2023
A Look at Our Prophet’s Ongoing Warning Call
March 2023

Digital Only: Young Adults

A Look at Our Prophet’s Ongoing Warning Call

By Jamie Kathryn LeSueur

Church Magazines

Enrich your upcoming general conference experience by reviewing President Nelson’s warning call repeated in his last several addresses.

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a hand holding a megaphone

General conference is just around the corner—which means revelation through prophets is coming your way!

As we anticipate new counsel, let’s not forget what we’ve learned in recent conferences. After all, the Lord’s word doesn’t expire every six months. What we hear this conference will add to what we’ve learned in past conferences rather than replace those teachings.

The Warning Call

If you look at recent talks given by our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, you’ll notice that he has repeated certain truths with urgency. This repetition is creating “a powerful concert of clarity and a warning volume far louder than solo performances can ever produce.”1 And what is he warning us about? “The fierce attacks of the adversary.”2

The scriptures warn that in the last days “men’s hearts shall fail them” (Doctrine and Covenants 45:26) and false Christs “shall deceive the very elect” (Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22). This is true for our time. You most likely know someone who was once a disciple of Jesus Christ but has now lost their testimony. The adversary is indeed threatening our faith as we near the Second Coming of Christ.

Our prophet is like a “watchman” on the tower (Ezekiel 33:2). He is called to “blow the trumpet, and warn the people” (Ezekiel 33:3). And President Nelson’s warning is more than just a notification of danger—it’s a plan to help each of us prepare and withstand spiritual attacks. And now is the perfect time to review his counsel!

The Action Plan

Strengthen Your Faith in Jesus Christ

Here’s what President Nelson has said about building and maintaining a testimony that will withstand the attacks of the adversary:

  • “I plead with you to take charge of your testimony. Work for it. Own it. Care for it. Nurture it so that it will grow.”3

  • “A testimony that is not nourished daily ‘by the good word of God’ [Moroni 6:4] can crumble. … We need daily experiences worshipping the Lord and studying His gospel.”4

  • “Study with the desire to believe … allow the Lord to lead you on your journey of spiritual discovery.”5

Make Time for the Lord

The world will not quiet down enough for you to hear the Spirit. You must dedicate time to be still and listen. Are you spending time trying to hear Him?

  • “Give [the Lord] a fair share of your time. As you do, notice what happens to your positive spiritual momentum.”6

  • “We set our own priorities and determine how we use our energy, time, and means. … Counter the lure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life—each and every day.”7

  • “We [can] fill [our] time … with the noise and commotion of the world. Or we can use our time to hear the voice of the Lord whispering His guidance, comfort, and peace.”8

Make and Keep Covenants

When you make covenants with Heavenly Father, you enter into unifying promises of purpose and action. And the more unified you are with Him, the stronger you’ll be in your fight against the adversary.

  • “God has a special love for each person who makes a covenant with Him in the waters of baptism. And that divine love deepens as additional covenants are made and faithfully kept.”9

  • “With all the pleadings of my heart, I urge you to get on the covenant path and stay there.”10

  • “As you are true to your covenants made in the temple, you will be strengthened by His power … you will be able to stand strong because your spiritual foundation is solid and immovable.”11

The Promises

When put together, these three messages—strengthening your faith, making time for the Lord, and keeping covenants—give evidence to an important reality: President Nelson knows we’re in the last days, and he is doing everything he can to help us stand strong.

Now that you’ve heard his “sound of the trumpet” (Ezekiel 33:4), it’s up to you to take action! Apply the prophet’s counsel. Make changes to your routine to follow the action plan. And as you do you will “become a more potent instrument in the hands of the Lord.”12 You will be “armed with priesthood power.”13 You will be able to “turn challenges into unparalleled growth and opportunity.”14 And you will be ready to receive additional truth, warning, and preparation from the Lord through His prophet in the next general conference.