Relief Society Lesson (8/17/08)

Sister Rich gave our Relief Society lesson today--on her birthday, I might add. (Happy birthday!) It was a great lesson: Revelation and the Living Prophet (ch. 16 in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith).

Wilford Woodruff reported: "Brother Brigham took...the Bible, and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down; and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said: 'There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from teh beginning of the world, almost, to our day. And now,' said he, 'when compared with the living oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.' When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation: 'Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.'"

The points were also made that we do not have to blindly follow the living Prophets. We are able to receive personal revelation that the revelations given to the Church through the prophets are true and right. The Holy Ghost is also a revelator, by which we can know of the truthfulness of the revelations given to the living prophets.

Next week our lesson comes from the April 2008 conference report: Ask in Faith by Elder David A. Bednar. (Click on the title to go to the online article.)