There Is A Prophet In Israel

In the most recent general conference, Elder Allen D. Haynie spoke about the blessings of having a living prophet on the earth today. He taught, “Current conditions in the world have caused some to panic. As God’s covenant children, we do not need to chase after this or that to know how to navigate through these troubled times. We do not need to fear. The doctrine and principles that we must follow to survive spiritually and endure physically are found in the words of a living prophet. That is why President M. Russell Ballard declared that ‘it is no small thing … to have a prophet of God in our midst.’” Amid the confusion of our day, there are nearly limitless sources to turn to for information, for advice, for self-help materials, and for opinions on just about any topic. But as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we declare that more important that all of these sources of worldly knowledge is a living prophet sent by Jesus Christ to guide is in our day. We bear witness these words of the Savior are true: “Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world.” Joseph Smith was called of God to help us through the calamities that we would face, personally and collectively, and so were all the subsequent presidents of the Church up to President Russell M. Nelson. And what will a prophet do for us? The Savior outlined the kinds of blessings we receive because there is a prophet today that we can follow: “That every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting covenant might be established; That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers…. inasmuch as they erred it might be made known; And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed; And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent; And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:17-28). Because there is a prophet ordained of God and sent to us from Him, we can each speak in the name of the Lord, increase in faith in the Savior, make covenants with Jesus Christ, receive the fulness of His gospel, be instructed in wisdom, be reproved of sin, and be given knowledge and power from on high.

So many in the world, like the Syrian Naaman of old, seek healing and help and direction but know not where to find it. When he sought for a cure for his leprosy, a “little maid” from the land of Israel who “waited on Naaman’s wife” said to her mistress, “Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” This led Naaman to reach out for help from the King of Israel, and when the latter didn’t know what to do because of his own unbelief, “Elisha the man of God” said to him, “let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” Naaman came, but at first his expectations on what a prophet should do were not met. The messenger of Elisha came out and told him, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” Naaman responded, “Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.” But what the prophet asked of him—and what he asks of us today—was obedience to the word of the Lord. When he was ready to leave, Naaman’s servants reasoned with him, “My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” And so, realizing the wisdom of their words, Naaman “dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (2 Kings 5:2-3, 8-14). And so it is with us today. We too declare that there is a prophet in Israel, but he likely will not come make it manifest to the world in some dramatic fashion like Naaman had expected to see. Rather, he will give us instructions to go and wash—to be cleansed from our sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ, our obedience to His commandments today, and covenants made available through His priesthood power—and leave us to choose if we will humble ourselves like Naaman eventually did. If we do, then the promised blessings of the Savior for following His chosen seers will be ours: “Thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:4-6).