We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet

I remember when the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley died. I LOVED this man. He was the prophet since I was in high school; he was my college roommate's grandfather; and he was an incredible and inspiring man of God. President Thomas S. Monson was his successor and I'll be honest, he was never my favorite. But at his first General Conference as prophet, I had a beautiful manifestation of the mantle Heavenly Father had passed to His new prophet on earth. I fell in love with President Monson as I had President Hinckley.

So in January, when President Monson passed, I was eager to have that same experience with President Nelson. Years ago, when I actually started paying attention to General Conference, President Nelson gave a talk wherein he blew through a spool of thread in order to keep a playing card attached. It was an image I never forgot. For me, President Nelson was the slightly quirky heart surgeon unafraid to do something odd. I already loved him, but he had never served in the First Presidency the way Presidents Hinckley and Monson had. It felt odd to think of him as The Prophet.

Yesterday at the Saturday morning session of General Conference, deemed a solemn assembly, everyone was asked to stand when called upon and sustain our new prophet and his First Presidency. What a sacred experience to stand with my children and husband in the comfort of our own home and raise my hand to show no one but my family and my God that I will support and sustain His chosen Prophet. I was amazed at how profoundly it affected me.

But then, like, I'm sure everyone else was as well, I was utterly speechless the today as President Nelson made bold new changes to the administration of the church, urged us to work towards more continual personal revelation, and announced new temples (including one in Russia and one in India). The song "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet" takes on whole new meaning as it is evident that the Lord is actively leading and guiding His Church and hastening His work on the earth.

I am so thankful for a prophet. What a wonderful thing it is to feel confident that there is still a watchman on the tower in this day and age.