The Divine Role of Prophets

Prophets carry a divine mission – to guide God’s people and express the Lord’s will for the world. It is not an easy thing to do, nor is it often the popular thing to do, but throughout history mankind has been blessed to have prophets to give them warnings and advice. First and foremost in the mission of a prophet is to teach the people concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

A Glimpse of the Past - Moses
The most famous example of a prophet may be Moses of the Old Testament. He was called by the Lord through the burning bush on the mountain to free God’s people from the grasp of the Pharaoh. Through God’s power, the plagues of Egypt, Moses was able to carry out his mission to free the Children of Israel from Egypt. However, Moses’ calling did not end with leaving Egypt. Throughout the Holy Scriptures we see that once a man is called a prophet he is a prophet until he dies. In Moses’ case, he had to then teach the Children of Israel the ways of the Lord and how to leave behind the ways of Pharaoh.

In addition to being their spiritual leader he was also being their physical leader, guiding them to the Promised Land – the land promised to their fathers – Canaan. While in the wilderness Moses showed repeatedly that Jehovah is God, and that the people should follow Him. A snake was raised up on a stick to remind the Children of Israel of the Atonement of Christ:

"Behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live...  Cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins" (Alma 33:19, 22).

On Mount Sinai God gave unto Moses the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. It was also in this wilderness that the Tabernacle was constructed. In replace of the practices of the Egyptians, sacrifices were offered unto God, symbolic of Christ’s death for men.

The last thing concerning Moses I will mention is the Mosaic Law that was given by God to the Children of Israel. The laws given, the commandments that took part in it, all pointed to Christ and the work He had yet to do during His mortal ministry on earth.

"And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled" (2 Nephi 25:24).

Are There Modern Prophets?
The scriptures teach us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is also evident in the Holy Bible that God used prophets to teach his people from the time of Adam through the New Testament – a period of many thousands of years. If God followed this system for so long, and is an unchanging God, one can suppose he would do the same for us today.

The Lord’s Church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – was restored in 1830 by a man named Joseph Smith. With the restoration of the gospel came the restoration of the call of prophets, the first prophet in modern-days being Joseph Smith. Since the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith God has again guided his church through these divinely called men, and has given his word to the entire world. The current prophet of the Lord is Thomas S. Monson. Through him we may receive the word of the Lord, and be guided through the difficult circumstances of life.

But we must follow the teachings of the prophet.  Apostle Oaks teaches:  "It is not enough to know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that the gospel is true.  We must take the high road by acting upon that knowledge.  It is not enough to know that President [Thomas S. Monson] is God's prophet.  We must put his teachings to work in our lives." (Be Not Deceived, 2004.)  Eventually, by following the counsel of the prophets, we can again return to the Kingdom of God to live with Christ.

Faith is a Verb

Jesus Christ - Media Library

There are two parts to having faith in Jesus Christ - the first being to have "a firm belief that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  It means believing that He suffered for your sins and afflictions (Faith in Jesus Christ)."  When I hear most people talk about having faith this is the part they focus on.  However, there is a second part to it that is just as important:  to act on that belief.

Go, and Do

After giving the parable of the good Samaritan the Lord asked who was a true neighbor to the injured man.  The response he received was "He that showed mercy on him."  To this the Savior said, "Go, and do thou likewise." (Luke 10:37.)  Likewise we learn from James:

"Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:  shew me thy faith without works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works... Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" (James 2:17-18,22.)

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us many things during his mortal ministry:  Prayer, the sacrament, the Beatitudes, etc.  We also learn many things from him through the many revelations and teachings of prophets throughout the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, but we must not only know these things in our minds, but must know them in our hearts - we must act on them.  It is good to know how to pray, but it will do no good if we do not pray.  Understanding the sacrament, or Lord's Supper, is wonderful, but we must partake of it also.

Faith Taught By a Living Apostle

Elder David A. Bednar, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teaches:

"True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ and always leads to righteous action.  The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that 'faith [is] the first principle in revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness; and that it is also 'the principle of action in all intelligent beings' (Lectures on Faith).  Action alone is not faith in the Savior, but acting in accordance with correct principles is a central component of faith." (Ask in Faith, April 2008 General Conference.)

Christ - The Perfect Example of Faith in Action

The Lord taught us again and again throughout his life that we must serve others.  James, of the New Testament and someone who was close to Christ, wrote that "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27.)

Never did Jesus turn away someone that came to him for help.  He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, cured leprosy and many other ailments.  He not only taught us how to serve, but he showed us how to do it.  He forgave those that did wrong against him or others, and then showed them how to be a righteous person.

And, in the final moments of his mortal life, he showed faith in his Father's Plan of Salvation by giving his life for us.  He not only taught the atonement, but he lived the atonement, for all of us.

It is important to know the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to have faith in the Lord, but to show our faith we must act on it.  For "we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23, emphasis added.)

Becoming Pure Through Jesus Christ

Why Do We Need An Atonement?

In the Book of Mormon the Lord Jesus Christ declared, “No unclean thing can enter into his [God’s] kingdom;” Because we are all human and err this scripture may be discouraging.  But the Lord continues, “Therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end” (3Nephi 27:19).  What does Christ mean when he says we must wash our garments in his blood?

Alma Explains the Atonement

In the meridian of time Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born on earth with a physical body.  The prophet Alma explained:

“And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:10-12)

Just as Alma prophesied, Christ suffered all the pains and sins of mankind in the Gethsemane garden.  When he did this he acted as our mediator with God on behalf of our sins.  Jesus paid the price of our sins and so if we listen to him he will clean our souls of the sins we have committed, making us pure again.  Through this purification in the Savior we are then able to enter the kingdom of Heaven, being clean of all sins.

An Apostles Testimony - Boyd K. Packer

President Boyd K. Packer, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has expressed his feelings on this event in these words:

“No matter what our transgressions have been, no matter how much our actions may have hurt others, that guilt can all be wiped out.  To me, perhaps the most beautiful phrase in all scripture is when the Lord said, ‘Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.’”

*Click here formore quotes by President Packer.

As was expressed in the words of Alma and Elder Packer, because of Christ’s atonement we are able to repent of sins we commit and become clean again.

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Would you like to know more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ?
- Mormon.org/Chat
- The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Strength In Prayer

Introduction
Today I speak of a favorite topic of mine - prayer.  The first Article of Faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that, "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."  Prayer is a way for all of us to commune with God, our Eternal Father.  We do so in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son, and through the influence and power of the Holy Ghost.

Help In Trials
In our lives on earth all of us face hardships and trials, many of which may seem too hard to deal with ourselves.  How do we get through these trials, after doing all that we can do?  The Savior has promised, "Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24).  In prayer we may ask for help in these times, and we shall receive if we do so in faith.

Help With Temptation
Sometimes we are not having a physical hardship, but we are suffering temptations that we do not know how to get away from.  Elder Boyd K. Packer, in a General Conference address, has informed that, "When temptation comes, you can invent a delete key in your mind-"  One of these delete keys can be to say a silent prayer in our mind.  This is confirmed with the scripture found in the Doctrine and Covenants, which says, "Pray always that you enter not into temptation" (D&C 61:39).

Conclusion
Returning to the words of Elder Packer, he has said, "Do not expect to be free entirely from trouble and disappointment and pain and discouragement, for these are the things that we were sent to earth to endure."  However, we can always ask for the strength to overcome these hardships and disappointments.

"Learn to pray.  Pray often.  Pray in your mind, in your heart.  Pray on your knees.  Prayer is your personal key to heaven.  The lock is on your side of the veil." - Elder Boyd K. Packer

I love prayer, and know that when we pray in faith we are communicating with God, our Father, and he helps us in return.

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To learn more about prayer, visit the following sites:

- Back to the Basics:  Prayer

- Receiving Answers to Prayer

- Chat with a Missionary about Prayer

From Mormonism's History - The Word of Wisdom

In the early history of Mormonism a revelation now called the Word of Wisdom was given to Joseph Smith (now section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants).  This Word of Wisdom contains some instruction on how to keep the body healthy.  Among these are the following:

What's In the Revelation?
"That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good," (v. 5), "And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly," (v. 8), "Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving." (v. 11), "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts," (v. 14).

Not everything bad for the body is listed in this revelation, neither is all that is good for the body listed here.  Joseph Smith has said in relation to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves."  This also holds true with the Word of Wisdom.  The principle is presented and members of the church govern themselves over it.  Things that can be harmful to the body should not be given to the body, and things that are good for the body should be used.

A Real-Life Example
In a General Conference address, October of 1996, Elder L. Tom Perry shared a story of an athlete on a track team.  His team was at a competition.  The night before the coach of the team asked all the athletes to have a small glass of wine, thinking this would help them be on the best game the following morning.  The boy refused to take the wine, but the rest of his teammates did have some.  The following morning every athlete except the boy that refused the wine was ill, some of which unable to race.  This boy, however, went out to his races, winning race after race throughout the competition.

To listen to Elder Perry's full address, watch the video below:


More on the Word of Wisdom:
Read more on the Word of Wisdom here at the following sites.
https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom
http://www.squidoo.com/those-crazy-mormons-word-of-wisdom

If you have any further questions you can ask the Mormon missionaries.
http://mormon.org/chat

Mormonism Teachings: Enduring to the End

*Photo from Wikimedia Commons*
by James Padgett

An oft said phrase in the teachings of Mormonism is this:  "Endure to the end."  This line can be found numerous times in the Standard Works of the Church.  The question asked in relation to this is - How does one endure to the end?

In an earlier post I have tried to answer this question using the example of Christ found in the book of Matthew (See Withstanding Temptations Through Christ).  I now come back to this topic using the example of Job, of the Old Testament.  The prophets of the scripture have all had their great trials and tribulations - Moses leading Israel; David fighting Goliath; Elijah with the prophets of Baal; etc. - but the man that impresses me the most with perseverance is Job.

Job, in the beginning of his record, had it all - land, house, workers, crop, animals, etc. - the scripture says that he "was the greatest of all the men of the east."  In addition to this he was also a man of great faith in Jesus Christ.  It is written "that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil." (Job 1:3, 1 respectively)

There came a time in his life that he was greatly tempted of the devil to see whether or not he would still be a man of great faith.  At first his herds were taken, his servants were taken, and even all of his children were taken from him.  Job's reply to all of this was:  "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither:  the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

Photo:
'Welcome' by Del Parson

The lesson I get out of his reply is that we are all born with nothing.  All things on the earth, and the earth itself, were created by the Lord, and anything we gain in this life is thanks to him.  We should thank the Lord for the things we have while we have them.  And when those things are no longer in our lives we can be glad we had them when we did, and know the Lord is still in charge.

After being tested with the things around him, and proving himself faithful, Job was tried again.  This time with physical ailments.  From head to foot he was covered in boils.  His reply to this one?  "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10)

His comment echoes a great truth:  Sometimes bad things happen to good people.  Life doesn't always go perfect, even if you are doing your best to be righteous and faithful.  Sometimes a challenge presents itself.  It is in those times that we must do our best to keep our faith strong in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In our challenging circumstances, let us remember these words of Job:  "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:  but I will maintain mine own ways before him.  He also shall be my salvation" (Job 13:15-16).

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Listen to Al Fox share her feelings on how and why we should press forward, enduring to the end with faith:

 

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If you have any questions concerning the teachings of Mormonism that are not explained here, ask the Mormon missionaries.  They will help answer any of your questions:

Missionary Chat | http://mormon.org/chat

Mormonism Teachings: Cleansing Through Christ

One of the great teachings of Mormonism is that of repentance.  Through repentance a person may be cleansed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Previously I have shared a page about Christ's healing power with the Legion.  Now I'd like to share another scripture story of his healing power, that of Naaman the Syrian captain.

Although these two stories - Naaman and Legion - are physical healing, they equally show what the Lord can do for us through repentance.  First I will share the story, and then add my thoughts on the repentance side of it.

2 Kings 5
1. Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria:  he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
3. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
4. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
5. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel.  And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
6. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
7. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8. And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
12. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?  So he turned and went away in a rage.
13. And his servants came near, and spake unto him and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14. Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God:  and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Naaman had leprosy, which was one of the most feared diseases at this time.  Moses' law taught that if a man had leprosy he was to live alone outside of the city (see Leviticus 13:45-46).  To make matters more humiliating for Naaman, Elisha told him not to wash in the clean Abana or Pharpar rivers, but to wash in the filthy Jordan.

Like that of Legion, this must have seemed like a worst-case scenario for Naaman.  He was unclean and was told to wash in an unclean river.  But, with the encouragement of his servants, he did wash in Jordan and was cleaned of his unclean disease.

I believe this to be a testament that Christ is the master-healer.  No one can become too unclean through sin to be healed by the Atonement.  The process of repentance is real and the cleansing through Christ is real.  Like Naaman and Legion being clean with physical problems, we can be clean of sinful problems through Jesus Christ.

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If you have further questions about repentance you can read more about it here:

Forgiveness is a Gift

Or you can ask a Mormon missionary here:

http://mormon.org/chat