Prophets, Seers, and Revelators

Let me introduce this post wtih some context. When people outside of our faith hear the word “prophet,” they often have an image in their mind of a biblical guy with a long beard standing on a street corner, dressed in a robe and perhaps holding a sign, stating, “God is angry. Repent! The end of the world is near.” Some may think of Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea in Cecil B. DeMille’s, “The Ten Commandments.” Others might think of someone like the Pope or a Cardinal with peculiar dress and raiment.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a “prophet” and certainly “The Prophet” is understood differently. There are 15 seasoned men who come from all walks of life — doctors, educators, pilots, government leaders, businessmen, lawyers, etc. — called to lead the Lord’s Church. They are cleanly shaven, wear regular business suits and don’t stand out on street corners ranting about the end of the world. Instead, they direct the Lord’s Church, testify of Christ and explain of God’s purpose and love for us. They teach truths that bring happiness and warn of behaviors that bring despair. These 15 men are ordained apostles and go by the title “elder,” but they are also referred to as prophets, seers, and revelators. Each holds the necessary “keys” to direct the Lord’s work collectively. 

The senior apostle is called “The Prophet” and “President of the Church.” He is the only apostle authorized to exercise all keys in directing Christ’s Church. With two apostles as the Prophet’s counselors and the 12 other apostles in a quorum, these men have been given authority, traced directly back to Christ, to witness of Him (a prophet), to “see” and understand the past and what is ahead (a seer), and to reveal things that God wants us as his children to understand (a revelator). These are normal men but also special witnesses. We don’t worship them by any means, but we hold their office in great respect and love them for their integrity, unrelenting service and dedication to the Savior.

With that background, you can understand why we were thrilled to recently have two apostles, Elder David Bednar and Elder Patrick Kearon, come to Liberia for two purposes:

1. To meet with us and our missionaries
2. To meet the new president of Liberia

I had met Elder Bednar a few times previously, including just after we moved to Maine and when serving as stake president, but this was the first time I’d met Elder Kearon in person. Last year, we met with Elder Christofferson and Elder Gong in separate meetings, but this event was unique, as rarely do two apostles travel together. Their wives also joined them along with Elder Godoy (of the Presidency of the Seventy) and his wife, and the Africa West Area Presidency.  That was six general authorities all at once coming to Liberia!

President Boakai is an older gentleman, age 79, who was the vice president for 12 years under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.  He ran for president in 2017 but lost to George Weah (the world-famous soccer player). In the election last fall, Joseph Boakai beat President Weah in a tightly contested run-off election. Pres. Boakai is a good Baptist man who seems to want to do right for the country, and he looks favorably on the Church here.  One of our church members is a close friend (“nephew”) with the president and invited him to General Conference a few years back, but Joseph Boakai had to cancel at the last moment. President Boakai often tells him, “I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!”

Elder Bednar, Elder Kearon and the entourage, including security and press, flew in on Wednesday, February 21^st and stayed at the Farmington hotel by the airport. The next morning, they were to meet with President Boakai, then come to the mission home for lunch, followed by a three hour mission conference with our missionaries in a nearby church building. At 9 PM on Wednesday night, we learned that the president had moved their meeting to 3:30 in the afternoon, and consequently, we needed to hold our mission conference in the morning. We had already flown in our missionaries from the Southeast for the conference, but many missionaries still had a two to five hour drive to get to Monrovia. We called an emergency Zoom meeting at 9:30 that night and explained to the missionaries the situation. We weren’t sure they could make it in time the next morning as taxis don’t start that early in the day. All of them assured us they would be there in their seats by 9:30 AM so we could start at 10.

On Thursday morning, the convoy of guests arrived at the mission home about quarter to nine with a police escort. When the seven vehicles with flashing lights and guards with machine guns pulled into our compound, our street cred with our neighbors went up substantially. 😉

The whole group, minus some security, came into the mission home, and we visited for half an hour before heading to the church for the conference. Nancy and I had to lock up the home, so we were the last to arrive, but they waited for us as it is protocol for the mission president to lead the guests into the meeting. As we entered the chapel, all 160 missionaries stood out of respect for these two apostles of the Lord.

I conducted the meeting and introduced our guests. After the opening hymn and prayer, I simply stated, “The remainder of the meeting will be under Elder Bednar’s direction,” and turned it over to him.  He is an amazing, gifted teacher. He removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and smiling, he told the missionaries, “I’m not here to talk at you or give you a talk. We are here to talk with you and to learn and be edified together.” He asked the senior missionaries to stand, and for five minutes he praised them and told the young missionaries they should plan now to serve a mission with their spouse when they are older. He said doing so will bless their children and their grandchildren, and give them a legacy that will keep their posterity faithful in the gospel. 

Elder Bednar then addressed the audience and said, “Let’s go to work. Are you ready? You are agents to act and not to be acted upon. I will not call on you unless your hand is up, and I will not ask you a question where there is only one right answer or where we play the game, ‘Guess what Elder Bednar is thinking.’” For the next three hours, he taught and answered numerous questions. He called upon Elder Kearon, the area presidency and Nancy and me to share our thoughts as well. He was so good with these young missionaries. He often would answer their question and say, “That was a fabulous question. Now, may I ask you a question?” 

The time flew by. It’s hard to capture a meeting like this in notes because it isn’t what is said that is most important. However, I’ll share three poignant highlights.

First, one young California missionary with a very deep resonant voice was sitting far in the back and asked Elder Bednar a question. After hearing his bass voice, Elder Bednar said, “Are you a good singer?”  Our young missionary looked puzzled and stuttered, “I don’t think so.” Elder Bednar said, “I thought you would be.” The confused missionary repeated back, “Am I a good sinner?” We all rolled with laughter when we realized what he thought Elder Bednar had asked. Elder Bednar then asked him to sing something for us. He was a good sport and gave it his best.

Second, one young missionary from the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) asked a brave question. “In our world, we are subject to so many pornographic images, whether by our own mistakes or by exposure. How do we get these images out of our mind if we have seen them?” Elder Bednar picked up a hand sanitizer bottle and asked us to imagine this was full of filthy, dirty sand, and imagine there is a very small hole at each end of the bottle. “If you put one clean, white grain of sand in the bottle, it will push one dirty grain of sand out.” He then asked, “Is the bottle different? Yes. Can you tell it is different? Not really. But if you continue to put one clean, white grain of sand in consistently, you will fill the bottle with clean and good sand. Your mind is like this.” I thought it was a brilliant analogy.

Third, at the end of the meeting, Elder Bednar reminded us that we had been taught by the Lord’s spirit that day. He asked each of us to consider what we had learned and felt, and to write it down in no more than five words. He told us this was personal revelation, and if we will act on our words, they will change our life. It was powerful to hear what five words others had written down and why – they were all so unique! 

I was so proud of our missionaries. They looked dignified and appropriate. They sang beautifully. They asked such profound questions and answered in a thoughtful and gracious manner. I was in awe of their goodness. My only regret was that they didn’t get to shake the hands of the brethren due to the timing and size of the group.

I continue to be amazed at the daily events we have in this assignment and how the spirit of the Lord builds our faith with such confidence. I had not expected it to this magnitude. I’ve often reflected on the quote by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, “Oh, you should never, never, doubt what nobody is sure about.” The corollary could be, “Oh, you should always, always believe when something becomes certain.” To me, this gospel plan has become so incredibly clear, and I am grateful and humbled.

After the meeting, the guests came back to the mission home for lunch and visiting. We sat with the Bednars, the Godoys and the Kearons. It was neat to see a seasoned apostle that has been in for 20 years and a recently called apostle that his been in for only 9 weeks. We could feel of their goodness and warmth. After lunch, some photos and other exchanges, we helped the crew head off to meet President Boakai. I drove some of the people to the presidential executive mansion. Earlier that morning, I realized as I looked at the guest list that although there were Africans, there were no Liberians among the group, so I quickly invited Prince Nyanforh, Virginia stake president, to join the guests in meeting with Pres. Boakai. They had a wonderful 45-minute visit, and Elder Bednar and Elder Kearon gave Pres. Boakai a copy of the Book of Mormon and a statue of the Christus. The day was both exhilarating and exhausting. (Thanks, Church News photographers for sharing many of these pictures.)

The next morning, Nancy and I arose early and flew to Ghana. We met with the Jarvises, who are the mission leaders from Sierra Leone. We enjoyed lunch together and then attended the temple with them. It was delightful and strengthening to be with friends and counsel about our two similar worlds. 

Sunday morning, Nancy went with the wives of the apostles and area presidency to meetings at the Ghana Mission Training Center, and I attended a meeting with the general authorities, along with three other mission presidents and some stake presidents from our countries. We spent four hours being taught. I asked Elder Bednar a question about repentance, forgiveness and suffering. This led to an hour discussion on the topic that increased my understanding and brought greater clarity. 

Elder Bednar talked a lot about our purpose as leaders. He said it can be summarized in three words: Name, Next Ordinance. We should know each person’s name and help them with the next ordinance in their lives. “It’s that simple,” he added. “Remember the Savior is the master of simplicity. The Adversary is the master of confusion.” He then spent a good deal of time talking about helping people in their spiritual growth and preparing for the ordinance of the sacrament each week.

I don’t mean for this blog to feel too dense with gospel topics and my convictions, but I wish I could share the happiness we feel of understanding and living the gospel. It means so much to Nancy and me, especially as we consider our family relationships. As we flew home to Liberia, we couldn’t help but feel gratitude and optimism. We are so grateful to be engaged in this amazing work with our missionaries, members, and friends.