2001
Prophets—Called of God for Us
January 2001


“Prophets—Called of God for Us,” Friend, Jan. 2001, 28

Prophets—
Called of God for Us

For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith (D&C 21:5).

Because Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to return to live with Him, He had His Son Jesus Christ create the earth and establish His church on it. Then Heavenly Father called special men, known as prophets, to teach and guide His people according to His plan. And when people strayed from His counsel and destroyed His church, He called more prophets to help us because He loves us so much!

Three of these prophets are Adam, Lehi, and Joseph Smith.

Adam helped Jesus Christ create the earth. Later, Adam was the first mortal man on earth and thus the “father” of all of us. He was married to his wife, Eve, by the Lord; was taught the gospel of Jesus Christ; was baptized in water and received the Holy Ghost; and taught the gospel to his sons and daughters. He will come again at the end of the Millennium to conquer Satan and his forces forever.*

Lehi was a prophet during a time when the Jews were rebelling against the gospel. He warned them that they would be destroyed and scattered across the earth if they did not repent. They did not repent, so God told Lehi to take his family and flee into the wilderness. He took the brass plates with them so that they would have their family history and the scriptures to help them remember Heavenly Father and His teachings when they went to their new home in the promised land. Lehi died in the promised land but was promised that the story of his people and God’s love for them would someday be told to all the world.

The Lord called Joseph Smith to be a prophet when he was just a young man. The true Church of Jesus Christ was no longer on the earth, and the Prophet Joseph was called to restore it. He received the priesthood—the power and authority of God—and all the priesthood keys needed to restore the Church. He translated the Book of Mormon, the story of Lehi’s people and another testament of Jesus Christ. He preached the gospel to all who would listen, and he built the first temple in modern times.

Another prophet, John Taylor, declared, “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. … He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and … has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood.”**

Who Am I?

Instructions: After you have read each set of clues about a prophet, write the prophet’s name on the blank line, then color the figure. For answers and to learn even more about each prophet, refer to the scripture references. Remove page 29 from the magazine and mount onto lightweight cardboard. Cut out each figure with its accompanying riddles. Fold on the dotted line, tape a flat stick or drinking straw 1″ (2.5 cm) from the bottom on the inside, then glue together (see illustration). Use these figures and riddles in a Primary talk or a family home evening.

Image
Prophets of God
  1. I was the first man on the earth and the “father” of all.

  2. I named every living creature on the earth.

  3. I was the first man to be baptized in water and receive the Holy Ghost.

  4. In preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, I will return to the earth again at Adam-ondi-Ahman to visit my people.

(See Moses 1:34; D&C 27:11; Abr. 5:20–21; Moses 6:64–66; D&C 116.)

  1. I warned the people in Jerusalem to repent or they would be destroyed.

  2. The Lord told me to take my family and flee into the wilderness.

  3. I sent my sons back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates from Laban.

  4. I sailed with my family in a ship to the promised land.

(See 1 Ne. 1:18–19; 1 Ne. 2:2–4; 1 Ne. 3; 1 Ne. 4; 1 Ne. 18:2–8, 23.)

  1. I went to the woods and prayed to know which church I should join.

  2. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to me and told me to join none of the churches that existed then.

  3. I was obedient to God and helped restore the true Church of Jesus Christ to the earth.

  4. I was put in prison many times and was killed because of my testimony.

(See JS—H 1.)

Illustrations by Beth Whittaker

Paintings by Lowell Bruce Bennett, Robert T. Barrett, and Michael Malm

Background photo © Photodisc