THE GREAT TEST AND THE GIFT OF PROPHECY AND REVELATION - THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS

THIS IS A COPY OF A GREAT TALK GIVEN BY J. GOLDEN KIMBALL ON PROPHECY:

The Gift of Prophecy
J. Golden Kimball Of the First Council of Seventy Conference Report, October 1930, p.58
PDF Version
I intend to be reminiscent in what I shall say on this occasion.
I have frequently called your attention to the fact that under President John Taylor I was permitted to fill a mission in the Southern States, in 1883 and '84, under the presidency of Elder B. H. Roberts. They were trying times, and the elders, as a whole, traveled without purse and without scrip.
In 1892 I was again appointed, under President Wilford Woodruff, to preside over the Southern States Mission. It was during that period of time that I found God; as my father said: God answered my prayers, and isn't that a pretty good evidence that God lives? My testimony was fixed and fast, and what I knew I learned by obedience and through suffering.
I take the position that knowledge cannot be knowledge without experience, so that what I know through the influence of the Holy Ghost--for I have heard that still, small voice--I know to my perfect satisfaction. There is no question of a doubt in my mind as to the truth of this work, and any time in my life that I can be convinced that Joseph Smith was not a prophet of God, then I will question the truth of this work. But Joseph Smith to me is a prophet, and there is hardly a Kimball living in the flesh today--of the first generation--notwithstanding we were very young when our father died, that did not have burned into his soul as a child that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God: that Brigham Young was his successor; that he too was a great prophet.
Now, it is along that line that I desire to occupy your time for a few moments, and to do so I expect to forecast from dead prophets. I shall not undertake to quote from memory as it is very difficult for me to quote correctly.
The prophet Joel said--we elders in that day on many occasions quoted this prophetic saying:
"And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.."
I think one of the greatest pieces of philosophy in the Bible is: "Where there is no vision the people perish." And the Prophet Joseph Smith left with us this statement: "Where there are no gifts there is no faith."
I further read in the Bible:
"When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken; but the prophet has spoken presumptuously, Thou shall not be afraid of him."
Jesus himself testified that "a prophet hath no honor in his own country."
I claim not to be a prophet, but I am a son of a prophet, and I expect to give you evidence--whether you question the truth of it or not--that shall be left with you--that Heber C. Kimball was a prophet of God. President Brigham Young on more than one occasion said: "Heber is my prophet, and I love to hear him prophesy."
In May, 1868---that is sixty-two years ago--he said:
"After a while the gentiles will gather in Salt Lake City by the thousands, and this will be among the wicked cities of the world,."
He said:
"A spirit of speculation and extravagance will take possession of the Saints, and the results will be financial bondage."
He said:
"An army of elders will be sent to the four quarters of the earth, to search out the righteous and, warn the wicked of coming events.
"All kinds of religions will be started, and miracles performed that will deceive the very elect, if such a thing were possible.
"Persecution comes next, and all Latter-day Saints will be tested to the limit. "Many will apostatize, and others will stand still, not knowing what to do. "Before the temple reaches the square our brethren will be imprisoned, until the penitentiary shall be full, and some of them will be removed to other penitentiaries.
"Mothers would weep for their husbands, and, children would cry for their fathers. Some would die, and sorrow would fill the hearts of the Latter-day Saints.
"When the temple roof is on, the persecution will lessen, but when the temple is completed the power of the Evil One will be shut out."
"The prayers of the Saints will then be heard. The sick will be taken there and healed."
"The Spirit of God will rest upon the people, and work for the dead will be continued night and day."
"The judgments of God will be poured out upon the wicked, to the extent that our elders from far and near will be called home; or in other words, the Gospel will be taken from the gentiles, and later on will be carried to the Jews."
"The western boundaries of the State of Missouri will be swept so clean of its inhabitants that as President Young tells us, 'when we return to that place there will not be as much as a yellow dog to wag his tail.'
"Before that day comes, however, the Saints will be put to the test that will try the very best of them.
"The pressure will become so great that the righteous among us will cry unto the Lord day and night until deliverance comes."
In 1856---that is seventy-four years ago--a small group of friends convened in the house of the Lord, called the Endowment House. The conversation was about the isolated condition of the Latter-day Saints.
"Yes," said Brother Heber, "we think we are secure here in the chambers of these everlasting hills, where we can close the doors of the canyons against mobs and persecutors, the wicked and the vile, who have always beset us with violence and robbery, but I want to say to you, my brethren, the time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy against the people of God."
"Then is the time to look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall.
"For I say unto you there is a test, a Test, a TEST coming."
He further said:
"This Church has before it many close places through which it will have to pass before the work of God is crowned with glory.
"The difficulties will be of such a character that the man or woman who does not possess a personal knowledge or witness will fall. If you have not got this testimony, you must live right and call upon the Lord, and cease not until you obtain it.
"Remember these sayings: The time will come when no man or woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within themselves. If you do not have the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, how can you stand?"
Do you believe it?
President George Q. Cannon said, after Heber C. Kimball's death: "Heber Chase Kimball was one of the greatest men of this age." He continued: "No man, perhaps, Joseph Smith excepted, who has belonged to the Church in this generation, ever possessed the gift of prophecy to a greater degree than he."
On the morning of the 22nd of June, 1868, he died.
At the funeral President Brigham Young said: "Heber was a man of as much integrity, I presume, as any man who ever lived on the earth--a man of faith--a man of benevolence--a man of truth."
On the evening of January 12th, 1862, the Lord made it known to Heber C. Kimball that he should not be removed from his place as First Counselor while he lived in the flesh.
Now my brethren and sisters, I am here to testify that the spirit of prophecy is in this Church. Any man who has a testimony that Jesus is the Christ has the spirit of prophecy, and I know that we have living prophets. Whenever the Lord desires, and it is his will to speak through his prophets, I have no fear and no doubt as far as I am individually concerned that they have the courage and the faith to speak the words of God. At a
time when the people were suffering, when the people were almost naked, when everything looked desolate, as if they were forsaken--
"Heber C. Kimball, filled with the spirit of prophecy in a public meeting declared to the astonished congregation that within a short time States goods would be sold in the city of Great Salt Lake cheaper than in New York and that the people would be abundantly supplied with food and clothing."
"'I don't believe a word of it,' said Apostle Charles C. Rich; and he voiced the sentiment of nine-tenths of those who had heard the astounding declaration."
"On resuming his seat he remarked to the brethren that he was afraid he had missed it this time. But they were not his own words and He who had inspired them knew how to fulfil. The occasion for the fulfilment of this remarkable prediction was the unexpected advent of the gold-hunters on their way to California. The discovery of gold in that land had set on fire, as it were, the civilized world and hundreds of richly laden trains now began pouring across the continent on their way to the new Eldorado. Salt Lake valley became the resting place. Thus as the Prophet Heber had predicted, States Goods were actually sold in the streets of Great Salt Lake City cheaper than they could have been purchased in the city of New York."
Now, brethren, that is how I feel about it. I take pride in being a son of my father and as long as I live I shall never fail to honor my father and his successors, and try to be as loyal and true and steadfast in the faith as they have been. I am the only one that can destroy my faith in this work. God bless you. Amen.

HERE IS A TALK GIVEN BY BOYD K PACKER ON THE TEST:

The Test

President Boyd K. Packer
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Neither mobbings nor the army could turn the Saints aside from what they knew to be true.

President Boyd K. PackerIt is my purpose to show that in troubled times the Lord has always prepared a safe way ahead. We live in those “perilous times” which the Apostle Paul prophesied would come in the last days.1 If we are to be safe individually, as families, and secure as a church, it will be through “obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”2

On July 24, 1849, the Saints had been in the valley two years to the day. They finally were free from years of mobbing and persecution. That called for a great celebration.

Just a few years earlier under dreadful conditions, the Prophet Joseph Smith suffered in Liberty Jail for months while the mobs drove the Saints from their homes. The words liberty and jail do not fit together very well.

Joseph called out:

“O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?

“How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?”3

The Prophet Joseph Smith had earlier sought direction, and the Lord told the Saints to seek redress from the judges, the governor, and then the president.4

Their appeals to the judges failed. During his life, Joseph Smith was summoned to court over 200 times on all kinds of trumped-up charges. He was never convicted.

When they sought redress from Governor Boggs of Missouri, he issued a proclamation: “The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for the public good.”5 That unleashed untold brutality and wickedness.

They appealed to President Martin Van Buren of the United States, who told them, “Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you.”6

I will read the final paragraphs of their third petition addressed to the Congress of the United States:

“The afflictions of your memorialists have already been overwhelming, too much for humanity, too much for American citizens to endure without complaint. We have groaned under the iron hand of tyranny and oppression these many years. We have been robbed of our property to the amount of two millions of dollars. We have been hunted as the wild beasts of the forest. We have seen our aged fathers who fought in the Revolution, and our innocent children, alike slaughtered by our persecutors. We have seen the fair daughters of American citizens insulted and abused in the most inhuman manner, and finally, we have seen fifteen thousand souls, men, women, and children, driven by force of arms, during the severities of winter, from their sacred homes and firesides, to a land of strangers, penniless and unprotected. Under all these afflicting circumstances, we imploringly stretch forth our hands towards the highest councils of our nation, and humbly appeal to the illustrious Senators and Representatives of a great and free people for redress and protection.

“Hear! O hear the petitioning voice of many thousands of American citizens who now groan in exile . . . ! Hear! O hear the weeping and bitter lamentations of widows and orphans, whose husbands and fathers have been cruelly martyred in the land where the proud eagle . . . floats! Let it not be recorded in the archives of the nations, that . . . exiles sought protection and redress at your hands, but sought it in vain. It is in your power to save us, our wives, and our children, from a repetition of the bloodthirsty scenes of Missouri, and thus greatly relieve the fears of a persecuted and injured people, and your petitioners will ever pray.”7

There was no pity, and they were turned away.

In 1844, while under the avowed protection of Governor Thomas Ford of Illinois, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot to death in Carthage Jail. Words cannot express the brutality and suffering the Saints had endured.

Now on this 24th of July in 1849, free at last from the mobbings, they planned to celebrate.8

Everything the Saints owned would come across a thousand miles (1,600 km) of desert by handcart or covered wagon. It would be 20 more years before the railroad came as far as Salt Lake City. With almost nothing to work with, they determined that the celebration would be a grand expression of their feelings.

They built a bowery on Temple Square. They erected a flagpole 104 feet (32 m) tall. They made an enormous national flag 65 feet (20 m) in length and unfurled it at the top of this liberty pole.

It may seem puzzling, incredible almost beyond belief, that for the theme of this first celebration they chose patriotism and loyalty to that same government which had rejected and failed to assist them. What could they have been thinking of? If you can understand why, you will understand the power of the teachings of Christ.

Their brass band played as President Brigham Young led a grand procession to Temple Square. He was followed by the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy.

Then followed 24 young men dressed in white pants; black coats; white scarves on their right shoulders; coronets, or crowns, on their heads; and a sheathed sword at their left sides. In their right hand, of all things, each carried a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The Declaration of Independence was read by one of those young men.

Next came 24 young women dressed in white, blue scarves on their right shoulders and white roses on their heads. Each carried a Bible and a Book of Mormon.

Almost but not quite as amazing as their choice of patriotism for a theme was what came next: 24 aged sires (as they were called) led by patriarch Isaac Morley. They were known as the Silver Greys—all 60 years of age or older. Each carried a staff painted red with white ribbon floating at the top. One carried the Stars and Stripes. These men were a symbol of the priesthood, which was “from the beginning before the world was”9 and had been restored in this dispensation.

The Saints knew that the Lord had told them to be “subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”10 That commandment, revealed then, is true now of our members in every nation. We are to be law-abiding, worthy citizens.

The Lord told them, “I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose.”11

And in another verse, the Lord told them that “it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.”12 They were therefore antislavery. This was a very sore spot with the settlers in Missouri.

And so on that day of celebration in 1849, “Elder Phineas Richards came forward in behalf of the twenty-four aged sires, and read their loyal and patriotic address.”13 He spoke of the need for them to teach patriotism to their children and to love and honor freedom. After he briefly recited the perils that they had come through, he said:

“Brethren and friends, we who have lived to three-score years, have beheld the government of the United States in its glory, and know that the outrageous cruelties we have suffered proceeded from a corrupted and degenerate administration, while the pure principles of our boasted Constitution remain unchanged. . . .

“. . . As we have inherited the spirit of liberty and the fire of patriotism from our fathers, so let them descend [unchanged] to our posterity.”14

One would think that, compelled by force of human nature, the Saints would seek revenge, but something much stronger than human nature prevailed.

The Apostle Paul explained:

“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. . . .

“. . . We have the mind of Christ.”15

That Spirit defined those early members of the Church as followers of Christ.

If you can understand a people so long-suffering, so tolerant, so forgiving, so Christian after what they had suffered, you will have unlocked the key to what a Latter-day Saint is. Rather than being consumed with revenge, they were anchored to revelation. Their course was set by the teachings still found today in the Old and the New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

If you can understand why they would celebrate as they did, you can understand why we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the principles of the gospel.

The Book of Mormon teaches, “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”16

And so today in these strangely perilous times, in the true Church of Jesus Christ17 we teach and live the principles of His gospel.

Three things about that 1849 commemoration were both symbolic and prophetic: first, that the young men carried the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; next, that each young woman carried the Bible and the Book of Mormon; and finally, that the old men—the Silver Greys—were honored in the parade.

After the program they had a feast at makeshift tables. Several hundred gold-rush travelers and 60 Indians were invited to join them.

Then they went back to work.

President Young had said, “If the people of the United States will let us alone for ten years we will ask no odds of them.”18

Eight years to the day after the 1849 celebration, the Saints were in Big Cottonwood Canyon to celebrate another 24th of July. Four horsemen rode in to report that an army 2,500 soldiers strong was on the plains. The army of the United States, commanded by Colonel Albert Sydney Johnston, was ordered by President James Buchanan to crush a nonexistent Mormon rebellion.

The Saints broke camp and headed for home to prepare their defenses. Rather than flee, this time President Young declared, “We have transgressed no law, and we have no occasion to do so, neither do we intend to; but as for any nation’s coming to destroy this people, God Almighty being my helper, they cannot come here.”19

My great-grandparents buried a child on the trail from Far West, when they were driven to Nauvoo, and another at Winter Quarters, when they were driven west.

Another great-grandmother, a teenager, was pushing a handcart along the south banks of the Platte River. They sang:

We’ll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.20

Across the river they could see the sun glinting on the weapons of the soldiers of the army.21

In St. Louis my great-grandmother bought a little enameled pin of the American flag. She wore it on her dress for the rest of her life.

Neither mobbings nor the army could turn the Saints aside from what they knew to be true. A settlement was negotiated, and the Utah War (later called Buchanan’s Blunder) was over.

We are guided by the same revelations and led by a prophet. When the Prophet Joseph Smith died, another took his place. The order of succession continues today.

Six months ago at general conference, Thomas S. Monson was sustained as the 16th President of the Church, just five months before his 81st birthday. He succeeded President Gordon B. Hinckley, who died in his 98th year.

The senior leaders of the Church will virtually always be seasoned by decades of preparation.

President Monson is ideally suited for the challenges of our day. He is sustained by two counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles—all prophets, seers, and revelators.

That same Lucifer who was cast out of our Father’s presence is still at work. He, with the angels who followed him, will trouble the work of the Lord and destroy it if he can.

But we will stay on course. We will anchor ourselves as families and as a church to these principles and ordinances. Whatever tests lie ahead, and they will be many, we must remain faithful and true.

I bear witness of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, that They live, that Thomas S. Monson is called of God by prophecy.

“The standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.”22 Today the sun never sets on congregations of the Latter-day Saints. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.