‘Spi
ritual Whirlwinds,’ April 2014; “You need the strength that comes from trusting the Lord’s prophets.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
John 14:16-18; “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
For the next few days we’ll be looking at memorable quotes that have been made at LDS General Conferences. In the future if you’re looking for General Conference Quotes you can find them in our General Conference Section.
We found this speech interesting because of two things Mr. Anderson said. The first comment he made, noted at the beginning of this article, was reminding LDS youth to keep their eyes on the prophet, put full trust in him and no one else, and strength is obtained only through their wise counsel.
We’re wondering…
How does someone receive strength by trusting another human being?
His speech went on to say that while they don’t have access to all there is to know about creation, Jesus, and ultimately God Himself, they’ll learn more about these things one of these days…if they’re found worthy enough to go through the temple rituals.
Translation: trust the apostle and someday you’ll know their secrets too.
To compound the poor kids’ confusion even more at the end of his speech Mr. Anderson told kids the following;
“The spiritual rock under your feet will be solid and secure. You will rejoice that God has placed you here to be a part of the final preparations for Christ’s glorious return.
The Savior said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” … This is His promise to you. I know this promise is real. I know that He lives, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
First of all, how can Jesus be the ‘spiritual rock under their feet’ when the apostle told them to trust the prophet?
Secondly, Mr. Anderson was cherry picking scriptures and using this one like a Magic 8 Ball. John 14:18 is a beautiful verse, but along with vs. 18 comes the previous verses that we’ve listed above. Unfortunately, Mormons don’t believe what Jesus said in this passage.
Their prophet Joseph Smith said in D&C 130:22-23 that the Holy Ghost isn’t God and that He doesn’t indwell believers, but acts as an influence for the Mormon people.
D&C 130:22-23; “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. 23 A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.”
Articles of Faith Chapter 8, Gospel Principles p 37; “He is a spirit that has the form and likeness of a man. He can be in only one place at a time, but his influence can be everywhere at the same time. Compare the Holy Ghost to the sun. There is just one sun, but its light and warmth are felt by everyone on earth.”
So in light of all that, whom do you believe?
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