A Thoughtful Gospel Principles. Chapter 9: Prophets of God

I've not posted my GP lessons for a while. The Holy Ghost and Prayer ones were enjoyable to teach. I really appreciate the idea of personal interaction with the heavens. It resonates with my perspective of a personalised curriculum. 

As such, this was a far more challenging lesson to prepare. I had to step back from the manual a little more than usual - especially when it emphasised the "prophet will never lead you astray" and "do everything the prophet says" messages. 

https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-9-prophets-of-god?lang=eng

Gospel Principles, Chapter 9: Prophets of God

GP P41: There have been prophets on the earth since the days of Adam. Experiences of these great men excite and inspire us. Moses, an Old Testament prophet, led thousands of his people out of Egypt and slavery to the promised land. He wrote the first five books of the Old Testament and recorded the Ten Commandments. Nephi, a Book of Mormon prophet, journeyed from Jerusalem to the Americas 600 years before the birth of Christ. This great leader and colonizer gave us many important writings in the Book of Mormon. John the Baptist was chosen to prepare the world for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Joseph Smith, a latter-day prophet, the Lord restored the Church. Joseph Smith also translated the Book of Mormon while a young man. 

 Ask the class for examples of prophets from the scriptures who inspire them.

One of the inspiring people in the Book of Mormon is Nephi.

I love that despite having visions and revelations, he was still aware of his own fragility and depended on his testimony of Jesus Christ for support:

(Excerpts from) 2 Nephi 4:16-35

16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.(17) Nevertheless… my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.
(19)…when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. (20) My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. (28) Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.(30) Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.(34) O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh… cursed is he that putteth his trust in man...(35) Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God.

What are some of the themes in this scripture?

-          Bearing testimony of Jesus Christ and his saving grace.

-          Being aware of weakness, expressing trust in God/Jesus Christ and not in other people;

1. Bearing testimony of Jesus Christ:

In 2000, to commemorate two millennia since the birth of Christ, the leaders of the church published their witness and testimony of the Saviour:

“His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity. He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth. Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.

Revelation 19:10 says “…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Prophets through the ages have testified of Christ. That is their most important role.

During Moses’ time, two people taught through the spirit of prophesy, which concerned some of the other people in the camp:

Numbers 11:26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Joshua … answered and said… Moses, forbid them.  And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

 In that sense we can all embrace the spirit of prophecy. The Bible Dictionary says: In a general sense a prophet is anyone who has a testimony of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost

2. In Nephi’s ‘lament’ he also emphasises being aware of weakness, expressing trust in God/Jesus Christ and not in other people.

We can sustain the prophet and learn from what he teaches. We can use the teachings of modern leaders and prophets in the scriptures as a platform for developing our own testimony and relationship with God.

GP39: A prophet may come from various stations in life. He may be young or old, highly educated or unschooled. He may be a farmer, a lawyer, or a teacher...
 Latter-day Saints sustain the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles as prophets. However, when we speak of “the prophet of the Church,” we mean the President of the Church, who is President of the high priesthood. D&C 45:10 Wherefore, come ye unto it, and with him that cometh I will reason as with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong reasoning.15 Wherefore, hearken and I will reason with you, and I will speak unto you and prophesy, as unto men in days of old.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are frequently taught the importance of finding our own, independent testimony of what the prophet teaches.

p.42 How can we sustain the prophet? We should pray for him. His burdens are heavy, and he needs to be strengthened by the prayers of the Saints.We should study his words. We can listen to his conference addresses. We can also subscribe to the Ensign or Liahona so we can read his conference addresses and other messages he gives.

We can sustain the prophet by thoughtfully reading their counsel and gaining a personal confirmation of the truth.

President Hugh B. Brown said:

“[W]hile all members should respect, support, and heed the teachings of the authorities of the church, no one should accept a statement and base his or her testimony upon it, no matter who makes it, until he or she has, under mature examination, found it to be true and worthwhile; then one’s logical deductions may be confirmed by the spirit of revelation to his or her spirit, because real conversion must come from within.”

President James E. Faust quoted Brigham Young in 1989:

I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourse 9:150)

A belief in prophets does not mean we are asked to stop thinking for ourselves.

One well-meaning member once said: When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done.

In response, the president at the time, George Albert Smith said that this statement: 

“…does not express the true position of the Church. Even to imply that members of the Church are not to do their own thinking is grossly to misrepresent the true ideal of the Church, which is that every individual must obtain for himself a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, must, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, work out his own salvation, and is personally responsible to His Maker for his individual acts. The Lord Himself does not attempt coercion in His desire and effort to give peace and salvation to His children... 

The Prophet Joseph Smith once said: "I want liberty of thinking and believing as I please." This liberty he and his successors in the leadership of the Church have granted to every other member thereof. On one occasion in answer to the question by a prominent visitor how he governed his people, the Prophet answered: "I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves."”

Joseph Smith resisted people trying to make out that, as a prophet, he was infallible:

In a series of 1843 sermons Joseph Smith said:

“I told them [the Saints] I was but a man, and they must not expect me to be perfect; if they expected perfection from me, I should expect it from them; but if they would bear with my infirmities … I would likewise bear with their infirmities. (1)
 Many think a prophet must be a great deal better than anybody else... I love that man better who swears a stream as long as my arm, yet deals justice to his neighbors and mercifully deals his substance to the poor, than the smooth-faced hypocrite. I do not want you to think that I’m very righteous, for I am not. There was one good man, and his name was Jesus (2)”

 Nephi also taught how prophet’s receive guidance and how we can too:

1 Nephi 22:

1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the plates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are spiritual, which shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh?2 And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were manifest unto the prophet by the voice of the Spirit; for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men according to the flesh.

President Uchtdorf has said: "Latter-day Saints are not asked to blindly accept everything they hear. We are encouraged to think and discover truth for ourselves. We are expected to ponder, to search, to evaluate, and thereby to come to a personal knowledge of the truth."

Having a living prophet does not mean we now know all there is to know.

Elder Uchtdorf said recently: 

"For a worm in horseradish the world is horseradish.

…We have an almost irresistible desire to assume that the leaf of information we have in our possession is a representation of all there is to know.” “Isn’t it a remarkable feeling to belong to a Church that not only embraces truth—no matter the source—but that teaches there is much more to come! That God “will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” As a result, we are humble about the truth we have. We understand our knowledge is a work in progress, that the leaf we have before us is simply one microscopic snapshot—part of an infinitely vast forest of fascinating knowledge.”

Last week, when talking about prayer, we learnt that, like all of us, prophets receive guidance by praying to Heavenly Father with questions and receive guidance through the promptings of the spirit.

During an interview, President Gordon B. Hinkley was asked:

As the world leader of the the Church, how are you in touch with God? Can you explain that for me?

Gordon B Hinkley replied: 

I pray. I pray to Him. Night and morning. I speak with Him. I think He hears my prayers. As He hears the prayers of others. I think He answers them... if a problem arises, as it does occasionally, a vexatious thing with which we have to deal, we go to the Lord in prayer. We discuss it as a First Presidency and as a Council of the Twelve Apostles. We pray about it and then comes the whisperings of a still small voice. And we know the direction we should take and we proceed accordingly.

The principle of prophets teaches us that God loves us enough to reveal his will to his children throughout cultures and eras:

GP41: We have a prophet living on the earth today. This prophet is the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has the right to revelation for the entire Church. He holds “the keys of the kingdom,” meaning that he has the authority to direct the entire Church and kingdom of God on earth, including the administration of priesthood ordinances

 At other times and in other places, God has inspired people to teach the principles of the gospel.

Alma 29:8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

 President James E. Faust said in 2002: 

“…we claim that God’s inspiration is not limited to the Latter-day Saints. The First Presidency has stated: “The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals. … We believe that God has given and will give to all peoples sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation.”

Elder B. H. Roberts was quoted in an Ensign article in August 2000. He said: 

“While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and it is one of God’s instrumentalities for making known the truth yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place. God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they can comprehend. … All the great teachers are servants of God; among all nations and in all ages. They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God’s children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them.”

The principle of prophets teaches me that we are not alone, that we all human and subject to the same frailties. I frequently quote prophets in my lessons because I appreciate their teachings and feel they teach me about the nature of God and my relationship with him. With that in mind, I embrace their positive messages and also try to find personal guidance and interaction with the heavens.