On the day the Church was organized, there was one revelation given:
Doctrine and Covenants 21. And in this revelation, there's one commandment. So, what do you think was
the one commandment given on the day the church was organized? It was to follow the prophet.
The Lord declared, “Wherefore, meaning the church, 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.”
Let's unpack these verses a little bit. We read, “give heed unto all [the prophet’s]
words and commandments which he shall give unto you …”. The 1828 dictionary defines “heed” as
“to regard with care; to take notice of; to attend to; to observe.” Does that describe how we treat
the prophet's words? Commenting on this passage of scripture, President
Harold B. Lee emphasized both the challenges and blessings that come from following the prophet.
He said, “The only safety we have as members of this church is to do exactly what the Lord said
to the Church in that day when the Church was organized. We must learn to give heed
to the words and commandments that the Lord shall give through his prophet,
‘…As if from [his] own mouth, in all patience and faith’ (Doctrine and Covenants 21:4-5). There
will be some things that take patience and faith. You may not like what comes from the authority of
the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views.
It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things,
as if from the mouth of the Lord himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that
‘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.’”
I recently read a story of one who was blessed for following the prophet.
The pioneer Ephraim Hanks was building an adobe house in the city.
The basement was almost completed, and he was just beginning to lay the sun-dried brick,
when Brigham Young drove up in his carriage and said, Ephraim how thick is that rock wall?
Ephraim answered that it was eight inches thick. Brigham said, tear it down, Ephraim, and build it
twice as thick. Then, as if to avoid argument, he turned his carriage around and drove away.
Ephraim had been hauling rock from inside Peak for many days and had paid a mason a good price
to lay it in lime mortar. He dreaded the extra work and expense of doing it all over again.
The mason, too, showed his disapproval by swearing and remarking, Brigham Young may be a saint,
but he's no kind of prophet about building stone walls. Nevertheless, Ephraim re-contracted with
the stonemason to double the wall, and the next morning, started hauling rock again.
A month later, they had laid, on this 16-inch wall, much adobe brick and mud. As they were
putting up the rafters, a terrific storm started. Rain fell in sheets, causing streamlets of water
to run in all directions. In a few minutes, the basement of the new house was flooded.
But the sturdy, thick walls stood safe and strong, supporting the house.
Now, that story gives a dramatic example of following the prophet,
but it's unlikely today that the prophet is going to drive by your house and give
you some remodeling advice. But he is giving all of his counsel about remodeling our lives.
Are we giving heed to his words? Here's one small example: in 2017, President Russell
M. Nelson invited young adults to study the 2,200 references of the name Jesus Christ,
listed in the Topical Guide. He said, “If you proceed to learn all you can about Jesus Christ,
I promise you that your love for Him, and for God's laws, will grow beyond what you
currently imagine. I promise you also that your ability to turn away from sin will increase.
Your desire to keep the commandments will soar. You will find yourself better able to walk away
from the entertainment and entanglements of those who mock the followers of Jesus Christ.”
Even though I probably don't qualify as a young adult, I took this invitation. You can click the
link in the description for more details on this invitation from President Nelson. But to be brief,
I can honestly say that my love for the Savior grew immensely in the process of completing this
invitation, just like President Nelson promised. I testify that when we follow God's prophet,
we are blessed. As the Lord himself declared, as we follow the prophet, “…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.”