Was the Goomba Correct?

I worked on the books for my business most of the day, entering last month’s numbers into the computer in preparation for the 3rd Quarter Sales Tax report due next week. Part of the day was spent updating statements and then faxing them to the various payables departments so we stay on top of our receivables; being in business is more than cutting keys, getting paid is important too.

I did have a chance to catch up on some blog reading when the rains hit and pretty much washed away the rest of the afternoon; rescheduled a couple of wholesale locksmith jobs until tomorrow. There were a slew of articles making fun of the Nobel Prize winning mockery; a line from the movie, Being There, comes to mind; requiring a minor adjustment to the original wording, “All you has to be is a Liberal, Yes Sir, all you has to be is a Liberal.”

Anyway, one of my regular reads is Nickie Goomba and his friends, DC and Rhod at It Don’t Make Sense. The title of DC’s piece, was We’ve Killed All the Prophets . I left my comment, a reminder that we do in fact have a living Prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson.

This past week’s Sunday School lesson tied directly in with the thought, “We Thank Thee, Oh God, For a Prophet”.

I should put a plug in for our Gospel Doctrine instructor, Terrell Hunt for presenting the lesson in such a way as to inspire extended thought throughout the days and weeks following each lesson, Thank You. Use the link provided to read the information; but here is a taste of what was offered in a story told by President Hugh B. Brown of the First Presidency at the beginning of WWII:

“…President Brown was called as a General Authority, he spent some time in England working as a barrister, or attorney. He befriended a prominent Englishman who was a member of the House of Commons and a former justice of the supreme court of Britain. The two men often discussed various subjects, including religion.

In 1939, when it appeared that World War II would soon break out, the English gentleman called Brother Brown into his office. He asked Brother Brown to defend his religious beliefs in the same way he would discuss a legal problem. In a general conference address, President Brown recalled part of their conversation:

“I began by asking, ‘May I proceed, sir, on the assumption that you are a Christian?’

“ ‘I am.’

“ ‘I assume that you believe in the Bible—the Old and New Testaments?’

“ ‘I do!’ ”

The English gentleman said that he believed the biblical accounts of the Lord speaking to prophets. However, he maintained that such communication had stopped soon after the Resurrection of Christ. The conversation continued with another question from Brother Brown:

“Why do you think it stopped?”

“ ‘I can’t say.’

“ ‘You think that God hasn’t spoken since then?’
“ ‘Not to my knowledge.’

“ ‘May I suggest some possible reasons why he has not spoken. Perhaps it is because he cannot. He has lost the power.’

“He said, ‘Of course that would be blasphemous.’

“ ‘Well, then, if you don’t accept that, perhaps he doesn’t speak to men because he doesn’t love us anymore. He is no longer interested in the affairs of men.’

“ ‘No,’ he said, ‘God loves all men, and he is no respecter of persons.’
“ ‘Well, then, … the only other possible answer as I see it is that we don’t need him. We have made such rapid strides in education and science that we don’t need God any more.’

“And then he said, and his voice trembled as he thought of impending war, ‘Mr. Brown, there never was a time in the history of the world when the voice of God was needed as it is needed now. Perhaps you can tell me why he doesn’t speak.’

“My answer was, ‘He does speak, he has spoken; but men need faith to hear him’ ”

( I tried installing a different font to set this apart; but it messed up the whole article; oh well)

The response showed how good Christian folks yearn to have first hand instruction from the Lord; but know not where to find it. If you think about it, such a heart felt desire is not much different than the search for truth in any endeavor. The Prophet of the Lord doesn’t have to be super human; in fact, it helps knowing he’s a man with frailties, our seeing him as an imperfect man likely enables our desire to be more like Christ and binds it with someone real rather than a pipe dream.

In this age of miracles, finding a video of a Prophet of the Lord speaking isn’t all that hard; deciding which clips to share, now that might be more difficult. The first one might be my favorite, not because President Monson explains one of the secrets of the universe; but it shows the depth of his humanity.



This next segment is a little more sobering as we are reminded of the dangerous path toward self destruction America has taken and continues to take. You might have heard these warnings before; think now, was the information valuable?



Lastly is my invitation to Come and Listen to a Prophet’s Voice, a link to the talks given in General Conference . No, they haven’t killed all the Prophets.