We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet

The Lord in his love and wisdom has called prophets to guide us and to help us meet the challenges that come as we journey through this life.  We are blessed by knowing that the counsel we receive from the prophet is the same as if it came directly from the Lord.  I am grateful to know that there is a living prophet on earth today and that he speaks for God.  I am grateful to have the opportunity to listen to the prophet again this weekend.

Article of Faith 1:9 states:  "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

                    God has spoken through His prophets since the time of Adam to reveal important information; those people who listened to the prophets were saved both temporally and spiritually.  The prophet Amos testified that "God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophet" (Amos 3:7).

                    Just as there were Old Testament prophets and Apostles in the New Testament, there are both prophets and Apostles in our day.  The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his counselors, and all twelve members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators by members of the Church.

                    Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord revealed the importance of following the counsel of the prophets.  This revelation from the Lord is contained in Doctrine and Covenants 1:37-38.  "This section constitutes the Lord's Preface to the doctrines, covenants, and commandments given in this dispensation."

                    "Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.

                    "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the hearth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."

                    Blessings come to all people who listen to the counsel of the Lord as given through His prophets.  The blessings may be spiritual or temporal.  The following example shows how a group of people were blessed because they listened to the words of the prophet.

               "Many years ago, before there was a temple on the island of Tahiti, 30 Tahitian members of the Church had planned for a long time to make a trip to the Hawaii Temple.  They had worked hard to repair a boat and to save the money necessary for their journey.  They had also requested and received permission for the journey from their government and from President David O. McKay, who was President of the Church at that time.

                    "Shortly before the voyage was to begin, the Church members who would be making the trip were asked to gather at the mission home for a meeting.  There they were informed that a special message had arrived that day from President McKay.  He was asking them not to make the trip to Hawaii.

                    "The Church members did not understand why they could not make the trip, but they had testimonies that President McKay was a prophet, so they followed his counsel.

                    "A few days later the skipper of the boat the Saints had planned to use received a call from the harbor where the boat was kept.  He was told to come quickly because his boat was sinking.  When he examined his boat, he found that the repairmen who had been hired earlier had painted over some rotten wood and rusty pipe, which had then broken, causing the boat to sink.  If the Church members had begun the trip, the boat would have sunk while they were on their way to Hawaii.

                    "The Church members had accepted the prophet's counsel without knowing why it was given, but now they understood why they had been advised not to make the journey.  They were thankful that they had followed the prophet's counsel.  (See R. Lanier and JoAnn M. Britsch, `A Prophet's Warning,' New Era, Mar. 1976, 12-14)."

                    The people had spent much time, money and effort to prepare for their journey, and yet they willingly listened to the counsel of the prophet.  How would you feel if you had made all these preparations and then you were counseled not to go?

Would your feelings be different knowing that the prophet of God had asked you to stop the voyage?  I know that we can be blessed by following the counsel of President Thomas S. Monson just as the people in the story were blessed by following the counsel of President David O. McKay.  I am grateful for my testimony that the Lord speaks through His prophet.

                    We can all gain testimonies that the prophet represents God.  We can ask God if His prophet on earth today in Thomas S. Monson and listen for His answer.  We can heed the feelings we have when we see President Monson and listen to his words.  Once we have a testimony of the prophet, we can also receive additional confirmation of the information.

                    Elder Boyd K. Packer shared the following experience:  "I left the office one Friday afternoon … [and] waited for the elevator to come down from the fifth floor.

                    "As the elevator doors quietly opened, there stood President Joseph Fielding Smith.  There was a moment of surprise in seeing him, since his office is on a lower floor.

                    "As I saw him framed in the doorway, there fell upon me a powerful witness - there stands the prophet of God.  That sweet voice of Spirit… affirmed to me that this was the prophet of God.

                    "I need not try to define that experience to Latter-day Saints.  That kind of witness is characteristic of this church.  It is not something reserved to those in high office.  It is a witness, not only available but vital, to every member" (Ensign, June 1971, 87).

                    Elder Packer knew that President Smith was the prophet of God prior to this experience, but the Holy Ghost confirmed his testimony.  I know that each of us can have this same testimony, with or without being in the presence of the prophet.  We can receive this same testimony through prayer, fasting, reading the prophet's messages, watching or listening to general conference, and/or following the prophet's counsel.

                    There is much information about prophets, their duties, and their responsibilities in the scriptures.  In Amos 3:7, we are told that God reveals his secrets to his servants the prophets.  In Matthew 16:19, we learn that the prophet holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  In Doctrine and Covenants 1:14, we learn that we must obey the words of the prophets or be cut off from the Lord.  In Doctrine and Covenants 1:38, we are told that the Lord's voice and the voice of the prophet to the Church are the same.   In Doctrine and Covenants 21:4-5, we learn that we should receive the counsel of the prophet with all patience and faith.  In Doctrine and Covenants 68:3, we are told that the prophet speaks as prompted by the Holy Ghost and that we sustain the President of the Church as a prophet, seer, and revelator.  In Mosiah 8:17, we learn that a seer knows about the past and the future.  In Ephesians 2:19-20, we read that the organization of the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.  In Doctrine and Covenants 58:18, we read that the laws of the kingdom, meaning the Church, are given by prophets.

                    William Fowler, a convert from Great Britain in 1849, was so moved by the thought that there was a living prophet on earth that he wrote a beautiful hymn entitled "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" (Hymns, no. 19).  This hymn is a favorite among members of our Church.

                    We thank thee, O God, for a prophet

                    To guide us in these latter-days.

                    We thank thee for sending the gospel

                    To lighten our minds with its rays. 

                    We thank thee for every blessing

                    Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.

                    We feel it a pleasure to serve thee,

                    And love to obey thy command.

                    When dark clouds of trouble hand o'er us

                    And threaten our peace to destroy,

                    There is hope smiling brightly before us,

                    And we know that deliverance is nigh.

                    We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.

                    We've proved him in days that are past.

                    The wicked who fight against Zion

                    Will surely be smitten at last.

                    We'll sing of his goodness and mercy. 

                    We'll praise him by day and by night,

                    Rejoice in his glorious gospel,

                    And bask in its life-giving light.

                    Thus on to eternal perfection

                    The honest and faithful will go,

                    While they who reject this glad message

                    Shall never such happiness know.

                    I too am very grateful to live in a day when a living prophet walks the earth and reveals to us the words of God.  I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's prophet on earth today and that the Lord reveals His will through President Monson.  I am grateful for the opportunity to listen to the prophet's counsel this weekend.

              

The Prophet Joseph Smith

                    The name of Joseph Smith is both loved and hated.  The Prophet Joseph Smith is loved by the millions who believe that he spoke with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  He is hated by those who do not believe he was a prophet.  Under the direction of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became its first President.  Several other churches consider him to be their founder and consider him to be a prophet of God.

                    Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805, in Sharon Vermont.  He was the fourth child of his parents, Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith.  The family grew and eventually included six sons and three daughters.  Before young Joseph was eleven years old, the family moved from Vermont to Palmyra, New York.  Four years later the family was farming close to Manchester, New York.

                    When Joseph was fourteen, there was an unusual excitement about religion.  Joseph and other members of the family listened to many sermons from several different preachers.  Each preacher claimed to have the truth, but they were all teaching different doctrines.  Joseph was caught up in the excitement and wanted to join one of the churches, but he was confused as to which church he should join.  While studying the scriptures one day, he read, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him (James 1:5).  Joseph was aware that if anyone needed wisdom, he did, and he decided that he would ask God.

                    On a beautiful, clear morning in the early spring in 1820, Joseph went to a nearby wooded area to offer his first vocal prayer.  After some early difficulties, he called upon God for help.  He saw a pillar of light, brighter than the sun, in the air above him.  The light gradually descended until it fell upon Joseph.

                    "When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other - `This is My Beloved Son.  Hear Him!'"  (Joseph Smith - History 1:17).

                    When Joseph recovered from his shock, he remembered the reason he had gone to the grove to pray.  He asked the Personages which of all the sects he should join.  He was answered that he must not join any of them because all of them were teaching false doctrine.

                    Joseph shared his vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with his family and other people.  The members of his family believed him and accepted his report as the truth.  When he told a preacher of his experience, the preacher ridiculed him, saying it was of the devil.  Soon after his conversation with the preacher, Joseph became the object of great persecution.  No amount of persecution or hatred could cause Joseph to disbelieve.  "… I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me ….  For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God and come under condemnation" (Joseph Smith - History 1:25). 

                 

                   Joseph prayed and received an answer from God.  He did not join any of the churches and continued to be persecuted.  On September 21, 1823, Joseph was again praying for direction when he received another vision.  This time he was visited by an angel named Moroni.  Moroni quoted scriptures and taught him many things before disappearing into heaven in a conduit of light.  Moroni returned two additional times during the night and again the next morning.  The reason for Moroni's visits was to instruct Joseph about a record written upon gold plates and recorded by the ancient inhabitants of the American continent.  Moroni told Joseph that he would have to wait to receive the plates until the time was right.  When it was the right time, Joseph would receive the plates for the purpose of translating the information written on them.

                    Many things happened in the next few years:  Joseph's oldest brother, Alvin, died.  Joseph married Emma Hale.  Persecution continued as did the necessity for laboring to earn a living.  During this same period of time, Moroni continued to instruct Joseph.  At length the time to receive the plates arrived on September 22, 1827.  Amidst increased persecution and several moves, Joseph translated the necessary information from the plates and returned the plates to Moroni.

                    "The ancient record thus brought forth from the earth as the voice of a people speaking from the dust, and translated into modern speech by the gift and power of God as attested by Divine affirmation, was first published to the world in the year 1830 as THE BOOK OF MORMON" (Final paragraph of "Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith" in the Book of Mormon. 

                    Concerning this record, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book" ("Introduction" in Book of Mormon).

                    I have read the Book of Mormon many times myself and asked God if it is His word.  I know the Book of Mormon to be true because the Holy Ghost bore witness to me that it is true; therefore, I also know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God.  Millions of other people testify that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. An Apostle of Jesus Christ testifies of Joseph Smith here.  

                    Joseph, his family, and his followers continued to be persecuted.  Joseph with five associates organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fayette, New York, on April 6, 1830.  He continued to be an instrument in the hands of God.  He lived as a prophet of God for all of his remaining days on earth.  He died as a prophet, along with his brother Hyrum, on June 27, 1844, about 5:00 P.M., when an armed mob with blackened faces broke into the Carthage, Illinois, jail and killed them.  Each man was shot four different times.

                    John Taylor, whom became the third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wrote the following:  "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it….  He lived great and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and … has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood…." (Doctrine and Covenants 135:3).