“The Sure Witness of Modern Prophets,” Liahona, Oct. 2023.
The Sure Witness of Modern Prophets
Priesthood authority comes only by ordination authorized by the Lord Jesus Christ, who directs His restored Church today.
President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, at a gathering of missionaries in Auckland, New Zealand, May 2019. As President Nelson has taught, the Savior governs His Church through “the quiet workings of a divine plan of succession.”
As the Bible declares, the true Church of Jesus Christ is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). I experienced an application of that fundamental principle of the restored gospel many years ago.
A member of the Church brought her neighbor to my office. The neighbor’s husband was a Protestant minister with a large congregation. For many years, this couple had served the Lord with great diligence in their Christian ministry. He had baptized many people into that church.
Now, through the influence of his Latter-day Saint neighbors, he had read the Book of Mormon and was converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was ready to resign his ministry and join the restored Church. But first, he and his wife needed an answer to their question regarding priesthood authority. Reminding me that her husband had baptized many people, his wife asked, “Are you telling me that my husband didn’t have any authority to baptize all the people that he baptized?”
The Spirit prompted my answer, as it will in these situations.
“No,” I said. “I’m sure your husband had authority to baptize all the people that he baptized. He had all the authority that his church could give him. He could perform marriages. He could make people members of the congregation. He could hire a contractor to put a new roof on your church. But that isn’t the kind of authority we’re discussing. The authority in your question is the authority that Jesus gave to Peter, that whatsoever he did on earth would be honored in heaven (see Matthew 16:19). And because that divine authority must be traceable to Apostles, it exists only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Priesthood Keys
Priesthood authority is not acquired through a course of study or a degree from a seminary. Scripture may educate, increase testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ, and even generate desires to serve God, but it does not confer authority. Nor does priesthood authority come by inspiration or aspiration. Priesthood authority comes only by ordination. The Bible makes this clear.
During His earthly ministry, the Savior Jesus Christ told the Twelve Apostles, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit” (John 15:16). The Apostle Paul taught, “No man taketh this honour [the priesthood] unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4).
Certain things follow from the fact that authority is obtained only by being chosen and ordained of God. First is the importance of the “keys” Jesus gave to Peter on that sacred occasion (see Matthew 16:19). “Priesthood keys are the authority to direct the use of the priesthood on behalf of God’s children.”1
As the Savior showed by giving the keys to Peter, priesthood keys are given to His Apostles. Those keys, which were lost with the death of the original Apostles, had to be restored so that priesthood authority could be conferred and exercised in the restored Church. This was done when heavenly messengers, acting under the direction of Jesus Christ, came to restore the Church of Jesus Christ. They did this by instructing and ordaining the Prophet Joseph Smith and giving him the necessary priesthood keys. Those keys do not exist outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In this way, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—the restored Church—has the authority to perform all the acts and ordinances performed in previous dispensations of the gospel and to have them “bound [recognized] in heaven” (Matthew 16:19; Doctrine and Covenants 128:8). These essential ordinances of salvation and exaltation include baptism, bestowal of the Holy Ghost, the temple endowment, and marriage for eternity. All of this, for the living and the dead, makes possible our return to God the Father and the Son, with the perpetuation of family relationships eternally.
Through His teachings and His Atonement, the Lord Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone in all of this, and His work proceeds through His apostles and prophets.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”2
This 1984 picture (below) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shows four future Presidents of the Church. A fifth Apostle, President Gordon B. Hinckley, was then serving in the First Presidency. Through service and experience, each Apostle is prepared for future responsibilities, including, for some, as President of the Church.
Special Witnesses
The Twelve Apostles are called to be “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:23). They have a unique testimony of Jesus Christ. They witness of His reality, His divinity, His mission and Atonement, His Resurrection, His holy priesthood, and our potential for eternal life. Apostles are assisted in this by others called to exercise “the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).
In a world that doubts the divinity of the Savior, I testify with my Brethren in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of His divine mission and Atonement. We testify “that he is the Only Begotten of the Father” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:23). We testify that He has a resurrected “body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). We testify that because of His Resurrection, all of God’s children will also be resurrected (see 1 Corinthians 15:21–22; 2 Nephi 9:6, 22; Mormon 9:13; Doctrine and Covenants 29:26). We testify that He speaks to His servants in our day (see Doctrine and Covenants 1:38). We testify that “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12; see also Mosiah 3:17; Moses 6:52).
We share our testimonies—and our Savior’s teachings—with love. President Russell M. Nelson has declared:
“God’s laws are motivated entirely by His infinite love for us and His desire for us to become all we can become.
“… The Lord Jesus Christ, whose Church this is, appoints prophets and apostles to communicate His love and teach His laws.”3
President Nelson has also taught: “You may not always understand every declaration of a living prophet. But when you know a prophet is a prophet, you can approach the Lord in humility and faith and ask for your own witness about whatever His prophet has proclaimed.”4
All of this is accomplished through the Lord’s Church, led by the prophetic ministry of His Apostles. On the day his leadership of the Church was announced, President Nelson gave this valuable explanation of what he called “the majestic manner by which the Lord governs His Church”:
“When a President of the Church passes away, there is no mystery about who is next called to serve in that capacity. There is no electioneering, no campaigning, but only the quiet workings of a divine plan of succession put in place by the Lord Himself.
“Each day of an Apostle’s service is a day of learning and preparing for more responsibility in the future. It takes decades of service for an Apostle to move from the junior chair to the senior chair in the circle. During that time, he gains firsthand experience in each facet of the work of the Church. He also becomes well acquainted with the peoples of the earth, including their histories, cultures, and languages as assignments take him repeatedly across the globe. This process of succession in the leadership of the Church is unique. I know of nothing else like it. That should not surprise us, because this is the Lord’s Church. He does not work after the manner of men.”5
I bear testimony of that divine process, through which the Lord directs His Church today.