Latter-day Prophets on John 9 & 10

Re: John 9:2-3, Elder Orson Pratt said: “This question would have been very foolish to put to the Savior, unless they believed in the pre-existence of man…. That would have been a very favorable opportunity for Him to have corrected them... and said, ‘He could not have sinned before he was born… because he had no previous existence.’ But he said no such thing.”(JD  15: 247).

Re: John 9:3, President Boyd K. Packer has said: “The idea that all suffering is somehow the direct result of sin has been taught since ancient times. It is false doctrine. The notion was even accepted by some of the early disciples until the Lord corrected them... Afflictions come to the innocent.” (Apr 1991 CR.)

Re: John 9:3-4, Elder James E. Faust said: “[T]he works of God [are] manifest … in the loving care and attention [we give] our handicapped brothers and sisters”(Oct 1984 CR).

Re: John 9:6-7, Elder Spencer W. Kimball said that there were no significant curative properties in the clay, the pool, or the saliva (October 1954 Conference Report);  Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated:  “By doing these physical acts … the Master's apparent purpose was to strengthen the faith of the [person being healed]”(Doctrinal New Testament Commentary 1:320); Elder Howard W. Hunter said, “[T]he blind man … believed and did as he was directed. He went and washed in the pool and came back seeing. To believe is to see.” (Oct 1962 CR.)

Regarding John 9:41, the Prophet Joseph Smith said that ‘the condemnation which rested upon those who received not His testimony, was not because they were not privileged to see and hear, but because their hearts were full of iniquity.’ (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 96.)

Re: John 10:3-4, President Brigham Young said, “It is our privilege to live so as to know the voice of the good shepherd for ourselves” (Journal of Discourses 11: 133). Elder Joseph F. Smith said, “Only those who possess the light of the Spirit of God ... which can only be possessed through faithfulness and obedience ... can discern and know the voice of the true Shepherd when they hear it. We cannot expect to be able to discern [His voice if] we are divided in our thoughts, affections, and interests.” (October 1875 General Conference; recorded in Journal of Discourses 18: 91.)

Re: John 10:3–4, 10-11, Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Anyone serving in any capacity in the Church in which he [or she] is responsible for the spiritual or temporal well-being of any of the Lord’s children is a shepherd to those sheep” (Mormon Doctrine, 710; quoted in New Testament: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 67).

Re: John 10:10, Elder Harold B. Lee said: “‘The abundant life’ … has been used frequently to refer to … a profuseness of the material things of life…. [I]t is assumed, then, that it is the duty of all of us to get all we can and make the ideal of comfort our goal in life… But the scriptures have given us unmistakably a charted way for the living of the abundant life.... ‘[A]dd to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (2 Peter 1:5-8.)” (“The Abundant Life,” October 1946 CR.)

Elder James E. Faust defined the abundant life as “an endless search for know-ledge, light, and truth... God desires that we learn and continue to learn, but this involves some unlearning. As Uncle Zeke said: ‘It ain’t my ignorance that done me up but what I know’d that wasn’t so.’” ("The Abundant Life," Oct 1985 CR.)

Elder Richard G. Scott has said, “[We] have the responsibility to determine if there is any part of [our culture or traditions] that must be discarded …I have found how difficult that is as I have worked to overcome some of my own incorrect traditions.... Customs and traditions become an inherent part of us…. Carefully study the scriptures and counsel of the prophets ... Then evaluate each part of your life and make any adjustments needed… to set aside deeply held convictions or traditions that are not in harmony with the Lord’s plan.”(Apr 1998 CR.)

Re: John 10:11-13, President Henry B. Eyring has said that “we must watch the sheep as [the Savior] does, [not] like a hired servant [who watches] for a reward” (April 2001 Conference Report).  Elder Howard W. Hunter said: “Jesus … sought only to strengthen [others] …. His entire energies [were] directed toward their needs”(April 1974 CR.)  Elder Theodore M. Burton said, “Jesus, out of pure unselfish love, gave his life for our sakes”(April 1979 CR).  President James E. Faust said, “[T]he Savior gave His life … without any thought of recompense or recognition” (October 2002 CR).  President Ezra Taft Benson said, ““Some [say they] are willing to die for their faith, but they are not willing to fully live for it. Christ both lived and died for us....
Everything He did was prompted by His unselfish, infinite love.... ” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, 99, 94.)

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, “We should serve for the love of God and the love of our fellowmen rather than for personal advantage or any other lesser motive” including “hope of earthly reward”, “worldly honors, prominence, or power”, or even “the hope of an eternal reward.”(October 1984 CR.)

Elder Michael T. Ringwood has said: “In a world where praise, position, power, accolades, and authority are sought on every side, [the ‘truly good’] are motivated by a love of God and of their neighbors” (April 2015 CR).

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said: “The Savior was understanding and compassionate with sinners whose hearts were humble and sincere. But He rose up in righteous anger against … those who tried to appear righteous in order to win the praise, influence, and wealth of the world…. [O]ur obedience to God’s commandments [must] come as a natural outgrowth of our love for God.”(Apr 2015 CR.)