This is a General Conference Odyssey post for the Priesthood Session of the April 2008 General Conference.

Elder Cook spoke on having a prophet. The title of his talk was, “Give Heed unto the Prophet’s Words.” I live in the Bible belt and it still amazes me how people down here love the Lord, but they absolutely refuse to believe the Lord speaks to us today through a prophet.

In his talk, Elder Cook shares an example of President Brigham Young. “Brigham Young became aware of their plight, and at the October 1856 general conference he instructed the Saints to drop everything and rescue those stranded on the plains. … President Young instructed them to do everything they possibly could to save the handcart companies, even at the peril of their own lives. Their acts of bravery were specifically to ‘follow the prophet Brigham Young’ and by so doing express their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

He gave an example of Naaman, in the Old Testament. Elisha sent a messenger to tell Naaman to wash in the River Jordan seven times. Being offended, he refused. His servant replied,”If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?” Elder Cook counseled, “Like Naaman, you young priesthood holders might aspire to ‘do some great thing’ or participate in something dramatic like the handcart rescue. However, your resolve should be to follow the counsel of the prophet.”

Sharing another example, Elder Cook described how President Grant “counseled with great vigor” the Word of Wisdom during his presidency. It was several years later when health professionals warned against smoking and too much drinking. And even later, the epidemic of drug use. Listening to the prophet then saved many of our youth years later.

President David O. McKay was a great advocate and example of strong marriages. This is a touchy subject for many, but members of our church do tend to stay together longer, honoring the sealing bond they entered into in the temple.

All of our latter-day prophets have given us incredible counsel, but I have to say that Pres. Nelson has probably given us the most direction, with the most detail, to live and stay on the Covenant Path. Every talk he gives has an easy catch-phrase for us to remember as we continue living our busy lives. After telling us what we need to be doing, he tells us why we should do it, and then he teaches us how to do it. He even leads by example by sharing his own experiences in doing it.

I am so grateful for a prophet who speaks for the Lord, warns us of danger, and counsels us to be obedient to our covenants.