{"id":4698,"date":"1979-09-30T13:47:47","date_gmt":"1979-09-30T19:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speeches.byu.edu\/?p=4698"},"modified":"2021-03-15T10:48:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T16:48:39","slug":"man-must-called-god","status":"publish","type":"speech","link":"https:\/\/speeches.byu.edu\/talks\/mark-e-petersen\/man-must-called-god\/","title":{"rendered":"A Man Must Be Called of God"},"content":{"rendered":"
It is certainly a great privilege and a greater inspiration to be here in your presence. I think that I have never seen this many people in this building before, and to know that you are all here worshipping God and wanting to hear more about his work makes me feel very humble before you.<\/p>\n
But I want you to know that I am grateful for the privilege of being here; I am grateful for the inspiration you are to me; I am grateful for this great University and for the marvelous work that it is doing, not only on this campus but in many parts of the world as your groups travel from place to place.<\/p>\n
I believe that you represent one of the finest testimonies for the truthfulness of this Church for which we could ask. It is a marvelous thing in a day like this, with all of the difficulties there are in the world, to have this many young people all under one roof\u2014more than 20,000 of you\u2014here believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and coming to worship him and to receive the gift of his Holy Spirit as you sit here. I think that it is a great tribute to the Church, and a great tribute to all of you and to the homes from which you come, and that it shows the depth of your conversion.<\/p>\n
When President Pearson spoke about the Lord Jesus Christ, I thought it would be quite appropriate to read one of the testimonies that Paul gave of the Savior. It is one of the finest that we have in holy writ\u2014it is found in the first chapter of Colossians, verses fourteen through eighteen. He is talking here about the Savior:<\/p>\n
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:<\/i><\/p>\n
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:<\/i><\/p>\n
For by him were all things created\u00a0<\/i>[and that is something that we should remember], that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:<\/i><\/p>\n
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist:<\/i><\/p>\n
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.<\/i><\/p>\n
What a marvelous testimony to the Savior! You remember that when Paul wrote of the Savior to the Hebrews and said very much the same thing in the first and second verses of the first chapter of that epistle.<\/p>\n
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets,<\/i><\/p>\n
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.<\/i><\/p>\n
Again Paul testifies that Jesus Christ is the Creator and that creation came about by an act of the Son of God. It did not come about by accident; it did not come about just spontaneously. It came about by an act of God working through the Son, Jesus Christ. And that is why John spoke as he did:<\/p>\n
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.<\/i><\/p>\n
The same was in the beginning with God.<\/i><\/p>\n
All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.<\/i>\u00a0[John 1:1\u20133]<\/p>\n
I have become interested in some of the other translations of that first verse, because it has led many people astray and made them think that there was one God with three different names or personalities. It is interesting to see how some of these other translations read. William Barclay of the Church of Scotland wrote this as his translation:<\/p>\n
When the world had its beginning, the Word was already there, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God; he was the agent through whom all things were made.<\/i><\/p>\n
The\u00a0Goodspeed American Bible<\/i>\u00a0says:<\/p>\n
In the beginning the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was divine. It was he that was with God in the beginning. Everything came into existence through him and apart from him nothing came to be.<\/i><\/p>\n
I like what the\u00a0New World Translation<\/i>\u00a0has to say:<\/p>\n
In the beginning the Word was; and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.<\/i><\/p>\n
We bear testimony with Paul and John and the others that Jesus Christ indeed is the Son of God. He lives! He is as much alive today as he ever was. He is a being, a real being\u2014physical, resurrected, glorious, celestialized\u2014and he has come back into the world in this day and raised up new prophets of God and speaks through them. It is the testimony of the modern prophets whom he has raised up that indeed Jesus Christ does live. He is the Son of God; he is divine. That is the testimony that we bear, and that is the testimony that we hope every one of you will bear in your hearts and in your actions and in your thoughts.<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ lives. He is the Savior of the world, the Redeemer of all mankind, the Messiah of the Jews, the Savior of the Christians. Jesus Christ is the Son of God!<\/p>\n
I am grateful for our first article of faith. Would you recite that with me? You remember that first article of faith\u2014let us say it together. [Elder Petersen and congregation recite in unison] \u201cWe believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.\u201d And we mean it. We\u00a0do<\/i>\u00a0believe, and we know that he is the Son of God, that God is our Father, and that the Holy Ghost is our minister.<\/p>\n
Would you repeat another one? You remember the fourth article that speaks about the principles and ordinances of the gospel. Say that with me, will you? [Elder Petersen and congregation recite in unison] \u201cWe believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.\u201d<\/p>\n
And tonight, because I would like to talk a bit about our great prophet, President Kimball, would you repeat the fifth and sixth articles also? The fifth: [Elder Petersen and congregation recite in unison] \u201cWe believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.\u201d<\/p>\n
And you remember the sixth one: [Elder Petersen and congregation recite in unison] \u201cWe believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n
Very good; thank you. I hope that you said that not only as a recitation but as a pledge of allegiance also, because we surely love the great men who run this Church.<\/p>\n
General conference begins this week. For us General Authorities, conference will begin Tuesday, when we will have training meetings with the brethren who come in from various parts of the world. All of the General Authorities will be here with the exception of Brother Busche in Germany, who has had an illness come upon him suddenly, and whose doctors said it would be better if he were not to come.<\/p>\n
But I am glad to be able to tell you that President Kimball will be there, and we are thrilled by that. He has had a serious illness, but he has also had a most remarkable recovery. His expectation is that he will attend all of the sessions of the conference and that he will speak in most of them. We are very grateful for that.<\/p>\n
It is going to be a significant occasion. I mentioned to some people earlier that I thought this would be a different kind of conference, because it will be a culmination of the faith and prayers of all of the Saints throughout the world looking toward President Kimball\u2019s recovery. Now he will be there and they can see him, either in the flesh in the Tabernacle or over the television.<\/p>\n
We are thrilled with President Kimball\u2019s recovery. He is such a marvelous, remarkable man\u2014humble, but so devoted and so dedicated in every way to the work. And we are grateful for his counselors, who have stood by his side through this illness especially, but also all through the five or six years in which he has served; and for the Council of the Twelve, who stand by and about him and sustain him in every way. They are the prophets of God.<\/p>\n
Years ago one of the minor prophets, as we sometimes refer to him, gave us one of the basic doctrines of the Church. It is one that each of us needs to remember; it is one that has particular application to us as a result of the restoration of the gospel. This was the prophet Amos, and the statement he made that is so significant is: \u201cSurely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets\u201d (Amos 3:7).<\/p>\n
That precept is so true and has held so firmly all through the years that every one of us must recognize it; God simply does not work except through prophets. There has never been a period in the history of the Church from Adam down through all the dispensations when he has labored with the people that he did not so labor through prophets. That is one of the fundamental principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: God will work only through prophets.<\/p>\n
When the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he spoke to them as new converts to the Church\u2014and I suppose that most of them were, because he had helped to convert them. Apparently some of them were not fellowshipped very well, as is the case even now with some of our new people, because Paul wrote and said, \u201cNow therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.\u201d He then went on to the subject about which I would like to talk tonight: that they, the members of the Church, and the Church itself were<\/p>\n
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;<\/i><\/p>\n
In whom all the building fitly famed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.\u00a0<\/i>[Ephesians 2:19\u201321]<\/p>\n
We do not hear this taught very much, and I do not know why. Try to grasp the significance of this, if you will. What is the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ? The apostles and the prophets, together with Christ, who is the chief cornerstone.<\/p>\n
Get it clearly in mind. The apostles and prophets are not ordinary appointees or officers in the Church. We have many officers in the Church, but the apostles and prophets are entirely different because they are actually the foundation on which the Church is built, with Christ being the chief cornerstone. We cannot separate Christ from the apostles, and we cannot separate the apostles from Christ; they are the foundation of this Church, with the Christ being the chief cornerstone.<\/p>\n
I would like to read to you what some of the other Bible translations say about this, in case anyone should argue about it. The\u00a0American Translation<\/i>\u00a0by Goodspeed put it this way: \u201cYou are built upon the apostles and prophets as your foundation [note that wording], and Jesus Christ himself is the cornerstone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Moffatt<\/i>\u00a0version says: \u201cYou are a building that rests on the apostles and prophets as your foundation with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Standard Revised Version<\/i>\u00a0says: \u201cBuilt upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Roman Catholic Church has recently produced a wonderful translation of the Bible. It was published in 1972 and is known as the\u00a0New American Bible<\/i>. It says: \u201cYou form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Church of Scotland Bible by Barclay: \u201cIt is on the foundation of the prophets and apostles that you have been built up, and the cornerstone is Christ himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The New World Bible<\/i>: \u201cYou have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the Knox, another Catholic Bible, says: \u201cApostles and prophets are the foundation on which you are built, and the chief cornerstone is Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a third Catholic Bible, the\u00a0Jerusalem Version<\/i>: \u201cYou are a part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundation, and Christ himself for its main cornerstone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you see the significance of what I am trying to point out? Do you see that when you listen this coming week to President Kimball and his counselors and the members of the Council of the Twelve you should think of them in terms of the very foundation of the Church? That is the way it was anciently, and there has been a restoration of everything in this day.<\/p>\n
You remember when Peter spoke on that marvelous day when he announced the second coming of Christ. You remember that he said that Christ would come again, but that he would be retained in heaven \u201cuntil the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets\u201d from the beginning of the world. (See Acts 3:20\u201321.) Everything was to be restored.<\/p>\n
That is indication, of course, that there would be a complete and universal apostasy. That is why there had to be a complete and universal restoration, and part of that restoration was the restoration of the foundation of the Church: the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, with he himself as the chief cornerstone.<\/p>\n
We can understand a little better, then, why Amos spoke as he did. \u201cSurely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants, the prophets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let me read you some thing from Brigham Young:<\/p>\n