Asking Big Questions
Conflicts and differing opinions surround us in this world. All voices—good and bad—are amplified through social and mass media. Thankfully, the Lord has given us a voice that we can and should listen to above all others: the voice of living prophets.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said,
One of the glorious messages of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ is that God continues to speak to His children! He is not hidden in the heavens but speaks today as He did in ancient days. From the days of Adam, God has spoken to His children through appointed oracles who are charged with revealing His will and counsel to others.1
Prophets Point the way home to our Father in Heaven
God has always provided a way for us to find the path to Him. The current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, acts as God’s messenger—not just for members of the Church of Jesus Christ, but also for the world. Our Father in Heaven calls and ordains men who hold the power of the priesthood to receive revelation for the Church and for the world as a whole.
Today’s prophet acts as a watchman on the tower, the mouthpiece of the Lord, and a special witness of Christ.
A watchman on the tower
Ezekiel 33:1–7 tells the parable of watchmen who are appointed to watch over a land and sound the trumpet at the sign of danger. These watchmen in our day are living prophets and apostles.
President M. Russell Ballard (1928–2023) taught, “Through the centuries, prophets have fulfilled their duty when they have warned people of the dangers before them. The Lord’s Apostles are duty bound to watch, warn, and reach out to help those seeking answers to life’s questions.”2
Reflecting on the recent counsel we have received from our prophet helps us see what will be most important in the coming days. President Nelson has admonished us to seek personal revelation,3 “let God prevail in our lives,”4 and most recently, “think celestial.”5
Wilford Woodruff taught, “In all ages of the world whenever God was about to Bring a Judgment upon the world or accomplish any great work, the first thing the Lord has done has been to raise up a Prophet & reveal unto him his secrets & send him to warn the people.”6
Seeing the prophet as our watchman on the tower helps us to know how important his advice really is. Because of his calling, the prophet knows what is coming better than we can, and he is in a position to warn us and teach us what really matters.
The Mouthpiece of the Lord
Amos 3:7 is a simple reminder of why we should follow the prophet: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”
What a promise! The Lord, who has all power and wisdom, who can do anything He sees fit to do, will not do anything until He reveals it to His prophets. We can take comfort in the fact that God will always let us know what is coming. If we heed His words, given to us through the prophet, we will be safe and happy.
President Henry B. Eyring said, “Because our Father loves his children, he will not leave us to guess about what matters most in this life concerning where our attention could bring happiness or our indifference could bring sadness. Sometimes he will tell a person such things directly, by inspiration. But he will, in addition, tell us these important matters through his servants.”7
The scriptures mention many ways the Lord communicates with His prophets. These include inspiration through the Holy Ghost, visions and dreams, and visitations from holy beings. However the prophets receive inspiration, we can be sure that when a prophet speaks to the Church, he is revealing what the Lord has revealed to him personally.
We never have to worry about the prophet giving us incorrect counsel. Wilford Woodruff said, “The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God.”8
A Special Witness of Christ
The prophet’s primary role is to help us come closer to Christ. Because the prophets are truly special witnesses of our Savior, if we heed their testimonies, our own testimonies will be strengthened.
Joseph Smith said, “Faith comes by hearing the word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God; that testimony is always attended by the Spirit of prophecy and revelation.”9
If we truly listen to the testimony of the living prophet, we will feel the Spirit testify to us of the divinity of the living Christ. President Russell M. Nelson, as prophets before him, has offered powerful testimony of our Savior in each message he has shared.
He declared, “God lives. Jesus is the Christ. His Church has been restored to bless all of God’s children.”10
He affirmed, “Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!”11
President Nelson has also left his prophetic blessing:
“I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power.
I bless you to be able to discern truth from error.
I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world.
I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love.
Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too.”12
Follow the Prophet
We can trust in the words of the prophet. From the beginning of time, humankind has needed prophets who hear and share what God wants to communicate to His children. It is a comfort to me to know that we can not only hear the words of God through a prophet, but we are also blessed as we listen.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband reminded us of the promised blessings of heeding the counsel of the Lord’s ordained prophet: “I promise you that as you heed the counsel of the Prophet, you will have patience with your situations and with your challenges. You will find the inner strength to square your shoulders and press on. The Lord will bless you when you follow the living Prophet.”13
Let us choose to follow the prophet. President Nelson receives the word of the Lord for us today, as prophets have in days past, and as they will continue to do in the future. We are blessed to hear the words of the mouthpiece of the Lord, the watchman on the tower, and the special witness of Jesus Christ.
Additional Resources
- Question: Are there not supposed to be any more prophets after Christ’s day?
- Modern Witnesses
- Terms prophets, seers, revelators
- Question: Are prophets simply “men of their time,” without any special ability to guide the Church?
- Question: Why are revelations no longer published on an ongoing basis?
- Question: If every President of the Church is a prophet, seer, and revelator, why have so few revelations after Joseph Smith been added to the Doctrine and Covenants?
- Question: Are Latter-day Saint prophets not really “prophets” because they don’t foretell unknown events?
Testimonies of this Dispensation
1800’s
- Brigham Young (1859): “have I yet lived to the state of perfection that I can commune in person with the Father and the Son at my will and pleasure? No, though I hold myself in readiness that he can wield me at his will and pleasure”
- Wilford Woodruff (1869): “We had the privilege of beholding the face of the prophet…and seeing the workings of the Spirit of God with him, and the revelations of Jesus Christ unto him and the fulfilment of those revelations”
- Heber C. Kimball (1865): “I know it by revelation by the Spirit of God, for in this way my Heavenly Father communes with me”
- Orson Pratt (1878): “I have been blessed with some revelations and prophecies, and with dreams of things that have come to pass”
- George Q. Cannon (1896): “I know that God lives. I know that Jesus lives; for I have seen him”
1900’s
- Orson F. Whitney (1926): “One night I dreamed … that I was in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior’s agony”
- Henry B. Eyring (1996): “I know as surely as did the Apostles Peter, James, and John that Jesus is the Christ, our risen Lord”
- James E. Faust (1995): “Jesus is our divine Savior, Redeemer, and the son of God the Father. I know of his reality by a sure perception so sacred I cannot give utterance to it”
- Harold B. Lee: “I have received a witness that I cannot or dare not deny. When I see Jesus, I cannot mistake His identity. I know that He lives!”
Appropriateness of Sharing Spiritual Experiences
- Oaks (2000): “it is usually inappropriate to recite miraculous circumstances …”
- Oaks (1997): “rarely speak of them publicly because… we understand that the channels of revelation will be closed if we show these things before the world”
- Boyd K. Packer (1980): “We do not talk of those sacred interviews … for we have been commanded not to do so”
Lyndie is working toward a degree in Public Relations at Brigham Young University. Originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho, she enjoys running, spending time with her husband and family, and reading. Lyndie served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hermosillo, Mexico, where she developed a love for the Spanish language and the people there. She was drawn to the Wilford Woodruff Papers out of a desire to learn more about Church history and enjoys being part of the organization’s efforts to touch lives with Wilford Woodruff’s words.
- 1 Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Why Do We Need Prophets?”, Ensign, March 2012, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 2 M. Russell Ballard, “God Is at the Helm,” Ensign, November 2015, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 3 Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign, November 2018, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 4 Russell M. Nelson, “Let God Prevail,” Ensign, November 2020, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 5 Russell M. Nelson, “Think Celestial!”, Liahona, November 2023, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 6 Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, September 10, 1843, p. 127, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/journal/1843-09-20.
- 7 Henry B. Eyring, “The Family,” Ensign, February 1998, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 8 Discourse by Wilford Woodruff, October 6, 1890, p. 2, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/discourse/1890-10-06.
- 9 Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume C-1, June 27, 1839, p. 8, The Joseph Smith Papers, josephsmithpapers.org.
- 10 Russell M. Nelson, “Think Celestial!”, Liahona, November 2023, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 11 Russell M. Nelson, “The Answer Is Always Jesus Christ,” Liahona, May 2023, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 12 Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, November 2022, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- 13 Ronald A. Rasband, “Our Watchman on the Tower,” YA Weekly, October 2022, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation’s mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ from 1833 to 1898. It seeks to make Wilford Woodruff’s records universally accessible to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and to increase their faith in Jesus Christ. For more information, visit wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.
