Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. That ground becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.

Every time in my life when I have chosen to delay following inspired counsel or decided that I was an exception, I came to know that I had put myself in harm’s way. Every time that I have listened to the counsel of prophets, felt it confirmed in prayer, and then followed it, I have found that I moved toward safety. Along the path, I have found that the way had been prepared for me and the rough places made smooth. God led me to safety along a path that was prepared with loving care, sometimes prepared long before.

The sacrament reminds me not just of the covenants I made at baptism but also of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Atonement of Christ truly qualifies Him to invite you and me to follow Him into the presence of our Heavenly Father. Recall the invitation from Christ to come unto Him that we read in Matthew. We are all “heavy laden.” We each have cares, concerns, and sins that cause us to be heavy laden. It is through our repentance that we can receive rest. It is through our continued obedience to the commandments that we can receive rest. It is through the atoning sacrifice of the Savior that it is possible for Him to make a promise of rest.

...we will never be prompted by the Holy Ghost to do something we cannot do. It may require extraordinary effort and much time, patience, prayer, and obedience, but we can do it.

It is through the repeated process of feeling impressions, recording them, and obeying them that one learns to depend on the direction of the Spirit more than on communication through the other five senses.

From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.

There is a connection between nurturing people in light and truth and the way we teach obedience. Wise mission presidents learn that early. In a mission, obedience is essential for the safety of the missionaries, if for no other reason. There are rules for staying with a companion. There are rules about where a missionary can go. There are rules about driving cars. There are rules about when a missionary should be out of the place he or she lives and when to be back at night and when to go to bed.

The great opportunity in teaching obedience to missionaries is to help them see the connection between the Savior, the companionship of the Spirit, and love. It is to teach them that obedience to the commands of the Father and His Son out of love for Them brings the Spirit. The companionship of the Spirit will bring light and truth, the foundation of successful missionary work and of a happy life. It can be taught in simple matters. Missionaries can put on their seat belts because they remember the safety video from the last zone conference. Or they can do it because they love the mission president and he told them to do it. It is a completely different experience to do it because they think of the Savior’s love and that He cares so much for their service and that He loves them so much that He wants them to be safe. The truth is that He needs us. He loves us. When missionaries feel that love of the Savior as they buckle up, they are more than safe in the car. They will be safe against the power of evil in the ministry, and they will be safe against more dangers than traffic accidents. They will have learned obedience to the Lord. They will encounter other rules and there will be other presidents, but the loving Savior will not change, and He will always be there.

Always keep in view that the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms - the earth and its fulness - will all, except the children of men, abide their creation--the law by which they were made, and will receive their exaltation.

We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have been instructed in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees, until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the propriety, justice, equality, and consistency of the same... It is necessary for men to receive an understanding concerning the laws of the heavenly kingdom, before they are permitted to enter it: we mean the celestial glory... The conditions of God's kingdom are such, that all who are made partakers of that glory, are under the necessity of learning something respecting it previous to their entering into it.

Though our lives are different, we can each expect to face challenges and to encounter disappointment and even disillusionment. Where are the answers to our challenges and concerns to be found?

Sister Mary Ellen W. Smoot, Relief Society general president, has declared that “in this monumental time in history … , everyone wants to find answers that will make a difference in their lives. As Relief Society sisters, we can help all of God’s children to see that answers are found where they always have been: in scriptures, in prophets’ teachings, and in obedience to both” (Sweet Is the Work [2000], 56).

Indeed, help with our challenges, our worries, our everyday problems, and our concerns can be found in obedience to teachings of prophets ancient and modern. Is it any wonder, then, that Nephi read the writings of Isaiah to his family? “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning,” he explained (1 Ne. 19:23). Because there is safety in likening teachings of prophets unto ourselves, we, the Relief Society general presidency, desire all sisters in the Church to prayerfully search the scriptures and the counsel of latter-day leaders and to apply those truths in their lives.