"President
John Taylor said on one occasion, speaking to the brethren of
the priesthood: 'If you do not magnify your callings, God will
hold you responsible for those you might have saved, had you
done your duty.' Book of Mormon Manual p.129 "This is a challenging
statement. If I by reason of sins of commission or omission
lose what I might have had in the hereafter, I myself must suffer
and, doubtless, my loved ones with me. But if I fail in my assignment
as a bishop, a stake president, a mission president, or one
of the General Authorities of the Church—if any of us fail to
teach, lead, direct, and help to save those under our direction
and within our jurisdiction, then the Lord will hold us responsible
if they are lost as the result of our failure."
(Hugh
B. Brown in CR, Oct. 1962, p. 84.)
"I am called of God. My
authority is above that of the kings of the
earth. By revelation I have
been selected as a personal representative
of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
He is my Master and He has chosen me to
represent Him. To stand in
His Place, to say and do what He himself
would say and do if He personally
were ministering to the very people
to whom He has sent me. My
voice is His voice, and my acts are His
acts, my words are His words
and my doctrine is His doctrine. My
commissions to do what He
wants done, to say what He wants said,
to be a living modern witness
in word and deed - of the divinity of His
great and marvelous
latter-day work. How GREAT is my CALLING.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie