Follow the prophet

This week in my New Testament class I studied Acts Chapters 27 and 28. The main thing that these chapters taught me is that we should harken unto the words of the prophet because his prophecies will always be fulfilled. In Acts Chapter 27 Paul contains 4 different prophecies. All of these prophecies are fulfilled, yet some of the ship’s passengers are reluctant to follow his instructions even after his first prophecy is fulfilled. Before the ship even leaves the harbor Paul councils, “I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives” (Acts 27:10).
Although the soldiers were among the group that was slow to listen to the words of Paul, their leader, the centurion, was converted and fully believed that Paul’s prophesying was true. Because the centurion believed and commanded his soldiers to obey Paul as well, “they escaped all to safe land” (Acts 27:44).
The message of this chapter also applies to my life now. Sometimes it may be difficult to follow the words of the prophet because he asks me to do something hard, something unlikely, or something that I simply do not want to do. But, there is danger in not harkening to a prophet’s words because his prophecies are from the Lord, and they are always fulfilled.
We are privileged to have a living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson who communicates with the Lord and shares exactly what He would have us know at an assembly held biannually called general conference. I have a testimony that President Monson is God’s prophet on the earth today, and if we obey his words the Lord will bless us.