Area Message
This Church is Built upon Apostles and Prophets, with Christ as the Chief Corner Stone
In the Lord’s prayer delivered during the Sermon on the Mount, ‘Thy kingdom come’ (Matthew 6:10), meant the kingdom of God on earth or His church, which He organized, and the apostles continued after His death. When believers joined the Church, Acts 2:47 stated that “… the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” I have heard oftentimes from friends that there is no church that can save man. However, from the verse above we understand that His church can help save man. God’s kingdom on earth (His church) prepares man to live in His kingdom in the heavens.
Speaking of his father Mormon’s teaching, Moroni said, “… For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man…” (Moroni 7:16). This Spirit of Christ guides and entices every man not just to know good from evil, but also to guide him to find His church. A closer study of the revealed words, the scriptures, teaches us that Paul described Christ’s church as” built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). A chief cornerstone in a building, is its main foundation, connecting two walls and holding up the structure with the help of the remaining foundation. Christ is the chief cornerstone for the ordinances, doctrines and principles of His church, connecting the foundation of prophets and apostles.
Prophets act as God’s messengers and make known of His will (Amos 3:7). Scriptures are witnesses that God speaks to prophets anciently. It is an expression of His love for them. However, God never interferes nor suppresses their moral agency. They are free to listen to or disregard the voice of a prophet. Today, we live in an unprecedented time. Modern problems and issues need modern guidance from God. Certainly, we need modern living prophets in our time to help us know of His divine will.
An apostle is “one sent forth” (Luke 6:13) and is a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ to all the world, particularly of His divinity and of His bodily resurrection from the dead (Acts 1:22; D&C 107:23). After Christ’s ascension into the heavens, the apostles met to consider who will replace Judas Iscariot in the quorum, and they called Matthias to replace him (Acts 1:23-26). In the same process Paul was named an apostle when a vacancy through death occurred. Knowing how it was done, we begin to understand that apostles and prophets were the foundation of His true church. Consequently, each of the apostles were killed one after the other. Slowly yet surely, apostasy as they had prophesied started to happen until finally the great apostasy or the loss of truth and of His church came.
Paul said in Ephesians 4:11–14, “And he gave some, apostles; and some prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” Saints are not perfect men, but are ordinary members of His church. Without living prophets and living apostles, Christ invitation to become perfect (Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48) like Him will not be realized. Although Christ had finished His great atoning sacrifice so we all could receive a remission of sins, without His true church with prophets and apostles as His authorized representative, the saving ordinances of the gospel that binds us to Him through covenants will not be administered.
God prepared a way for His church to be restored (Acts 3:21). It has a foundation of prophets and apostles, and Christ is the chief cornerstone. Today that church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It solemnly bears His holy name, and it has living prophets and living apostles. From the time the church was restored in 1830 through the prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., the church has always been guided by prophets and apostles.
Today our living prophet is President Russell M. Nelson, and he invites all to Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him, by making and keeping Sacred Covenants through the ordinances of the gospel.1. The covenants we made through the ordinance of baptism and the ordinances in the holy temples bind us to Christ, and He said, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10). As natural men, we oftentimes breach our covenants and therefore disqualify us from receiving the promised blessings, which may include the blessings of an eternal life with God. However, God prepares a way that we can have access to the renewing ordinance of the sacrament upon His holy day (D&C 59:9). This enables us to remit the sins we have repented of, thus preparing us to be sanctified by His Spirit to receive a remission of all our sins and renew all our covenants with Him and be qualified for eternal life. Living prophets and apostles reminds us to stay in the Covenant Path.
MISSION PREP THE FAMILY WAY
For the Negrido family, helping 13-year-old Yushin prepare for his mission is a family affair. We talked to the young man from Quezon City, and he recounted how his family helps him with the various aspects of mission preparation.
Physical
“I go biking at least once a week so if I am assigned to an area where missionaries ride bikes, I won’t have to adjust anymore. My parents also enrolled me in a basketball academy where my agility and strength will be developed, and I will learn teamwork and collaboration with my teammates. We are also a family of divers and mountaineers so we climb and swim, a survival skill that might come in handy since our country is composed of many islands.”
Mental
“One of the priorities in our family is the goal to finish our studies. My parents enrolled us in a school that may not be one of the best schools, but still has a high academic standard that helps me gain more knowledge. Thanks to the work ethic instilled in us by our parents, both my Ate Macel and I have received academic merit awards.”
Socially
“My parents also encourage us to form a circle of friends outside the church to practice inclusivity. This is one of the aspects that prospective missionaries must develop: to know how to engage other people. I also belong to organizations like Rescue Recon Youth Organization and the Boys Scouts of the Philippines. Being blessed with the opportunity to travel around the country and abroad, I have learned to appreciate different beliefs and cultures.”
Financial
“Last year I received a bamboo coin bank to help me save for my mission. Last December, we went to the bank and opened an account so I can pay for my mission using my own savings. I will continue to save, but if my savings are not enough, I am sure my parents will make up the difference.”
Emotional
“With the rampant number of mental problems arising nowadays, the prospective missionary must be emotionally stable. One of the practices that we have as a family is to always have open communication. Dinner time is the best time for us to discuss everything under the sun. It’s like reporting to each other how our day went. We discussed anything under the sun including politics. We may have different political beliefs but our discussions are always respectful.”
Spiritual
“The most important thing is to be prepared spiritually, and here are some of the things we do to help strengthen my spirituality:
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Pray often as an individual and family
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Have individual and family scripture study, especially the Book of Mormon
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Hold Family Home Evening regularly.
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Magnify our callings.
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Attend church meetings and activities.
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Do Family History.
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Do temple work: proxy baptisms for me.
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Attend seminary and institute classes and activities.
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Write in your journal
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Do service.”
Yushin is grateful that his parents Pete and Michelle are both returned missionaries. He grew up hearing stories of the wonderful mission experiences of his parents and he developed the desire to serve a mission at an early age.
Speaking in the October 2002 general conference, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “What we need now is the greatest generation of missionaries in the history of the Church. We need worthy, qualified, spiritually energized missionaries who, like Helaman’s 2,000 stripling warriors, are ‘exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity’ and who are ‘true at all times in whatsoever thing they [are] entrusted’ (Alma 53:20).” The love and support of parents and Church leaders will ensure that many of our rising generation, just like Yushin, can accomplish this goal.