(8/5/00)
"Such grim predictions by prophets of old would be cause for great fear and discouragement if those same prophets had not, at the same time, offered the solution. In their inspired counsel we can find the answer to the spiritual crises of our age." — "The Power of the Word", President Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference, April 1986

(8/6/00)
"In the Bible, which we proclaim 'to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly' (Eighth Article of Faith), the Old Testament prophets from Adam to Malachi are testifying of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament, and it was He who conversed with Abraham and Moses. It was He who inspired Isaiah and Jeremiah; it was He who foretold through those chosen men the happenings of the future, even to the latest day and hour." — "Revelation: The Word Of The Lord To His Prophets", President Spencer W. Kimball, General Conference, April 1977

(8/7/00)
"Without question we are rapidly approaching the great day of the Lord, that time of 'refreshing,' when he will come in the clouds of heaven to take vengeance upon the ungodly and prepare the earth for the reign of peace for all those who are willing to abide in his law. It is only just that the Lord would speak again from the heavens, before that great day shall come, and commission his servants and send them forth to proclaim repentance and once again say to the people, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Surely, the Lord would not depend entirely upon the predictions of his ancient prophets for this warning of his second coming. True it is, that the warnings given of old are to be heeded, but near the approach of these great events, it is right, and reason compels us to believe, that the Lord would again raise his voice through his appointed servants in a warning that the people might know that this great and dreadful day is even now at our doors. It is to be a day of peace and joy to the righteous, but a dreadful day to the wicked. And so the Lord has spoken." — Joseph Fielding Smith, "The Restoration of All Things", p.303

(8/8/00)
"Persecution is a legacy that has been handed down from father Adam to our day. It was said of old that all men who lived godly in Christ Jesus should suffer persecution. If we meet with no persecution in our day, we shall hardly feel at home when we go into the spirit world and meet with the ancient prophets and with Christ and the Apostles, who passed through much persecution and tribulation. Many of them were crucified or otherwise put to death. They sealed their testimony with their own blood, as was the case with Joseph and Hyrum and several of the Apostles, Elders and Saints in our day." — James R. Clark, "Messages of the First Presidency", Vol.3, p.99 - p.100

(8/9/00)
"Light is of God, darkness of the devil. Gospel truths lead to salvation, false doctrines to damnation. The man Satan -- a spirit man, a man of sin, the evil person of whom the scripture asks: 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners'?' (Isa. 14:16-17) -- the man Satan brings the apostasy to pass. He and his works have been manifest in all ages. And the worst lies ahead. Our day of dreadful apostasy and woeful wickedness was known to ancient prophets without number." — Bruce R. McConkie, "The Millennial Messiah", p.41

(3/17/04)
"The first part of the ninth article of faith states, 'We believe all that God has revealed.' Through the ages, God's messages to His children generally have been revealed through prophets. Amos tells us, 'Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets' (Amos 3:7). These are the prophetic oracles who have tuned in over the centuries to the 'celestial transmitting station,' with a responsibility to relay the Lord's word to others. The principal qualifications of a prophet in any age are not wealth, title, position, physical stature, scholarship, or intellectual attainment. The two qualifications are, first, a prophet must be called as such by God and ordained by one known to have legal and spiritual authority (see D&C 42:11), and second, he must receive and declare revelation from God. No man knows the ways of God except they be revealed unto him (see Jacob 4:8)." - James E. Faust, "Continuing Revelation," Ensign, Aug. 1996, p. 4

(3/29/04)
"Following the prophet is a great strength, but it needs to be consistent and current, lest it lead to the spiritual downfall that comes from rejecting continuous revelation. Under that principle, the most important difference between dead prophets and living ones is that those who are dead are not here to receive and declare the Lord's latest words to his people. If they were, there would be no differences among the messages of the prophets." - Dallin H. Oaks, "Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall," Ensign, Oct. 1994, pp. 18-19

(2/15/05)
"It has been said that what is needed most today is not the voice of man, but the voice of God. Which generation of men and women have ever needed more the voice of a prophet of God to guide them than we do today? In a time in history when we are beset by a clamor of voices from every side saying 'Lo, here is truth' or 'No, here is truth,' where can we find an authoritative voice saying 'Thus saith the Lord'? Where is a Moses, or an Isaiah, or a Peter, or a Paul who can speak from personal knowledge of God?...

"God's way is the way to solve our political, moral, ethical, even our financial problems. The way of the Lord can eliminate wars, riots, discrimination, suffering, and starvation. What the world then needs is direction from a true prophet who, knowing the mind and the will of God, can speak in his name with power and authority and say, 'Thus saith the Lord!'

"That day has come!" - Theodore M. Burton, "Thus Saith the Lord," Ensign, Dec. 1971, p. 79