Follow the Prophet by Asking These 4 Questions

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By Aimee Cobabe, Church News

Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch started fall semester on Tuesday, September 17, by inviting students, faculty and staff to “consider President Russell M. Nelson’s most recent prophetic counsel.”

He pointed out four questions President Nelson has asked:

1. What kind of life am I living?
2. Am I letting God prevail in my life, and what does that mean for me?
3. Am I staying on or straying from the covenant path?
4. Am I preparing to live with God again?

He warned not to “cast away or esteem as things of naught the admonition and counsel that come from living prophets” (see 2 Nephi 33:2).

He then focused his devotional address on the importance of asking each question.

Question 1: What Kind of Life Am I Living?

President Kusch quoted from President Nelson’s October 2023 general conference message, “Think Celestial.”

“When you make choices, I invite you to take the long view — an eternal view. Put Jesus Christ first because your eternal life is dependent upon your faith in Him and in His Atonement. ... When you are confronted with a dilemma, think celestial!” President Nelson said.

President Kusch said that in his marriage with Sister Alynda Kusch, they have tried to think celestial as they make decisions for their family.

“We have never knowingly or deliberately made a decision and said, ‘This time, we’ll just think telestial or terrestrial,’” President Kusch said.

They have not strayed from the covenant path, President Kusch added, but they have felt the need for course correction in the past. On one occasion he had to change employment because his job was taking him away from family.

“Which was a blessing for our family in many ways,” he said of changing jobs.

Question 2: Am I Letting God Prevail in my Life, and What Does That Mean for Me?

President Kusch quoted President Nelson from an October 2020 talk.

“The question for each of us, regardless of race, is the same. Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?” President Nelson asked.

President Kusch then invited those in attendance to think of “any decision you have made to put God first, even when you knew it would be difficult.”

“All of those things are examples of letting God prevail,” he testified.

Question 3: Am I Staying On or Straying From the Covenant Path?

“Is there a message that President Nelson has delivered more frequently than his repeated pleas to stay on the covenant path or to find our way back if we have strayed?” President Kusch asked.

He then pointed out the titles of many of President Nelson’s messages as an example of how the Prophet “helps us along our journey of discipleship.”

The titles are:

• “Think Celestial.”
• “The Answer Is Always Jesus Christ.”
• “Peacemakers Needed.”
• “Focus on the Temple.”
  “We will never regret following the counsel of living prophets.” —President Bruce C. Kusch
• “Overcome the World and Find Rest.”
• “The Power of Spiritual Momentum.”
• “Make Time for the Lord.”
• “Let God Prevail.”
• “Hear Him.”
• “Opening the Heavens for Help.”
• “Choices for Eternity.”

“We will never regret following the counsel of living prophets,” President Kusch said. “I promise that as you listen to, read, study and seek to apply the words of President Nelson given at a general conference, the Holy Ghost will make the message specific to you and your needs.”

Question 4: Am I Preparing to Live With God Again?

President Kusch said, “How we answer the previous three questions will provide the answer to this fourth and final question.”

“If we are living a covenant-making and covenant-keeping life, we are preparing to live with God again,” he said.

And he said the same is true “if we let God prevail in our lives, if we are repenting daily and diligently striving to remain on or return to the covenant path, and if we are taking the words of living prophets — especially the teachings of the President of the Church — as our guides.”

He concluded by bearing a personal testimony of the prophetic calling and ministry of President Nelson.

“With all the energy of my soul I witness that following the Lord’s Prophet with exactness will protect us and will strengthen us on our journey to return to God’s presence,” he said. “How blessed we are to know that there is a prophet in the land. How much more blessed we are when we listen and follow what he teaches.”

Take Charge of the In-Between

Joining President Kusch in the devotional, Sister Alynda Kusch taught students how she has learned the importance of following the Spirit during what she calls the “in between.” She described this as the time each week between Sundays.

Sister Kusch shared a story from when she and President Kusch were serving in Mexico. They were planning on driving to Acapulco — three hours away — when Sister Kusch suddenly had a feeling of dread about making the trip.

They decided against traveling, and by doing so, avoided Hurricane Manuel which made landfall in Acapulco that night and caused significant damage to the city.

“Had we made that trip to Acapulco, it would have been miserable for us because we would have been stranded along with thousands of others for more than a week in a city where the infrastructure was destroyed,” Sister Kusch said.

This was a time when the Lord’s message came to Sister Kusch during the in between.

“I was grateful for revelation received in a car along a highway in Mexico,” she said.

She testified that the Holy Ghost is active every day and everywhere “unless you have taken yourself to some place where He cannot be.”

“If you seek to hear the voice of the Lord, He is there and you can hear Him,” Sister Kusch taught.

She encouraged students to create a personal list of things to do during the week to have experiences with the Spirit more often.

“In a quiet moment, ask Heavenly Father to teach you those things that you should do, or the things you should avoid doing, so that you will feel the Savior’s love and influence in your life,” she said. “Ask the Lord to help you understand how you can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost more often. Then, be still and listen to what He is inspiring you to do.”

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