Prophets still offer guiding clarion call
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Prophets and apostles, called by God, continue to lead the Church in this day, testified Elder Shirley D. Christensen of the Seventy during the Saturday afternoon session.
"The Lord loves them, and as members of the Church we honor them and look to them as servants of the living God," he said. "The clarion call of the prophets is as clear today as it ever was in the past, and the testimony of the prophets will continue to the very moment that the Lord Jesus Christ returns to reign in glory."
Elder Christensen continued: "We live in wonderful but perilous times. Throughout the earth, the fabric of nations and the collective world appears to be deteriorating. We see discord and enmity between leaders and nations, conflicts between communities, and contention within families. The solution to the ills of the world is found in understanding the doctrines and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the application of those principles in the lives of every human being. Divine doctrines and teachings have been taught with clarity by prophets, both ancient and modern, as moved upon by the Holy Ghost. As we hear those truths, they are communicated to our hearts and minds by that same Spirit."
Then Elder Christensen discussed three characteristics of prophets.
"First," he said, "prophets are called of God and He testifies to the world of their calling. . . .
"Second, the role of prophets is to teach of Christ and testify of His divinity and His mission. . . .
"The third characteristic of prophets is that their teachings are recorded and are taught by succeeding prophets and teachers to the inhabitants of the earth."
He concluded: "At their very core, the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are intended to convey to the soul of every sincere person, who will ask of God in faith, a personal testimony of our Lord and Savior and the role of the prophets from the dawn of time to this very moment. I testify that the succession of prophets has continued from Joseph Smith, the first prophet of this dispensation, to Gordon B. Hinckley, the Lord's prophet today."
