Obedience to the Prophets
Elder Claudio RM Costa
October 2010 General Conference
Prophet: “A person who has been called by and speaks for God. As a messenger of God, a prophet receives commandments, prophecies, and revelations from God”
Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets -- Amos 3:7
The Lord promised us that if we believe in the holy prophets, we should have eternal life. -- see D&C 20:26
From Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, 1980 "14 Fundamentals in Following the Prophet":
1: The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything
2: The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works
3: The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet
4: The prophet will never lead the Church astray
5: The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time
6: The prophet does not have to say ‘Thus saith the Lord’ to give us scripture. . . .
7: The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know
8: The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning. . . .
9: The prophet can receive revelation on any matter—temporal or spiritual. . . .
10: The prophet may be involved in civic matters. . . .
11: The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich. . . .
12: The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly. . . .
13: The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church. . . .
14: The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the first presidency—follow them and be blessed; reject them and suffer
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Interesting Side Effect
There are certain unpleasant things that go along with having a spinal cord injury and being quadriplegic. One of them is involuntary muscle spasms. For me, these occur on a regular basis, several times a day. They are often the result of being touched or moved. But can also occur spontaneously. For no apparent reason. Probably coinciding with internal noxious stimuli (or external for that matter).
Spasms are not pleasant. For me they feel like getting punched in the stomach by Mohammed Ali. Another manifestation is the feeling of elephants sitting on me, making it harder to breathe. I know, by now you’re probably thinking I’m even more loony than you previously thought.
I’m not posting this to complain, but rather to relate an interesting correlation.
Last week I suffered a fierce bout of what I think was food poisoning. I was very sick for a few days. I haven’t had very many acute systemic illnesses (such as the flu) in the past eight years. But the few that I have had, I have noticed an interesting side effect. My spasms go away.
In fact, that’s a way that I can gauge how sick I really am. When the spasms disappear, I know I’m pretty sick. When the spasms start coming back, I know I’m on the mend. In fact, this time around I still felt pretty sick when the spasms returned, and I told my mom, “It looks like I’m getting better.”
I don’t know if there have been any studies done on this particular phenomenon. Or, if maybe, it’s something unique to me. It would be interesting see a study done. But, at any rate, it’s a welcome side effect. Although I would much rather not be sick and suffer the spasms. It’s nice to have some relief from the daily nuisance of spasms while suffering from acute illness.
That’s my two cents.
Spasms are not pleasant. For me they feel like getting punched in the stomach by Mohammed Ali. Another manifestation is the feeling of elephants sitting on me, making it harder to breathe. I know, by now you’re probably thinking I’m even more loony than you previously thought.
I’m not posting this to complain, but rather to relate an interesting correlation.
Last week I suffered a fierce bout of what I think was food poisoning. I was very sick for a few days. I haven’t had very many acute systemic illnesses (such as the flu) in the past eight years. But the few that I have had, I have noticed an interesting side effect. My spasms go away.
In fact, that’s a way that I can gauge how sick I really am. When the spasms disappear, I know I’m pretty sick. When the spasms start coming back, I know I’m on the mend. In fact, this time around I still felt pretty sick when the spasms returned, and I told my mom, “It looks like I’m getting better.”
I don’t know if there have been any studies done on this particular phenomenon. Or, if maybe, it’s something unique to me. It would be interesting see a study done. But, at any rate, it’s a welcome side effect. Although I would much rather not be sick and suffer the spasms. It’s nice to have some relief from the daily nuisance of spasms while suffering from acute illness.
That’s my two cents.
Monday, May 16, 2011
David O. McKay Tidbits
Yesterday I watched “Inspiring Lives” on BYU TV. David O. McKay was the subject of this particular episode. There were some really interesting tidbits about him that I learned. I wish I could remember all of them but I will relate a few that I somewhat remember.
David Oman McKay served as Prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for nearly 20 years. From 1951 to 1970. He died in January and I was born in December. I like to think that perhaps we met in passing as he just graduated and I was just embarking on my mortal journey.
I wanted to share with you a few of the stories I remembered from the documentary I watched yesterday. I don’t have the greatest memory so I will do my best to be accurate.
The story goes that a newspaper photographer, I think it was the New York Times, was told to get a few photos of David O. McKay arriving at the airport. The reporter was gone for several hours in what was supposed to be a quick assignment. Upon returning to the newspaper office his superiors were quite upset that was gone so long and “wasted” so much film, materials and time. They asked him why he was gone so long and took so many pictures. His reply was that ever since he was a little boy his mother taught him about Old Testament prophets and he always wondered what a prophet would look like. And what it would be like to be in the presence of a prophet of God. He told them that day he found out.
During the filming of “The 10 Commandments” Cecil B. DeMille was working with Arnold Friberg who was helping with costume design. I guess Arnold Friberg introduced Mr. DeMille to David O. McKay. Apparently the prophet made quite an impression on the filmmaker. In a commencement address at Brigham Young University, I believe it was 1956, Cecil B. DeMille said something to the effect of “David O. McKay almost persuaded me to become a Mormon”.
When President McKay was getting older it was harder for him to walk. One day he had the task of walking up a hill, I think it was for a temple dedication. As he began walking up the hill, two gentlemen on either side of him grabbed his arms to help him up the hill. Pres. McKay turned to them and said, “I can help one of you up this hill but not both of you.”
There was a black sister in South Africa who was married to a white man. Both of them were members of the church. Because of apartheid this sister was not able to attend church with her husband. She said that before she died she was going to meet the prophet. Pres. McKay felt like he needed to visit South Africa. When this sister heard about the prophet coming she asked the missionaries if there was any way they could take her to the meeting. Once again, because of apartheid, black people were not allowed to ride in cars with white people. So they rolled her up in a rug and took her in the car and sneaked her in to the meeting where she hid behind a pillar in the back of the building. After the meeting was over everyone cleared out of the building and the mission president told Pres. McKay it was time to go. Pres. McKay said, “No, there is still someone I need to meet”. They informed Pres. McKay that everyone was gone. He said, “No, there is still someone here I need to meet.” And he walked to the back of the building where he was able to meet this dear sister. She died three days later.
Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson telephoned President McKay and asked him to come to the White House. He said , “It’s not an emergency, I just need spiritual advice.” So, Pres. McKay flew to Washington DC to visit with Pres. Johnson. The documentary specified what Pres. Johnson asked and what Pres. McKay told him but I can’t remember.
There were many more stories that I can’t remember. These are a few that I remember that touched me. I hope I didn’t butcher the stories too badly. I hope that this gives you a little bit of insight into the life of the prophet, David O. McKay.
He truly was a remarkable and inspiring man. As are all the prophets.
That’s my two cents.
David Oman McKay served as Prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for nearly 20 years. From 1951 to 1970. He died in January and I was born in December. I like to think that perhaps we met in passing as he just graduated and I was just embarking on my mortal journey.
I wanted to share with you a few of the stories I remembered from the documentary I watched yesterday. I don’t have the greatest memory so I will do my best to be accurate.
The story goes that a newspaper photographer, I think it was the New York Times, was told to get a few photos of David O. McKay arriving at the airport. The reporter was gone for several hours in what was supposed to be a quick assignment. Upon returning to the newspaper office his superiors were quite upset that was gone so long and “wasted” so much film, materials and time. They asked him why he was gone so long and took so many pictures. His reply was that ever since he was a little boy his mother taught him about Old Testament prophets and he always wondered what a prophet would look like. And what it would be like to be in the presence of a prophet of God. He told them that day he found out.
During the filming of “The 10 Commandments” Cecil B. DeMille was working with Arnold Friberg who was helping with costume design. I guess Arnold Friberg introduced Mr. DeMille to David O. McKay. Apparently the prophet made quite an impression on the filmmaker. In a commencement address at Brigham Young University, I believe it was 1956, Cecil B. DeMille said something to the effect of “David O. McKay almost persuaded me to become a Mormon”.
When President McKay was getting older it was harder for him to walk. One day he had the task of walking up a hill, I think it was for a temple dedication. As he began walking up the hill, two gentlemen on either side of him grabbed his arms to help him up the hill. Pres. McKay turned to them and said, “I can help one of you up this hill but not both of you.”
There was a black sister in South Africa who was married to a white man. Both of them were members of the church. Because of apartheid this sister was not able to attend church with her husband. She said that before she died she was going to meet the prophet. Pres. McKay felt like he needed to visit South Africa. When this sister heard about the prophet coming she asked the missionaries if there was any way they could take her to the meeting. Once again, because of apartheid, black people were not allowed to ride in cars with white people. So they rolled her up in a rug and took her in the car and sneaked her in to the meeting where she hid behind a pillar in the back of the building. After the meeting was over everyone cleared out of the building and the mission president told Pres. McKay it was time to go. Pres. McKay said, “No, there is still someone I need to meet”. They informed Pres. McKay that everyone was gone. He said, “No, there is still someone here I need to meet.” And he walked to the back of the building where he was able to meet this dear sister. She died three days later.
Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson telephoned President McKay and asked him to come to the White House. He said , “It’s not an emergency, I just need spiritual advice.” So, Pres. McKay flew to Washington DC to visit with Pres. Johnson. The documentary specified what Pres. Johnson asked and what Pres. McKay told him but I can’t remember.
There were many more stories that I can’t remember. These are a few that I remember that touched me. I hope I didn’t butcher the stories too badly. I hope that this gives you a little bit of insight into the life of the prophet, David O. McKay.
He truly was a remarkable and inspiring man. As are all the prophets.
That’s my two cents.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Easy Black Forest Cake
The whipped cream icing is much lighter and tastier than a heavy buttercream icing. I've never been a fan of butter cream icing.
Today I wanted to make a black forest cake. I had Dad mix the cake mix. Any chocolate cake mix will do. Devil's food, triple fudge, whatever you have on hand. We used a cake mix per round (9 or 10 inch) cake pan. We made a two layer cake so we used two cake mixes. After completely cooling, slice the top of the cake off to flatten. Reserve tops for cake crumbs. Place one layer on the cake platter. Mix up the whipped cream. 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Tip: put bowl and whisk in freezer for 10 minutes and use very cold cream. Beat until stiff peaks form. (Don't over beat lest you get butter). Frost bottom layer of cake with whipped cream. Open a can of cherry pie filling. Spoon cherries into center of cake on top of whipped cream. Leaving about 2 inches from the edge. Put second layer of cake on top. Finish frosting with whipped cream. Spoon more cherries in the center of top layer. Garnish with cake crumbs on the side of cake. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on sides and top. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Bye-bye bin Laden
I have purposely avoided watching any news coverage of Osama bin Laden’s death. Not only because it happened on Sunday night, and I don’t watch any TV on Sunday except BYU-TV, but also because when the news breaks there are very few facts. The anchormen tend to ramble on and on about nothing. They don’t actually tell any news. And in the early stages of breaking news, a lot of the facts are wrong.
In addition to that, I was having a wonderful Sabbath. In the morning we went to my sister’s ward to attend my nephew’s priesthood ordination. It was extra special because it was my first nephew to receive the priesthood, and now my sister will have the priesthood in her home. Also, in the afternoon we had our monthly family home evening get-together. We enjoyed a super delicious roast beef dinner, then the lesson on gifts of the Spirit, and just enjoyed being together as a family.
I didn’t want to spoil such a wonderful day by watching a bunch of news people and politicians spouting off nonsense. I mean really, what more is there to know than the United States military forces killed Osama bin Laden? That takes what, about 5 seconds? I know, people like to know details. But really, when news breaks, details are not available. Wait a few days, let them get their facts straight. Believe me, it will be broadcast ad nauseam. You won’t miss anything by not watching breaking news.
Another interesting aspect which I will relate secondhand, because as I stated I did not watch any coverage. But early Monday morning when my mom came in to help me around 3 AM, she mentioned how prideful and arrogant our President of the United States is. She told me he was saying, “I did this, I did that, It was my decision to…”. Basically saying, “Give me all the glory”. Reminds me of someone else. I’ve always thought that those two share many qualities.
I find it hard to believe that the killing of Osama bin Laden, at this time, is not just a political maneuver aimed at advancing the political career of Barack Hussein Obama. I find it hard to believe that it would take the most powerful country in the world close to 10 years to find and kill Osama bin Laden. I believe that we, as United States citizens, are only fed information that the media/politicians want us to embrace.
That’s my two cents.
In addition to that, I was having a wonderful Sabbath. In the morning we went to my sister’s ward to attend my nephew’s priesthood ordination. It was extra special because it was my first nephew to receive the priesthood, and now my sister will have the priesthood in her home. Also, in the afternoon we had our monthly family home evening get-together. We enjoyed a super delicious roast beef dinner, then the lesson on gifts of the Spirit, and just enjoyed being together as a family.
I didn’t want to spoil such a wonderful day by watching a bunch of news people and politicians spouting off nonsense. I mean really, what more is there to know than the United States military forces killed Osama bin Laden? That takes what, about 5 seconds? I know, people like to know details. But really, when news breaks, details are not available. Wait a few days, let them get their facts straight. Believe me, it will be broadcast ad nauseam. You won’t miss anything by not watching breaking news.
Another interesting aspect which I will relate secondhand, because as I stated I did not watch any coverage. But early Monday morning when my mom came in to help me around 3 AM, she mentioned how prideful and arrogant our President of the United States is. She told me he was saying, “I did this, I did that, It was my decision to…”. Basically saying, “Give me all the glory”. Reminds me of someone else. I’ve always thought that those two share many qualities.
I find it hard to believe that the killing of Osama bin Laden, at this time, is not just a political maneuver aimed at advancing the political career of Barack Hussein Obama. I find it hard to believe that it would take the most powerful country in the world close to 10 years to find and kill Osama bin Laden. I believe that we, as United States citizens, are only fed information that the media/politicians want us to embrace.
That’s my two cents.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
CES Fireside Tonight
Just a reminder that there will be a CES fireside tonight broadcast on BYU TV at five o'clock PDT. The speaker will be Rosemary M. Wixom. Set your DVR!
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