Why is it important to listen to and follow the living prophets?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

We sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. Their teachings reflect the will of the Lord. They give us instruction, warnings, and counsel from the Lord for our day. We are blessed with safety, peace, and spiritual strength when we listen to and obey their counsel.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

• Amos 3:7; Doctrine and Covenants 1:4, 37–38; Moses 6:26–38 (The Lord speaks to us through His prophets)

• Doctrine and Covenants 21:1, 4–7 (The Lord promises great blessings to those who follow the prophet)

• Doctrine and Covenants 107:21–28

• Ulisses Soares, “Prophets Speak by the Power of the Holy Spirit,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 98–99

• Gary E. Stevenson, “The Heart of a Prophet,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 17–20

• Neil L. Andersen, “The Prophet of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 24–27

• “Message to the Youth from the First Presidency,” For the Strength of Youth (2011), ii–iii

• “Prophets,” True to the Faith (2004), 129–30

• “We Need Living Prophets” (video)

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What counsel have living prophets given that you have applied in your life? How have you been blessed for following that counsel?

Why is it important for the young women in your class to have a testimony of the living prophets? How can you help them see what a blessing it is to have living prophets to guide them today?

What can the young women do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior asked questions to those He taught and gave them opportunities to ask their own questions. What questions can you ask that will help the young women think and feel deeply about living prophets? How can you show that you are interested in their answers?

Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

• Our class: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

• Our responsibilities: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

• Our lives: Remind the class of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a class presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the class; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help class members understand the doctrine.

• Assign each young woman to read one of the scriptures suggested in this outline or one of the last five paragraphs of Elder Ulisses Soares’s message “Prophets Speak by the Power of the Holy Spirit.” Ask each of them to look for reasons we need a prophet and blessings that come from following the prophet. Invite the young women to share their thoughts. Share a personal experience in which you followed the counsel of the prophet, and testify about what you learned from doing so. Invite the young women to share their own experiences.

• If the young women were going to hire a president to lead a company, how would they approach that process? After sharing their ideas, they could contrast that process with the process of calling a new prophet. For a description of this sacred process, invite the young women to read Elder Gary E. Stevenson’s talk “The Heart of a Prophet” and Doctrine and Covenants 107:21–28. Why is it significant that the Lord calls His prophet this way?

• Show pictures of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (such as those in the conference issue of the Ensign or Liahona). Bear your testimony that all of these men are prophets, seers, and revelators. Invite the young women to make a list on the board of counsel given by the living prophets (bring copies of the most recent general conference issue of the Ensign or Liahona to help them remember). How does following this counsel bless their lives and the lives of their families?

• Give each young woman a small card. Invite the young women to read one of President Nelson’s recent talks and find a statement that they would like to write on the card to take home and display in their rooms or save in their scriptures. Ask them to share their statements and explain why they chose them.

• Show the video “We Need Living Prophets” or read together portions of one of the general conference talks listed in this outline. You could also read the “Prophets” chapter in True to the Faith. Invite the young women to look for why it is important to listen to and follow the living prophets. Ask them to share what they find. Invite the young women to share their testimonies of the prophet.

3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the class presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

• Ask the young women to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a class to apply what they have learned?

• Give the young women a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

• Remind the young women that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.

Related Youth Activities

Plan a Mutual activity that will help the young women apply what they learned in this lesson.