“Our Sustaining Support,” Liahona, October 2018
Until We Meet Again
Our Sustaining Support
From an October 2005 general conference address.
Spiritual guidance in large measure depends upon being in harmony with … prophets, seers, and revelators.
I desire to speak about the sacred offices of those priesthood leaders who have been “called and chosen” (D&C 55:1) to guide the Church in this day. …
… My Brethren [in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles], without exception, are good, honorable, and trustworthy men. I know their hearts. They are the servants of the Lord. Their only desire is to labor in their great callings and build up the kingdom of God on earth. Our Brethren who are serving in this day and time are proven, tried, and true. … Their hearts are so pure, their experience so great, their minds so sharp, and their spiritual wisdom so deep that it is a comfort just to be in their presence.
… [When I was called, I was counseled] that the most important thing I should do is to always be in harmony with my Brethren. … That resonated as something I wanted to do with all my heart.
… I have concluded that spiritual guidance in large measure depends upon being in harmony with the President of the Church, the First Presidency, and the Quorum of the Twelve—all of whom are sustained … as prophets, seers, and revelators. I do not know how we can expect to be in full harmony with the Spirit of the Lord if we are not in harmony with the President of the Church and the other prophets, seers, and revelators. …
My counsel to the members of the Church is to support the President of the Church, the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and other General Authorities with our whole hearts and souls. If we do, we will be in a safe harbor. …
We also need to support and sustain our local leaders, because they also have been “called and chosen.” Every member of this Church may receive counsel from a bishop or a branch president, a stake or a mission president, and the President of the Church and his associates. None of these brethren asked for his calling. None is perfect. Yet they are the servants of the Lord, called by Him through those entitled to inspiration. Those called, sustained, and set apart are entitled to our sustaining support.