for you; you must do your own waiting upon the Lord. The Sabbath A Delight, Ensign, Jan. 1978, 4-5 * On his desk was a plaque with the motto DO IT. EZRA TAFT BENSON There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path This is my prayer, that the Book of Mormon may become the keystone of our lives. In Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 6-7 * HOWARD W. HUNTER I invite all members of the Church to live with ever more attention to the life and example of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially the love and hope and compassion he displayed. I pray that we will treat each other with more kindness, more patience, more courtesy and forgiveness. In Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 7 * GORDON B. HINCKLEY We have nothing to fear. God is at the helm. He will overrule for the good of this work. He will shower down blessings upon those who walk in obedience to His commandments. In Conference Report, Apr. 1995, * *These quotes were found in the Presidents of the Church packet which contains a brief biography and picture of each modern-day prophet. I realize that only a handful of prophets have been chosen for this spotlight of counsel and love. I am very grateful for this opportunity to study these prophets. I challenge all to have the beautiful experience that I have had search the words of the prophets and fortify your testimony and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.