A Lesson on Prophets, Sunday Post

I hang out with our local sister missionaries now and then. During which we chit chat, tell funny stories, strengthen friendships, laugh, have "friend therapy", and also talk about the gospel and teach it to others.

Every time a sister leaves I get so sad because I loved her so much and I don't think any other sister could be as awesome as that one. But they prove me wrong every time and I grow to love the new ones just as much.

They have also taught me so much and encouraged me to have a better relationship with my Father in Heaven and a better understanding of his gospel.

I went with them tonight to visit a family. It was a family that I know well and often interact with outside of church, so the visit was extra fun.

We taught them about prophets. It was such a great message I wanted to share it again.

The thing is that God loves us so much. He never wants to leave alone without guidance, so he sends prophets to guide us and give us his word.

A prophet is someone who has authority to speak to the people of the world on God's behalf, and give us his direction. They also prophesy of things to come, giving us warnings and the opportunity to prepare.

Many prophets not only speak to the people, they also write scripture so that their words can be carried through the generations after they are gone.

There have been prophets sent by God at all times through the history of the world.

The sad thing is that there is a cycle of acceptance and happiness, then disbelief and pridefulness among the people whenever they have a chance to hear prophets.

Every time God sends a prophet, that period of time is called a dispensation.

The prophets teach the people God's gospel and give them direction. The people accept it and follow the gospel. They find happiness in the gospel, and God blesses them.

Then they begin to be prideful. They discount the importance of their prophets. They stop being grateful for God's blessings. When the prophets call them to repentance they rebel against the word and even kill the prophets.

Then they fall in to a state of apostasy. During this time they have no living prophet to lead them. They are in spiritual darkness.

After a while God sends another prophet and the cycle begins again.

After Christ lived on the earth his apostles continued to teach the gospel to the people. But eventually the people fell into apostasy again. And the earth went a long long time without a living prophet to guide the people.

Many men carried on in believing in God and tried to live his gospel as they were able to interpret it from the scriptures. But without a living prophet to guide the people the gospel was distorted. Different people interpreted the scriptures differently and God had no emissary on the earth to define the truth of his word.

The time eventually came for a new dispensation, and God brought forth his prophet Joseph Smith Jr. to bring his gospel to the people of the earth in its fulness.

God gave Joseph Smith the responsibility of reorganizing his church the way that Jesus had organized it when he lived on the earth.

Joseph Smith was eventually killed by angry men who could not accept the gospel he tried to share with them, but God rose up another prophet in his stead.

And so now many prophets have passed away, but we still have one today.

His name is Thomas S. Monson and he speaks to us today with authority from God to guide us and give us direction in the world that we live in today.

This is not to say that the scriptures are not true. The scriptures are absolutely true. They hold the word of God.

But God knows that the world we live in today is a hard world. He knows that we are experiencing hardships and wonders that have never been seen in the world before. He knows that we need guidance unlike any that he has sent to his people before.

Just like God didn't teach Adam to build an Ark, but waited until it was starting to rain on Noah before he sent that knowlege; this is why God has sent us a prophet today. To bring us the prophesies, the guidance, the information that those before us didn't need and weren't ready for.

If we listen to him and seek to know the truth of God's gospel, our lives can be fuller, we can be happier, and we can be fortified against the hard things of this world.

I know this is true.

If you don't know this is true, pray and ask God. He loves you. He wants you to be happy. He'll tell you.

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If you want to know more about the prophet please >>>Click Here<<< or leave me a comment.