Prophets Today Testify of Christ

Yesterday I showed how each of the major Book of Mormon prophets taught about and testified of Christ.  In connection with that thought and the upcoming general conference this weekend, I took a look at what the 15 men that we sustain as prophets today said about the Savior in the last general conference.  I found that each of them testified of the Savior as a special witness of Him.  Here is a brief quotation from each of them from last October showing their witness of the Savior: 

·         President Uchtdorf: “As you exercise a little faith and begin your walk as a peaceable follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, your heart will change.  Your whole being will be filled with light.  God will help you become something greater than you ever thought possible” (It Works Wonderfully).

·         Elder Ballard: “Exaltation is the goal of this mortal journey, and no one gets there without the means of the gospel of Jesus Christ: His Atonement, the ordinances, and the guiding doctrine and principles that are found in the Church.  It is the Church wherein we learn the works of God and accept the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that saves us” (God is at the Helm).

·         Elder Cook: “The ultimate noble purpose of God’s plan of happiness is for righteous disciples and covenant families to be united in love, harmony, and peace in this life and attain celestial glory in the eternities with God the Father, our Creator; and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior” (Shipshape and Bristol Fashion: Be Temple Worthy—in Good Times and Bad Times).

·         Elder Hales: “I bear my testimony that God lives. I bear my special witness that the Savior loves you. ‘Shall we not go on in [His great] cause? Go forward and not backward.’  As you follow Him, He will strengthen and uphold you. He will bring you up to your highest home” (Meeting the Challenges of Today’s World).

·         Elder Holland: “No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. When Isaiah, speaking messianically, wanted to convey Jehovah’s love, he invoked the image of a mother’s devotion.  ‘Can a woman forget her sucking child?’ he asks.  How absurd, he implies, though not as absurd as thinking Christ will ever forget us” (Behold Thy Mother).

·         Elder Oaks: “Our Savior experienced and suffered the fulness of all mortal challenges ‘according to the flesh’ so He could know ‘according to the flesh’ how to ‘succor [which means to give relief or aid to] his people according to their infirmities.’  He therefore knows our struggles, our heartaches, our temptations, and our suffering, for He willingly experienced them all as an essential part of His Atonement.  And because of this, His Atonement empowers Him to succor us—to give us the strength to bear it all” (Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ).

·         Elder Anderson: “Strengthen your faith, and live to be deserving of the Savior’s approving words: “Great is thy faith.” As you do, I promise you that your faith, through the grace of Jesus Christ, will one day allow you to stand with those you love, clean and pure in the presence of God” (Faith is not by Chance, but by Choice). 

·         President Monson: “The Savior brought hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak. He healed the sick; He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. Throughout His ministry He reached out in charity to any in need. As we emulate His example, we will bless lives, including our own” (Be an Example and a Light).

·         Elder Rasband: “I pray that we may have charity in our hearts toward others and that we will become a living witness and indeed ‘stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers [us].’  Oh, may it be ‘wonderful, wonderful to [you and to] me’” (I Stand All Amazed).

·         Elder Stevenson: “Heavenly Father sent His Son to the earth to atone for the sins of all mankind. Of these plain and precious truths I bear my testimony” (Plain and Precious Truths).

·         Elder Renlund: “With all my heart I want to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.7 I love Him. I adore Him. I witness of His living reality. I witness that He is the Anointed One, the Messiah. I am a witness of His incomparable mercy, compassion, and love” (Through God’s Eyes).

·         President Nelson: “I bear witness of the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His redeeming, atoning, and sanctifying power. And as one of His Apostles, I thank you, my dear sisters, and bless you to rise to your full stature, to fulfill the measure of your creation, as we walk arm in arm in this sacred work. Together we will help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord” (A Plea to My Sisters).

·         President Eyring: “I bear you my special witness that we are in the service of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. I testify that He has called you and me into His service knowing our capacities and the help we will need. He will bless our efforts beyond our fondest expectations as we give our all in His service” (You Are Not Alone in the Work).

·         Elder Christofferson: “Jesus Christ is ‘the author and the finisher of [our] faith.’  Uniting ourselves to the body of Christ—the Church—is an important part of taking His name upon us.  We are told that the ancient Church ‘did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls and to hear the word of the Lord.’  So it is in the Church today.  Joined in faith, we teach and edify one another and strive to approach the full measure of discipleship, ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’” (Why the Church).

·         Elder Bednar: “With all the energy of my soul, I witness the resurrected and living Christ directs the affairs of His restored and living Church through His servants who have been chosen to bear testimony of His name” (Chosen to Bear Testimony of My Name).

Their testimonies are powerful witnesses of the reality of the Savior’s atonement, resurrection, and power in our lives today.  They show with their words that like the prophets of old they “[know] of Christ, and [they have] a hope of his glory” (Jacob 4:4).  We looks forward to their continued witness this weekend as they teach of the Savior and invite us, as always, to come unto Him.