Must admit that I was a little disappointed to hear Pres Monson say he wasn't going to be announcing any new temples this Conference. It made me think of all the changes in the last few years, and that perhaps we're being allowed a chance to take a breath, digest what's happened and is happening, so that we may be prepared for more in the future.
"Although we are currently concentrating our efforts on completing the previously announced temples and will not be announcing any new temples in the immediate future, we will continue the process of determining needs and of finding locations for temples yet to come. Announcements will then be made in future general conferences. We are a temple-building and a temple-attending people."
His closing remarks were brief but full of so much counsel: read, re read, and ponder the conference talks, be kind and loving to those not of our faith, follow Christ's example.
"May heaven’s blessings be with each of us. May our homes be filled with love and courtesy and with the Spirit of the Lord. May we constantly nourish our testimonies of the gospel, that they will be a protection for us against the buffetings of the adversary. May the Spirit we have felt during these past two days be and abide with us as we go about those things which occupy us each day, and may we ever be found doing the work of the Lord."
From the Teachings of the Living Prophets: The President of the Church presides over all priesthood quorums and the general membership of the church. President James E Faust explained:" He is the senior Apostle on the earth. He has been ordained and set apart as the prophet, seer and revelator to the world. He has been sustained and set apart as the President of the Church. He is the presiding High Priest over all the priesthood on the earth. He alone holds and exercises all the keys of the kingdom under the Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the head of this Church and is the chief cornerstone. Elder Mark E Petersen:" The living Prophet is the Lord's spokesman to the church and to the world. People who are not members of this church may not sense the great significance attached to his ministry."
ReplyDeletePresident Dieter F Uchtdorf in the March Ensign of 2012' said: " Because Heavenly Father loves His children, He has not left them to walk through this mortal life without direction and guidance. That is why He pleads so earnestly with us through His prophets. Just as we want what is best for our loved ones, Heavenly Father wants what is best for us."
ReplyDeleteProphets and Apostles who speak today carry out the Lord's will as they lead His children in this dispensation. Our fate and the fate of the world hinge on our hearing and heeding the revealed word of God to His children.". March Ensign 2012
ReplyDeleteElder David B Haight in the General Conference of Oct 1994 said: " When we sustain the President of the Church by our uplifted hand, it not only signifies that we acknowledge before God that he is the rightful possessor of all the priesthood keys. It means we covenant with God that we will abide by the direction, and counsel that comes through His Prophet. It is a solemn covenant."
ReplyDeletePresident Hinckley at Young Women's Conference in 1997:"The procedure of sustaining is much more than a ritualistic raising of the hand. It is a commitment to uphold, to support and assist those who have been selected. When we sustain, it affects our behavior. ". He then quoted DC 107:22, which states the three presiding High Priests "are appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith and prayers of the church".
ReplyDeleteSurely we are standing as witnesses of God when we sustain His living prophets especially when we know what it means to sustain. We will abide by the direction and counsel of the prophets. We indeed become witnesses when we make the solemn covenant.
ReplyDeleteOctober Conference of 2010, Elder Claudio Costa stated: " It is a great blessing to recieve the word, commandments and guidance of the Lord in these difficult days of the earth. The prophet can be inspired to see the future in benefit of mankind. We learn from the scriptures that the Lord will reveal to His prophets absolutely anything that He feels is necessary to communicate to us. He will reveal His will to us and He will instruct us through His prophets. The Lord promised us that if we believed in the holy prophets, we should have eternal life. (DC 20:26). President Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the 12 gave an inspirational talk in 1980 for a BYU devotional entitled " Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet".
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