Prophets

Witness Testimony of Prophets

Wendy Watson Nelson:

Mangal Dan Dipty:

One day while praying, I felt inspired to investigate the Mormon Church. I learned that Salt Lake City, Utah, was the Church’s headquarters. I decided to write a letter and addressed it to “Men in charge of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.”

In 1959, in response to my letter, Brother Lamar Williams from the Church Missionary Department sent me Joseph Smith’s testimony, the Articles of Faith, and the Book of Mormon. I studied them all and was convinced of their truthfulness. However, there were no missionaries or members to teach me in India.

Then in January 1961, Elder Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Delhi. I spent three days traveling with him to the Taj Mahal at Agra and to Dharamsala. I was like a sponge soaking up all the gospel lessons he taught. On the final day of his visit, I was ready for baptism. On January 7, 1961, I was baptized by Elder Kimball in the Yamuna River; Sister Kimball was the official witness, though there were many curious onlookers. I was confirmed that evening.

Those three days when the Lord’s Apostle taught me without any interruptions have been some of the best days of my life. Parting was sad because he had become my special Mormon friend.

I often look back at my journey from being a “jungle boy” in rural India to being where I am today and know that my life and faith are truly miracles. The Lord’s embroidery of my life is more beautiful than I ever expected. How wonderful it was to have the Lord’s anointed prophet Spencer W. Kimball school me and walk with me at key times in my life’s journey.

Belle Spafford:

Twenty-nine and a half years have passed since that day, during which I have served under six of the Prophet-Presidents of the Church: Presidents Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, and Spencer W Kimball and their great and inspired counselors. What a rare and marvelous blessing!

These have been busy, demanding, challenging years, yet rewarding beyond my powers to measure. The members of each of the First Presidencies, the Twelve and other General Authorities have been good to me. The Lord has been good to me! Many, many times he has put ideas into my mind and even words into my mouth that have enabled me to meet difficult situations or remove resistant obstacles that otherwise might have impaired the work of the Society for which I had been given responsibility.

Anne Vadly Louis:

I remember one Thursday morning in seminary, my instructor was teaching us about prophets and apostles. He said a phrase that was burned into my memory: “President Thomas Spencer Monson [who was the prophet at the time] is a prophet of God, and whoever has the desire to know if this is true can sincerely pray to find the answer.” His words really touched me.

When I got home that day, I got on my knees and asked Heavenly Father to let me know if President Monson was called as the prophet by Him. At that moment, I felt a great and sweet joy fill me—something inexplicable. From that day on, I knew that the warmth I felt at that moment came from God, and it confirmed my faith in the prophet.

Blog Post: Stories of Spencer W. Kimball

Jeffrey R. Holland:

Not often but over the years some sources have suggested that the Brethren are out of touch in their declarations, that they don’t know the issues, that some of their policies and practices are out-of-date, not relevant to our times.
As the least of those who have been sustained by you to witness the guidance of this Church firsthand, I say with all the fervor of my soul that never in my personal or professional life have I ever associated with any group who are so in touch, who know so profoundly the issues facing us, who look so deeply into the old, stay so open to the new, and weigh so carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully everything in between. I testify that the grasp this body of men and women have of moral and societal issues exceeds that of any think tank or brain trust of comparable endeavor of which I know anywhere on the earth. I bear personal witness of how thoroughly good they are, of how hard they work, and how humbly they live. It is no trivial matter for this Church to declare to the world prophecy, seership, and revelation, but we do declare it. It is true light shining in a dark world, and it shines from these proceedings.

Elder Boyd K. Packer:

In 1930 J. Reuben Clark was named as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Two and a half years later he was called by letter as second counselor to President Heber J. Grant.

General conference had come and gone, and a vacancy in the First Presidency was not filled. A senior Apostle told me that two members of the Twelve waited upon President Grant and said, “We see you did not fill the vacancy in the Presidency.”
President Grant replied, “I know the man the Lord wants me to have, and he is not ready yet.” Pointing his cane at each of them, he said, “I know that feeling when it comes. I had it when I called you! And I had it when I called you!”
“When that cane pointed at me,” one of them told me, “I felt as if I had been electrocuted.”

Sheri Dew:

Then on January 11, 1984, a year to the day after the passing of Elder Richards, Elder Mark E. Petersen of the Twelve passed away. Now there were two vacancies in the Twelve, and, if anything, the situation was more critical. President Kimball’s health had deteriorated even further, and his mind was less dependable. To make matters worse, those privy to the situation knew President Kimball was in no condition to receive the revelation to extend such calls. One of those persons was Dr. Nelson. The week before the April 1984 general conference, Russell’s surgical nurse, Jan Curtis, mentioned how excited she was for the upcoming conference because two new Apostles would be called. Russell tried to gently tell her that it wasn’t going to happen. “I was his doctor, and I knew it wasn’t feasible, that President Kimball was not well or coherent enough to do it. I explained to her that calling an Apostle is the prerogative of the President of the Church and that President Kimball was simply in no condition to do that.” For months, President Gordon B. Hinckley, the only healthy member of the First Presidency at the time (President Marion G. Romney’s health had also deteriorated), had left standing instructions with President Kimball’s caregivers that if his mind ever cleared, they were to call him immediately, regardless of the hour. Month after month passed with no call. From time to time, President Hinckley looked in on President Kimball, but an opportunity to discuss such a spiritually sensitive topic as calls to the Twelve never presented itself. Then, at about 2:30 a.m. on the Wednesday morning prior to the April 1984 general conference, the phone rang at President Hinckley’s home. President Kimball was alert and would like to talk to him. President Hinckley rushed downtown to President Kimball’s suite in the Hotel Utah, where the issue of vacancies in the Twelve was raised. President Kimball said simply, “Call Nelson and Oaks to the Quorum of the Twelve, in that order.”

Duane Boyce:

Equal devotion is evident in the others of the apostleship. Shortly after his call to the Twelve, for example, Elder Ezra Taft Benson was assigned to supervise the work of the Church in helping Europe recover from the devastation of World War II. He was to restore organization to the missions of the Church and to arrange for the distribution of welfare supplies. Elder Benson spent nearly a year laboring 18-hour days in difficult conditions that included freezing cold and long stretches without food, in a devastated post-war environment where civilian groups were seldom if ever granted the permissions Elder Benson was trying to obtain.

In response to one seemingly insurmountable problem—gaining a visa that would allow entrance into Poland— he retired to his hotel room to pray. Some two or three hours later, Elder Benson, “enveloped in a beautiful glow of radiant light,” stood in his assistant’s doorway and said: “Pack your bags. We are leaving for Poland in the morning!” With numerous other examples of miraculous help, Elder Benson ultimately succeeded, and, after close to a year, was released from that mission. As the assignment ended, despite all his efforts, Elder Benson still worried that he hadn’t done enough. Only after a dream from the Lord could he come to feel that his work had been found acceptable. He wanted to do still more.

Elder Benson recorded this dream in his journal. "Last night, in a dream, I was privileged to spend, what seemed about an hour, with Pres. George Albert Smith in Salt Lake. It was a most impressive and soul-satisfying experience. We talked intimately together about the Great Work in which we are engaged and about my devoted family. I felt the warmth of his embrace as we both shed tears of gratitude for the rich blessings of the Lord ... ." Through this experience, Elder Benson came to feel that his work had been found acceptable to the Brethren and to the Lord. Shortly thereafter, he also received a letter from Elder Harold B. Lee, expressing the admiration of all the Brethren for the mission he had performed. See Sheri L. Dew, Ezra Taft Benson (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1987), 224.

Elder Neil L. Andersen:

“One time I went to President Faust with a piercing problem I didn’t know how to solve,” Elder Andersen recalls. “He said to me, ‘Neil, have you prayed about it? Have you prayed all night like Enos did?’ And then he sat back in his chair and said, ‘I’ve prayed all night many times to receive the answer to difficult challenges. That is how you will get your answer as well.’ He was right.”

Marion G. Romney: