Remember Him through Following the Prophet

“Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:38.)

Have you ever asked yourself, “How would I have responded to Samuel the Lamanite’s call to repentance? To Jeremiah’s warnings of impending destruction? To the testimony of young Joseph Smith?”

Each of us hopes that she would have been among those who believed and followed the prophets of previous times. But we have similar opportunities in our day. The same Jehovah who called and spoke through ancient prophets continues to send us messages through a living prophet. As we sustain the President of the Church, we express our faith that by following his counsel, we can meet the challenges of our own time.

Do We Listen?

We receive our prophet’s words regularly through satellite, television, and radio transmissions and through Church magazines. Yet do we sometimes brush his advice aside because we “already know” about prayer, scripture study, honesty, and other recurring topics?

The scriptures teach us significant lessons from the past about obeying the prophet. Noah’s family accepted his warnings when their neighbors did not. And Nephi and Laman reacted in quite opposite ways to their father’s inspired requests. In both cases, dramatic consequences followed the refusals to follow the prophet.

Those Who Obey Are Blessed

Elder Russell M. Nelson testifies that “once you stop putting question marks behind the prophet’s statements and put exclamation points instead, and do it, the blessings just pour.” (Ensign, Aug. 1982, p. 24.) Many in our day have found that to be true.

Despondent after her fiancé broke their engagement, Abigail Morris found comfort in following President Ezra Taft Benson’s admonition to seriously study the Book of Mormon. As she read, she found that President Benson’s promises of finding “greater power” and “life in greater and greater abundance” came to pass. (See Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 7.)

“Regular scripture study also brought me many other blessings,” Abigail says. “My faith began to grow—not only in the gospel, but also in myself. I realized that God is a loving Heavenly Father who … has given us, his children, important roles to fulfill in his plan for our happiness.” (Ensign, Mar. 1989, p. 37.)

Another sister, Annette Flack, didn’t see much purpose in submitting her family group sheets to the Ancestral File; she felt she had completed all of the research and temple work possible. However, wishing to comply with the prophet’s request, she turned in the specified information. Ten years later, a stranger from a distant city telephoned to ask about one of the names that appeared on the sheets. Through their conversation, Annette discovered a new cousin, Niki Kobacker, the daughter of an uncle who had disappeared almost forty years earlier when his parents were killed in an automobile accident. “Just think,” Annette says, “if I hadn’t filed my four-generation sheets, Niki would never have found her family, nor would we.” (Church News, 3 Sept. 1988, p. 16.)

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7.) The Lord has kept this promise; if we truly love God, we will love and obey his anointed prophet.

Suggestions for Visiting Teachers

Discuss how we can become familiar with the Lord’s word as revealed through our prophet today. You may wish to make the sisters you visit aware of local broadcasting times for general conference or share copies of the conference Ensign with them.
Bear your testimony that the current prophet is the Lord’s chosen leader for us today.

Illustrated by Beth Maryon Whittaker