The Church Is Founded on Prophets and Apostles, with Jesus Christ as the Chief Cornerstone

From the doctrine of the plan of salvation, we learn that we once lived with our Heavenly Father. We came to earth to learn and to acquire the attributes which will qualify us to live with Him again.

To assist us in our quest to return home safely, not only did he send his Only Begotten Son, but He called prophets and apostles throughout time. To these servants, He reveals His will that we perish not. (See Amos 3:7.)

Speaking about the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ, President Oaks said:

“The work of the Lord requires an organization led by the Lord through leaders He has chosen and authorized and whom He directs in carrying out His purposes. Scriptural history shows that such leaders have been either a prophet or prophets and apostles. This was the pattern in the years of covenant Israel and in the meridian of time, and it continues in the restored Church of Jesus Christ.”¹

Prior to my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I associated for many years with another Christian denomination. There, the notion of prophets and apostles was a thing of the past. Discussion about topics such as modern revelation or living prophets and apostles were prohibited.

In 1995, I was still working on my understanding of this doctrine when President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) visited London. We were invited to a special meeting at Wandsworth Stake center. There, something indescribable happened which strengthened my testimony of a living prophet. As the company started entering the chapel, my attention was immediately drawn to President Hinckley, and I had an overwhelming feeling as if a voice spoke to me saying “This is the living prophet on the earth today. He is the mouthpiece of the Savior”. I am grateful for that personal experience. This became an anchor to my understanding of the need for a living prophet and the importance of following his counsel.

Like the original church that Jesus Christ established during His mortal ministry, the Church today is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). We have twelve Apostles, as well as the President of the Church and his counselors, who are all prophets, seers, and revelators. They testify of Jesus Christ and preach His gospel to all nations as they travel the world and speak to us through modern technology.

Whilst explaining the organization of the Church, Paul taught the Saints of Ephesus, and I would say latter-day Saints, that our membership in the Lord’s Church provides a sense of community and belonging. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

When we listen to and follow the prophet and the apostles, the Holy Ghost guides us. We receive protection and are blessed in our attempts to emulate the attributes of Jesus Christ.

When I was serving as a bishop, I worked with brother Utibe Effiong Akpan who left school early without a proper education, qualifications, or marketable skills. He was working in lots of different odd jobs, for long hours and low wages when the missionaries found him and introduced him to the restored gospel. I met with Effiong a few times during missionary discussions; his life was full of challenges, questionable friends, and poor choices.

After several weeks of missionary discussions, Effiong decided to make the necessary changes and become baptized. He quickly learned about the prophet’s counsel to get an education, to gain marketable skills and to become self-reliant. Shortly after joining the Church, he enrolled in one of the self-reliance programs. He later qualified for a PEF loan to learn a trade. Effiong worked at night as a security guard, and by day he studied welding.

Several months later, Effiong graduated as a fully qualified argon welder. However, his journey towards self-reliance was not over and far from easy. He faced many months of challenges as he tried to find work on building sites around the city. Sometimes they didn’t pay him, sometimes it was hard to find good employment and he often had to walk many miles in the hot sun from building site to building site, but Effiong continued, trusting in the Lord and the promises made by living prophets. Finally, his patience, faith and hard work paid off and he was able to secure good welding contracts on building sites.

As Effiong continued to study the words of the prophets and to learn about the plan of salvation, he realized the importance of an eternal family. He found one of our Heavenly Father’s lovely daughters in our ward and together they were sealed in the Aba Nigeria Temple. Effiong continued working for a while in Lagos but life got harder and harder as financial problems hit the city and so he relocated to his home state. He now works in the education department of the local government as an instructor. Today, Effiong and his wife, Praise Chukwewike Effiong, are living happily with their three children and raising them “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (see Ephesians 6:4).

When I was their bishop, I witnessed the challenges that they faced in the early days of their marriage, life was not easy. However, they have trusted the Lord through the good and the bad times and are both fully active and serving in their local ward.

When we heed the counsel and apply the teachings of prophets and apostles, our testimony is strengthened, and we are blessed both temporally and spiritually. As Paul taught the Philippian Saints, trusting in the Lord brings “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). The temporal blessings do not always come immediately, but as Effiong and his wife learned, if we follow the teachings of the Lord’s prophets, even when we do not comprehend, all will come right in the end. Sometimes our journey requires faith, patience, and hope; often we need to repent, change our lives, and become a new and better person through the grace of Jesus Christ. I am grateful to Jesus Christ for His atoning sacrifice and I love Him very much.

As we support one another through the good and bad times, we become one in our families, wards, communities and even our nations. We are blessed to have a living mouthpiece of the Lord who receives revelation and inspiration tailored to the challenges and complexities of our day. I am grateful for the blessings that I have received as I have personally tried to follow the counsel of President Russell M. Nelson and the leaders of the Church.