As I was cleaning up the site, I found an article I wrote a few months ago and never published. Carol and I were asked to speak in Church and what follows is my talk. I’m not sure why I never clicked “Publish” back then, so I hope it means there was some higher purpose served in publishing it today. Maybe this talk is especially for you especially this weekend.

It’s only slightly outdated, referencing President Hinckley, who we miss terribly. It will be exciting and wonderful to hear President Monson’s first General Conference talk as President of the Church and Prophet of the Lord.

The Audience

by Ethan Allen Smith

The first four books of the New Testament; Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John (collectively known as the Gospels) are specifically written to four different crowds. This is significant.

Matthew was Jewish and one of the twelve Apostles called by Christ Himself; his gospel is written to other Jews familiar with the prophesies of the Old Testament.

Mark writes almost directly to the Romans; his fast-paced book includes Latin translations and, for the benefit of those who may be unfamiliar, specific descriptions of life and customs in Judea.

Luke was a historian, a Greek doctor, and the only Gospel writer who was never Jewish; he methodically and rationally details the life of Christ and the apostles through eye witness accounts. In fact, Luke’s account is so detailed that it was eventually split into two books: the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

John’s book stands unique as the only of the four Gospels actually written to Christians. His delicate portrayal of the Man Jesus is presented almost conversationally for those who already believe that He is the Savior. John spends less time on details and more time on divinity, using the word “love” in one of its forms more than 50 times.

Prophets always write to an audience. It’s part of what gives the scriptures their power. God is unchanging, yes, and the commandments are timeless, of course. But our Heavenly Father is also acutely aware that the problems that effect one generation can be wildly different than the issues dealt with by another. It’s for this very reason that God calls prophets in the first place: to give voice to His Word for His children.

Imagine, for example, the prophet Mormon. He witnessed nearly the entire destruction of his people. He had abridged a thousand-year record into a few hundred pages. He spent his life agonizing over which details to include and which to edit, often apologizing for having to remove some portion of the record.

And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.
And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ.

As he neared the end of his life, he handed these records to his son Moroni, who would eventually be the last of his people.

Unlike Luke, Mormon wasn’t compiling this record for a group of people he knew. The people he knew had died. Long after his people disappeared and even after the great civilizations throughout the Americas had been lost and forgotten, there would come a day when his writing would once again resonate with a group of people. Mormon had an audience. His audience is you.

Moroni wrote, “Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me… that day when these things shall come forth among you. Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me…”

Like the writers of the Gospels, the prophets in the Book of Mormon were speaking to a specific audience. But to add to that power, Mormon compiled those writings for you and me specifically. It’s one of the many reasons it was called “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and [that] a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

The first verse of scripture I ever highlighted was in the Book of Mormon. In Alma, specifically. I had never read the book before, so at night I would open it randomly and just start reading. I read Alma a lot because it’s big and in the middle. One night I read:

Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.

I had no understanding of where the book had come from or who Alma was, but I knew that verse was true. Later I would learn that Alma had been speaking to a group of outcasts. People who were poor and ignored by the higher class of people. It’s no wonder the verse affected me. I felt a part of Alma’s audience. Thank God Mormon was inspired to include it.

The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, also understands that scriptures, as powerful as they are, are still insufficient. Moses compiled a history of the world as a preface to his record of the Exodus, but still the Lord called another prophet who would continue writing when Moses died. Christ Himself established an organization that would survive His death. And when those apostles were gone, more took their place. The Lord doesn’t stop speaking when a prophet dies.

I once had a conversation with a friend who, after seeing the immense size of my scriptures, was offended that our Church would add to the Bible. I explained that we didn’t add anything to the Bible; the Bible still starts in Genesis and still ends with Revelation. What the extra pages represent are further revelations God has given to additional prophets. “Besides,” I said, “why would God stop talking to His children?”

In truth, He hasn’t. And He won’t. As Amos said, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

In the spring of 1820, this truth came roaring back to reality. The town of Palmyra, New York had a church on each corner of the main crossing downtown. A young man who lived there named Joseph Smith had attended each church (and more) in search of spiritual knowledge. But, as he said, “so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, it was impossible for a boy young as I was and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.” So he turned to the one place he knew he could find truth: the Bible. In James he read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

Joseph took the Lord at His word. He took a walk into the woods near his family farm. He knelt down and prayed to God for guidance. The response exceeded anything he had expected.

I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me… When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, ‘This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him.’

Our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ answered Joseph’s prayer personally and began what would become a lifetime of instruction and guidance.

While wonderfully rare, his experience was not unique. Moses, Samuel, Paul, and others had been given similar visions for similar purposes. Each had a specific message for a specific audience.

And just like the Church in ancient times, the Lord established an organization that would survive even after Joseph died.

That’s how it works. The Lord calls men who deliver a specific message to a specific audience. President Hinckley isn’t simply in charge of the day-to-day operations of a worldwide church. He isn’t just a good man who has devoted his life to his beliefs. He is literally a living prophet who receives direct revelation from the Lord. The power of President Hinckley’s message comes not only because he is a special witness of Christ, but because he understands the trials and concerns of God’s children today. Of course he does, he’s living here and experiencing it with us.

President Hinckley is able to speak to the problems that effect this generation uniquely. For example, in a recent Conference address, President Hinckley spoke to one of the overarching concerns that has been tearing this generation apart. He said, “Political differences never justify hatred or ill will. I hope that the Lord’s people may be at peace one with another during times of trouble, regardless of what loyalties they may have to different governments or parties.” Here in just a few words, we have a perfect portrait of a prophet speaking for a specific time of need.

We are so lucky to have living prophets, apostles, and general leadership who are inspired by God. My first experience as a member of “the audience” came in 1999. I watched the Sunday sessions of the April General Conference that year. I saw President Monson, David B. Haight, Boyd K. Packer, Sheri Dew, Henry B. Eyring, Joseph B. Wirthlin, M. Russell Ballard, and of course, President Gordon B. Hinckley.

I didn’t remember any of their talks.

The only talk I remembered was by a little known member of the Seventy named Cree-L Kofford. His talk was titled “Your Name is Safe in Our Home” and the subject was simple: don’t tell rumors and don’t talk behind the backs of others. He asked, “How can you say you love your fellowman when behind his back you seek to diminish his good name and reputation?” For me, it was a powerful, unforgettable talk.

This was before I was baptized. The next week at Church, the Bishop asked me if I had watched any of Conference. I told him I watched on Sunday.

“Did you like any of it?”

“I really liked that talk by Cree-L Kofford, Your Name is Safe in Our Home.”

“Oh really? Do you think you were feeling the Spirit?”

“I know I was feeling the Spirit.”

He stopped, looked at me, and said, “I will be at your baptism.”

I didn’t believe him, but he was right. He presided at my baptism less than a month later.

I am so grateful to know that the Lord still talks to His children. That He’s not a distant memory or the figment of an over-active imagination. That he hasn’t left us alone to fend for ourselves as the world slowly slips into chaos with little more than an ancient book to light our path.

No, he’s here. Maybe even right here. He lives. He loves us. His words are available all the time. Like Matthew and Mark, our prophets have an audience. And if you listen and pay close attention, you may just hear exactly what you’ve been waiting for. I promise, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.