Imagine you were a prophet saying farewell.

Lehi was old. He knew he was going to die soon. That must have influenced what he chose to say in his last message to his family: He bore his testimony of the Savior and encouraged his children to live the gospel.

Prophets and apostles may not always know when their mortals lives are at an end. But it’s interesting to see what some of their final talks were about (whether they knew it was their “final talk” or not).

• President Thomas S. Monson’s final talk was about how the Book of Mormon can strengthen our testimony of Jesus Christ. “I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day,” he said.¹
• Elder Robert D. Hales, who died between conference sessions on Oct. 1, 2017, had given his last address six months earlier. His topic? “Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”²
• One memorable final address was from Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who died 13 days after speaking in the April 1985 general conference. Near the end of his talk, he said, “I am one of His witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that He is God’s Almighty Son.”³

What would your farewell message include?

Notes
1. From “The Power of the Book of Mormon,” Apr. 2017 general conference.
2. See “Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” Apr. 2017 general conference.
3. From “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane,” Apr. 1985 general conference. Bonus fun fact: Elder McConkie wrote the lyrics to the hymn “I Believe in Christ.”