Is it any surprise that we find some of the most powerful sermons in scripture following Alma’s decision to give up the judgement seat and try the virtue of the word of God?
There is virtue in the words of ancient and modern prophets precisely because their words are His words.
Alma taught … “their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word.” Perhaps you are feeling as though you were in the midst of darkness. Does your soul ache for illumination? If so, please try the virtue of the word of God.
… Ammon said, “Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us.” …
… in the book of Helaman we read, “Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man [and woman] of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery … and land their souls … at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven.” Are you seeking to cut through all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil so prevalent in the philosophies of our day? Do you desire to disperse the clouds of confusion caused by an overabundance of information in order to focus more singularly on the covenant path? Please try the virtue of the word of God.
As we consider this question, it is essential to remember that the phrase “the word,” as used in scripture, has at least two meanings. Elder David A. Bednar recently taught that “one of the names of Jesus Christ is ‘The Word’” and that “the teachings of the Savior, as recorded in the holy scriptures, also are ‘the word.’”
There is virtue in the words of ancient and modern prophets precisely because their words are the Lord’s words. My dear friends, accepting this eternal truth is critical to our spiritual survival in the latter days when, as prophesied, there is “a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”
It is interesting to note that the famine is not because the words are not available but because we cannot distribute them everywhere or because we don’t come where they are.
I testify that our Heavenly Father has given us the word because He loves us perfectly and wants each of us to return home to live with Him forever. I testify of “the Word … made flesh,” even Jesus the Christ, and of His power to save and to redeem us. I know that His virtue flows through the words of His prophets, both past and present.
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