Elder Henry B. Eyring wrote . . . . “In our own time, we have been warned with counsel of where to find safety from sin and from sorrow. One of those keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated. For instance, more than once in general conference, you have heard our prophet say that he would quote a preceding prophet and therefore be a second witness and sometimes even a third. . . . The Apostle Paul wrote that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established’ (2 Corinthians 13:1) One of the ways that we may know that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive , that should rivet our attention and fill our hearts with gratitude to live at such a blessed time.
Looking for the path to safety in the counsel of prophets makes sense to those with strong faith. When a prophet speaks, those with little faith may think that they hear only a wise man giving good advice. Then if his counsel seems comfortable and reasonable, squaring with what they want to do, they take it. If it does not they consider it either faulty advice or they see their circumstances as justifying their being an exception to the counsel. Those without faith may think that they hear only men seeking to exert influence for some selfish motive. They mock and deride, as did a man named Korihor, with these words recorded in the Book of Mormon: “And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of your fathers, and according to your own desires; and ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that they durst not enjoy their rights and privileges.” (Alma 30:27)
Korihor was arguing, as men and women have falsely argued from the beginning of time, that to take counsel from the servants of God is to surrender God-given rights of independence. But the argument is false because it misrepresents reality. When we reject the counsel which comes from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influences. We choose another influence. We reject the protection of a perfectly loving, all-powerful, all-knowing Father in Heaven, whose whole purpose as that of His Beloved Son, is to give us eternal life, to give us all that He has, and to bring us home again in families to the arms of His love. In rejecting His counsel , we choose the influence of another power, whose purpose is to make us miserable and whose motive is hatred. We have moral agency as a gift of God. Rather than the right to be free to choose to be free of influence, it is the inalienable right to submit ourselves to whichever of the powers we choose.
Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the arc was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.
Every time in my life when I have chosen to delay following inspired counsel, or decided that I was an exception, I came to know that I had put myself in harms way. Every time that I have listened to the counsel of prophets, felt it confirmed in prayer, and followed it, I have found that I moved toward safety. Along the path I found that the way had been prepared for me and the rough places made smooth. God led me to safety along a path which was prepared with loving care, sometimes prepared long before. ~ Henry B. Eyring, “Because He First Loved Us,” ps. 79-81 Deseret Book, 2002
