Give Heed Unto the Prophets' Words

My thoughts on Elder Cook's talk "Give Heed Unto the Prophets' Words"

As I was reading this I was thinking, “This isn’t ringing a bell. I don’t remember any mention of crisis and fire.” Then in the second paragraph, I realize he is speaking at the Priesthood session. Sometimes it take a bit of time for my lights to come on all the way.

“…it is also valiant today to follow the counsel of our prophet.”
I love D&C 1:38 “What I the Lord have spoke, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; …whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” I use this as my guiding stick. Sometimes they are hard to do and other times they are easy.
“Prophets are inspired to provide us with prophetic priorities to protect us from danger.” Elder Cook gives examples of how the prophets have spoken of dangers way before the world knew. Who knew about the ill effects of coffee, tobacco, drugs etc in the 1800’s? Who knew the family would be under attack like never before?

I want to share something with you. I don’t recall when I heard this, but I want to say it was from President Benson’s lips. I have searched and can’t find the direct quote. If you know the quote, day, time, setting, please, please email me! But I know it was after 1989 because I was married and it was devastating for me to do what the prophet asked. I do know that in the “True to the Faith” book it says on page 27 “Latter-day prophets strongly discourage the piercing of the body except for medical purpose. If girls or women desire to have their ears pierced, they are encouraged to wear only one pair of modest earrings.”

Ok, this rocked my world. How could something so little and insignificant rock the world ofa grown woman? Well it did! When I was 14 I got my ears pierced. I love it since my earlobes are detached. Earrings looked great. When I was 16 my mom took me down to get a second piercing in my right ear. She must have saved a ton of money because she bought me a real pearl earring. She told me that I was to wait for the “right” man who would treat me as a “pearl” of great price. And when that day would come I was then to go get my left ear pierced and have my husband put in a diamond earring signifying that I had “left” my father’s home for a man who was worthy to put a “diamond” on my finger. I wore a pearl and diamond in a mismatched set until I heard the words of the prophet ask me to remove them. My heart broke. I pleaded with Him to let me keep them. This was different. They weren’t gaudy pieces of jewelry. They meant the world to me. My mother had to pay a LOT of money for those pearl earrings and I know my husband didn’t have the money to fulfill my mother’s wishes, but somehow we managed. Now I had to take them out. I went to bed that night with those same earring in my ears and with a very heavy heart. But that was the last night I slept with four earrings. The next morning with tears running down my face I removed them because the prophet asked me to.

I thought the holes would fill in and never be seen again. I was wrong. To this day I could easily slip a pair of earring in them and often times when I’m putting my set in blindly I will then look in the mirror to see one earring higher than the other. They have not filled in or healed. I still have four holes in my head and a mismatched set of earrings in my jewelry box.