There are many people who don’t believe in God, and there are many others who believe in Him, but believe that once Jesus’ earthly ministry ended, God decided His work was done and lost interest in the people yet to come until after they died.

Nephi, an early Book of Mormon prophet, talked about this to his people:

3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord—
 

4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.
 

5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;
 

6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work. (2 Nephi 28)

At no time has God ever turned His back on His children. He’s our Father in Heaven and He loves us. There have indeed been times when the fullness of the gospel wasn’t on the earth and there were no prophets to guide us. For instance, after the Savior and his apostles were gone, there were no more prophets for a time, due to the way the world had treated the Savior and His followers. They killed the Savior and those who tried to carry on His work, so God stopped calling prophets. Had they reacted differently, an apostasy wouldn’t have occurred.

However, even during this time, God didn’t abandon us. We’ve always been able to turn to God on a personal level. People throughout history have prayed at critical moments in their lives and in the history of the world. Through the Light of Christ, God could allow even those without the gift of the Holy Ghost or access to a prophet to know what was true and right if they chose to ask.

The late Joseph B. Wirthlin, who was a high-ranking church official known as a General Authority, said:

“As the sun gives life and light to the earth, a spiritual light gives nourishment to our spirits. We call this the Light of Christ. The scriptures teach us that it “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” 2 Thus, all mankind can enjoy its blessings. The Light of Christ is the divine influence that allows every man, woman, and child to distinguish between good and evil. It encourages all to choose the right, to seek eternal truth, and to learn again the truths that we knew in our premortal existence but have forgotten in mortality.

 

The Light of Christ should not be confused with the personage of the Holy Ghost, for the Light of Christ is not a personage at all. Its influence is preliminary to and preparatory to one’s receiving the Holy Ghost. The Light of Christ will lead the honest soul to “hearkeneth to the voice” 3 to find the true gospel and the true Church and thereby receive the Holy Ghost.” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Unspeakable Gift,” Ensign, May 2003, 26)

God knew we needed prophets to get us through the first days of the world and to prepare us for the arrival of the Savior. The final days are equally important and also require the guidance of prophets. God has restored the fullness of His gospel to help us prepare for the return of the Savior to the earth and is actively guiding His church.

While in the past, we had to seek out all answers from God on a personal level, we can now turn again, as did the people of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, to the prophets for guidance.

Our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson

Of course, we are still free to turn to God individually, and in fact, He has instructed us to do so. He expects us first to find out who the prophet is and to know for ourselves what is true. Then He asks us to continue our personal relationship with God, integrating that with our willingness to follow the prophets He has lovingly sent us.

Would you like to find out how you can personally confirm the identity of God’s own prophet, receiving the answer from God Himself? Visit How Can I Know This is True?

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Prophets are the Lord’s mouthpiece. They give His word to us to help us find our way back to our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ. They watch over us and warn us of what is to come and the dangers present in our time.

It’s easy to look back and see why people should have listened to the prophet. But are we listening to our current prophet and spiritual leaders?

My personal observation is that prophets are often ignored. It is easy to look backwards in time and think, “Why didn’t those people listen to Noah?” or “Why didn’t people recognize Joseph Smith as the prophet of the restoration?” It may not be so easy to recognize the truths that are spoken by the living prophet. The truth is sometimes hard. It is hard when our will does not align with God’s will.

I’m a strong-willed person, and very independent. It is often difficult for me to acquiesce to Heavenly Father when I’m determined that I’m right about something. I struggle constantly to align my will to His. I’m not very good at being humble, and even worse at admitting I’m wrong. Those are character flaws that I’ve spent a lifetime trying to shake. I’m working on it—still.

The April 2018 LDS General Conference motivated me to change more than any other conference I’ve watched. Frankly, I’m a little overwhelmed. I’m taking one thing at a time in an orderly fashion, but I feel an urgency for change that I’ve never felt before. The following quote by Elder Anderson resonated with me. I keep reading and rereading it. I think I’ll try and commit it to memory.

The prophet’s voice, while spoken kindly, will often be a voice asking us to change, to repent, and to return to the Lord. When correction is needed, let’s not delay. And 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. As you are humble in following the counsel of the Lord’s prophet, I promise you an added blessing of safety and peace.

 

Don’t be surprised if at times your personal views are not initially in harmony with the teachings of the Lord’s prophet. These are moments of learning, of humility, when we go to our knees in prayer. We walk forward in faith, trusting in God, knowing that with time we will receive more spiritual clarity from our Heavenly Father. One prophet described the incomparable gift of the Savior as “the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.” The surrender of our will to God’s will is, in fact, not surrender at all but the beginning of a glorious victory.

–  Elder Neil L. Andersen, “The Prophet of God,” Apr. 2018 General Conference (citing Mosiah 15:7).

President Russell M. Nelson

I have received personal confirmation through the Holy Ghost that President Russell M. Nelson is God’s living prophet, and that he has been chosen to guide us at this time. I know that he will not lead us astray. I know that he is intent on doing the Lord’s work. I have great faith in his ability to be the line of communication between the Lord and His church—and indeed, the world.

Where I stumble is in lack of faith in myself to follow the counsel of our living prophet when I’m used to doing things a different way, or when I think about something in a different way. I’m not so concerned with the big things; it’s the little things that bother me. It usually is the little things where Satan takes hold, isn’t it?

When I forget to pull something out of the freezer before I leave the house for church on Sunday, it’s so easy to turn into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant on our way home. We’ve been much better about this, as we’ve been working on this for a while, but it is still a temptation. It is easier this year because we are on the 9:00 a.m. church schedule, but last year’s 11:00 a.m. schedule was a killer for us because my husband is a diabetic. He takes a snack to church, but sometimes it is just hard to get all the way home before he needs to eat. However, even on the 11:00 a.m. schedule last year, we did remarkably well compared to past years. We have made great strides in keeping the Sabbath day holy.

To read more of Tudie’s articles, click here.

There are lots of little things that need improvement in my life, and as I said, I’m feeling great urgency to take care of these matters. I want to align my will to God’s will. I desire to live as He would have me live. More than anything, I need the assurance that I will be in good favor with the Lord at the end of my life. I don’t want to leave anything undone. I want to be a faithful, covenant-keeping daughter of God. I need the added blessing of safety and peace that Elder Andersen spoke about in the quote above.

So, the character flaws I spoke of earlier need to be fixed. I need practice in being humble, and I need to let Heavenly Father help me align my will with His.

Tudie Rose

Tudie Rose is a mother of four and grandmother of ten in Sacramento, California. You can find her on Twitter as @TudieRose. She blogs as Tudie Rose at http://potrackrose.wordpress.com. She has written articles for Familius. You will find a Tudie Rose essay in Lessons from My Parents, Michele Robbins, Familius 2013, at http://www.familius.com/lessons-from-my-parents.