Thanks to all my family and friends who came to hear me talk in Sacrament meeting. I so appreciate all of you! Here's a copy of my farewell talk.
Taylor’s Farewell Talk: Come Listen to the Prophet’s Voice
In our time we are blessed with a living
prophet, President Thomas S. Monson who gives us revelation from God that is
specific for us. He along with the First
Presidency and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles are called and ordained as
prophets, seers, and revelators. They
are called by God and are just as much prophets as Moses, or Isaiah. The Lord says in D&C 1:38, “What I the
Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the
heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be
fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the
same. “ In other words the prophet is
the Lord’s mouthpiece on the Earth and when he gives us counsel it is as if God
is speaking directly to us.
From the time of Adam, the Lord has
given counsel to His children on the earth through prophets. Prophets receive revelation from God for the
entire world. There are countless
examples of Holy prophets in the scriptures.
Abraham for example received the Abrahamic Covenant, which promised that
he would have numerous seed and that if they would accept the gospel they would
“be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of
salvation, even of life eternal” (Abraham 2:11). As descendants of Abraham today these
promises are still given to us, and because I can receive those blessings, I am
so grateful that Abraham was a true prophet of God and able to obtain this
covenant through revelation.
In Amos 3:7 we read “surely the Lord
God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants, the
prophets.” This scripture was reiterated
in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 22:2 which states “By the Spirit are all
things made known unto the prophets, which shall come upon the children of men
according to the flesh.” Since the beginning of the Earth, God has proven again
and again that these scriptures are completely true. For instance in Genesis chapter 6 we read
that “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” and so he
“said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is
filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the
earth. Make thee an ark” (Genesis
6:5;13). Because God reveals all things
to his prophets, Noah was able to build the ark, and mankind and all the
animals were preserved from the flood.
The Lord would never have flooded the Earth without first telling his
servant Noah.
The Lord revealed warnings to His
prophets’ in the Book of Mormon as well.
Abinadi foresaw the destruction of the wicked people of King Noah if
they would not repent, and tried to reconcile the people with God (Mosiah
12:8). Alma believed Abinadi’s words and
was able to convert about “four hundred and fifty souls” and bring them safely from
the Land of Nephi (Mosiah 18:34-35).
However the wicked King and his priests would not repent and the kingdom
was taken over by the Lamanites and King Noah suffered death by fire (Mosiah
19). From these stories we can learn
that God would never strike His children without first warning the people and
giving them the opportunity to repent.
Amos 3:7 still
stands in these Latter-days. Regarding
the counsel Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 24:36 that no man would know the day
or hour of the Second Coming, the Prophet Joseph Smith said “Did Christ speak
this as a general principle throughout all generations? Oh, no, He spoke in the
present tense. No man that was then
living upon the footstool of God knew the day or the hour. But he did not say that there was no man
throughout all generations that should not know the day or the hour. No, for this would be in flat contradiction
with other scripture. For the prophet
says that God will do nothing but what He will reveal unto His servants the
prophets. Consequently, if it is not
made known unto the prophets, it will not come to pass.” From this counsel, we learn that even the
date of the Second Coming will eventually be revealed to the living prophet at
that time. This fact gives me such
comfort; because I have always struggled when the answers to my Gospel
questions have been “We don’t know.”
However because we have a living and ordained prophet on the Earth today
there are no “We don’t know”’s in the Gospel—there are only “We don’t know yet”’s.
All answers to questions will be revealed in their due time.
Prophets
don’t only reveal God’s future actions but also those that will be done by
mankind. For instance Isaiah prophesied
the crucifixion of the Savior by saying that “he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah
53:7). In the Book of Mormon Nephi
prophesied of the colonization of the Americas, and the establishment of the
United States as a free nation. For
instance in 1 Nephi 13:12 he describes Columbus coming across the Atlantic as
“a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by
the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought
upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters even unto the seed of my
brethren, who were in the promised land.”
The prophet Joseph Smith also made many prophesies in the Latter-days,
for example he foresaw the American Civil War in 1832; we can see this prophesy
in D&C section 87, which reads “thus saith the Lord…beginning at the
rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and
misery of many souls…for behold the Southern States shall be divided against
the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even
the nation of Great Britain…in order to defend themselves” (D&C 87:1;3).
Because our
living prophets are just as much God’s servants as those in times of old, we
must study their words. We should take
time to read the Ensign, and watch
General Conference, because these contain counsel that is specifically tailored
for our day. We can learn just as much
from these modern day counsels as from the scriptures of old. This is not just a good suggestion; the Lord
has instructed us to follow the prophets’ counsel. In D&C 21:4-5, the Lord tells us “thou
shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto
you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; for his word ye shall
receive as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.” Because the Lord’s words and the prophet’s
words are one in the same if we disobey the prophet we are disobeying our
Father in Heaven. We should not worry
about following the prophet’s voice because a prophet will never lead us
astray. The Lord has promised that if we
follow the prophet’s counsel “the gates of hell shall not prevail against you;
yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and
cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (D&C 21:6).
As members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are unique in our belief
that Heavenly Father has modern prophets on the Earth today. While this is a unique view, it is in no ways
strange, because Heavenly Father has been giving instructions to his people
through his holy prophets since the beginning.
While there have been periods of apostasy, the gospel has always been
restored to the Earth and the people once again have had a prophet of God. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First
Presidency has said, “Because Heavenly Father loves His children, He has not
left them to walk through this mortal life without direction and
guidance.” Life without a prophet would
certainly be dark, and confusing. Our day
is full of turmoil with wars and contentions occurring all over the world, and
it is great to know that President Monson and the Apostles have the ability to
give us true light and guidance in a time of such terror. We can also take great comfort knowing that
the Lord will never leave us without a prophet again. We live in the fullness of times and as the
last and great dispensation we have been promised that there will never be
another great apostasy again. It brings
me such joy to know that through my entire life I will never be without the
counsel of a living prophet.
Everyone
must gain a testimony of living prophets for himself or herself. My belief in modern prophets came very
simply: it came from a testimony of the Book of Mormon. In Moroni 10:4 we learn that “when ye receive
these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in
the name of Christ, if these things are not true, and if ye shall ask with a
sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the
truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” In other words after we have read and studied
the Book of Mormon, we must pray and ask Heavenly Father if it is true. I have read the Book of Mormon and have asked
Heavenly Father and I have received the answer that it is a true record of
ancient peoples in the Americas. Because
I know that the Book of Mormon is true, I know that Joseph Smith was a true
prophet, seer, and revelator. President
Ezra Taft Benson said that the Book of Mormon is “the most singular evidence in
support of Joseph Smith’s claim to being a spokesmen for Almighty God.” Joseph Smith brought the Book of Mormon into
the Latter-days by revelation and I know that he must have been a true prophet
of God, because the Book of Mormon is true.
Because Joseph Smith was a true prophet, the Church is true, and because
the Church is true, President Thomas S. Monson is God’s prophet living on the
Earth today.
