THE LIVING WORD

"While I was on a trip to Brazil with two colleagues from Brigham Young University-Idaho, we had the opportunity to spend several days in the Amazon Jungle on the Rio Negro. The river is enormous beyond imagination, and the vegetation in the jungle is thick. One could easily lose his way if he were to venture into it without a guide. Our guide, Moreno, was a native of Italy. He knew the jungle and the river well. Now in his late 30's, he had realized his childhood dream of living in the Amazon Jungle.

Our small group boarded a canoe docked at our floating hotel and departed for the starting point of our hike. We were fascinated by what we saw and impressed by Moreno's deep knowledge and his ability to lead us through the thick and imposing jungle. As we walked he would explain the various plants, animals, insects, and vegetation that surrounded us. He taught us about plants and insects that could be harmful if we were not careful. He also pointed out various plants that Amazon Indians had used for medicinal or other useful purposes. Deeper into the jungle we went. We truly had no idea where we were going. We merely followed Moreno and trusted that he would get us safely back to our canoe and eventually our hotel.

At one point, Moreno stopped the group, and we all gathered around him. "This jungle is hot and humid", he said. "We are at least a mile from the river, and a person cannot live here without water. You would die quickly. There is water right here, right now, where we are. Can any of you see it?" We could not. All we saw were trees, vines and shrubs. The mosquitoes seemed to be everywhere. None of us had any idea where there might be water nearby. With a smile on his face, Moreno said, "Let me show you." He grabbed his machete and walked to a vine, lightly covered with green velvet moss. After two quick swings, he was holding a piece of the vine in his hand. We still didn't understand. "Water is right here", he said, "right in my hand". Just then he lifted the vine vertically and clear, cool water came dripping out! We were all amazed. As we looked around, we could now see similar vines everywhere. Some were large, others small but once we were taught by one who knew, we saw that in this jungle there was an abundance of water. We each took turns drinking from the vine. As we hiked back to our canoe we continued to see that water was everywhere now we knew where to look.

I have since thought about this experience in relationship to the true vine, living water, and following one who knows. In John 15:1, Jesus teaches us that He is the true vine and His Father is the husbandman. In 1 Nephi 15:15, we read Nephi's prophetic teachings to his unbelieving brethren regarding the remnant of Lehi's seed: "Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine?"  In John 4:14, the Saviour teaches a woman of Samaria that He is the one who gives living water: "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life". As we read about what Nephi saw in vision in 1 Nephi 11:25, we also learn of the 'fountain of living waters.....which waters are a representation of the love of God'.

Just as Moreno guided our group through the jungles of the Amazon, modern-day prophets can lead us through the jungles of life. If we trust them, they will point us to the true vine and living water."
(Bruce C. Kusch, "Living Water in the Rain Forest", Ensign Feb 2006)

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets"
Amos 3:7

When Amos was called to preach repentance to the House of Israel around 750 B.C., the Israelites were so far gone in iniquity that they were no longer considered a 'peculiar people'. In fact the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Judah were included in the list of evil nations upon which Amos pronounced curses and calamities which which the Lord would punish them. Israel, who was once favoured was condemned all the more because of the privileges they had enjoyed by virtue of being a covenant people. They had been given the law of God and, therefore, more was expected of them. Instead of living up to that expectation, they squandered their right to be the favoured people by going in the opposite direction. So gross were their sins of idolatry and oppression of the poor that the Lord rejected the whole nation's present and future sacrifices and offerings. So addicted were the Israelites to idolatry that they carried everywhere they went miniature replicas of heathen gods Moloch and Chiun that the Israelite women had adopted (Amos 5:26). And so evil had the women of Samaria become (Amos 4:1-3) that they 'urged their husbands to bring them food bought with money squeezed from the poor' (Old Testament Student Manual, 1 Kings-Malachi, p. 92).  The oppression of the poor was rife amongst the whole nation which showed no mercy or justice to the point where the people 'longed to see the poor in such a state of misery that they threw dust on their heads (a sign of mourning)' (Old Testament Student Manual, p. 91).

We can learn several lessons from the ministry of Amos:

• The Lord always gives us a lot of opportunities and ample time to repent. In the course of Amos' ministry, Israelites were afflicted with famine, drought, earthquake, floods, heat waves, dust and sand storms, wildfire, excessive rain, mildew and crop blight, insect infestations (grasshoppers, palmerworm etc.), siege, battle losses, and even captivity of various cities or areas for periods of time. When recounting these afflictions, Amos repeatedly points out: 'yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord'. Then he issues a most chilling edict: 'prepare to meet thy God, O Israel' (Amos 4:6-12).

• The Lord never does anything regarding his children without telling them so first through his prophets. In Amos' words: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). What is a prophet and what are the secrets he reveals? In a broad sense, a prophet is someone who bears special witness of Jesus Christ, meaning we all could be prophets. Anciently, there were periods where several prophets were called at the same time. It is supposed that Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea and that they administered to the House of Israel concurrently. The Office of a Prophet, however, is held by one man at a time who is also the President of the Church. In that capacity, he is also a seer and a revelator. In simplistic terms, a prophet is a teacher of known truth; a seer is a perceiver of hidden truth and a revelator is a bearer of new truth. Many of the 'secrets' Amos talks about deal with the future,, often the latter days - our days. God would have no secrets between us. He wants us to know most and eventually all of what He knows. For this purpose He calls prophets to impart knowledge to us. Once God reveals his mind to humanity, there are no secrets, only revelations.

• God is fair and extremely patient and long-suffering but He is also just. His repeated many warnings during Amos ministry did nothing to bring the people to repentance. In all fairness then, they were warned. All God's judgments that Amos pronounced upon Israel and their enemies were fulfilled within 30 years of his ministry. In 721 B.C. Assyria swept out of the north, captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel and took the ten tribes into captivity.  Amos' prophecies for our day are also being fulfilled.  With war and pestilence and famine, with poverty and desolation in the world today, it behooves us to pay attention to the prophets, seers and revelators  to lead us to 'through the jungles of life to the vine and living water' that ancient Israel so blatantly rejected. 

Because Israel rejected the word of God, Amos predicted a famine of His word, which served as a dual prophecy: "The hardness of their hearts reached such a state that from 400 B.C. until the ministry of John the Baptist, which began in 30 A.D., as far as we know there were no prophets in Israel. But Amos' prophecy was also fulfilled at a later time. After Christ re-established His Church on earth, it too eventually fell into apostasy. Again revelation ceased, and there was a great famine of the word of God, this famine lasting for well over a thousand years." (Old Testament Student Manual, 1 Kings-Malachi, p. 94). That's a long time to go without a prophet who is the embodiment of 'the living word' which flows through revelation from God to His children. This period of time embedded in people the belief that revelation was dead and that the scriptures are the only directive we have to rely on. God, however, in his mercy and never-ending kindness does not wish for the destruction of his children. His plan is secure and all his purposes will be fulfilled.   

"After centuries of spiritual darkness....we solemnly announce to all the world that the spiritual famine is ended. the spiritual drought is spent, the word of the Lord in its purity and totalness is available to all men. One needs not wander from sea to sea nor from north to the east, seeking the true gospel as Amos predicted, for the everlasting truth is available" (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1964, pp 93-93).

"A young lad..... Joseph Smith, of incomparable faith, broke the spell, shattered the 'heavens of iron' and re-established communication. Heaven kissed the earth, light dissipated the darkness, and God again spoke to man, revealing anew 'his secret unto his servants the prophets' (Amos 3:7). A new prophet was in the land and through him God set up his kingdom, never to be destroyed nor left to another people - a kingdom that will stand forever. The foreverness of this kingdom and the revelations which it brought into existence are absolute realities. Never again will the sun go down; never again will all men prove totally unworthy of communication with their Maker. Never again will God be hidden from his children on the earth. Revelation is here to remain." (Spencer W. Kimball, "Revelation: The Word of the Lord to His Prophets", Ensign, May 1977, p. 76)

"For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, that createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name." (Amos 4:13)