Follow the Prophet

I currently am taking a Living Prophets-Religion course. I really am loving it. The professor is very interesting and the class is perfectly structured. Yesterday, we talked about the the need for prophets in our world and then how we sustain all of our apostles and the prophet as “prophets, seers, and revelators.” It was such a powerful lesson and really made me want to share what we talked about with all of you.

First off, I want to share part of a talk from Hugh Brown. Hugh was assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional address was delivered at Brigham Young University on 4 October 1955.:

He asked me to prepare a brief on Mormonism and discuss it with him as I would discuss a legal problem. He said, “You have told me that you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet. You have said to me that you believe that God the Father and Jesus of Nazareth appeared to Joseph Smith. I cannot understand how a barrister and solicitor from Canada, a man trained in logic and evidence, could accept such absurd statements. What you tell me about Joseph Smith seems fantastic, but I think you should take three days at least to prepare a brief and permit me to examine it and question you on it.”

I began by asking, “May I proceed, sir, on the assumption that you are a Christian?”

“I am.”

“I assume you believe in the Bible—the Old and New Testaments?”

“I do!” “Do you believe in prayer?” “I do!” “You say that my belief that God spoke to a man in this age is fantastic and absurd?” “To me it is.” “Do you believe that God ever did speak to anyone?” “Certainly, all through the Bible we have evidence of that.”

“Did He speak to Adam?” “Yes.” “To Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Joseph, and on through the prophets?” “I believe He spoke to each of them.”

“Do you believe that contact between God and man ceased when Jesus appeared on the earth?”

“No, such communication reached its climax, its apex, at that time.”

“Do you believe that Jesus was the Son of God?”

“He was.”

“Do you believe, sir, that after Jesus was resurrected, a certain lawyer—who was also a tentmaker by the name of Saul of Tarsus— when on his way to Damascus talked with Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified, resurrected, and had ascended into heaven?”

“I do.” “Whose voice did Saul hear?” “It was the voice of Jesus Christ, for He so introduced Himself.” “Then, my Lord—that is the way we address judges in the British Commonwealth—I am submitting to you in all seriousness that it was standard procedure in Bible times for God to talk to man.”

“I think I will admit that, but it stopped shortly after the first century of the Christian era.”

“Why do you think it stopped?” “I can’t say.” “You think that God hasn’t spoken since then?” “I am sure He hasn’t.” “There must be a reason. Can you give me a reason?” “I do not know.”

“May I suggest some possible reasons? Perhaps God does not speak to man anymore because He cannot. He has lost the power.”

He said, “Of course that would be blasphemous.”

“Well, then, if you don’t accept that, perhaps He doesn’t speak to men because He doesn’t love us anymore and He is no longer interested in the affairs of men.”

“No,” he said, “God loves all men, and He is no respecter of persons.”

“Well, then, if He could speak, and if He loves us, then the only other possible answer, as I see it, is that we don’t need Him. We have made such rapid strides in science and we are so well educated that we don’t need God anymore.”

And then he said—and his voice trembled as he thought of impending war—“Mr. Brown, there never was a time in the history of the world when the voice of God was needed as it is needed now. Perhaps you can tell me why He doesn’t speak.”

My answer was: “He does speak, He has spoken; but men need faith to hear Him.”

In a time like today, I cannot imagine not having the prophet to guide us. I was talking to T.J. and another friend of ours about how comforting is is that we have a prophet who will warn us and lead us in the right path. It also amazes me that many people do not know we have a living prophet on the earth. Just like Hugh said, the Lord does still speak to us. He spoke to through the prophets of old and continues to speak through modern day prophets today.

The president of our church and his apostles are called of God. They speak the words of the Lord and have powerful messages for all of us to hear. Have faith. Follow their words. It will tremendously change your life.

For more information about living Prophets and Apostles, visit mormon.org or contact me.