You may have noticed that I have changed the name of this blog, as per the instruction spoken by our church and prophet. I count myself as a believer, and therefore, must obey.

In Sunday School, we are approaching some of the “Minor prophets.” They are called minor because they are typically short books, but even though not much emphasis is placed on these books during the Sunday School hour, DO NOT miss reading through them. Interestingly enough, most of what all of the Minor prophets say has to do with the last days, in which you and I live.

For thousands of years, God has done all He can to get us to listen to Him. But the power of the world is strong, and Satan uses his “no-rules” rules to sabotage every imaginable place in our hearts.

But God is even more clever. He wants us all. But even more than that, He wants us to want Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. We came to earth to prove ourselves and sometimes we forget that. We are the ones on trial, not God, and not His spokesmen.

There are people in the world who would try to convince us there is no God. Or that we have been left to manage life for ourselves. There are even those who believe in God, but they don’t believe Him when He speaks, or when His prophets speak.

It has been awesome to see how members have responded to the call of the prophet with this name clarification. Our desire is to be obedient, to watch closely, and to listen carefully. During these last days, we will need to be diligent in our obedience; our watching and our listening.

Recently, while reading in Hosea (one of those minor prophets), I did a double-take as I read along. Jesus Christ is very blunt as He calls us all out in which master we are serving. Those who deny Him, He calls whores and adulterers because we sell our souls to the distractions of the world. He will “slay her (us) with thirst” (Hosea 2:3) by causing a famine of goodness and righteousness to cover the land. (That’s one reason why it’s so important for the correct name of the church to be spread across the world.)

Jesus warns us that we will be “destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). The importance of reading all the warnings He offers us in the scriptures is more important than ever before.

He warns, “Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned” (Hosea 7:8). We are Ephraim, the chosen people that have been called to gather Zion, only many of us are not separating ourselves enough from the world. Today is the day to turn our hearts to the Lord. “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you” (Hosea 10:12).

Even after these harsh words of warning, He still desires to have us. Let His lovingkindness and mercy (see Hosea 2:19), inspire us to come unto Him, accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior, and His prophet, Russell M. Nelson, as His welcome warning.

“I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions … And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved” (Hosea 12:13). Our prophet, Russell M. Nelson, has spoken by the mouth of the Lord. In fact, he has spoken to us as a prophet in conference since 1984. His talks are worth rereading. And you’ll notice that as he speaks, he teaches. Not only that, he teaches us why what he is teaching is important. God’s mouthpieces do that consistently and it is up to us to have ears to hear, and feet to act.

Sidenote: I discovered the word “lovingkindness” several years ago and have learned that this is the greatest blessing we have from the Lord. It is through His lovingkindness that we have been given so very much.