What can we do to ensure that we “preach the word and the truth according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation”?What can we do to be sure that we are preaching the word? What was the word in Alma’s vocabulary? In Alma 33:22–23, the word was shorthand for what we would call the Plan of Salvation, and especially its central focus on the Atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Alma’s sons went out and continued to preach the word, as they had in Alma 31–34. They focused on the word, and we should do the same, remaining focused on what matters most and being certain that it is what we are ultimately teaching as we minister today.
This text speaks of preaching the word and preaching the truth according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation. What might be the difference here between prophecy and revelation? Presumably, these are not just synonyms. And are there differences between the word and the truth? The gift of the spirit is that we can see things as they were, as they are, and as they will be. Seeing everything—that grand sweep of time, as when Moses saw the great unfolding of things from beginning to end. Perhaps you have the gift of seership to see the past, the spirit of prophecy to foresee the future, and the revelatory power of unveiling the way things actually are in order to speak the present. This can help us be sure that while we are proclaiming the message to the nations and to our families, we are also striving to focus on all three domains of truth—past, present, and future—and to do this in a way that will help people embrace the fullness of the gospel.