Sustaining the Prophet - A Personal Commitment

I love general conference! For me, it is a time of rejuvenation, reflection and recommitment. The privilege we will have to sustain three new apostles brings an added excitement to this conference. But sustaining the prophet, the apostles and other general authorities is a privilege we have every general conferenece. I wonder if we truly understand what it means to sustain our leaders. For me, it has been an outward expression of my testimony that they have been called of God and that I am willing to follow their counsel. In his October 2014 General Conference talk, Russell M. Nelson put it even stronger when he said, "Our sustaining of prophets is a personal commitment that we will do our utmost to uphold their prophetic priorities. Our sustaining is an oath-like indication that we recognize their calling as a prophet to be legitimate and binding upon us." As we raise our hand, do we realize that we are commiting to do what they say? Do we understand that we are acknowledging that what they say is true and we are bound by it? Whether we live it - or like it - or not. There may be times when what is said might be hard to hear and maybe even harder to live. But that is where our faith comes in!

In his well-known talk "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet," Ezra Taft Benson said, "How we respond to the words of a living prophet when he tells us what we need to know, but would rather not hear, is a test of our faithfulness."

In that same talk, he also taught, "As a prophet reveals the truth it divides the people. The honest in heart heed his words but the unrighteous either ignore the prophet or fight him. When the prophet points out the sins of the world, the worldly either want to close the mouth of the prophet, or else act as if the prophet didn’t exist, rather than repent of their sins. Popularity is never a test of truth. Many a prophet has been killed or cast out. As we come closer to the Lord’s second coming you can expect that as the people of the world become more wicked, the prophet will be less popular with them."

For that reason, we will continue to see more displays of opposition. A sad reality is that, including and maybe especially at conference time, negativity gets attention. While it is true that there are some who find it necessary to "enlighten" the world as to the things they think should be changed in the Church, the fact remains that the Lord speaks through His prophet. If changes were to be necessary, they would come from the mouthpiece of the Lord! I am extremely proud to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose leaders unequivocally and vocally stand up for what is right - not because they say it is right, but because God says it is right!

From his October 1999 General Conference talk, M. Russell Ballard reminds us: "In the Lord’s Church there is no such thing as a 'loyal opposition.' One is either for the kingdom of God and stands in defense of God’s prophets and apostles, or one stands opposed."

To have a living prophet is an incredible blessing! He tells us what our Heavenly Father wants us to know. Then it is up to each of us to put our faith to work as we learn to live what we are taught, knowing that, as Elder Nelson tells us, the prophet's "counsel will be untainted, unvarnished, unmotivated by any personal aspiration, and utterly true!"

President Harold B. Lee taught:

“His prophet is upon the earth today, and if you want to know the last revelation that has come to this people, you get down the last conference report and read carefully especially what the First Presidency said. … You will have the best and the last word that has been given from our Heavenly Father.

The only safety we have as members of this church is to … give heed to the words and commandments that the Lord shall give through His prophet. There will be some things that take patience and faith. You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord Himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that ‘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).”

What an incredible promise! As always, the Lord's blessings for our obedience far outweigh the sacrifices! Some of those blessings come to us through general conference. Blessings come as we listen to our prophet's counsel and the counsel of our other Church leaders. Blessings come as we live the counsel we receive. And blessings come as we truly sustain our prophet. I love George Albert Smith's description. He said:

“The obligation that we make when we raise our hands … is a most sacred one. It does not mean that we will go quietly on our way and be willing that the prophet of the Lord shall direct this work, but it means … that we will stand behind him; we will pray for him; we will defend his good name, and we will strive to carry out his instructions as the Lord shall direct.”

This general conference, as we sustain our prophet, I hope these words will help us remember there is an obligation that goes along with our raised hand.