Applying the words of
the prophets in our lives
Sacrament Talk
4-9-2017
Brothers and sisters and little ones, this IS THE KINGDOM OF
GOD. This is His only church on this earth. We have a Prophet, as God’s church
has always had, to guide his people. The value in having a prophet, is God
letting us know what he wants us to know, the value to us, is in applying those
words to our lives that the prophets convey to us from our Heavenly Father.
These will be words of love, of guidance, words to strengthen us, words to give
us hope and help and to give us the truth, his words, his laws, counsels and
commandments.
Since Adam, who was the first prophet on the earth God’s
people have been blessed, many have applied the prophets words in their lives,
like the people in the cities of Enoch and Salem were blessed so much they came
back into God’s presence, God walked with them while there were still on this
earth and having lived so righteously they did not need to live on earth
anymore, but were taken from this earth to live in a better world, where their
lives and their families continued.
Words of the prophets sometimes
come as commandments, we are expected to apply their words to our lives. Apply is a
verb, an action word. We have to do something. Suzzy gives to me a gift card
each year for eBay; I can choose any of my desires and have it shipped to me.
All I have to do is to apply the code.
So how do we apply the words of
the prophets. Some commandments protect us and give us guidance, other
commandments tell us of things that Heavenly Father wants us to do to help Him
accomplish His work and to join with him in building his Kingdom. Some are under the impression of commandments being
rules of things we are not supposed to do. Most commandments are things we are supposed
to do. There are really very few Don’t Do commandments. The blessing is, once
we choose to learn the words of the prophets, and understand the words of the
prophets and change our will to God’s will then we will want to keep the
commandments, not only will we be blessed, feel the spirit more, come to know
our Heavenly Father and Jesus better, and we will be blessed with more
commandments. D&C 59:3-4 Quote “Yea,
blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my
gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth,
and it shall bring forth in its strength. And they shall also be crowned with
blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with
revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me.” Close
quote. When we do chose to follow the words of the prophets and apply them to
our lives, we will be blessed of our Heavenly Father, we will become happy we
will magnify our stewardship and prepare ourselves for eternal life with our
Heavenly Father.
Our
stewardship given to us at birth is to obey the commandments and receive light
and truth. We are the sole agent of our stewardships. Much like the Ten Virgins
which only half had oil with their lamps, the oil cannot be shared, the Ten
Virgins were their own agents for obtaining oil, no one else could provide that
oil, it was their own responsibility to build that supply of oil during their
life on this earth. We can only gain oil or truth and light by our own works, by
obedience to the commandments. Which commandments come from applying the words
of the prophets. D&C 93:28 Quote “He
that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified
in truth and knoweth all things.” Close Quote.
I do not care to dwell on
the Don’t Do Commandments, they are few and hopefully most have those behind
them and are praying and striving to obey the Do commandments. Abraham was blessed of God greatly. In
Genesis 26:5 Quote “Because that Abraham obeyed
my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Close
quote. The prophets tell us God’s Laws, Counsels, commandments, statutes and
charges. Some think there were only ten commandments. When our prophet provides
counsels, commandments and laws, we need to learn of ourselves if they are of
God or of man. If they differ from our beliefs, then we have to choose. We have
had the blessing of the Freedom of choice before we came to earth and while on
this earth and I assume after we pass from this earth. This is a gift from our
Heavenly Father, we can choose for ourselves. God will not force us to believe
His way. How do we make the determination if a counsel spoken by the prophet is
of God or not? We can pray and we can obey. John 7:17 Quote “If any man will do his will, he shall
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” Close
quote. We can perform the counsel and then determine if it is of God. God says
we will know. I have never heard of a counsel, law or commandment from a
prophet that was harmful to us. D&C 1:38 Quote “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken,
and I excuse not myself; and though the
heavens and the earth pass away,
my aword shall not pass away, but shall all be bfulfilled, whether by mine own cvoice or by the dvoice of my eservants, it is the fsame.” Close quote
All scripture was or is modern
day scripture, for Moses he was the modern day prophet and the same for
President Monson he is our modern day prophet. Some of the words of the
prophets given in our day are. Have a 2-year supply of food, keep a journal, Hold
FHE, do your Home Teaching, keep the Sabbath Day Holy, Attend the temple,
perform your genealogy, magnify your callings. From this recent conference
there was more counsel given, we need to Gather the family of God, progress in
spirituality, understand and do the will of the Father, draw closer to Christ,
Be a disciple of Christ, keep your covenants, be kind, have charity and love
for others, serve others, read the Book of Mormon, learn to follow the spirit.
And many more are mentioned.
There
are many examples of how not following the prophet’s words resulted in misery
and sin, applying the words of the prophets will bring us happiness, give us direction
and build a personal love of service in
this life and to prepare us for service after this life.
We
used our pre-mortal Freedom of choice to accept Heavenly Father’s Plan of
Happiness and understood the expectations of mortal life. We joyed in the
opportunity to have bodies and the opportunity of progression to becoming all
that God intended of us. We all made it to this life, now the work starts. For
those who chose to follow Jesus, will need to understand how to follow him. If
we learn what the prophets tell us, have told us and will tell us we will know
what we are supposed to do. Next is having a desire to do what we are supposed
to do. Life is wonderful there are so many things to do, so many choices some
bad, some good, some better and some the best things we can do. I have found no
better way to build a desire to keep the commandments and a desire to learn the
words of the prophets in my life then to read the scriptures and to obey the
prophets by applying their words in my life. From reading the scriptures I have
come to a better understanding of God’s will. I can now compare my will to His
will. I learn what I need to change. If we let someone else tell us what the
words of the prophets are, then we are living on their words and they might not
be as special to us, others words may not help us to understand and be
converted. I am not saying that we cannot learn by the spirit that is felt when
others speak the truth. I was taught by two missionaries Elders Jeff Smith and
Elder Barber, I felt the truth and my testimony started, but I was not
converted until I read the Book of Mormon and the words of the prophets and
obeyed. When we read we are not watching something, we are not listening with
our ears but we are seeing and hearing by our minds and the Spirit can witness
to our spirits. There is a growing and learning experience when we read and are
touched by the spirit to our understanding, we can learn for ourselves what the
laws, counsels and commandments are. All of our scriptures are words of the
prophets as our Savior inspired them to write and teach us.
If
we let others tell us what is in the scriptures it may not be correct. I have
heard many say that the God of the old testament is a mean and vengeful God. I
have you to know that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New
Testament and He changeth not. The God in the Old Testament is kind and loving,
cares for his people, nurtures them, guides them and provided all their needs
as they obeyed him. The God of the Old
Testament speaks in 3 Nephi 10:5 Quote “And again, how oft would
I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings” Close quote.
Sometimes
it is hard to tell someone something when it is best for him or her to learn it
themselves. When they learn to know God, that knowledge becomes theirs. John
17:3 Quote “And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent” Close quote. Matthew 7:32-33 JST Quote “and Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I say, ye never knew me; depart from
me, ye that work iniquity” Close quote. We need to know God, how do we know
someone who we do not read about, talk to or serve. One of my favorite stories
talks about judgment day people are waiting to be interviewed. A man comes into
the interview room and the question asked is by the interviewer “What do you
know about Jesus?” The man replies back, well Jesus’s mother was Mary, his
father was Joseph, he had 12 disciples, he healed people. The man was stopped
and asked again, what do you know about Jesus. The man started telling details
again and the interviewer stopped the interview and said thank you, please go
out this door. The next person came in, and immediately fell on their knees
weeping and said “My Lord, My God”. - Reading
the scriptures does not give us only dates and facts it teaches us about God so
we can know Him and know and feel his love for us.
We apply the words of the prophets in our
lives when we serve others. Serving others is one of those do commandments. We have
been asked to help the poor, clothe the naked, feed the hungry and will we feel
joy in doing so. We will know we are doing what our Heavenly father wants us to
do, the spirit will testify to us. Jesus states in Matthew 25:31-40 Quote “ When
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall
be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set
the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For
I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I
was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and
fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a
stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the
King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Close Quote.
Applying
the words of the prophets changes our lives, changes how we think, dress, talk
and act. We will take joy in modesty; delight in obeying the Sabbath and will
happily keep the other commandments. We will look different than the world
looks, we will not seek vanity. That wide and spacious building will not be
desirable to us. The fine twined linen will not mean so much to us. Our thoughts will be pure and we will be pleased
to have turned from the past poor choices we made, regret the lost resources,
the time and effort wasted from former pursuits not in alignment with God’s
will and words. We will joy in doing the work of the Lord and building His
kingdom and in helping and serving others. We will desire to be better; we may
desire to become perfect.
We
apply the words and enrich our lives as we take upon ourselves sacred
covenants. We are introduced to what is usually our first covenant when we are
baptized. We follow Nephi’s words to repent and to take upon ourselves the name
of Christ, to always remember him and to keep his commandments and we will be
blessed.
The
prophet holds the keys to guide the church, direct the work and to call and set
apart worthy men and women in callings. Magnifying our callings applies the
direction provided to us through God’s leaders. We learn to serve, we become be
less selfish, knowledge is gained and we prepare ourselves for the blessings of
eternity.
Changing
our lives to be in alignment with God may not be easy. Most of us have
mannerisms which we like, they make us who we are currently, they are our
paradigms how to live, of right and wrong, they can be part of our culture and
those mannerisms help us to fit in. The words of the prophets inspire us to be
the person we should be. One of the strongest and most detailed personal
development courses mentioned in the scriptures is Charity. Developing the pure
love of Christ is critical to our salvation. The Apostle Paul and the Prophet
Mormon detail for us what charity is. With this detail we can work 16 aspects
of our personality that will put us in line with our Savior. I will read each
of them. You decide if you need to apply the counsel.
Charity
suffereth long Charity is kind
Charity envieth not
Charity vaunteth not itself
Charity is not puffed up
Charity doth not behave itself unseemly
Charity seeketh not her own
Charity is not easily provoked
Charity thinketh no evil
Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity
Charity rejoiceth in the truth
Charity Beareth all things
Charity believeth all things
Charity hopeth all things
Charity endureth all things
Charity never faileth
The lord
will give us strength to change, we have to want to change, we have to desire
to change and to develop Charity. Having the gift of the Holy Ghost gives us
advantage; he will remind us before we act out of line. Developing charity is an
admirable project; it is what the Savior wants us to do and to become.
We cannot
become perfect without developing charity. Moroni 7:43-44 Quote “And
again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall
be meek, and lowly of heart. If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is
acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek
and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is
the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is
nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity” Close quote.
Faith
is power that we need to develop, faith is the moving cause of us wanting to improve
and the motivation of all actions, Hope
comes from our faith that God is real, that our Savior really did atone for us
and that there is life after death. Charity is a labor that only you perform,
that is why it is the greatest.
Charity is
something we need to do in this life. Alma 34:32 Quote “For
behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the
day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors” Close quote. Developing
charity is our stewardship and can only be performed while we have our bodies,
it is our time to align our thoughts and will to God’s will, to overcome our
weaknesses and to learn to work, and to serve. Heaven is not a place to lie
down and relax, it is a busy place, and it is a place of service. God the
greatest of all, is the greatest servant. He serves all of us.
The questions are, do we believe the prophet, have we found
out if his words are the words of God, do we follow him, do we apply their
words in our lives. In reality the words, the guidance, the counsel, the laws,
the commandments are Gods words, guidance, counsel, laws and commandments. The Lord expects us to apply his words in our
lives. It is how we show Him that we love him and believe in Him. Abraham was
blessed of God greatly. Because Abraham
obeyed God’s voice, and kept his charge, his commandments, his statutes, and
God’s laws. Abraham applied and made the effort as we must do and we will be
blessed as Abraham was blessed.
I have been blessed many times with
answers to prayers, I take it literally to ask and it shall be given, knock and
ye shall receive. I have many stories that can only be explained that they are
answers to prayers and there have been miracles in my and my family’s lives. I
have been protected from harm many times. We have that promise. Do we believe
God’s promises. I do. My answers and miracles show me that God does exist, that
He loves us and will do all he can to help us believe that Jesus is the savior,
that this is God’s church. We do have to have faith, for without faith no
miracle can be done.
One day the birds held a conference,
the eagle was selected as the main speaker. The eagle who is the mightiest of
all the birds, spoke of aerodynamics, flight, lift, use of down and up wind
currents and much more. After the conference the chickens discussed how
wonderful the eagle had spoken - as they walked home. - It does no good to read, have answers to
prayers, and hear the words of the prophets and apostles if we do not apply
those words to our benefit.
How do we apply the “Words of the
Prophets” in our lives? We have to choose to, it is our Freedom of Choice, we
have to labor to apply, it is work but it is a wonderful journey with blessings
and strength given, prayers answered, and miracles performed. Evidence
will be created that you applied the words of the prophets in your life. The
evidence will be kindness, obedience, charitable to others, helping others, calling
magnified and an increased knowledge of the Gospel and so much more. Others
will be blessed and lifted, the dead will have their work completed, your home
teaching will be done, you will be a better person, you will fill your lamps
with oil and be prepared for the coming of the savior and you will be a light
to the world that others will seek
We will keep the commandments
because we want to keep them. In the
primary song “Keep the Commandments” our children learn to keep the
commandments for the words say “in this there is safety and peace”. We
will be blessed in this life we will have answers to prayers, we will have
miracles in our lives we will know that God is real and loves us. We will be
blessed with the riches of eternal life, God has promised.
I would like to read my two favorite scriptures, they
inspire me, the tell me why I want to apply the words of the prophets in my
life, and the desire to make God’s will, my will. Rev 3:19 Quote “To him that overcometh will I grant to
sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am sit down with the
Father in his throne” Close Quote and D&C 93:1 Quote“
Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall
come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and
calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall
see my face and know that I am; Close quote.
In the days after this talk, the words
will fade from your minds and eventually will be entirely forgotten. The
principles spoken of will remain with you. I hope they inspire you to seek out
what the prophets have spoken; I hope you will apply the words, which these
spokesmen of God have given us. It is my prayer that all of us will serve and
work together with Heavenly Father and our Savior for the remainder of
eternity.
Bear my Testimony
of the Gospel
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