A Prayer of Faith

Members of our stake have been invited to read the Conference Ensign by the end of the year. What a wonderful challenge! Of course, General Conference is wonderful the first time around, but I always find that while reading, I see and learn things that slipped by me. Reading the talks also allows me to engage in one of my favorite Conference activities: identifying repeated themes.

Consider what Elder Eyring once said:

The Savior has always been the protector of those who would accept His protection. He has said more than once, “How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not” (3 Ne. 10:5)….

There seems to be no end to the Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is constancy in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that it will reach those willing to accept it. And those means always include sending the message by the mouths of His prophets whenever people have qualified to have the prophets of God among them. Those authorized servants are always charged with warning the people, telling them the way to safety.

…One of the keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated…. The Apostle Paul wrote that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Cor. 13:1). One of the ways we may know that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention and fill our hearts with gratitude to live in such a blessed time (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel,” Ensign, May 1997, 24, emphasis added).

My husband and I have been humbled by one of the themes we have discovered from this last Conference: the absolute necessity of clinging to the word of God as found in scripture and the words of living prophets.

Elder Hales’ entire talk was focused on the importance of the scriptures in our lives. He said:

The holy scriptures are the word of God given to us for our salvation. The scriptures are essential in receiving a testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. The scriptures given to us by God in these latter days are the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. These sacred records bear testimony of the Savior and lead us to Him. That is why great prophets like Enos cried unto the Lord in faith to preserve the scriptures (emphasis added).

Elder Hales reminds us of stories of civilizations in the Book of Mormon that fell into darkness, apostasy, and destruction because they did not have a firm hold on God’s word. He then reminds us of the significant, sobering message for us:

The fate of these civilizations, as recorded in scripture, is a testimony to all the world: if we don’t have the word of God or don’t cling to and heed the word of God, we will [not ‘might’ or ‘could’] wander off in strange paths and be lost as individuals, as families, and as nations.

As with voices from the dust, the prophets of the Lord cry out to us on earth today: take hold of the scriptures! Cling to them, walk by them, live by them, rejoice in them, feast on them. Don’t nibble. They are “the power of God unto salvation” that lead us back to our Savior Jesus Christ….[The scriptures] are our spiritual lifeline (emphasis added).

Clearly, Elder Hales is alluding to Lehi’s vision of the tree of life when he urges us to “cling to” and “take hold” of the word of God, warning us that if we don’t, we will find ourselves wandering and ultimately lost.

And now consider what Elder Holland said:

[T]here is again a living prophet on the earth speaking in the name of the Lord. And how we need such guidance! Our times are turbulent and difficult. We see wars inter-nationally [sic] and distress domestically. Neighbors all around us face personal heartaches and family sorrows. Legions know fear and troubles of a hundred kinds. This reminds us that when those mists of darkness enveloped the travelers in Lehi’s vision of the tree of life, it enveloped all of the participants—the righteous as well as the unrighteous, the young along with the elderly, the new convert and seasoned member alike. In that allegory all face opposition and travail, and only the rod of iron—the declared word of God—can bring them safely through. We all need that rod. We all need that word. No one is safe without it, for in its absence any can “[fall] away into forbidden paths and [be] lost,” as the record says. How grateful we are to have heard God’s voice and felt the strength of that iron rod in this conference these past two days (emphasis his).

Elder Holland gave a powerful second witness that every one of us needs the iron rod for our safety and spiritual survival.

Another witness was added by Elder Uchdorf. He discussed the power of personal testimony. After reminding us that we gain a testimony through faithful study of and obedience to God’s word, he said, “Our personal testimony is a protective shield, and like an iron rod it is guiding us safely through darkness and confusion.”

We live in a day of endless information, always at our fingertips. Worldly philosophies and interpretations and influences swirl around us like the thick, potentially blinding mists in Lehi’s dream. What a blessing to know that we can be safe if we hold firmly, faithfully to the rod of iron. But what a sobering responsibility to remember to do that! What peril awaits if we don’t! None of us can make it through the mists on our own. And none of us is immune from the effects of those mists.

That concept of not trying to make it through life on our own brings me to Elder Scott’s talk. Although he didn’t talk directly of the iron rod, he did testify boldly of the safety and protection we can find in the Savior, who is the living Word of God, of whom the scriptures and modern prophets testify. Elder Scott said:

Our Father in Heaven wants each of us to enjoy peace and happiness in mortal life. Our Master, Jesus Christ, and His prophets have taught how to have that peace and happiness, even in a world that is ever more challenging, with increasing conflict and an intense concentration of alluring temptations….

True, enduring happiness, with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome the greatest difficulties, will come as you center your life in Jesus Christ. Obedience to His teachings provides a secure ascent in the journey of life. That takes effort. While there is no guarantee of overnight results, there is the assurance that, in the Lord’s time, solutions will come, peace will prevail, and happiness will be yours.

The whole purpose of the scriptures and the words of our living prophets is to bring us to Christ, to teach us of Him, to testify of Him, and to bring the Spirit into our lives so that the power of the Atonement can be unleashed in our lives. We cannot make it alone.

Elder Scott’s warning of increasing dangers is one of many witnesses about the times in which we live. In April, Henry B. Eyring said, “Anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets knows that the peril is great. The peril comes from the forces of wickedness. Those forces are increasing. And so it will become harder, not easier, to keep the covenants we must make to live the gospel of Jesus Christ” (emphasis added).

Indeed, as Elder Holland said, “We all need that [iron] rod.” May we cling to it, for in these perilous times, our very spiritual lives depend on it!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 7th, 2006 at 12:09 pm and is filed under True and Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.