The following is a talk I was asked to give in church as our ward prepares for the coming General Conference.
In writing about our latter-days, the Prophet Nephi foretold that many of the people of our day would shout, “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.” (2 Nephi 29:3) Now we often, correctly, talk about this as an example of a justification Christians today use to reject the Book of Mormon. But there is more going on here than that. It is not simply that a new book of scripture has been found and come forth. After all, if tomorrow we found “The Gospel of Bartholomew,” in the ruins of some ancient Judean town and the paper it was written on could be dated to 40 A.D., I seriously doubt that most Christians would react with anything other than joy. They would be thrilled to have, “more Bible.”
So, what is it exactly that these people reject about the Book of Mormon? It certainly isn’t the actual content of the book. As one Christian critic of the church put it, “there is really very little in that book that is doctrinally disagreeable to orthodox Christians.” Then what is the problem? The same critic explains that the “thing to realize is that in accepting the Book of Mormon, one is, in fact, accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet.” There, as they say, is the rub. The problem with the Book of Mormon is not the content between its covers or the book itself. The problem is that by its very existence it testifies to the existence of modern-day prophets of God. And exactly how important and powerful is that truth?
In 1897, Wilford Woodruff, himself the prophet of God, shared this story about the importance of prophetic leadership:
“I will refer to a certain meeting I attended in the town of Kirtland in my early days. At that meeting some remarks were made that have been made here today, with regard to the living prophets and with regard to the written word of God. The same principle was presented, although not as extensively as it has been here, when a leading man in the Church got up and talked upon the subject, and said: ‘You have got the word of God before you here in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants; you have the written word of God, and you who give revelations should give revelations according to those books, as what is written in those books is the word of God. We should confine ourselves to them.’
When he concluded, Brother Joseph turned to Brother Brigham Young and said, ‘Brother Brigham I want you to go to the podium and tell us your views with regard to the living oracles and the written word of God.’ Brother Brigham took the stand, and he took the Bible, and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down; and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said:
‘There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from the beginning of the world, almost, to our day. And now,’ said he, ‘when compared with the living oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.’ That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation; ‘Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.’
Conference Report, October 1897, pgs. 22-23
You see, brothers and sisters, all the learned professors, trained theologians, and every other minister in the world recognizes a solemn and mighty truth: All their legalistic wrangling and centuries of theological quarreling mean nothing when compared to the revelations of God as given through His modern prophets. When we listen to the prophet’s voice we hear the Word of God speka directly to our day and our needs. The scriptures can be interpreted in almost any way to support almost any doctrine or idea people want and taking advantage of that confusion is how they get paid. Written words simply cannot fight back, and dead people cannot explain themselves. You can twist their words and make them say whatever you need them to say in order to benefit yourself and justify your actions. And you can make a lot of money by doing the same for others. Living prophets are a threat to this if for no other reason than they can clarify exactly what they mean and tell us exactly what we should and should not be doing right now in a way that cannot be misunderstood or argued with, only spurned or obeyed. Modern prophets strip us of the cloak of ignorance we would use to justify our sins.
And it isn’t just the religious leaders of the world who understand this threat to their jobs and their wealth. All the social influencers, political talking heads, and media moguls of the world recognize the threat authentic revelation offers to their incomes and positions as well. The leaders of the world thrive on manipulating the confusion people feel about themselves and the world around them in order to secure wealth and power.
- “Don’t like those other people? Vote for me, give me money and power, and I’ll stop them for you!”
- “Those people you don’t know much about? We’ll tell you all about how strange and scary they are tonight at 11!”
- “Watch my channel and I’ll tell you why you’re ugly/stupid/weak and how you can be more beautiful/smart/strong by being like me!”
Dead prophets are no threat to this process of fearmongering and manipulation, but living prophets are. The living truths given by revelation to the living prophet by the Living God are for people living in our day, right now. And they correct the errors and confusion, the half-truths and propaganda, the self-hatred and jealousy, the lies upon which so many in the world depend for their influence, their wealth, and their power. It is from the living prophet of God that we hear the truths that we need now in the very day, the very hour, the very moment in which we live. This makes the inspired words and directions of living prophets the most important source of guidance you can have at any time in your life about who you are, how you should live, how to find joy, and what happens to you after death. No president, no king, no celebrity can say the same.
And does the modern prophet receive this revelation for our day? Absolutely.
This from a CNN report a few years back:
When the messages come during the dark of night, Russell M. Nelson reaches for his lighted pen and takes dictation from the Lord. “OK dear, it’s happening,” the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tells his wife, Wendy Nelson. “I just remain quiet and soon he’s sitting up at the side of the bed, writing,” she said in a recent church video. Sometimes the spirit prompts the prophet’s wife to leave the bed, though she’d rather sleep. One such morning, Wendy Nelson told Mormon leaders, her husband emerged from the bedroom waving a yellow notebook.
Russell Nelson has instituted several changes based on revelations since becoming church president in 2018. “Wendy, you won’t believe what’s been happening for two hours,” she recalled Russell Nelson saying. “The Lord has given me detailed instructions on a process I am to follow.” Nelson’s nighttime messages have “increased exponentially,” his wife said, since last year when the 94-year-old took the helm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.
“One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as President of the Church,” Nelson said, “is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will.”
Why the ‘Mormon’ church changed its name. (It’s about revelation, not rebranding.)
Brothers and Sisters, how blessed are we that we live in a time where God is actively and intentionally revealing His mind and will to a living prophet? And how blessed are we that this weekend we get to spend two whole days being instructed and taught by those living Prophets and Apostles? I plead with you, do not let your familiarity with this incredible blessing lead you to taking it for granted. Millions who toiled through long centuries of darkness would trade everything they have to be able to switch places with you and partake of the light and truth that will be poured out upon us next week during General Conference. Do not let the easy with which you can obtain this blessing lead you to treating it as less than it is worth, because few things in your life are worth more. This is the pearl of great price which is worth your selling all that you have in order to be able to obtain. If you make their inspired teachings the guide for your life then blessings will flow down from God to you in uncountable ways.
I know that it is a gift that has blessed every aspect of my life.
I know who I am because Jesus Christ has revealed it through his modern prophets.
I know the purpose of Creation and the meaning of life because Jesus Christ has revealed it through his modern prophets.
I know who I should be, how I should live, and how I should treat others because Jesus Christ has revealed it through his modern prophets.
I know what it means to be a man of peace because Jesus Christ has revealed it through his modern prophets.
I understand what it means to be a husband, a father, a leader, a man because Jesus Christ has revealed it through his modern prophets.
I understand what happens after death and my eternal destiny because Jesus Christ has revealed it through his modern prophets.
I understand who, what, and why I am because Jesus Christ has revealed it through his modern prophets.
And so can you, but only if you listen to and heed the guidance of the modern prophets of Jesus Christ!
Now none of this means that every single thing the leaders of the church say or believe is the Absolute Word of God ™ or that they are perfect communicators who always get their interpretations of history, science, or even scriptures 100% correct all the time. The Prophets and Apostles are only men, and they make mistakes just as well as we do. But if we become obsessed with the imperfections in their communications, we will miss the truths they are teaching. We will intentionally blind and deafen ourselves only to our own suffering.
If I have but one tool to share to help you better enjoy the coming General Conference, it is this:
Focus on the eternal truths and inspired doctrines they are teaching, the boundless principles of life and eternal life they are sharing instead of the imperfect ways they are trying to communicate those truths to you. I promise you that if you do so you will never get lost in meaningless minutiae. Instead, you will find yourself feasting on the revealed doctrines and teachings of Jesus Christ. Let truths, doctrines, principles, be your focus and everything else will take care of itself.
We are blessed above all the people of the world to know the word and will of God is being continuously revealed to His prophets, directing us in our modern times according to the controversies and problems of our day. If we refuse to be distracted by the political and social ideologies of the world and instead choose to fully heed the revealed guidance that the Prophets and Apostles share with us, we will be blessed beyond measure, build Zion, and make the world a far better place than could ever be done in any other way. God will pour out blessings upon our lives to such a degree that we will not be able to comprehend all the ways that He has, is, and will bless us. In an age full of lies, confusion, and disorder, we have the oracles of God to reveal to us His will, to lead us according to His will, and to teach us His Law and Commandments. That is worth more than all the treasures of all the Earth combined. Hopefully we value it as such.