The following transcript is intended to aid in your study. However, while we try to go through the transcript, our transcripts are primarily computer-generated and often contain errors. Please forgive the transcripts’ imperfections.
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[00:00:00] Tammy Uzelac Hall: In Sheri Dew's recent book titled Prophets Can See Around Corners, she wrote something that stopped me. She said, quote, Prophets are an extraordinary gift to those who believe. But those of us who have sung and talked about prophets throughout our lives may be at risk of becoming numb to how remarkable this blessing actually is.
Now it stopped me because I had to ask myself, am I guilty of numbness? Her book invites us to consider the gift of being led by a prophet of God. And this week's study of Helaman chapter seven through 12 has us issuing the same invitation and hopefully is going to aid us in gaining a stronger testimony of a living prophet and what an extraordinary gift a prophet is to all of us today.
Welcome to the Sunday on Monday study group, a Deseret bookshelf plus original brought to you by LDS living, where we take the come follow me lesson for the week and we really dig into the scriptures together. I'm your host, Tammy Usilac Hall. If you're new to our study group, please follow the link in our description and it's going to explain how you can best use this podcast to enhance your come follow me study.
Just like my dear friend Debra Hall from Mountain Home, Idaho. Hi Debra. Now. Another really fabulous thing about our study group and my favorite thing is we're joined by two of my friends each week. So it's always a little bit different. And today I am so excited and thrilled to introduce you to my two friends, Bonnie Elhalta and Mandy Elhalta.
Hello, ladies.
[00:01:32] Bonnie ElHalta: Hello, Tammy.
[00:01:34] Mandy ElHalta: Hello.
[00:01:34] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Uh, are you guys related?
[00:01:36] Bonnie ElHalta: Um, no, if you, if you see the name Elhalta, we're related, how do you know each other? Mandy is my sister in law. She is married to my youngest brother, Sam, and they have beautiful children and we've been sisters for 21 years
[00:01:56] Mandy ElHalta: in August. Yep.
[00:01:59] Tammy Uzelac Hall: That's a lot of time. So 21 years of knowing someone, tell me something funny about each other.
[00:02:04] Bonnie ElHalta: Oh, no. Funny. Mandy, Mandy said it earlier. She's like, she is a doer. She walks faster than anybody that you will meet. Um, and, uh, with purpose and intention. And it's hard to keep up with her in a lot of ways. Mentally, physically, spiritually, socially, it's hard to keep up.
[00:02:23] Mandy ElHalta: This is so true. Yes. Uh, I think the same could be said about Bonnie. If you've ever met Bonnie, she is, to know Bonnie is to love Bonnie and she is a doer and has more skills and talents than probably the general populace. So if there's something to be done, she's probably done it. And is very effective and efficient at doing it. Very, very talented in all aspects of her life and a spiritual giant for sure.
[00:02:49] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Hear, hear. I would agree.
[00:02:51] Bonnie ElHalta: And we love to cook together. We do catering together and we can cater like no one's business. And we have catered for famous people, for, uh, weddings, for, uh, Small intimate groups. I think the largest group was like 600.
We love to work together in catering.
[00:03:08] Mandy ElHalta: Yeah. Yes. Food. There's food. We're there. Our Instagram is us sharing recipes with each other.
[00:03:17] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Oh, wow. Okay. This is fantastic. Now, for those of you who are like, Bonnie sounds familiar. She has been on A couple of times. And so I reached out to her because I just, I knew it was time for her to be on the podcast again.
But it's interesting because she actually reached out to me first, um, that she had been at the temple and been talking to people about the podcast. And I was like, that is so funny because you've been on my mind lately to be on the podcast. And so then we were talking back and forth about who we should invite.
And I said, what about Mandy? Cause I, that's the only family member I know is cute. And so you were like, Oh, she, you will not be disappointed. Yes, let's have Mandy. So. Here we are, the three of us, and then I throw you Helaman chapter seven through 12. So we've got some, I think it's a heavy topic. We're going to talk about a living prophet and what that means for us.
And I am so excited to hear your insight into what the prophet means to you and your life. So settle in, get comfortable, get your scriptures, get something to mark your scriptures with. If you want to know more about them, you can read their bios and you're going to find those in our show notes at ldsliving.
com slash Sunday on Monday. And now we are going to turn the time over to them as we study Helaman chapters seven through 12. So you two right out of the gates, tell me what the Holy Ghost taught you as you studied these chapters.
[00:04:35] Bonnie ElHalta: The first thing that came to my mind, um, and it's kind of haunted me over the last couple of weeks, actually, um, is I was reading and paying attention to Nephi 20 BC.
And as I was reading the last, you know, all the way through up to Helaman, we're talking about these years before Christ and the prophets prophesying before the savior comes. And what really hit me was Where am I going to be in 20 years? Are we going to hear President Nelson's talk? President Nelson, 25 BC squared, like, are we paying attention to the current profits as much as we are studying the Book of Mormon today?
And we're going to be held accountable to that. As much as we study the Book of Mormon, are we studying President Nelson, 25 BCC? And that's what really struck me as I was given this topic with you was that, uh, we spend a lot of time talking about past prophets.
[00:05:45] Tammy Uzelac Hall: I love that you brought up the date. In fact, turn to Helaman chapter seven, everyone.
And right there in the section heading right there, it says about 23 to 21 BC, just so you know the timing. I mean, When you set it up like that, around 23 years before Christ is born, and we know it's going to happen. That's the interesting thing. We're reading these stories and people don't know they're like, come on, it's just a prophet telling us it's going to happen.
But I love when you said, are we paying as much attention to living prophets and studying their words as we do the Book of Mormon? That's good. It goes back to that numbness. Am I numb? Am I so numb? Because I just live in a day and age where we have access to their words all the time. Do I just kind of go, Oh, I don't know.
Here's a nice thing they've said. That's, that's really good, Bonnie.
[00:06:32] Bonnie ElHalta: Or we look for the next conference, like we move on, right? And then in Helaman chapter 10, verse five, the very first of that says, and now because thou has done this with such unwariness. Behold, I will bless thee forever. So I mean, he's talking to Nephi there, but if we liken that unto ourselves, if we pay attention to these prophets, we will be blessed forever with unlearningness.
With un wearingness.
[00:07:00] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Oh, that's awesome. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:07:03] Bonnie ElHalta: So that was my aha.
[00:07:04] Tammy Uzelac Hall: That's a great aha. I like that. It's my aha now. Good stuff. What about you, Mandy?
[00:07:11] Mandy ElHalta: Um, the thing, there's two things that stood out the most to me. Um, one of them was just the fact that Nephi kept telling and talking about how and pointing out that there were prophets.
They were talking. It wasn't for a lack of teaching, but the fact that it always had to get so bad before people would remember God. And the thought was, Is that how I live my life? Does it have to get bad before I remember him or do I always remember him? And so that thought kept coming to my mind, like in Helaman 12, three, when he says, and thus we see that except the Lord to chasing his people with many afflictions, you accept, he does visit them with death and with terror and with famine, with all manner of pestilence.
They will not remember him. And just that thought of. Did it take the bad things for me to remember him? Or do I remember him? All the time in the good and the bad. Do I only say my prayers when I need something or do I say my prayers all the time, even in the good? And so that was something that really stood out to me that made me really kind of look at my life and think about those maybe important moments when I really focused on the The gospel and God in my life.
And when did those things happen? And then the other one was that I think this may become one of my new favorite scriptures or concepts is Helaman 10, five. And what I wrote in my scriptures next to it was spiritual integrity. The last thing it's where it says, where thou shall not ask that, which is contrary to my will.
Then God said, all right, Nephi, you got this. You. You have shown yourself, you do exactly what you're supposed to be d doing, and I know that I've given you this new power. That you can move mountains if you need to move mountains. You can heal the sick if you need to heal the sick. And but you're not going to use it when you're not supposed to.
And that's the thought and the statement that came to me is spiritual integrity. Do I have spiritual integrity? The goddess said, Mandy, here's what you're blessed with. I've given you a patriarchal blessing. You know, these things you've been blessed with. Do I use those with integrity knowing that God?
He's given them to me and then I will use them for his will and to accomplish his will. So those are my big two things that have been on my mind that I've been trying to look at and apply as I was studying these scriptures.
[00:09:40] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Wow, Mandy. I think that's really cool about verse five and I wrote it in my scriptures too now because if we believe in a living prophet and Nephi, I'd never considered that a prophet would have to have spiritual integrity and that he would only do exactly what the Lord told commands him to do or not even commands him, but the Lord trusts him to do whatever needs to be done.
He wouldn't ask for anything to miss. That is so cool.
[00:10:05] Bonnie ElHalta: Well, because the beginning, like I said earlier, because he said, and because thou has done this. So it shows that as the prophet continues to do what he's supposed to do, he will continue to have that integrity and be blessed with what he knows he's supposed to do.
It's a circle. It's not just Heavenly Father telling him what's supposed to happen and he's going to do it. He has to be faithful. Yeah. He has to be on the right path and then he gets inspired to do what he needs to do. Yeah. And that's how we'll know.
[00:10:35] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Yeah. Well, and then I'm like, and in all honesty, do you get any more unweariness than with a prophet to live to be a hundred?
I mean, spiritual unwariness, holy moly. That's impressive. Yeah. To do that. I mean, it's, it's awesome. I love that we get to talk about a prophet today. That's our whole episode is just going to be about prophet, the power of a prophet, why we need prophets and all of that. And so this has been a great introduction to talking about these verses of scripture.
So in the next segment, then we're going to dive into how we know that these words come from God and Jesus Christ and who they put in charge to say their words. We'll do that next.
Segment 2
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[00:11:24] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Let's turn to Helaman chapter seven. And I want us to look at the introduction for the chapter, not the chapter heading, but the actual introduction that was written by Mormon. And we're going to highlight just the very beginning. And it says the prophecy of Nephi highlight that this is how we know it comes from heavenly father and Jesus Christ, the word prophecy.
These words are given to Nephi. Now a little bit of pedagogy here, Nephi. He's the son of Helaman. And Helaman is the son of Helaman. And that Helaman was the son of Alma the younger, who was the son of Alma. One of the things that struck me about Helaman chapters seven through 12 is that the word prophet appears so many times in these chapters.
And I asked my guest to mark all of these times. So as you're reading it, notice how many times you're going to see the word prophet. Now there are incredible stories found in these chapters, but what surprised me the most comes from Sheri Dew's. Book titled prophets see around corners. We're going to play a soundbite from her talking about a time that this happened.
And then I'm going to ask my guests a question.
[00:12:31] Sheri Dew: In 2014, then Elder Russell M. Nelson chaired the Missionary Executive Council. One day in a meeting of the council, Elder Nelson held up his smartphone and said, We need to put one of these Now, you can imagine the discussion that ensued about all the reasons that missionaries should never have smartphones.
What if they called their girlfriends and their boyfriends, or called home all the time, or found websites they had no business viewing, or just wasted a lot of time? But in time, The Missionary Executive Council determined to test the proposition and to allow missionaries in a few test missions to carry smartphones or, in some cases, iPads.
Every problem the Council had worried about did, in fact, happen. But Elder Nelson never wavered in his conviction that missionaries could be taught to use the internet righteously and that they needed to have smartphones. So the tests continued, and over the next few years, more and more missionaries received phones.
Now, fast forward to January of 2020. That month, President Russell M. Nelson, now president of the church, authorized every missionary worldwide to have a smartphone. Then, just weeks later, Without warning, the pandemic shut the world down and proselytizing as we knew it stopped. Elder Brent H. Nielsen was then serving as Executive Director of the Missionary Department, reporting to President Nelson.
Elder Nielsen was initially concerned that with the drastic isolation measures imposed upon most missionaries around the world, baptisms might drop to nearly zero. But they didn't. Dedicated, determined missionaries working largely from their apartments found and preached the gospel to thousands and baptized some 125, 000 people in the pandemic year of 2020, largely because they had smartphones and could reach out far beyond their reach.
the confines of their living quarters. Here's what Elder Nielsen said about that whole sequence. He said, I quickly learned that the Lord had prepared us for this day. Prophets can see around corners.
[00:14:58] Tammy Uzelac Hall: All right, ladies, tell me about this experience. And what it teaches you about a prophet seeing around a corner,
[00:15:05] Bonnie ElHalta: it touches my heart. I think, um, in my lifetime, I have witnessed so many times that the prophets have seen around corners. I mean, we go back to the proclamation of the family and all that ensued. We thought, why would they ever have to say the things that they said in that proclamation? And then as the years unfold, we have to get clarity around our identity and our roles in the plan of salvation.
Never thought we'd have to clarify like we did. This particular piece, in our short last five years, we have seen prophecy unfold. We, why, why two hours of church, why home centered church and, um, why do we need the come follow me and to study at home? Why did we need to have the missionaries have phones?
Prophets Our prophet saw around corners. We had no idea what was coming down the pipe. All he said was take your vitamins and hold up, giddy up, we're going. And um, and again, how many things do the prophets say that we aren't paying attention to that aren't that obvious? But it's been very obvious over the last few years of how they see around corners.
And it's our responsibility to understand what they're saying and not necessarily the why until we pray about it and get a confirmation of the what.
[00:16:34] Mandy ElHalta: I mean, I love everything that Bonnie said and I agree wholeheartedly. I also think and what I loved about that soundbite and I watched it and then I rewatched it with my kids and we actually talked about it.
As that concept of singer on the quarters and that was President Nelson and that soundbite and that example and COVID and to our church, those kind of things. I think that's probably the first and most poignant time that my children specifically got to see. How a prophet sees around corners, and that is a very special and poignant thing and lesson that they got to learn.
And I thought that was really fun as I got to talk to my kids about that and ask them, Okay, you know, that's kind of what prophets see around corners. Do you believe that? When have you seen that? And they enumerated to our church, doing church at home, being prepared for COVID. I mean, I love going to church.
Don't worry. And I love my calling as the primary chorister. But honestly, I would take home church any day of the year. It was such a profound experience for my family to do home church. I would go back to that. If I could, because it was such a learning experience and the testimonies that were built from that experience.
And so, um, I just think that prophets do, they see around corners and it can be worldwide. It can be huge, like a pandemic is coming that we didn't know. But it can also be that the prophet sees around corners and tells us to do things. And it might play out to each of us differently. You know, like I remember, When prophet said that we shouldn't, that we should only have one piercing.
I was in college and literally that weekend I was going to get my ear pierced, like up in the top of my ear. I'd always wanted one. I was an adult now I could pay for it. And I, after that talk was like, okay, I'm not going to get a second piercing. I'm just going to leave it the way that it is. Did that change the world?
Was this some huge corner that changed the whole church's, Perspective? No. But for me, I learned an important lesson about being faithful to the prophet on that night. And I had lived that and used that example and I have taught other people that it didn't have to be a huge worldwide. He made a statement and I chose to follow.
And I see the blessings that that was when I started to learn about following a prophet. And the blessings that come from that. So I think it can be big, it can be small, it can be personal, but the prophet does see around corners in many different ways.
[00:19:14] Tammy Uzelac Hall: And I like how you said for you, you then learned to follow a prophet. That was a personal testimony and experience for you. That was so cool. So here's my question then, because there are many examples in Helaman chapter seven through 12 of Nephi seeing around a corner. I want to know. Just throw out one of the examples that you found where Nephi saw a round corner.
[00:19:37] Bonnie ElHalta: Oh, the chief judge is going to die.
[00:19:40] Tammy Uzelac Hall: That's a big one.
[00:19:43] Bonnie ElHalta: Chief judge is gonna die. Hit it. Show us where that is. Give us the chapter. In Helaman chapter eight, uh, verse 26 through 28, we learned that Nephi sees around the corner and prophesies of the death of the chief judge. And he tells the people straight out, this is what's going to happen.
Will you read those verses for us? Sure. Helaman 8, 26, 27, and 28. Yea, even at this time ye are riving, because of your murders and your fornication and wickedness for everlasting destruction. Yea, and except ye repent, it will come unto you soon. Yea, behold, it is now even at your doors. Yea, go ye into the judgment seat, and search, and behold, your judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood, and he hath been murdered by his brother, who seeketh to sit in the judgment seat.
And behold, they both belong to your secret band, whose author is Gedianton, and the evil one who seeketh to destroy the souls of men. He tells them what's going to happen, where it's going to happen, and who's going to do it.
[00:20:45] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Mm hmm. Yep. And so draw a line just across the page and connect it to verses three through six.
And there it is. It really happened exactly as he said it would. Oh, that's a good, in fact, and don't you love that it says prophet and prophesy in verse two? Prophet, prophesy, prophet. And here it is. It's exactly what he did. He saw around that corner. Great one, Bonnie. What about you, Mandy? Was there one that stood out to you?
[00:21:10] Mandy ElHalta: Well, as that story then continues. So yes, he saw around that corner, but then there's some miscommunication and some people get blamed for the death of the judge. And so people get thrown out of the bus, and then Nephi's like, Guys, that's not how it actually happened. So then he sees around the next corner, and in Helaman 9, um, verses 25 through 35, Nephi then gives the next corner and says, Okay, so here's actually what happened.
It is his brother, and here's how you're gonna find out. He gives it, he tells them their name, and he's like, So go to his house, and when you get to his house, You're gonna ask him, he's gonna deny it, and then you're gonna look at his cloak, and there's gonna be blood on his cloak, and just like that, they go and do blow by blow, word for word, it happens exactly like that.
And so, Nephi, again, the first time wasn't good enough, so he had to spell it out again to them, as this judge being killed story continues.
[00:22:11] Tammy Uzelac Hall: And how much do you love verse 36? Just read that for us.
[00:22:14] Mandy ElHalta: Yep. Helaman chapter 9 verse 36 says, and then shall he stand to you that I need by no nothing concerning the matter say, but we're given to me by the power of God.
And then shall you know that I am an honest man and that I am sent into you from God. So love that.
[00:22:34] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Love that. Here's a corner I saw that was a little less subtle and it stood out to me as I was rereading for this. I Discussion today, it's Helaman chapter seven, and it's verses twenty. And one of the things that the prophet is doing Nephi is he's telling people, look, you need to repent and you have a lot of great inverse.
21 is like you have so much and you have riches and you, he just kind of calls them out for all the negative and bad things that they're doing, all of their sins. And then in 22, he says, Woe shall come unto you, except you shall repent. For if you will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those great cities which are round about, which are in the land of our possession, shall be taken away, that you shall have no place in them.
For behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies. And then, If you cross reference that to third Nephi chapter eight verse eight, sure enough, the city of Zarahemla will catch on fire and all the cities round about the destruction that happens prior to the Savior being crucified.
It really like he saw around that corner and he's saying, repent, otherwise the city is going to be destroyed. And in fact, after he says that later on, you're going to read throughout these chapters, the people are laughing at him going, give me a break. In fact, chapter 8 even says in verse 5, the people condemned him, like, you really think this great city?
What are you talking about? Come on, Zarahemla, nothing could possibly happen to us.
[00:23:59] Bonnie ElHalta: And then he goes on to talk about, did we not learn from Moses? Did we not learn from Abraham? Did we not learn from father Lehigh? Like, you know that this is the cycle and what's going to happen.
[00:24:12] Tammy Uzelac Hall: You're totally right. And I love how you brought that up.
You know, this is the cycle. Isn't that interesting? He's citing things he knows they know and believe. That's what blows my mind. Like they'll believe in past prophets, but heaven forbid that we believe in a current one. You're totally right.
[00:24:27] Bonnie ElHalta: Which is what I said earlier. Right. Tammy, like how much do we, how much do we put into studying the scriptures, which is But our modern day scriptures are just as important because they're for us today.
[00:24:39] Tammy Uzelac Hall: It's one of the greatest things about a prophet. They see around corners and I love how Sheri Dew has brought that up and how she's talked about it in her book. It's such a wonderful book. We're going to highly recommend it, but pay attention to that and go back and read some talks from past prophets and apostles and notice how they have seen around corners because like Mandy, like you read.
The only way they can do that is by the power of God. So then let's do this in the next segment. We're going to read a talk about prophets and we're going to see how many connections we can make with this talk from an apostle to the story of Nephi in human chapter seven through 12. We'll do that next.
Segment 3
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[00:25:26] Tammy Uzelac Hall: In 2018 general conference, a solemn assembly took place. And that's when we sustained Russell M. Nelson as our prophet seer and revelator. And in that same Saturday morning session, Elder Neil L. Anderson gave this incredible talk on prophets. And I was amazed at the connections and parallels to Helaman chapter seven through 12.
So I asked my guest to read this talk and we're going to go through all of his main bullet points and connect it to what we read in the book of Helaman. Ladies, tell me about your experience reading this talk.
[00:25:57] Mandy ElHalta: I mean, I love this talk. I love remembering hearing this talk after that Psalm assembly and remembering this talk.
It was given and all the things about prophets. I loved learning some of those things like he quoted President Nelson and never asked myself when does the prophet speak as a prophet and when does he not? My interest has been how can I be more like him? That has always been the prophets stand on prophets.
And so it was never a question of do I believe or do I not? And now that he is the prophet, I'm very sure and have a testimony that he has. Studied and knows what those prophets have said, and he has always applied them in his life. And that's what helped him remain faithful. That's what got him through those hard times.
Yeah. My other most favorite part about this talk is remembering and thinking about prophets and knowing that their lives aren't always easy. Sometimes I think that people think it's easy to do what's right. When their lives are easy and president Nelson is an example. And so with, I mean. Nephite, all these different prophets, they had hard things happen in their lives and they remained faithful.
And that's an important aspect of the gospel is when we ourselves have a testimony, we remain faithful. We follow the prophet because we have a testimony and remain faithful. And those are some of the things that definitely stuck out to me is thinking about prophets from the scriptures and their hard lives. How they still remain faithful.
[00:27:33] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Well, Mandy, when you read that part, when does the prophet speak as a prophet? When does he not? I was totally called to repentance on this 100%. This is what struck me because then he says, my philosophy is to stop putting question marks behind the prophet statements and to put an exclamation point instead.
I'm guilty. I have done that before where the prophet has said something and I'm like, Oh yeah, that's probably just his opinion, but I'm going to do it. But really does God care? I This, from now on, I will put exclamation points behind a prophet's words. I think that's really hard for a lot of us, but it's a true statement.
And I think if more people had done that in Helaman seven through 12, it would have saved a lot of heartache, a lot of sorrow, a lot of death. I mean, I can't even believe at one point it says that they, I wrote yuck next to that verse of scripture. It really stood out to me that it was so contentious about what the prophets were saying between the believers and nonbelievers, just based on the prophet's words that they killed each other because of it in chapter 10 verse 18.
And it came to pass that they would not hearken unto his words. And there began to be contentions in so much that they were divided against themselves and began to slay one another with the sword. Just based on what a prophet had said. Can you imagine living in a time where you're killing your neighbor because you believe in a prophet and he doesn't or vice versa?
That's nuts.
[00:29:02] Bonnie ElHalta: And that the Gadianton robbers now get to be entrenched because it opened the door for that. Right. So as you go into chapter 11, we learned that the Gadianton robbers, that band of people now have this pathway to be able to go and say, now follow us. Right. That's nuts. Um, you didn't like what he had to say.
So come this way. Tell me also in this talk, if I can share, um, there's this, um, a sentence right before what Mandy talked about. It says, don't be surprised if at times your personal views are not initially in harmony with the teachings of the Lord's prophet. These are the moments of learning of humility.
When we go to our knees in prayer, we walk forward in faith, trusting in God, knowing that at the time we will receive more spiritual clarity from our Heavenly Father. If I can just share a time in my life, I was living in San Francisco and I was struggling with listening to actually, uh, President Monson and he wasn't the prophet yet.
This was in the early 2000s and he wasn't a prophet yet, but I was, I just wasn't vibing with his, um, method of teaching. Um, I'm, I'm more of a Maxwell. And, you know, I was Give me some details and I want the history behind it and I want the, I want, you know, Elder Oaks. I'm an Elder Oaks fan. Um, I, I'm not, um, into the story as much and I was really struggling listening to his words and I was fearful because I knew he was in line next to be the prophet and I didn't know what I was going to do.
I didn't know how I was going to react or, um, and I wanted to, to be diligent and faithful to the prophet. And so I learned he was coming to the Bay Area to speak at a multi regional conference. And so I asked my friend at the time and I said, let's, let's go, I need to go listen. And I did exactly that. I wasn't excited about the things I wasn't in harmony with the things I was hearing and the way I was being taught, but I went specifically saying, I need to know that this is a prophet of God.
And that. I needed to go be humble and to really seek after an answer. And because I did so, I loved it when I raised my hand when president Monson was sustained. Um, and I love that I was able to have that opportunity to, to learn and to be taught by our heavenly father, that he, he will answer that because that is his He is our watchman on the tower.
And uh, it was, it was a great learning experience, but we all have to do that, right? We all have to figure out, um, especially right now, I think in our environment, in the world today, there are some things and it's not just a group of elderly men making decisions that are out of touch. These are experienced gospel studying, Christ centered men that have been asked to take on this task, but they did not apply for or campaign for our campaign for and, and are doing it for the love of us. Um, in this talk, he also goes on to say that, um. The profits don't stand. In front of us as a barrier, they stand to our side and point the way. And that's what Nephi is trying to do here.
He's not saying I'm the man, Samuel the Lamelight wasn't saying I'm the man. I think Samuel was probably the smartest of the prophets because he stood on the wall and called the people to repentance so that people couldn't get to him. Sure, sure. But they, they're just saying, come this way. You know, I'm telling you.
Um, and I'm trying to show you the way, and it's not for my benefit. What does he gain? Nephi doesn't gain anything. He doesn't, they don't gain anything. They're only there to be our fireside to help us get back to our Heavenly Father.
[00:33:22] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Bonnie, I appreciate you sharing that personal story and that witness and almost a challenge for all of us to gain the same witness.
for ourselves. So that was really awesome. Thank you. I really appreciated that. And especially going now to the point in the talk, because when we do get that witness, we will know the first thing that Elder Anderson says is the Lord chooses his prophet. I love how you said, Bonnie, they don't campaign.
They didn't apply. These are men of God, but the Lord chooses his prophet. I'm wondering, were there any verses of scripture in Helaman 7 through 12 proving that God chooses his prophet?
[00:34:02] Mandy ElHalta: Okay. So Helaman 729. Behold now, I do not say that these things shall be of myself, because it is not of myself that I know these things.
But behold, I know these things are true, because the Lord God has made them known unto me. Therefore, I testify that they shall be.
[00:34:21] Tammy Uzelac Hall: I just think that's awesome.
[00:34:24] Bonnie ElHalta: The Lord chooses his prophets. And then in verse, 12 of chapter 8, he says, and now behold, if God gave unto this man, such power, then why should you dispute among yourselves?
He's telling them that it wasn't me. It was God gave me this power. So why are you disputing amongst yourself?
[00:34:44] Mandy ElHalta: And I also loved, um, at the beginning. So starting in seven, how Nephi's talking about how he doesn't want to be the prophet. He's like, now, if I've been the prophet, when my father Lehi was prophets, sign me up.
People were righteous. Yes. Things were great. Yeah, I'm down with that to be the prophet then, but he even says, he's like, I want nothing to do with this. This is like ridiculous. People are out of control. He's like, I don't really want to be the prophet because it's overwhelming. It's daunting that people are so unrighteous.
So I think that's just another example of how he was like, yeah, I didn't. I didn't choose this, I didn't want this, but yes, I recognize, he recognized that God did call him, but he was definitely not signing up for this job like he was wanting it on his own accord.
[00:35:32] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Let's make sure we mark those. It's Helaman 7, 7 through 9. I love that you brought that up. He's like, listen, Oh, if I could have been the prophet back in the day, it was so much easier. But here's a good connection to the talk because after he gets done saying that he goes somewhere to teach the people. And in this talk, and you brought this up, Bonnie, Elder Anderson says that the prophet is a watchman on the tower.
Didn't you love that direct connection right here? Oh my gosh. Let's mark that. Go to heal him in chapter seven verses 10 through 13, but mostly in verse 10 because there he is. And that behold, now it came to pass that it was upon a tower. He's literally standing. On a watchtower outside of this city, and he's just talking and praying to the people.
And in this talk, he says the prophet is his watchman on the tower. And here is Nephi literally on a tower as the watchman on a tower preaching to his people all the things that they need to do to repent. Ooh. In fact, here's the quote from the talk, a prophet is a watchman on the tower protecting us from spiritual dangers.
We may not see so good.
[00:36:42] Mandy ElHalta: I also love the example, like the fact that in Helaman seven, verse 10, that he is on that tower and he is choosing to pray. People saw him. It wasn't just a hypothetical that he's the prophet. We assume that he prays. He demonstrated that and that demonstration got him in trouble, got him, you know, kind of in a precarious situation, but the fact is he did it nonetheless.
He was willing to show and then it kind of like in my own life, how do I live the gospel? You know, we can say that in our own home, sure, there's a prophet and he speaks for the whole world. But then, as in my own home, as a parent. I am, don't, I don't, not comparing myself to be the prophet, but I'm the watchman for my own family, entitled to inspiration for my family.
And how do I teach my family? Do I demonstrate by my actions so that people in my family see what I believe? Or is it just a statement of, it's an assumption, I'm assuming that she probably prays and reads her scriptures or do I demonstrate that and how do I live my life? And so I kind of made that connection with the prophet and then applying it in my own life and do I demonstrate my beliefs on a watchtower and not kind of hide them when it's not convenient or when I think that people might not agree.
[00:38:05] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Oh, that's really good and very scary to do. I like that. You just talked about that.
[00:38:12] Bonnie ElHalta: You know, what came to my mind on the watchtower was, uh, this last, um, holiday season, Broadway shut down, Times Square shut down, and the world was able to witness what the prophet has been asking us to do, and that is to light the world.
Talk about a moment on the tower.
[00:38:35] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Tell us more about that for people who don't know what you're talking about.
[00:38:38] Bonnie ElHalta: So, um, in the holiday season of 2023, the Light the World campaign was happening. That was a opportunity for everyone and no religious affiliation, but, uh, the church put out the red boxes everywhere and it was the giving boxes and you could buy, um, we bought sheep and chickens and we'd help feed the world.
And, um, It was an opportunity for people to come together as a community and to give, give to the world. And to be able to do this in a large scale, the church actually. Made a video and had a whole segment around the birth of Christ and the opportunity to, for people to light the world and that the savior was, is that light and we can do our small part.
And so they thought everything out in Times Square in New York City and all the billboards, all the headlines shut down. And then you saw this beautiful film of the birth of the savior and lighting the world. And it just, when we talked about the watchtower. The prophet in our day is not afraid of social media.
He's not afraid of saying what needs to be said. He gets on there. He tells us what is up and what's happening and how we can best be disciples of Jesus Christ. And he's not afraid to be on that. And our modern day tower, which I think is social media. And in this particular instance, it was Times Square.
He's on the biggest stage in the world. in Times Square and not afraid to, to say what needs to be said to help us be closer to the Savior. It was remarkable.
[00:40:25] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Just remarkable. Well, do me a favor, look over this talk then, because a lot of the bullets we've already talked about, like a greater personal witness when Bonnie, you shared your witness, which is so great.
Don't be surprised, Mandy, you did an excellent job of bringing that up. So I just want to know from the rest of this talk or looking over this talk, is there anything else you want to make sure that we are able to talk about Or what you loved in this talk,
[00:40:49] Bonnie ElHalta: there's another quote. He says the prophet's voice while spoken kindly will often be a voice asking us to change, to repent and to return to the Lord when correction is needed, let's not delay and don't be alarmed when the prophet's warning voice counters popular opinions of the day, the mocking fire police balls of annoyed disbelievers are always hurled the moment, the moment.
The prophet begins to speak as you humble them and in following the council of the Lord's prophet. I promise you an added blessing of safety and peace that just spoke to my soul. It isn't going to be a popular vote. It's not. And the moment he speaks, when there's, when there's animosity or adversity. To me, that's testifying.
It's right.
[00:41:47] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Oh my gosh. And, and honestly, how many times did you see those mocking fireballs in Helaman seven through 12? It's like every time he spoke, there were mocking fireballs. That's like the best way to describe the way that people reacted to his words, just mocking him and making fun of him and dis and discrediting everything he said, Oh, that's such a good one.
Love that. In fact, I'm going to put that in my verse is, and he got, again, he calls it mocking fireballs. Is that what it was?
[00:42:16] Bonnie ElHalta: Oh, yes. Mocking fireballs of annoyed disbelievers. Annoyed disbelievers.
[00:42:23] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Okay. That is so good. I think I'm going to put it in Helaman chapter 10 verses 13 through 15 because that was good.
Okay. I like how Elder Anderson ended his talk. He said, in a future day, looking back on our mortality, we will rejoice that we walked the earth at the time of a living prophet at that day. I pray that we will be able to say we listened to him. We believed him. We studied his words with patience and faith.
We prayed for him. We stood by him. We were humble enough to follow him. We loved him. All those Wes just really struck me, and it goes back, yeah, I love spiritual. Yeah, that numbness. Have I been so numb that we have a living prophet on the earth today? And I hope I can answer yes to all of those when it comes to a living profit.
So what we'll do then is in the next segment, we are going to learn all of the different things that prophets can do based on Helaman chapter seven through 12. We'll do that next.
Segment 4
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[00:43:37] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Helaman chapter seven through 11 is a particularly good place to learn about what prophets do. So we're going to, as you're reading through these chapters, I want everyone to pay attention to Nephi's actions, thoughts, and interactions with the Lord. And I asked my guests to read through specific verses and come prepared to share based on what you read.
What a prophet is and what he does according to his verses. So will you give us the scripture reference and have us bracket it off? Tell us what to write to the outside of these verses. What does a prophet do or what a prophet is according to these verses? And we're going to start with me. We've already covered so many, by the way, in fact, Helaman seven is just, we already have marked so many things in Helaman chapter seven specifically.
Let's go to Helaman chapter seven. Verses 18 through 20 bracket those off because one of the things that a prophet is supposed to do and that he does is that he is supposed to cry repentance and to declare the savior Jesus Christ. And I think these are really beautiful verses, so I'm going to read them 18 through 20.
It is because you have hardened your hearts, yea, you will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd. Yea, you have provoked him to anger against you and behold, instead of gathering you except you will repent. Behold, he shall scatter you forth that you shall become meat for dogs and wild beasts. Oh my gosh.
Can you imagine hearing that at general conference? That's heavy. And then in verse 20, Oh, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you? So a prophet cries repentance and a prophet testifies of Christ. I think it's beautiful how he uses the good shepherd there and they tell them to repent.
Okay. The next one is in Helaman chapter eight, and I just thought this was beautiful too. In verse 15, he's talking about all the past prophets, but specifically about Moses. And he's talking about the story about how Moses put a brazen serpent and he lifted it up for people to look. And if they would look at the brazen serpent in the book of numbers in the old Testament, that the people would live who had been bitten by a bunch of snakes.
And so then in verse 15 he says, and as many as should look upon that serpent should live even so as many as should look upon the son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit End 1 Might live even unto that life, which is eternal. And so I love how right there, our prophet will then prophesy and teach us how to receive eternal life.
So I just kind of put next to verse 15, eternal life. Okay. Bonnie, what did you come up with?
[00:46:05] Bonnie ElHalta: I particularly liked Helaman chapter 10 verse 7 and it states, Behold, I give unto you power that whatsoever you shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven and thus shall you have power among this people.
And off to the side, of course I had the power of, of sealing and the, and the intense, uh, Blessings that come from that particular blessing of being sealed and things being sealed here on earth and in heaven. And the prophet does have that power and the ultimate power, um, in the priesthood to be able to bind such things.
But what I found interesting was then that's cross referenced down to Helaman 11. Verse 18, and it says, and behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God. And the whole face of the land was filled with rejoicing. They did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet and a man of God, having great power and authority given unto him from God.
So from the prophet being able to have that mantle of the power and authority of God, it then changed the heart of the people when they realized what that power was able to do, and we need to be able to do that. To see that same thing, right, to understand what power and authority truly is and what it's used for and not in a domineering way, but in a saving.
[00:47:40] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Yeah,
[00:47:40] Bonnie ElHalta: and if we were to understand that saving authority, that's how I see the priesthood is a saving authority. Authority.
[00:47:47] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Yeah.
[00:47:48] Bonnie ElHalta: That's been given from God. Will we be, is just joyful and rejoice and glorify God like the people of Nephi. So that was mine.
[00:47:56] Tammy Uzelac Hall: So I have a question for either one of you or both of you talking about this power, this saving power and this sealing power.
What does it matter to you? Why is the sealing power important?
[00:48:13] Bonnie ElHalta: It's probably pretty tender today, huh, Mandy?
[00:48:16] Mandy ElHalta: Yeah, I'm sure we can both, uh, answer this question. So, uh, well, we are sister in laws, so we have shared many things, and I'm sure that Bonnie can share her own, but death is something that our families, families have experienced. I don't know about unfortunate, I actually wouldn't say unfortunate, but we have experienced a lot of it and a lot of, Important lessons in my life and who I am and my testimony been gained through experiences in death.
My daughter, I have given birth to five children, I have four that are living, and I my fourth child died shortly after being born. She Was born full term on her due date. There wasn't anything knowingly wrong, but it is that sealing power that motivates me. And it's a blessing in my life that she is still my daughter.
I will see her again someday that she has a calling far greater than what needs to be accomplished on this earth. Um, and she's doing that and that is okay. And I find so much peace in that knowledge that I will see her again. This isn't the end. I can't even imagine what that would be like to not know that she's okay.
And it's because of that sealing power that I am okay and that I don't, I'm not angry at God. I'm not, I don't begrudge God that my daughter died. I am grateful that he trusted. It just made me, me to have that experience because it was and is a life changing experience for me and for my family.
[00:50:11] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Andy, thank you.
I appreciate you sharing that. The sealing power all because of the sealing power by a prophet on the earth who has the gift and ability to do that. That's awesome. Well, what about you,
[00:50:24] Bonnie ElHalta: Bonnie? Well, I. Okay. That was a tender time for all of us. Olivia, my niece, Mandy's daughter, passed away. Um, we were all here, um, when that happened and Mandy, can I share the story of.
The police officers.
[00:50:41] Mandy ElHalta: Totally. I'm like, I could go on and write a book about my daughter dying, the miracles that occurred. So I just kind of summed it up, but yes, you can totally pick that one.
[00:50:50] Bonnie ElHalta: Um, Olivia was born here in our home and, um, she passed away in our home. And we were not going to let Olivia leave without her getting a name and a blessing, uh, prior to her leaving.
And it just so happened that the state president who lived across the street was home, he never worked from home. He was home. There was lots of things that happened that made this possible, but before we gave this blessing, my brother and my elder brother, we gathered together, we said a family prayer, and then we sang Families Can Be Together Forever.
We didn't know the windows were open. And, uh, we knew the mayor of the town. She's our neighbor and friend. And she asked us later, all the things that had happened. And she has said that the police officers that were on duty, that came to the scene were all in tears. They, a lot of them were less active members of the church or have left the church and they could not deny the spirit that was felt outside of our home through the windows.
As we sing and celebrated Olivia and gave her back to Heavenly Father. And it's because of our knowledge as a family of that families are forever. And that this is just a brief moment that we were able to rejoice in this moment and not have it be this way. And that it was a testimony, not only to our family, but to those that listened and were present of the power that's available if we choose to believe and, and follow.
[00:52:33] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Wow. It's a remarkable story. Well, and I'm imagining Mandy, how it must've been so, I don't know, I mean, you're a nurse, like. Um, in your mind, you're like, what could, should I have done? Why didn't, why couldn't I have fixed this, you know, and to hear you sit here and bear testimony about this experience and same with you, Gabbani, and Just the, the power and the power that's in the ceiling power.
And it goes back to that verse that you read in verse 18, the people did rejoice and glorify God. I mean, I think you've done that beautifully.
[00:53:12] Bonnie ElHalta: And can we just say, you know, we, I'm laughing about it now, but last year I had 22 funerals in my closest world. And it was, it was. It was a rough year. One was my auntie, good friend down the street.
We watched her pass away. Mandy's mom passed away like two weeks later. Yeah, two weeks later. In fact, Mandy's mom played at auntie's funeral, the piano and then died. But literally it, there's no way that we could, I mean, like I told you earlier, today's five years since my dad passed away today. And I was in Thailand when it happened in Iraq, but there's no way we could function.
Without the power that was given back to the Prophet Joseph Smith and has been restored down to who we have today. Link. That the lack of that knowledge would destroy me. Like, I don't know how people can function without that. And in our day and age where we have this watchman that people don't take advantage of it is beyond me.
And that's the point. That's the point of this whole discussion for me, Tammy, is that we get to choose to follow. No one, no one checks our hand when we raise it to the square. Like, no one is counting and saying, Oh, she didn't. Oh. Um, that is for us to testify that we are willing to follow. Absolutely.
[00:54:46] Mandy ElHalta: And just going along with what Bonnie said, in this experience where I very clearly, there were many miracles and many, many spiritual experiences that led up to my daughter Olivia being born and then dying.
But one of those was, and will always be, the knowledge that it was God's will. I was. More than anyone else prepared and told beforehand that something was going to happen. And that is something that God knew that I needed and he prepared me. But since then, like Bonnie was saying, the prophet, we have to testify.
We have to share that knowledge. I remember the first time that I was telling someone about my daughter dying. And I remember the exact moment, I can tell you where I was, who was standing there, when I was retelling the story of Olivia dying, that in that moment, I could either say, I know that God is aware of me, and that I will see my daughter again, or I could say, yeah, I'm okay, I'll be okay.
But it is because of that sealing power that I am okay and that I know that it is God's will. And I remember that moment and literally I'm sure that I like stopped talking for a few seconds as I thought, Do I bear testimony of why I'm okay? Or do I just quickly pass in that story? And I did, I bore testimony, and ever since then, I make sure that when I tell people why it's okay that my daughter dies, that doesn't take away the pain, the therapy that's necessary, all of those things, it doesn't change those.
But I know. Why it's okay, and I make sure that every time I share that story, that I bear testimony why it's okay, and I truly believe that is one of the reasons is God is giving that is a part of my testimony that God has called me to share, and I make sure that I share that when asked about my daughter dying.
[00:56:56] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Wow. Absolutely. I have no doubt in my mind about what you've said. It is absolutely true. And I think what's so astounding is I did not know that story about you. I had no idea that the sealing power mattered that much a month ago when I invited you to be on the podcast. So Thank you to both of you for bearing a beautiful witness of that sealing power that we have on the earth because of a living prophet.
That was remarkable. Well, there's so many cool things about a prophet in here that we've already learned, and we're going to in the next segment, study even more prophetic words, and we're going to see if those words are going to matter. We'll do that next.
Segment 5
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[00:57:46] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Going to piggyback off something that Bonnie said, because she mentioned how through the prophet Joseph Smith, the sealing power has been restored. And it's an amazing thing to be a part of the restoration. It's an ongoing thing, like it wasn't a one time event. And so we're living in the restoration. And part of that restoration is going to involve some pretty unique things.
And they're called proclamations or declarations. In fact, turn to Helaman chapter 10, look at verse 12 in verse 12. It's going to say that the prophet Nephi declared unto them the word of the Lord. There's that word declares in our church. We have official declarations and we have proclamations. Now here's kind of a fun little side note, and I'm going to leave a link in our show notes.
You can go read an article called. How rare a proclamation because I didn't realize how rare a proclamation or a declaration was. There have only been six total proclamations given in the church, and the majority of them were before the 1900s. There are only five official declarations. Now, what's the difference between a declaration and a proclamation?
Well, a proclamation is For beyond the scope of the church, it's for everyone in the world. An official declaration is mostly for members of the church, but we'll share it with others. For example, the official declaration of the living Christ that was given to members of the church by prophet and apostles, but the proclamation on the family.
Now, I want us to think about a proclamation because we had one given to us very recently. Our prophet gave us an official proclamation on April 5th in 2020 and I've asked my guests to read this and I'm going to encourage all of us to read this. And here's why my really good friend Sarah, she pointed out to me after this proclamation had come out.
She said to me, You know, back in 1995 when the proclamation on the family came out and you even said this, Bonnie, she said it was kind of a no brainer. Like we were batting our eyes like, all right, yeah, we know families is ordained of God. I don't understand why this is a big deal. And then 28 years later we can see why it's such a big deal.
And then she said, it kind of makes me wonder about the proclamation just recently given. Why now? And what big of a deal will it be in 28 years? And I was like, Oh my gosh, I've never even considered that the one in 2020 might be a big deal because to us it's a no brainer. So I asked my guests to read this proclamation and I'm going to ask everybody to do it and study it this week if you haven't already studied it.
But ladies share with me what struck you in this restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a bicentennial proclamation to the world.
[01:00:35] Bonnie ElHalta: There's so much, I love this, um, and as a proclamation to the world, again, it goes to me, proclamation given in 2020, 22 BCC, i, You said, where were we going to be in 20 or 30 years and going, we should have listened to this.
The world needs to know that there is a Christ and, um, and who he is and his role in, in our redemption. Um, and, and that's what this does is it explains who he is, his role. And how that affects his, us, I love the very beginning sentence. We solemnly proclaim that God loves his children in every nation of the world, but he loves his children.
So that now tells us who we are and, and that this is for us. And then at the very end, it states with reverence and gratitude, we, as his apostles invite all to know as we do that the heavens are open. So two beautiful things to know that. We are who we are and who is here to save us and that the heavens are open to all of us. It's overwhelming that what's written in this and that if we cling unto this the heavens are open and We can know these things,
[01:02:09] Mandy ElHalta: but as I read this, God, it was almost the thought that came to me was it's like the modern version of the 13 articles of faith to the Smith. People kept asking what they believed and he, he gave the articles of faith, like, okay, so here's a summary of what we believe Jimmy kind of like a general overview.
And I felt like, you know, the fact that it starts with, you know, who God is that we believe. He summarized all the things that we believe, but in a modern version, focusing on the things that right now are most important. When the article of the faith came out, it was a new church restored on the earth. We need to give just a general like, here's the top 13 things that were important.
And I feel like this is the now most modern, the 2020 version of, this is what you need to know. And you need to know that we are That God loves, like Barney said, that God loves his children. He, they, we need to know that there is a Savior, there is a God, that there is modern revelation, that the heavens are open.
And so that's kind of, that's the view that I took when I read this was, these are the most important things that we are declaring to the entire world. That you need to know, it's not just members of the church, it's what everyone needs to know about God is this. And that was kind of the thought that came to me when re reading this was that
[01:03:40] Tammy Uzelac Hall: yes. Absolutely. Oh, Mandy. Thank you. Thank you. The one that stood out to me was the paragraph that starts down almost, in fact, how many times you saw the word declare, declare it. Yes. We declare, I love this. We declare that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints organized on April 6th, 1830 is Christ's New Testament church restored.
That gave me chills. Yeah. I like that. I like that. Then it says, this church is anchored in the perfect life of its chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and in his infinite atonement and literal resurrection. Jesus Christ has once again called apostles and has given them priesthood authority. He invites all of us to come unto him and his church to receive the Holy Ghost.
The ordinances of salvation and to gain enduring joy.
[01:04:31] Bonnie ElHalta: Amen. Truly. And he continues. It continues. We gladly declare that the promised restoration goes forward through continuing revelation. The earth will never again be the same as God will gather together in one all things in Christ. I mean, if the world would read this, really, yeah, that there's ongoing restoration that in continuing revelation and that the earth will never be the same, it's, it's a beautiful opportunity to proclaim what we know.
[01:05:10] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Absolutely. And it just moves me because it goes back to Helaman eight. where Nephi is saying, you know that this has always existed. He's giving the background of prophets and apostles, and that's exactly what this does. And he's like, if you believe that then, then why wouldn't you believe that he would have a prophet on the earth today?
And let me tell you all the wonderful things that a prophet can do. And so, yeah, I just, I love the connection between this official proclamation and then all of Nephi's words. Yeah. And then Nephi, so good.
[01:05:42] Bonnie ElHalta: Tammy, I can't help but think I've been in business for 40 years and I have reported to boards and to CEOs my whole career.
I can sit in a board meeting with top CEOs of the country and they outline, here's our strategic plan for one year, five year, 10 year. Here's our KPIs, which are our key performance indicators, and this is how we're going to do it. And smart people in a room all go, yes. Yes. They don't question the CEO.
They think about, okay, how do I do my department? How am I going to make this work? We're laying out the strategic path and it's going to get us forward in the first five and 10 years. Right. And everyone gets on board and I can't help but think as the profit, as the CEO. So they're laying out the KPIs.
They're giving us the key indicators to be successful. Oh, that's good. And we're all going, yeah, whatever, you know,
[01:06:48] Tammy Uzelac Hall: like, like, I don't think so. Yeah. I don't think so. Where did you agree from?
[01:06:52] Bonnie ElHalta: Yeah. I'm going to, you know, maybe just this covenant, not that covenant, you know, and this is important to me and I'm like, but the world doesn't even function that way in the business world.
Yes. You'd question the CEO to see, okay, how do I do it better? Or what's, you know, and, but when you walk out of that boardroom, everyone agrees and you march forward. And so to me, that's how I've put this whole thing together is that it, we, we were given a CEO with very clear KPIs. Why? And only to be successful.
That's the only goal is to bring to pass the immortality, internal life of man. That's it. And here are the indicators I'm going to give them to you. And he gave them to us in this proclamation. We're going to declare over and over again, the heavens are open, that Christ is born. That's the power of the priesthood was restored.
That revelation continues. Follow it. Here's your KPIs right here. Follow it and you will be successful.
[01:07:55] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Oh, I like how your brain thinks, Bonnie. Yeah, I know. I can tell. You're like, that's how it works for you. It's so cool. It's so cool. It does work. Oh, that's great. Okay. Well, this is so awesome then. You're talking about this idea of a CEO and KPIs and dah, dah, dah, dah.
And he would say, and if we do this, then this is what will happen. And he can do that. And so this is what's neat in Edelman chapter 12. We have that last week we learned all about the phrase and thus we see. Whenever you see it in scriptures and thus we see that means, and here's what's going to happen.
If you do this, then, and thus we will see all of these great, great answers or kind of like summations of what's going on. And it's interesting because that phrase and thus we see isn't, it doesn't appear as often as you would think, except for a lot in Helaman. So in the next segment, then we're going to mark the, and thus we sees in Helaman chapter 12 and find out what it is that the CEO saw.
We'll do that next.
Segment 6
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[01:09:01] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Grab your highlighter. Here we go. Last week we talked about the phrase and thus we see we've got three of them. One for sure. Two variations. Okay, here we go. Helaman chapter 12 verse one says, and thus we can behold. There it is. Verse two. Yay. And we may see. And then verse three, and thus we see. So we're going to read these verses and then I'd love for the two of you to jump in and sum it up.
Like what are the lessons that, um, Helaman chapter 12 points out to us. So Bonnie, we read Helaman chapter 12 verse one.
[01:09:34] Bonnie ElHalta: Yes. Helaman chapter 12 verse 1. And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men. Yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.
Mandy, read verse 2 for us.
[01:09:53] Mandy ElHalta: Helaman, chapter 12, verse 2, Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks, and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things, of every kind and art, sparing their lives and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies, softening the hearts of their enemies, that they should not declare wars against them, yea, and in Doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people, yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts and do forget the Lord their God and do trample under their feet the Holy One, yea, and this because of their ease and their exceedingly great prosperity.
[01:10:36] Tammy Uzelac Hall: And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. Ladies, sum up for me. What are the, and thus we seize, what's the message of Helaman chapter 12.
And all the chapters we read.
[01:10:58] Bonnie ElHalta: There's direct KPIs. There are key indicators to keep you on the path. And if you don't follow those key indicators, you're not going to prosper. You're not going to be successful. You're not going to have the outcome that you desire. It's very clear what those indicators are.
And he prophesies throughout these chapters of all the things that you need to do. And thus we see, if you don't, you're not going to make it. You're not going to be successful and prosper and have the life that you want and you think you're going to have.
[01:11:37] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Absolutely. Amen.
[01:11:40] Mandy ElHalta: Tammy, something that I love and you actually taught this, I learned this from your podcast is I looked at and thus we see as if and then statements and we see those a lot in the Book of Mormon. We see all the time if and then so even though we don't see a lot of the statement of and thus we see, we do see a lot of it and then statements specifically in the Book of Mormon.
And that was the first thing that came to my mind when I read this and I actually wrote that in my scriptures was. If and then, so I underlined them as an if and then, and I remember, I think you taught that in the Book of Mormon four years ago, and that was the first time I heard it, and I remember when we were doing home church, that we would point, because it was Book of Mormon year, that we would point out all of the ifs and thens.
Okay, so do we see, if we do this? This is what happens, good or bad, life is about choices and the consequences that come. And so that's how I definitely looked at these things. And just like Bonnie said, it is, if, if we make these choices, this is what is going to happen. And so if we choose to have pride and not see the hand of God in our lives, it is going to be the demise of us.
Or we can choose to see the hand of God and not have to be. Miserable and called to repentance because we let it get that far and we can have peace and prosperity But we don't have to have pride and so that was definitely my takeaway was am I the person like I said the beginning that? Has to have the horrible afflictions just here and see God can I?
Take those prophet moments where he sees around the corner and apply those in my life so it doesn't have to get to the famines, afflictions, all of those kinds of things that I can just listen and apply it in my life.
[01:13:29] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Oh, how awesome is that? Because it's coming off the heels of this idea where the prophet Nephi calls for a famine.
So, the people will remember him and sure enough, they do. You knew it would work and it worked. And I like how you said that, Mandy, do I need a famine or can I just follow him and believe? So, thank you. Thank you so much, both of you.
[01:13:50] Bonnie ElHalta: And Tammy, I think that for me, it's. And thus we see, we can make our choices, but we can't choose our consequences. Right. And, and that's what it is. Good or bad. We, we have the ability to choose. That is our God given right. And we, we have that agency, however, we don't get to choose the consequences.
[01:14:12] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Right. That is the plan of salvation. It is. And when you said it is our God given right, he has given that to us to choose.
That's powerful. Okay, so you two were coming off the heels of our summer of joy, but I want to continue it on with one question for you both. How can following a prophet bring us joy? What's your answer? If somebody asked that to you, how could that possibly make me happy? What would you say?
[01:14:34] Mandy ElHalta: It brings peace.
I can go to sleep at night knowing that I follow the prophet. It brings me peace that I can, that I choose to go to the temple and that when I go get my temple recommend every time the state president asked those questions. I am brought to tears that I can in clear conscience answer yes when necessary and no when necessary and know that it is because I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing and part of that is listening to the prophet.
[01:15:08] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Thank you. It is peace. So much peace. What about you, Bonnie?
[01:15:14] Bonnie ElHalta: For me, the joy and peace that Mandy speaks of comes from we weren't left to fend for ourselves. The Savior is not here. We can access the Savior, but Heavenly Father didn't leave us in my lifetime, right? I'm, I'm blessed to have been born in a time where we have living prophets on the earth today, and I don't just have to rely on the scriptures.
That, um, for me, it's a indicator of how Heavenly Father loves us and that He didn't leave me alone and I can draw closer to the Savior. I mean, that's His whole message. Our current prophet, think celestial and move forward. And right. And this whole summer he was talking about, he's going to be a hundred.
Go after the one, he doesn't need temporal things. He wants the spiritual things. And through that, we get to learn to go after and be more Christ like and find the one. And that's what having a prophet on earth has done for me, has given me a tangible substance to be able to follow on a daily basis in things that relate to my life today.
[01:16:25] Tammy Uzelac Hall: Mm. Beautifully said. Thank you. Thank you both of you so much for joining me. God is good. He knew. He knew it needed to be you two to talk about a prophet. Wow. I just love you both.
[01:16:39] Mandy ElHalta: It was awesome to be here.
[01:16:40] Bonnie ElHalta: For sure.
[01:16:42] Tammy Uzelac Hall: I know I should probably ask for your takeaway, but here's what I want to do.
I just want to ask how has following a prophet brought you joy? That's what I want to know. So go join our group on Facebook or Instagram and share what your answer is. So at the end of this week, we will post this question. So comment on the post that relates to this lesson and share your thoughts. You can get to both our Facebook and Instagram by going to the show notes for this episode at LDSLiveBeing.
com slash Sunday on Monday and go there anyway. It's where we're going to have links to all the references as well as a transcript of this whole discussion. So go check it out. And by the way, friends. Those of you that live in Plano, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, or St. George, Utah, I'm coming to see you. So go to magnifythegood.
com and sign up for the event and come and listen to me and a bunch of my friends. We are going to have so much fun. We get to spend the whole day together and talk about Jesus. I can't think of anything better. The Sunday on Monday study group is a Deseret Bookshelf Plus original brought to you by LDS Living.
It's written and hosted by me, Tammy Uzelac Hall. And today, our incredible Just brilliant. Study. Your participants were Bonnie Elhalta and Mandy Elhalta, and you can find more information about my friends at ldsliving. com slash Sunday on Monday. Our podcast is produced by Cole Wissinger and me. It is edited and mixed by Cole Wissinger and our executive producer is Erin Hallstrom.
Thanks for being here. We'll see you next week. Oh, and please remember my friends that you are God's favorite