The Purpose of Prophets Helaman 8: 8-23

Helaman 8: 8-23

Prophets

When I was sixteen years old my father took me to Chattanooga, Tennessee to meet a prophet. I did not know what to expect. I did not really understand the significance of my experience until many years later. President Spencer W. Kimball was speaking to the members of the church from the southeast. My father was a public relations spokesperson for the church in this area. He worked with the media and had arranged an interview with President Kimball and the Atlanta Journal Newspaper. Because I was his daughter he made arrangements for me to be able to meet briefly (very briefly) with the prophet. He was in a tent sheltered away from the crowds bustling noise. He sat still and peaceful as I entered the tent. I was very nervous and did not know what to expect? I didn't really have any questions to ask him either. I just wanted to meet him and be in his presence. I knew that others thought of him as a great man so I expected that maybe he would not be approachable. I could not have been prepared for what happened to me as I stepped inside of the tent that day.

Almost immediately I was enveloped by an all encompassing love. It took my by surprise. It felt like I had stepped into a protective bubble. President Kimball waited patiently and then reached out and shook my hand. Never have I felt the kind of love that I felt that day. I knew that he was prophet of God. Not because others told me, but because of the love, concern, and sincerity that I felt come from his aura. When he spoke to me he looked me directly in the eye and told me to love God. My visit was over almost before it began.

Soon we sat down to enjoy his talk on Lust and Love. I will never forget it because I had never considered the two to be different. I had always questioned what love was but did not realize that lust could be mistaken for love or visa versa. Also.. while we listened a protester rose from the crowd and yelled at the prophet. He did not yell back. He did not shrink. He did not argue. He continued delivering his message while the man was quietly removed. This struck me as odd that in a small filled theatre that people would seek to destroy one man's reputation and work for what? And had they met the man and servant of God they would have known of his purity and love for all men.

Prophets have several purposes. One of the most important is to keep constant communication with God and help us to read life's road and weather map. Sometimes we don't see things as they really are. Sometimes we allow our vanity, our greed and our shortcomings to fool us and lead us away from God's goodness and love. Listening to the prophet helps us stay close to all that God has for us.

Words and Phrases

Prophets vs 8

1. testify of God
2. testify of truth and sin
3. knoweth all things
4. knoweth our iniquities

vs 10

1. strikes fear into the hearts of the wicked
2. strikes truth in the hearts of the pure

vs 11 , 12

1. has power given to him from God
2. to.. have nature obey him (Moses and the red sea)
3. causes dispute .. heated dispute between the righteous and the wicked

vs 13 , 14 15

1. testifies of the coming of the Messiah.
2. bear record of Son of God
3. adds to the testimonies of other prophets

vs 17 Abraham brought joy and gladness

vs 18... prophets follow the "order of God".. redemption was planned

Zenos, Zenock, Ezias, Isaiah, Jeremiah

vs 23.. God is with the prophets.. and does manifest himself unto them.

They are redeemed by him. they give God glory