Chinese Lesson: Prophet

Lehi saw in a vision that Jerusalem would be destroyed. He knew unmistakably that the Lord had spoken to him and that required action on his part. It meant leaving everything they knew and taking his family across the wilderness. It meant doing something hard, on purpose, that tore his family apart. But he knew what he had seen and he taught it fearlessly.

In Chinese, prophet literally means to see before. It is like the image of a watchman on a tower who knows when the enemy is approaching because they are on higher ground. I feel so blessed that we have a prophet on the earth today. The world needs that kind of foresight more than ever.

As Covid-19 has spread and scared people into their homes and various lockdown situations, I have thought of the foresight of a prophet. In October 2018. he announced a shift in our Church mindset so that the responsibility of gospel learning rested on the family and emphasized that the most important learning should be done there.

As Latter-day Saints, we have become accustomed to thinking of “church” as something that happens in our meetinghouses, supported by what happens at home. We need an adjustment to this pattern. It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.

Russel M. Nelson, Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Home centered church has been a huge blessing- and no one imagined how uniquely relevant it would be during this unique time. Do we watch a recorded church sermon from our congregation? No, we teach our children the gospel, have the sacrament, and use the extra time as a family. These Sundays have taken out all the extras so we are just left with the essentials.

I am grateful to sustain Russell M. Nelson as the Lord’s prophet.