Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe in revelation, both personally and for the entire Church. The man who receives revelation for the Church is our beloved prophet, currently Thomas S. Monson. I have many times in my life felt truly inspired by his words and the words of countless other modern-day prophets and apostles. I would now like to share a recent experience, and not so recent, experience I had from listening to the prophet’s voice.

I am currently finishing up my last year of undergraduate schooling and applying to graduate schools. It is incredibly exciting but excruciatingly terrifying. There is so much doubt and anxiety ahead of me as I pursue my career path, and my mind has been bogged with question upon question of where and how and when. However, the most difficult question I have been asking myself lately is, “Can I really do ALL of this?” There is always doubt in big decisions, such as choosing a career, but this was deeper for me. I was starting to feel lost: I have no idea which school I will go to, what state I will be in, how much money I will have, if I will be able to get a good job after I graduate; the list goes on and on. The immense pressure of ambiguity was weighing on me heavily one day, so I thought distracting myself by seeing what schoolwork I could do might ease a little of my anxiety. I opened my planner—the one BYU makes that has quotes in it—and read the quote on the bottom of the page. It says:

I plead with you, my young brothers and sisters, to remember who you are. You are sons and daughters of Almighty God. You have a destiny to fulfill, a life to live, a contribution to make, a goal to achieve. The future of the kingdom of God upon the earth will, in part, be aided by your devotion. –Thomas S. Monson

My eyes began to fill with tears because I was reminded of a devotional three years earlier. I had only been at BYU for about two months, and President Monson was the devotional speaker. I had to sit WAY up in the bleachers of the Marriott center, but the part of his message that inspired me the most was when he quoted The Lion King and said “Look inside yourself. You are more than what you have become. Remember who you are.” After hearing that from the prophet, I was reminded of who I am: a beloved daughter of God with a purpose to be an example of Christ throughout my life as well as in the career I want to pursue. I was then filled with strength and determination that the path I was choosing was a worthy goal in God’s eyes for me to achieve, and that He would help me through it so that I could become more than I already am. As I came back from this memory, I also realized the most important lesson of all: no matter where my life takes me, it will be the destiny God wants and needs me to fulfill because I am His beloved daughter. As I have humbled myself before my Father with this knowledge, He has answered with miracles to help me achieve my goals and fulfill my divine destiny here on Earth.

I would never have learned this important principle without the words of the prophet. I testify that he is truly a prophet of God, and speaks for God to all who will listen and receive His words. I also testify that our Heavenly Father loves each of us perfectly and desires that we fulfill the divine destinies He has created for each of us, with the end goal of returning to live with Him and Jesus Christ. So now, especially with General Conference quickly approaching us, I challenge all who read this to come and listen to the prophet’s voice to find peace, solace and joy.

Sami Pehrson

To learn more about what General Conference is click here.