Prophets of God

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). Many people in the world do not know God's will for them. They believe that God no longer speaks to man and that man must face the dangers of life alone. How grateful I am to know that God does speak to His children and that He does so through His prophets. A prophet is a man that has been called by God to be His spokesman on earth. When a man speaks for God, it is as though God himself were speaking. A prophet testifies of Jesus Christ as His special witness and teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. A prophet explains or interprets the word of God and teaches His truth. He calls all sinners to repentance. He receives directions, instructions, and other revelations from God to bless all mankind. He can see into the future and know of events to come in order to warn the world. A prophet may be old or young. He may be uneducated or highly trained. He may be an engineer, a doctor or a businessman. He does not look like the prophets of old with long beards, tunics, and staffs. Modern day prophets look like businessmen with their suits, briefcases, and Blackberries. A true prophet can be identified because he is always chosen by God and called through proper priesthood authority. The Lord's prophet for the people on earth today is Thomas S. Monson, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a prophet, seer, and revelator. He is assisted by fourteen other men who are the two Counselors in the First Presidency and the members of the Council of Twelve Apostles. Adam was the first prophet on the earth, and there have been prophets on earth since the days of Adam. Enoch was a prophet whose people became so righteous that the whole city of Zion was translated and taken into heaven. Noah was a prophet who cried repentance for 120 years before he built an ark large enough to save his own family and many animals from a flood. Moses was a prophet who led thousands of people out of Egypt and slavery into the Promised Land. Nephi was a Book of Mormon prophet who left Jerusalem 600 years before the birth of Christ and came to the Americas. He was a great leader and left many important writings in the Book of Mormon. John the Baptist was one of the greatest of prophets whose mission was to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith was a modern-day prophet who translated the Book of Mormon, organized the Lord's Church here on earth again, and laid the foundation to prepare the people in our day for the Second Coming of Christ. Many people are able to believe in the prophets of old but do not believe in prophets today. Heavenly Father always works through His prophets on earth. We need prophets today to help us with today's problems. The information that God gave to Noah on how to survive the Flood or to Moses on leading the Israelites to the Promised Land will not help us to know what we need to do today. I know that the Lord speaks to his prophet today and tells him what we need to survive these troubled times. Our duty is to pray for the prophet and to pay attention when he speaks. We should be completely obedient to his teachings. When we follow the prophet obediently, blessings flow down from heaven. I know we have a prophet on earth today, even Thomas S. Monson. I have received many blessings through following the counsel of prophets. I was comforted with the counseled recently given by President Monson. He told us to look around to find someone who needs help and to give them that help. He reminded us that when we are serving God's children, we are only serving God. He said, "… we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our kindness…. We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us" ("What Have I Done for Someone Today?" Ensign, Nov. 2009, 86). I thank God everyday that He has a prophet on earth today to guide us through these troubled days.