2.344 Lead it by the Inspiration of Almighty God
Show Notes
Allen Roberds delves into Official Declaration 1, featuring President Wilford Woodruff's profound statement that God will never permit His prophet to lead the Church astray. This episode challenges the idea of 'blind faith,' encouraging listeners to actively seek personal spiritual witnesses and divine guidance regarding living prophets, specifically mentioning President Dallin H. Oaks.
Key Points
- Allen Roberds addresses the misconception that Latter-day Saints follow their prophets in 'blind faith,' asserting that personal witness is key.
- The reflection centers on President Wilford Woodruff's declaration in Official Declaration 1, emphasizing that God will remove any leader who attempts to lead the children of men astray.
- Listeners are encouraged to seek the Lord's guidance and receive a personal witness of living prophets, such as President Dallin H. Oaks.
- The episode highlights the importance of divine inspiration in the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Gratitude is expressed for the Lord's plan to have living prophets and apostles, referencing Article of Faith 9.
If you feel yourself following through blind faith, take an opportunity to pray to the Lord. Seek guidance, receive a witness of a living prophet, and the Lord will grant that to you.
Episode Resources
Full Transcript
In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends.
It's great to have you with me. Today, let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. Do we follow in blind faith or does choice come into play?
We're reading this week the Articles of Faith, the Official Declarations 1 and 2, as well as Ether chapters 8 through 11. And I absolutely want to get to the book of Ether. Let's get started.
Talking about plural marriage and wrapping it up as the laws changed in the United States, and as such, so did the practices change. And it's hard to kind of pick a verse in here because it just kind of paragraphs. It's a letter, right?
And then has some additional readings with it. So, I didn't know exactly how to pick the verse, so to speak. But what I'm going to do is pull a very, very popular excerpt from the addresses by President Wilford Woodruff regarding the Manifesto.
It's going to be the first paragraph there. I don't know how better to tell you where it is, but here goes anyway. He says, "The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this church to lead you astray.
It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so he will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty." And then just sneaking in one more sentence there, he says, "It matters not who lives or who dies or who is called to lead this church.
They have got to lead it by the inspiration of Almighty God. If they do not do it that way, they cannot do it at all." My friends, something that I hear quite regularly in the echoes of those that would speak out against the church is that we as church members follow our prophet in blind faith. I don't believe that true, at least through the lens of the world that I see.
I guess my map of the world doesn't seem to show that. And I'm not just speaking about me. I'm talking about friends and family members, neighbors, those that I know that choose to follow the prophet.
It's not done in blind faith. And perhaps it's a practice I would encourage you to take part of in your own savory salt journey. And with, especially as of this recording, with kind of the new transfer of a prophet with President Oaks becoming the prophet and president of the church here after President Nelson passed away.
I'd encourage you to seek the Lord's guidance and receive a witness of his living prophet. And I'd encourage you to do it often and regularly. For me, the journey has been going back through President Oaks' conference talks, and I gotta say, I have loved that experience.
Not only has his talks kind of been the age of me growing up, but it's also just so amazing to watch the journey of a young apostle go through the learning of being an apostle and speaking it gently. I have a testimony that President Oaks is our prophet of God today. He is called to serve us at this time.
And according to the quote here by President Woodruff, if the Lord didn't want him to be in charge at this time, he would have removed him out of place. So if you feel yourself following through blind faith, take an opportunity to pray to the Lord. Seek guidance, receive a witness of a living prophet, and the Lord will grant that to you.
I am grateful for living prophets. I'm grateful that I can lean on, in confidence, lean on the plan that the Lord has put in place to have a prophet lead us and guide us today. And I testify of living prophets and apostles as witnessed in the Article of Faith number nine, as well as is explained here by President Woodruff in Official Declaration number one.
That's all for today, my friends. Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made and together we will be savory salt. Webb
This transcript was generated using AI and may contain errors. I do my best to review and edit them when I can.