“Look to the Prophet,” For the Strength of Youth, Feb. 2023.
Look to the Prophet
There is comfort and safety in trusting, believing, and following the prophet.
Photograph from Getty Images
It felt like just a regular morning as I walked to school. But this seemingly unremarkable day in my 13-year-old life turned into something quite different once I got there.
“Did you hear the news?” my friend asked.
“No,” I replied. “What’s going on?”
When we walked into our first class, the teacher had a TV on. That’s when I saw news about the terrible events of the morning of September 11, 2001, in the United States. Hijacked airplanes had been flown into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. Another plane had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Thousands were killed or injured. It was a frightening and tragic day.
At this time, my dad was a fighter pilot aboard an aircraft carrier on a routine six-month deployment for the United States Navy. In the days that followed, I continued to see news about the attacks. I also heard classmates express fear and anger. All this made me anxious about the future and what might happen to my dad.
Hal Murdock, Captain, United States Navy, in the cockpit of an F/A-18F Super Hornet at Naval Air Station in 2008.
Comfort from a Prophet’s Prayer
General conference was held three weeks later. As I listened, the prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), said that we lived in perilous times, but “the God in whom I believe … is a God of mercy. He is a God of love. He is a God of peace and reassurance, and I look to Him in times such as this as a comfort and a source of strength.”1
In the last session, President Hinckley closed his address with a prayer. He prayed for blessings of faith, love, charity, and “a spirit of perseverance to root out the terrible evils that are in this world.” He prayed that God would give “protection and guidance to those who are engaged actively in carrying forth the things of battle. Bless them; preserve their lives; save them from harm and evil. Hear the prayers of their loved ones for their safety.” He also prayed for God to “spare us and help us to walk with faith ever in Thee and ever in Thy Beloved Son.”2
President Gordon B. Hinckley offering a prayer during the October 2001 general conference.
I had often heard the prophet say that he prays for many things, but this was a unique experience. I had never heard the prophet say an actual prayer in general conference. Hearing the prophet pray brought me comfort I had not felt in weeks. He prayed about my concerns. I felt that he had prayed for my family. While his prayer was for the world, I was amazed that a prophet’s prayer could also be for me.
A Special Letter
Several months later, our family received a letter from my dad. He wrote that on the day of President Hinckley’s prayer, he and everyone aboard the aircraft carrier had begun a mission to stop further attacks from those who had attacked America.
“As I have reflected on the prayer offered by the prophet,” my dad wrote, “I have realized several remarkable things. We suffered no injuries or losses during the entire operation. At times, my fellow pilots and I found ourselves many miles away from the carrier, flying over hostile territory on 12-hour missions. When we would return to the aircraft carrier to land our fighter jets at night, the seas and weather remained calm long past the time the weather normally turns poor in that part of the world. To bring everyone home is a miraculous blessing. I know from personal experience that the prayer offered by the prophet in our behalf was answered.”
When I read my dad’s witness of an answer to the prophet’s prayer, the Spirit filled my heart and these words came to my mind: “Look to the prophet, and you will be OK.”
Commander Murdock and his family the day he safely returned home from deployment.
Guidance for Challenging Times
Today, there are many confusing and negative voices trying to lead us astray and make things seem different from what they really are by twisting and distorting the truth.
It’s also been prophesied that in our day Satan will “rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good” (2 Nephi 28:20). There will be “wars and rumours of wars” (Matthew 24:6) and distress and perplexity among nations (see Luke 21:25), and “all things shall be in commotion” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:91). As a result, many people’s hearts will fail them because of fear (see Luke 21:26).
Thankfully, the Lord knows “the end from the beginning” (Abraham 2:8) and hasn’t left us without help. As a sign of His love for us, He has called prophets to bless and guide us.3
The prophet today, President Russell M. Nelson, teaches God’s commandments and receives revelation to guide the Church. He can see things we cannot see and gives guidance that protects and helps us. For example, he has promised that if you have faith in Jesus Christ, “you have no need to fear.”4
There is comfort and safety in trusting, believing, and following the prophet, his counselors in the First Presidency, and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. If we focus on them and their words, they will not and cannot lead us astray.5 The Savior declared, “Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38).
Commander Murdock in the cockpit of the F/A-18C Hornet on a long mission sometime during October–December 2001. He snapped a selfie with a message for his family. He said, “I dropped the oxygen mask for the photo so they would know it was really me.”
An F/A-18C Hornet making a carrier landing aboard USS Carl Vinson. The tailhook on the back of the aircraft is used to catch one of the arresting wires on the flight deck.
You Can Know the Truth
It isn’t always easy to follow the prophet and apostles. When their teachings are unpopular or seem socially unacceptable, it might be tempting to pick and choose which teachings to accept. But their words are based on the unchanging doctrine and eternal truths we need to know. “We may not always tell people what they want to hear,” President Nelson has taught. “Prophets are rarely popular. But we will always teach the truth!”6
President Russell M. Nelson greets people at a devotional in Singapore on November 20, 2019.
We can know this for ourselves. President Nelson has also taught: “Ask your Heavenly Father if we truly are the Lord’s apostles and prophets. Ask if we have received revelation [to lead the Church].”7 The Holy Ghost can confirm to you the truths they teach. Another way to find out if their words are true is to apply them in your life “in all patience and faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:5). Simply do it! Act on what they teach, and see what happens.
I am grateful for the witness from the Holy Ghost I received as a 13-year-old of the divine call of a prophet. I am more sure of it today. If we will look to the prophet and follow his teachings, we will be OK no matter what challenges may swirl around us.