Before Elder Neil L Andersen was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, he served in
the Seventy, and found himself among a group of deacons in the southeastern United States.
“Who are your favorite ball players,” Elder Andersen asked. The boys responded to
him by telling him about every player on the Atlanta Braves. They knew the starting lineup,
the home run leader, the pitcher with the best record, even those on injured reserve.
Elder Andersen then asked the boys if they knew the names of those serving in the First
Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. No response. Elder Andersen said finally,
the name of the prophet was spoken. With some encouragement, the last name of one of the
counselors in the First Presidency surfaced. No other names were known.
As fun and interesting as it is to follow the careers of professional athletes, perhaps
some of us need to spend a little more time focusing on the players on the Lord’s team.
For that matter, we could ask ourselves, “Can I name more members of the Avengers than I
can members of the Quorum of the Twelve?” While athletes and superheroes can inspire
us, those who are called as Apostles can teach us truth, warn of dangers ahead, and lead
us to live in a way that will bring happiness today and forever.
They are seers. They can “know of things which are past, and also of things which are
to come, by them shall all things be revealed, or rather, shall secret things be made manifest
and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known
by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be made
known.” Why would it be important to be able to name
members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve? Why would it be important to
recognize them from their pictures? Isn’t listening to their messages enough? I think
a key part of that answer is, as Elder Neil L. Andersen taught, “We rarely pay close
attention to someone we do not recognize or know.”
Let’s try a quick quiz right now. I’ll put up an image of each member of the First
Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in a random order. Can you identify their first and last
names before I say them? Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
President Russell M. Nelson Elder Ulisses Soares
President M. Russell Ballard Elder David A. Bednar
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Elder Gerrit W. Gong President Henry B. Eyring
Elder Neil L. Andersen Elder Ronald A. Rasband
Elder Quentin L. Cook President Dallin H. Oaks
Elder Dale G. Renlund Elder Gary E. Stevenson
Recognizing names and faces is an important first step, but of course, that’s just the
beginning. Speaking to young adults before his call to the Twelve, Elder Andersen asked,
“Could you share with me the counsel given by the First Presidency and the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles from the most recent General Conference? Perhaps more important, could
you share with me a recent decision where you changed something in your life because
of the counsel received from one of the 15 men?”
These are powerful questions for us to ponder. I remember an experience I had a few years
back when I went to the Church Office Building and met with an individual who works with
the Church’s scripture committee. I was asking him about how he felt members could
improve in their scripture study and he said, “I think one of the many things members
could do is spend more time studying the words of the living prophets. Do you know what President
Monson said in the most recent General Conference?” I nodded. I was like “Yeah, that’s a great
point.” And then he looked at me and said, “No,
I’m serious. Do you know what President Monson said in the most recent General Conference?”
I thought for a minute, and then I shared something I remembered. The person I was talking
with said, “Well, that’s what President Monson said in the priesthood session of conference.
Do you remember what he said on Sunday morning?” And honestly, I didn’t.
I resolved that I would do a better job listening to and remembering what our Church leaders
are teaching. As we prepare for General Conference, I’ve curated a list of resources you can
use to help get to know the living prophets. You can see that in the link below. I also
hope you’ll join me on Instagram this week at John Hilton the third where I’ll be posting
additional ideas to prepare for General Conference. I know that the members of the First Presidency
and Quorum of the Twelve are prophets, seers, and revelators. Their words will point us
to Jesus Christ and help us come closer to Him.