Watchman,
what of the
night?
Khinckley1@yahoo.com
Powerful BYU Letter to the Editor
Energy is a resource that many people take for
granted. What people don't realize is that every time
you turn on a light switch, you impact much more than
you think. Energy use impacts our environment, foreign
policy, domestic security and economy.
The United States contains only four percent of the
world's population and is responsible for more than
twenty percent of the world's emission. Action must be
taken now. Brigham Young University is an ideal place
to start…
Through investments in energy efficiency and clean energy resources, we can
all "set an example for our community and help to ensure a more suitable
future for our children and our grandchildren."
I agree and am willing to pay a dollar to see that happen…
Captain Moroni Fortifications
Ditches
Mounds
Picketts
Towers
Men in the Towers!
The Watchman
O, watchman, what of the night?
Dawns not yet the morning light?
World, hear the watchman's cry;
The perfect day draweth nigh.
(Improvement Era, 1901)
D&C 1:38
38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have
spoken, and I excuse not myself;
and though the heavens and the earth pass
away, my word shall not pass away, but shall
all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or
by the voice of my servants, it is the same.
Question:
Which “watchman” is more
popular:
Living ones or dead ones?
President Ezra Taft Benson
"God's revelations to Adam did not instruct
Noah how to build the ark. Noah needed his
own revelation. Therefore, the most
important prophet, so
far as you and I are
concerned, is the one
living in our day and
age to whom the Lord is
currently revealing His
will for us." (The Teachings of
Ezra Taft Benson, 335)
Why Living prophets?
Satan’s Tactics
in the last days
Wicked
…stirred up to anger… [for] at that day
shall [Satan] rage in the hearts of the
Children of men and stir them up to
anger against that which is good
(2 Nephi 28: 19,20)
Righteous
And others will he pacify, and lull them
away into carnal security, that they will
say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion
prospereth, all is well—and thus the
devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth
them away carefully down to hell. (2
Nephi 28:21)
President Kimball
We testify to the world that revelation continues and that the vaults and
files of the Church contain those revelations which come month to
month and day to day. We testify also that there is, since 1830 when
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and
will continue to be, so long as time shall last, a prophet, recognized of
God and his people, who will continue to interpret the mind and will of
the Lord.
Expecting the spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant
flow of revealed communication. I say, in the deepest of humility, but
also by the power and force of a burning testimony in my soul, that
from the prophet of the Restoration to the prophet of our own
year, the communication line is unbroken, the authority is
continuous, a light, brilliant and penetrating, continues to shine.
The sound of the voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a
thunderous appeal. For nearly a century and a half there has been
no interruption. (Ensign, May 1977, p. 78, emphasis added.)
President Hinckley
with Mike Wallace
Question: . The Mormons, Mr. President,
call you a “living Moses,” a prophet who
literally communicates with Jesus. How do
you do that?
Answer: I do it in prayer. Let me say first that there is a tremendous history behind
this church, a history of prophecy, a history of revelation, and a backlog of
decisions which set the pattern of the Church so that there aren't constant
recurring problems that require any special dispensation.
But there are occasionally things that arise where the will of the Lord is sought, and
in those circumstances I think the best way I could describe the process is to
liken it to the experience of Elijah as set forth in First Kings. Elijah spoke to the
Lord and there was a wind. And there was a tempest, or an earthquake, and
the Lord was not in the earthquake. And there was a fire, and the Lord was not
in the fire. And after the fire a still, small voice, which I describe as the
whisperings of the Spirit. Now let me just say, categorically, that the things of
God are understood by the Spirit of God, and one must have and seek and
cultivate that Spirit, and there comes understanding that is real. I can give
testimony of that. (Dew, Sheri L. Go Forward with Faith, The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley.
Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, 1996, pp. 585-86).
From the life of Pres.
Kimball
The Reverend Norman Vincent Peale took the opportunity to
meet the first Presidency. He was struggling with a personal
challenge and asked President Kimball to bless him.
"You mean you want me to give you a blessing such as I give our people?" Spencer queried.
"Yes."
Willingly President Kimball and his counselors put their hands on Dr. Peale's head and, as Dr. Peale
related:
President Kimball in his quiet, sincere, loving manner prayed for me by name
and asked the Lord to be near to me and love me and to take care of me
and to guide me, and as he talked I began to be very broken up and
touched, and then all of a sudden I had a wondrous feeling of the
presence and I said to him, "Sir, He is here; I feel His presence."
We said goodbye; I walked out into that crisp, sun-kissed morning and ... as I
walked along, I suddenly felt the burden lift, and I saw the answer to the
difficulty and I felt the victory.
Current Revelation from
Pres. Hinckley?
…I offer a challenge to members of
the Church throughout the world
and to our friends everywhere to
read or reread the Book of Mormon…
Without reservation I promise you that if each of you
will observe this simple program, regardless of how
many times you previously may have read the Book
of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into
your homes
1) an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord,
2) a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to
His commandments,
3) and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the
Son of God.