For the first time in years of talk writing, I was done with my full first draft during the afternoon on Saturday. I usually don't have that initial draft completed until sometime after midnight. I took the rest of the day to contemplate and revised after bedtime. I ended up rearranging the order of stuff and adding a few connecting lines here and there.
Several people afterward told me that thanks to our talks they were now pumped for conference. Fantastic! I also had someone ask if I had ever done theatre. I smiled and replied in the affirmative. My favorite comment was someone telling me that they loved my talk and that I hadn't even broken any of their speaking rules. I wanted to know those rules. They seemed embarrassed that they'd let that slip. I assured them that I have rules too, so I wasn't offended. The only one they told me was when people make jokes about how they were asked to speak and that they were glad I had an actual introduction. Yeah, I told them, that was one of my rules too.
Want to know what I said?
The Words of the Prophets Bring Us
Closer to Jesus Christ
What is your
most important job? At work, which, of your many responsibilities, is at the
top of your to-do list? At home, what role takes precedence over all the
others? For those of you in school, including the Primary kids, what is the
most important thing you do during the day?
What if your
job required you to teach millions of people? What if you had to lead them as
well? What if you sometimes had to foretell the future? That’s a pretty major
responsibility. What could be more important than that?
Prophets
have many roles, including leading and prophesying, but their primary function,
their most important job, is to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. In the
scriptures we have the testimonies of many prophets, bearing their witness of
Jesus Christ and his Divinity. We can read the words of Alma and his son Alma
the Younger, of Isaiah and Ezekiel and Job, of Moses and Adam, of John the
Baptist and Paul, and of Joseph Smith.
In Mosiah
chapter 3 King Benjamin taught:
7 And lo, he
shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even
more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh
from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the
abominations of his people.
8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the
beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary…
13 And the
Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare
these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever
should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of
their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had
already come among them.
What would
it have been like to be there and hear him teach? Would we have been among
those that thrilled at his message? Would we have, at the conclusion of King
Benjamin’s address, added our voices to those that said “Yea, we believe all
the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and
truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty
change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil,
but to do good continually… And we are willing to enter into a covenant with
our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things
that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days…”
Twice every
year at General Conference we have the opportunity to hear the living prophet
fulfill this most important role. President Thomas Spencer Monson is the sustained
and ordained leader of our church and the only person on the earth authorized
to act as the mouthpiece of God. We will get to hear from him next weekend as
we convene for Conference. But we sustain fourteen other men as prophets,
seers, and revelators. The First Presidency and the twelve Apostles are all
called to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ. That means that next Saturday
and Sunday, we will have the opportunity to hear from not one, but fifteen men
whose most important job it is to testify of Christ.
Why is a
prophet’s most vital role to be a special witness of Christ? Why is it so important
that we hear it?
My husband
and I are both from California, but our three children were born and have spent
their whole lives in Utah. We were excited to move here two months ago to give
our kids a new perspective on the world. But with the busy conclusion of my
husband’s graduate program and the subsequent move, we’d noticed that we didn’t
have as much peace in our home as we wanted. After much prayer and
contemplation, we felt strongly that we needed to refocus on the Savior.
Now, we have
established the habits of weekly Family Home Evening, daily family scripture
reading, and twice daily family prayer. Those things are important and fundamental, but because we were already doing them, we needed to look deeper to find what it meant to be centered on
Christ. I have spent a lot of time reading scriptures looking for guidance.
I’ve also listened to many recent General Conference talks. I pray before I
begin that I will hear something that can help our family, then I push play on
a talk and I get to work on folding laundry or doing dishes or cleaning
whatever it is that needs my attention. I have spent hours with towels in my
hands and tears on my face because of the inspiration that those talks have
provided.
Elder Scott
spoke about having a Christ centered home during April’s Conference. He said, “Be
certain that every decision you make, whether temporal or spiritual, is
conditioned on what the Savior would have you do. When He is the center of your
home, there is peace and serenity. There is a spirit of assurance that pervades
the home, and it is felt by all who dwell there. Be obedient to the prophetic
teachings Christ would have you follow… One of the greatest blessings we can
offer to the world is the power of a Christ-centered home where the gospel is
taught, covenants are kept, and love abounds… I bear testimony that living an
obedient life, firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, provides the
greatest assurance for peace and refuge in our homes. There will still be
plenty of challenges or heartaches, but even in the midst of turmoil, we can
enjoy inner peace and profound happiness. I testify that the Atonement of Jesus
Christ is the source of that abundant peace…”
In the same
Conference, President Henry B. Eyring also taught about the blessings that come
from drawing closer to Christ. He said “My promise to you who pray and serve
the Lord cannot be that you will have every blessing you may wish for yourself
and your family. But I can promise you that the Savior will draw close to you
and bless you and your family with what is best. You will have the comfort of
His love and feel the answer of His drawing closer as you reach out your arms
in giving service to others. As you bind up the wounds of those in need and
offer the cleansing of His Atonement to those who sorrow in sin, the Lord’s
power will sustain you. His arms are outstretched with yours to succor and
bless the children of our Heavenly Father, including those in your family.”
We are working
to make Christ the center of our home. We sing songs about what Jesus would
have us do. My current favorite is “Jesus Said Love Everyone.” We remind the
children, and ourselves, how Jesus would want us to speak and act. We’re making
service and kindness paramount and talk about the choices that Christ made
during his life.
The people
of King Benjamin experienced “a mighty change” in their hearts because they
learned about Christ. Perhaps that’s one reason why a prophet’s most important
role is to testify of Christ, so that those that hear can have the chance to
feel that change of heart.
Sometimes a
whole talk is about the Savior. In April, four of the fifteen spoke about
Christ. Sometimes, that witness comes right at the end. Listen to these
testimonies, found at the conclusion of their talks, from the last conference:
From
President Packer: Of all that I have read and taught and learned, the one most
precious and sacred truth that I have to offer is my special witness of Jesus
Christ. He lives. I know He lives. I am His witness. And of Him I can testify.
He is our Savior, our Redeemer. Of this I am certain.
From Elder
Hales: My beloved priesthood brethren young and old, let us glorify God’s name
by standing strong with our Savior, Jesus Christ. I bear my special witness
that He lives and that we “are called with a holy calling” to participate in
His work.
From
President Monson, “I bear my personal witness and testimony to you that God
lives, that He hears the prayers of humble hearts. His Son, our Savior and
Redeemer, speaks to each of us: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.” May we believe
these words and take advantage of this promise.”
As you sit
down next weekend to watch and listen to the words of the Prophets, listen
carefully when they speak of Christ. If your house is anything like mine, then you'll have small people competing for your focus, but do your best to pay attention. Remember that these are special witnesses you're hearing.
Pay attention to their counsel and calls to action. Think about how you can
take what they say to focus your home and your life on Christ.
In 2 Nephi
25:26, Nephi taught, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of
Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that
our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their
sins.”
I bear my
testimony of the truth and the importance of these things and I say them in the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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