43w The Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation, (or the Revealing of the Mind and Will of God) is Always a Functioning Spiritual Gift in Jesus' Church.

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TODAY'S THEME



The Apostle John (The Revelator) at a Young Age

Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

In all ages of the World's history whenever the Priesthood of God has been present on the earth, including during our time on earth, the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation (or testimony of Jesus) about which the Apostle John (the Revelator) wrote as recorded above was and still is an essential part of the Lord's work.

In ancient Central America in about the year 73 B.C. the Prophet Alma (the Younger) revealed something by that Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation to his son Helaman.

The Prophet Alma the Younger, father of Helaman -by Al Young

The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ: Alma 45: 2 And it came to pass in the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma came unto his son Helaman and said unto him: Believest thou the words which I spake unto thee concerning those records which have been kept?

3. And Helaman said unto him: Yea, I believe.

4 And Alma said again: Believest thou in Jesus Christ, who shall come?

5 And he said: Yea, I believe all the words which thou hast spoken.

6 And Alma said unto him again: Will ye keep my commandments?

7 And he said: Yea, I will keep thy commandments with all my heart.

8 Then Alma said unto him: Blessed art thou; and the Lord shall prosper thee in this land.

9 But behold, I have somewhat to prophesy unto thee; but what I prophesy unto thee ye shall not make known; yea, what I prophesy unto thee shall not be made known, even until the prophecy is fulfilled; therefore write the words which I shall say.

10 And these are the words: Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief.

11 Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilences, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct—

12 Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief and fall into the works of darkness, and lasciviousness, and all manner of iniquities; yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so great light and knowledge, yea, I say unto you, that from that day, even the fourth generation shall not all pass away before this great iniquity shall come. (emphasis added)

In the year A.D. 34 The Resurrected Jesus Christ, the co-facilitator of all prophecy and revelation foretold the same truth regarding the eventual falling away of His Nephite Flock.

The Resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ Teaching the Nephites in Ancient Central America in A.D. 34 -by John Scott

III Nephi 27:32 But behold, it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the son of perdition (Judas Iscariot); for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal. And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their works upon their own heads. (clarification added)

The Prophet Mormon Abridging the Golden Plates -by Tom Lovell

In about the year A.D. 245 the Prophet Mormon inscribed this next scripture on his plates of gold from which eventually, in 1830 became a part of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. 


That Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation serves to guide prophets (and all worthy members of God's one and only true church) in all ages to function in His all important and Eternal work in the way He, the Lord Jesus Christ desires!  However whenever His people fall away from righteousness to the extent that the Nephites eventually did something similar to what happened to the Nephites as described below could also happen to them.

4 Nephi 43: And also the people who were called the people of Nephi began to be proud in their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, and become vain like unto their brethren, the Lamanites.

44 And from this time the disciples (the three Nephite Apostles) began to sorrow for the sins of the world.

45 And it came to pass that when three hundred years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another. (clarification added)

All of the above is clear evidence that the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation is very accurate in foretelling the future.

It certainly can be said: that where there is no functioning Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation in a church, it is not being led by the Lord Jesus Christ.

I now provide you with the opportunity of hearing from the present Latter-day Prophet of the Lord's one and only true church upon the earth in our day, President Thomas S. Monson, as he tells us by the means of one of his addresses during the most recent General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of an experience of his where that Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation, under very unlikely circumstances, brought about a needed speaker at a meeting at an L.D.S. temple in Frankfurt, Germany which was soon to be dedicated.

You will hear President Monson tell about how through his fully trusting in the power of the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation, which he refers to simply as Inspiration, the right man was at the right place exactly at the very right time to deliver a very important message to a large group of Latter-day Saints.

Again, the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation plays a key role in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ's Church in whatever time of the world's history and in whatever situation it was or is required. It will also guide worthy members of His true Church upon whom the Gift of the Holy Ghost has been bestowed by His approved Priesthood bearers, through life's frequent and often very difficult challenges.


President Thomas S. Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 When the page comes onto your screen after you have clicked on the link below, I suggest you click on the word: Watch which you will find on the right side of the page that will come onto your screen. That will allow you to enjoy watching the expressions on President Monson's face while also listening to his words.
 
Stand in Holy Places 

Editorial Comment by this Blogger, J. Neil Birch: We live in a day of amazing progress in means of communication! Everybody is texting and cell phoning and communicating over great distances in our present day world by using electronic devices of all kinds making our communications much more effective than ever before!

Let me however indicate that mankind in our great advancements in means and effectiveness of our communications is still "light years" behind the means of communications the Lord Jesus Christ and His servants here on earth have been using for many thousands of years (actually all the way back to Adam and Eve!)

Please recognize that which I have indicated in this post as having happened by the power of the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation which emanates from the Godhead, God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, is a mere "drop in the bucket" of prophetic communications between God and His servants here on earth about matters of great importance which have taken place since Adam's time on earth!

No electronic devices were needed in each of the examples I gave in the main body of this post: Alma's telling his son, Helaman of the eventual fall of the Nephite Nation, The Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ telling also of that coming fall from righteousness at a time when His Nephite Flock were very righteous and were being taught by Him in person!

Perhap's President Thomas S. Monson's example of communication by the Spirit of God is even more pertinent than the previous examples I've given in this post as we compare the Lord's means of communications with His servants here on earth with the modern electronic tools we are now using.

No cell phone or any other electronic device were needed to influence Brother Peter Mourik (who is from the Netherlands), at the very last minute to be rapidly driven to the Frankfurt Temple to deliver the message President Monson knew the Lord wanted him to deliver!

Simply summarized: Through the Gift of the Holy Ghost:

President Monson knew that the Lord wanted Brother Mourik to deliver that talk in the temple! He not only knew that, he also by the Spirit knew that Brother Mourik would deliver that talk even though he knew on good authority that he was busy elsewhere and wasn't planning to be at the temple until a day or two later when the temple was to be dedicated!

President Monson knew that so surely, by the Spirit of God, that he would be there to give a talk, actually announced (without any physical evidence that he was there): "Brother Mourik will now address us!"

Then also in our summary we must focus on what was happening to Brother Mourik who had been busily engaged in other matters:

The Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation through the Gift of the Holy Ghost which had been bestowed upon him after his baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, clearly let him know he had to be in the Frankfurt temple immediately if not sooner!

As President Monson indicated there was a fast driver who made himself and his car available! And there came Brother Mourik walking from the back of the room up to the podium to do just what the Lord wanted him to do. President Monson with his complete trust in the Lord announced something he had no earthly evidence would happen! And it happened just as you heard President Monson tell us in his General Conference address!

Thousands upon thousands of LDS missionaries throughout this world of ours can also testify that they were led by the spirit to teach the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ to people they never knew before who had been prepared by the spirit to be taught by them and then brought into the Saving Net of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

There is not time to begin to mention the many kinds of events and circumstances that occur in our lives where the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God is needed so urgently!

This summary of what is accomplished through the power of the Gift of the Holy Ghost shows that gift can effect everything that is important to members of His church:

The way we treat our children and our eternal companions, our wife or husband and how we perform our church assignments, how we can avoid disastrous circumstances.

Maybe those modern electronic devices can help in all of those important things but they are in no way as effective as the Spirit of the Lord that has been bestowed upon each member of His Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Enough Said!

Neil Birch
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