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Prophets and Apostles—Our Clear and Trusted Guides
As we seek direction for our lives, we can feel confident in following counsel from prophets and apostles.
When I was eight years old, my dad took my brother and me on a long hike.
As we got closer to the top, my brother and I started asking the questions every parent dreads:
“How much farther?”
“Are we almost there?”
My dad would respond patiently:
“You’re so close!”
“Just 15 more minutes!”
But 15 minutes would pass, and then 15 more. My dad went from encouraging to cajoling to pleading. “Just a little farther,” he’d say, believing it to be true. Even he was surprised we weren’t at the end yet.
When we passed hikers coming down from the top, we eagerly asked how much more walking we had ahead of us.
“You’re so close!” was their encouraging reply. “You’re almost there!”
This happened several times. Eventually, my brother plopped himself down in the middle of the trail, folded his arms, and declared, “I’m not going any farther.”
Watchmen on the Tower
As we found out on that hiking trail, different people have different opinions. Everyone we met along the trail told us we were “close” to the top, but they all had different ideas of what that meant. Even my wonderful father—who had packed our snacks, filled up our water bottles, and gotten us to the trailhead—had misremembered how long the hike really was. Without an experienced guide, my brother and I became exhausted and frustrated to the point of wanting to give up.
As we walk the covenant path every day, we will encounter many different influences and opinions. Many people would seek to be our guides—influencers, politicians, family, friends. Some of these guides don’t have our best interests at heart. Other guides do want the best for us, and they can be helpful and supportive as we progress—like my dad—but they might not have the answers for everything.
Fortunately, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are omniscient beings who know us perfectly and who know the current and future circumstances of the world we live in. And They have given us prophets and apostles to act as our guides and our watchmen on the tower (see Ezekiel 33:1–7).
Here are just a few ways they guide us along the covenant path:
Providing Absolute Truth
President Russell M. Nelson summed up what seeking and acting on the words of prophets and apostles can provide for us: “pure truth, the pure doctrine of Christ, and pure revelation.” In a world where “too few people know where to turn for truth,” we can feel confident that we are learning and following “absolute truth—eternal truth,” as long as we are heeding the words of our modern-day leaders.1
After all, as we learn in Amos 3:7, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “There is one source of truth that is complete, correct, and incorruptible. That source is our infinitely wise and all-knowing Heavenly Father.”2
Heavenly Father is the source of truth, and He communicates that truth to His prophets. We can feel confident about our ability to seek and discern truth when we are following prophetic counsel.
Helping Us Stay Aligned and Unified
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a global Church; our members live all over the world and have different life experiences. How do we all stay aligned? How do we feel confident that we’re all doing what we’re supposed to?
President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, taught about the need for organization in a global church and how that is accomplished through prophets and apostles:
“The work of the Lord requires an organization led by the Lord through leaders He has chosen and authorized and whom He directs in carrying out His purposes. Scriptural history shows that such leaders have been either a prophet or prophets and apostles. …
“Why is an organization required to accomplish the purposes of the Lord? Though our Savior loves and helps us individually, to accomplish His purposes for the whole body of God’s children—especially His covenant people—He acts through an organization led by prophets and apostles.
“Only through an organization can the individual members of what the Apostle Paul called ‘the body of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 12:27) receive the opportunities they need to achieve the spiritual growth that is the purpose of their creation.”3
The blessing of living prophets and apostles unifies and strengthens us as a Church. We can feel confident that following their words will keep us securely on the covenant path and moving in the right direction.
Sharing God’s Love for Us
We know that prophets and apostles are a wonderful blessing, but what if they ask us to do something that seems hard? Or something that contradicts what people around us are saying? As President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, expressed: “The Lord often asks His prophets to give counsel that is hard for people to accept. The enemy of our souls will try to lead us to take offense and to doubt the prophet’s calling from God.”4
But, as Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained, that fact shouldn’t make us anxious: “Don’t be alarmed when the prophet’s warning voice counters popular opinions of the day. The mocking fireballs of annoyed disbelievers are always hurled the moment the prophet begins to speak.”5
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared why we can feel comfort when we hear leaders speak, even when their counsel might feel challenging:
“It is comforting to know that we are not alone in the world, despite the challenges we face in life. Having prophets is a sign of God’s love for His children. They make known the promises and the true nature of God and of Jesus Christ to Their people. …
[Prophets and apostles] represent the mind and heart of the Lord and are called to represent Him and teach us what we must do to return to live in the presence of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. … By following them, our lives are happier and less complicated, our difficulties and problems are easier to bear, and we create a spiritual armor around us that will protect us from the attacks of the enemy in our day.”6
The fact that some teachings run counter to the world’s teachings is exactly why we need prophets—Heavenly Father wants to guide His children and protect them against the evils of the adversary.
Upholding Prophetic Priorities
Ultimately, my brother got off the ground and made it to the beautiful lake we’d been walking toward all day. It was a wonderful and worthwhile experience.
But how much better might it have been if we’d known what to expect? The hike wouldn’t have been any shorter or less steep, but we would have been better prepared. As President Nelson explained, “Overcoming the world … makes everything about life easier,” even if it doesn’t necessarily make everything easy.7
As we sustain prophets and apostles and make “a personal commitment that we will do our utmost to uphold their prophetic priorities,”8 as President Nelson taught, we will receive guidance and direction for our lives.