Am I heeding recently prophetic invitations? Do I even remember what they are?
My brother Donovan recently shared thoughts about what some of the recent prophetic invitations and some of their promised blessings.
By Donovan Bushman
Primary kids know that Jesus told us that the wise man built his house upon a rock – or a sure foundation. Helaman talked to his sons about that foundation. He said that the sure foundation to build on is “our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God”. This is a foundation “whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).
How do we build upon this rock and not upon a bed of sand? We all have the beginnings of building on this sure foundation. But we must still build on it every day. It’s not something that we are finished doing. We all can let our foundation slip from the Rock to sand if we are not ever vigilant. How do we know what things will keep us firm on the Rock of Christ?
Of course, we have a prophet for that. Our prophet is there to tell us what to focus on. He is one chosen by God, who will not lead us astray. He will help us build on the foundation of Christ. He will ask us to follow Christ and then tell us of the blessings that we will receive for doing so.
President Nelson has given us a lot more than just changes to our Sunday schedules. Do we realize all that President Nelson has asked us to do?
Recent Prophetic Invitations
Elder Randall K Bennett said, “President Nelson has extended numerous prophetic invitations with significant promised blessings. Acting on those invitations will draw you closer to your Heavenly Father and your Savior.” Here are some of those invitations and blessings:
- If you proceed to learn all you can about Jesus Christ, I promise you that your love for Him, and for God’s laws, will grow beyond what you currently imagine. I promise you also that your ability to turn away from sin will increase. Your desire to keep the commandments will soar. You will find yourself better able to walk away from the entertainment and entanglements of those who mock the followers of Jesus Christ.
- Spend more time—much more time—in places where the Spirit is present. That means more time with friends who are seeking to have the Spirit with them. Spend more time on your knees in prayer, more time in the scriptures, more time in family history work, more time in the temple. I promise you that as you consistently give the Lord a generous portion of your time, He will multiply the remainder.
- I promise you that if you will sincerely and persistently do the spiritual work needed to develop the crucial, spiritual skill of learning how to hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, you will have all the direction you will ever need in your life. You will be given answers to your questions in the Lord’s own way and in His own time.
- I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.
- Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater. I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time. Invest time in your future and in that of your family. If you have reasonable access to a temple, I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy. I promise you that the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples.
- Every time you worthily serve and worship in the temple, you leave armed with God’s power and with His angels having “charge over” you.
Following the Prophet Keeps Us Spiritually Prepared
Once we’ve built upon our rock foundation, it’s easy to get complacent and just start going through the motions – not specifically rebelling, but not ever strengthening our relationship with the Savior.
Thinking of being spiritually prepared, the story of the ten virgins comes to mind. All ten of these virgins have been likened to members of the church. Five of them were prepared. They built on a sure foundation and they continually built that up. The other five started out on a sure foundation, but they ran out of oil before the end came.
I love President Nelson for telling us ways to keep our lamps full: learn about Christ, devote time to Him, have the Holy Ghost, study the Book of Mormon, and attend the temple. I also love the promised blessings attached to these prophetic invitations.
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