James E. Faust
“I do not believe members of this Church can be in
full harmony with the Savior without sustaining
His living prophet on the earth, the President of
the Church. If we do not sustain the living
prophet, whoever he may be, we die spiritually.
Ironically, some have died spiritually by
exclusively following prophets who have long
been dead. Others equivocate in their support of
living prophets, trying to lift themselves up by
putting down the living prophets, however subtly.”
(Ensign, Aug. 1996, p. 5)
Joseph Smith
“Every man who has a calling to minister to
the inhabitants of the world was ordained to
that very purpose in the Grand Council of
heaven before this world was. I suppose I
was ordained to this very office in that
Grand Council.”
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 365)
David B. Haight
“With all the inspiration and love that I posses,
I testify that Gordon B. Hinckley was
foreordained to become the President of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;
to be the mouthpiece of God on the earth at
this time; and to lead God’s people as
prophet, seer and revelator.”
(Conference Report, April 1995, pp. 47-50)
The Council of the Twelve
“To all the Kings of the World; To the President of
the United States of America; To the Governors of
the several States; And to the Rulers and People of
all Nations: We now bear witness that his coming
is near at hand....Therefore we send unto you with
authority from on high, and command you all to
repent and humble yourselves as little
children...and come unto Jesus…”
(Proclamation to the World, 6 April 1845)
Ezra Taft Benson
“It seems fitting and proper to me that we should reaffirm the great truths pronounced
in this declaration and that we should proclaim them anew to the world.
To the rulers and people of all nations, we solemnly declare again that the God of
heaven has established his latter-day kingdom upon the earth in fulfillment of
prophecies. Holy angels have again communed with men on the earth. God has
again revealed himself from heaven and restored to the earth his holy priesthood...
The voice of warning is to all people by the mouths of his servants. If this voice is not
heeded, the angels of destruction will increasingly go forth, and the chastening
hand of Almighty God will be felt….Wars, devastation, and untold suffering will be
your lot except you turn unto the Lord in humble repentance. Destruction, even
more terrible and far-reaching than attended the last great war, will come with
certainty unless rulers and people alike repent and cease their evil and godless
ways... He will not permit the sins of sexual immorality, secret murderous
combinations, the killing of the unborn, and disregard for all his holy
commandments and the messages of his servants to go unheeded without grievous
punishment for such wickedness.”
(Conference Report, October 1975, pp. 46-48)
Ezra Taft Benson
“Now, in our day, the Lord has revealed the
need to reemphasize the Book of Mormon
to get the Church and all the children of
Zion out from under condemnation—the
scourge and judgment. This message must
be carried to the members of the Church
throughout the world.”
(Conference Report, April 1986, p. 100)
Gordon B. Hinckley
“President Hinckley attended a luncheon at the Harvard Club in
Manhattan where he talked with such guests as Newsweek editor-inchief Richard Smith; John Mack Carter, president of Hearst Magazine
Enterprises; Andrew Heyward, vice president and executive producer
of the CBS Evening News; Associated Press religion editor David
Briggs; and Mike Wallace, the senior reporter from CBS’s 60
Minutes….President Hinckley gained the respect of his dining
companions by using his wit and ability to relate to people, but the
prophet was nervous that he might slip and say something injurious to
the Church. He later wrote in his journal: ‘I feel a deep sense of
appreciation to the Lord, who blessed me, I know He magnified me. I
know that He put words into my mouth…I had almost dreaded coming
back here and facing these people. All of the credit belongs to the
Lord. I freely and gladly acknowledge it.’ ”
(Go Forward With Faith, p. 539)
Gordon B. Hinckley
“I know that I am not the head of this Church.
The Lord Jesus Christ is its head. He is its
living head. My mission, my chief
responsibility, my greatest honor comes in
hearing solemn testimony of His living
reality. Jesus Christ is the son of God...”
(Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, pp. 285-286)
LeGrand Richards
“Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of the
Twelve related an interesting story regarding the
Book of Mormon. He said that he once heard
Elder Charles A. Callis, also and apostle of the
Church, declare: “When Joseph Smith received the
plates he got down on his knees and said, ‘O, God,
what will the world say,’ and the voice of God
came to him, ‘Fear not, I will cause the earth to
testify of the truth of these things.’ ”
(Conference Report, October 1946, p. 125)
Joseph Smith
“…[W]e can not but think the Lord has a hand
in… proving the Book of Mormon true in
the eyes of all the people. It will be as it
ever has been, the world will prove Joseph
Smith a true prophet by circumstantial
evidence, in experiments, as they did Moses
and Elijah.”
(Times & Seasons, 3:921-922; also in Teachings of
the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 267)
Joseph Smith’s Prophecy
“Judge, you will aspire to the presidency of the United States; and if ever
you turn your hand against me or the Latter-day Saints, you will feel
the weight of the hand of the almighty upon you; and you will live to
see and know that I have testified the truth to you.” (to Stephen A.
Douglas.)
A Brief History of Stephen A. Douglas:
– 1843: elected as representative
– 1856: elected senator
– 1857: made this statement about Mormons in Utah.
• “…the knife must be applied to this pestiferous, disgusting cancer which is gnawing into
the very vitals of the body politic. It must be cut out by the roots and seared over by the
red-hot iron of stern, unflinching law…. To protect them further in their treasonable,
disgusting and bestial practices would be a disgrace to the country…”
– 1860: election results:
• Abe Lincoln: 180 electoral votes / Stephen A. Douglas: 12 electoral votes
– Stephen A. Douglas died June 3, 1861, within a year of his defeat.
(Illustrated Stories from Church History, Promised Land Publications: 1975, vol. 8, pp. 101-106)
Ezra Taft Benson
“The two groups who have the greatest difficulty
following the prophet are the proud who are
learned and the proud who are rich.
The learned may feel the prophet is only inspired
when he agrees with them; otherwise, the prophet
is just giving his opinion -- speaking as a man.
The rich may feel they have no need to take
counsel of a lowly prophet.”
(BYU Speeches of the Year, 1981, pp. 26-30)
Harold B. Lee
“We’re tested and we’re tried. Perhaps we don’t realize the
severity of the tests we’re going through. In the early days
of the Church, there were murders committed, there were
mobbings. The Saints were driven out into the desert.
They were starving, they were unclad, and they were cold.
We’re the inheritors of what they gave to us. But what are
we doing with it? Today we’re basking in the lap of
luxury, the like of which we’ve never seen before in the
history of the world. It would seem that probably this is
the most severe test of any we’ve ever had in the history of
the Church.”
(Address to Church employees, Salt Lake Tabernacle, December 13, 1973)
Neal A. Maxwell
“To be cheerful when others are in despair, to
keep the faith when others falter, to be true
even when we feel forsaken - all of these are
deeply desired outcomes during the
deliberate, divine tutorials which God gives to
us - because He loves us. These learning
experiences must not be misread as divine
indifference. Instead, such tutorials are part of
the divine unfolding.”
(Conference Report, Oct. 1982, p. 97)
Joseph Fielding Smith
“The point he is making is that the dust of the earth is
obedient....Everything in the universe obeys the
law given unto it, so far as I know, except man.
Everywhere you look you find law and order, the
elements obeying the law given to them, true to
their calling. But man rebels, and in that thing
man is less than the dust of the earth because he
rejects the counsels of the Lord...”
(Conference Report, April 1929, pp. 54-55)