To start I will share a great insight I learned first from an article by Jeffery R. Holland, written back in the 70's. The idea was more recently reiterated during General Conference by Elder Jay E. Jensen, of the Presidency of the Seventy, in his great talk, "The Holy Ghost and Revelation."
One of the highlights of the first chapter of Nephi is the fanastic vision that his father Lehi beholds. Right from the start, we see that prophets learn through visions, revelations, and the ministering of the Spirit. Lets look at Lehi's experience.
V.5 - Lehi prays. Why does he pray? For the welfare of his people. He cares about those around him.
V.8 - He is carried away in a vision.
-He sees God!
V.9 - Sees Jesus Christ!
V.11 - Is given a book by Heavenly messengers. Is this starting to sound familiar?
V.20 - He is mocked and persecuted. People seek his life.
What we might say about all this is that prophets typically have similar experiences. I would think that to anyone familiar with scriptural writings, this pattern is not surprising. To accept prophets of the Old Testament would be to also accept the prophet Lehi. If we accept Lehi as a prophet, we must also accept...Joseph Smith as a prophet! What happened to him again? A boy wanted to know the truth. He read that he could ask God, so he prayed. He had a marvelous vision, in which he saw God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. In time, a Heavenly messenger gave him a book, written on plates of gold. Ultimately, he was martyred for this great cause of restoring the truth to the earth.
Yes, God is indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever, and will continue to follow many patterns which he has established for us to know His will (see DC 52:14, Alma 13:2, A of F 5, etc). One of them being that he will always call prophets to guide His people. What a blessing for us to know these things.
Watch Elder Jensen's talk HERE!
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