President Hugh B. Brown had a conversation with a former justice of the supreme court of England in the which he gave a "brief on Mormonism." The former justice believed that there were no prophets of God on the earth today and that they stopped after biblical time. The following is taken from President Brown's account:
............
“Why do you think it stopped?”
“I can’t say.”
“You think that God hasn’t spoken since then?”
“I am sure He hasn’t.”
“There must be a reason. Can you give me a reason?”
“I do not know.”
“May I suggest some possible reasons? Perhaps God does not speak to man anymore because He cannot. He has lost the power.”
He said, “Of course that would be blasphemous.”
“Well, then, if you don’t accept that, perhaps He doesn’t speak to men because He doesn’t love us anymore and He is no longer interested in the affairs of men.”
“No,” he said, “God loves all men, and He is no respecter of persons.”
“Well, then, if He could speak, and if He loves us, then the only other possible answer, as I see it, is that we don’t need Him. We have made such rapid strides in science and we are so well educated that we don’t need God anymore.”
And then he said—and his voice trembled as he thought of impending war—“Mr. Brown, there never was a time in the history of the world when the voice of God was needed as it is needed now. Perhaps you can tell me why He doesn’t speak.”
My answer was: “He does speak, He has spoken; but men need faith to hear Him.”
......................
Now, this is the part I want to emphasise from the conversation, the part where the former judge admits,
“there never was a time in the history of the world when the voice of God was needed as it is needed now."
Over these last few months, in my study of the Book of Mormon, I've noticed what I like to call, "a pattern of prophets." These past couple of days I've gone through the whole book and highlighted this pattern.
There's been so much discussion over the words of
the Brethren lately. There are political changes in law and in organizations that are controversial to say the least. But the brethren have been crystal clear and yet still so many within the church kick at what their position is. I wince at this kind of resistance to the prophet's words because I've observed the pattern of events that follow. I've seen what happens when the prophets are rejected or criticized.
About 11 years ago I gave a lesson in church among a large group of sisters. The topic was all about following the Prophet. For fun, I decided to take a popular hymn, revise it a little, and have the sisters sing it in class. I wanted to drive home to the sisters that our conversion is deeply rooted to how we respond to the standards of the church laid out by the prophets and apostles.
Are we "cherry-pickers?" For example, do we say;
"Yeah, I listen to the brethren but when it comes to modesty, that doesn't really apply to me"
"It only applies on certain occasions, I have 'special occasion' to ignore this one"
"I'll live by that standard when I feel like it."
"I want different answers besides the same old simple 'prayer and scripture study.'"
I was rather proud of my "Revised Hymn" but there was one woman who approached me after class who it obviously ruffled. I explained to her that it went right along with the quote from the lesson. Maybe the truth was hard for her to take? I don't know where this woman is today in the church but I submit that it's a dangerous road to be on when we get angry or upset by, or ignore the standards they lay out for us. They are true messengers... are we giving strict heed?
-Alicia
(For those who “claim” to believe.)
We thank thee O’ God for a prophet
To guide us in these latter-days
Provided he teaches what we want
And provided we like what he says
We thank thee for every teaching
Our hearts do reflect these great hymns
Sometimes it’s a pleasure to serve thee
If you suit to our fancies and whims*
We support all our local church leaders
On Sundays we give them a smile
But after the Sabbath is over
We will do our own thing for a while
We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness
We are sure he is pleased with our lives
If we only ignore just a few things
He’ll be certain to answer our cries
When dark clouds of trouble hang o’er us
And threaten our peace to destroy
Then maybe we’ll listen completely
And their words will not seem to annoy
Thus on to eternal damnation
We’re ok, we will turn out just fine
For here in our day of probation
We will do what we want with our time
Revised By: Alicia Rawlins 2003
* “We sing and have done so constantly, ‘We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet to guide us in these latter days.’ There are a great many who put a postscript to that and say: ‘Provided he guides us to suit our own fancies and our own whims.” -Heber J. Grant
...............................
Pattern of Prophets -
1 Nephi 1:4 - “there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent”
1 Nephi 1:2 - “they were angry with him; yea even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned and slain”
1 Nephi 3:18 - “they have rejected the words of the prophets”
1 Nephi 5:10-13 - “Lehi... did search [the records, the scriptures] from the beginning… and beheld that they did contain… the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning even down [until his time]”
1 Nephi 7:14 - “they have rejected the prophets”
1 Nephi 10:5 - “how great a number [of the prophets] had testified”
1 Nephi 13:23 - “[the Bible] containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets”
1 Nephi 19:21 - “he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things concerning them”
1 Nephi 19:24 - “hear ye the words of the prophet”
1 Nephi 22:2 - “all things are made known unto the prophets”
1 Nephi 22:20 - “a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you”
2 Nephi 6:12 - “for the Lord God will fulfil His covenants...for this cause the prophet has written these things.”
2 Nephi 9:2 - “[God] has spoken… by the mouth of His holy prophets”
2 Nephi 25:9 - “never hath any of them been destroyed save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord”
2 Nephi 25:28 - “for by denying [Christ] ye also deny the prophets and the law”
2 Nephi 26:3 - “and they perish because they cast out the prophets”
2 Nephi 27:5 - “ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets”
Jacob 4:6 - “we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy”
Jacob 4:13,14 - “for God also spake them unto prophets of old... but...they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets”
Jacob 5:2 - “Hearken… and hear the words of me, a prophet of the Lord.”
Enos 1:22 - “there were exceedingly many prophets among us. And the people were a stiffnecked people, hard to understand.”
Jarom 1:10 - “the prophets of the Lord did threaten the people...according to the word of God”
Words of Mormon 1:18 - “laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the Land”
Mosiah 2:34 - “the records… contain the prophecies which have been spoken by the holy prophets”
Mosiah 3:13 - “the Lord God hath sent His holy prophets among all the children of men”
Mosiah 3:15 - “holy prophets spake unto them concerning [Christ’s] coming”
Mosiah 13:33 - “God should redeem His people...all the prophets… have prophesied ever since the world began”
Mosiah 15:11 - “all the holy prophets… have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord”
Mosiah 18:19 - “teach nothing save it were the things which he had taught, and which had been spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets”
Alma 18:36 - “laid before him the records and the holy scriptures of the people, which had been spoken by the prophets”
Alma 20:15 - “they are just men and holy prophets of the true God”
Alma 30:6 - “the Anti-Christ.. began to preach unto the people against the prophecies which had been spoken by the prophets”
Alma 37:30 - “they murdered all the prophets of the Lord who came among them”
Helaman 8:19 - “there have been many prophets that have testified”
Helaman 13:24 - “ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them”
Helaman 13:33 - “oh that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets”
Helaman 15:7 - “believe the holy scriptures, yea the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord and unto repentance”
Helaman 16:13 - “the words of the prophets began to be fulfilled”
3 Nephi 1:4 - “the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled”
3 Nephi 1:16,18 - “many, who had not believed the words of the prophets” “the prophets had testified of these things for many years”
3 Nephi 5:1 - “there was not a living soul among all the people… who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets”
3 Nephi 6:25 - there were “judges who had condemned the prophets of the Lord”
3 Nephi 7:10 - the leader of secret combinations “had given his voice against the prophets”
3 Nephi 8:25 - “O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out”
3 Nephi 9:5,7,8,9,11 - “the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them.”
3 Nephi 10:12 - “the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets”
3 Nephi 11:10,15 - prophets have always testified of Jesus Christ
3 Nephi 12:12 - “for so persecuted they the prophets”
3 Nephi 25:5 - “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day”
3 Nephi 29:2 - “the words of the Lord, which have been spoken by the holy prophets, shall all be fulfilled”
Ether 7:23-25 - “there came prophets among the people” “the people did revile against the prophets, and did mock them” “[the king] did execute a law throughout all the land which gave power unto the prophets… by this cause the people were brought unto repentance”
Ether 8:25 - “they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning”
Ether 9:28,29 “there came prophets in the land again, crying repentance” “but the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out”
Ether 11:1,2,5 - “there came… many prophets” “the prophets were rejected” “all the prophets… should be put to death”
Ether 11:12,13 - “there came many prophets, and prophesied again” “the people hardened their hearts, and would not hearken unto their words”
Ether 11:20,22 - “there … came many prophets” “they did reject all the words of the prophets”
Ether 12:2,5 - “a prophet of the Lord… began to prophesy unto the people” “they did not believe because they saw them not”
Moroni 7:23 - “God also declared unto prophets”
Moroni 8:29 - “after rejecting so great a knowledge… they must perish soon, unto the fulfilling of the prophecies which were spoken by the prophets, as well as the words of our Savior”
(And this doesn’t include the numerous occasions where I found verses that said “according to the words of the prophets” or “spoken by the mouths of the prophets”)
