Apostles are special witnesses of Christ

According to the Bible Dictionary, "The word Apostle means 'one sent forth.' It was the title Jesus gave (Luke 6:13) to the twelve whom he chose and ordained (John 15:16) to be his closest disciples during his ministry on earth, and whom he sent forth to represent him after his ascension into heaven. The calling of an apostle is to be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ in all the world, particularly of his divinity and of his bodily resurrection from the dead (Acts 1:22; D&C 107:23).

"Twelve men with this high calling constitute an administrative council in the work of the ministry. ... Today twelve men with this same divine calling and ordination constitute the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

It is my testimony that the Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the same holy calling and commission as the ancient Apostles in the original church, namely, to stand as witness of Jesus Christ as the literal Son of God, the Redeemer of the World, the Savior of Mankind, the Mediator between Fallen Man and the Exalted Father, and the physically and literally Resurrected Lord. I testify that the Apostles of today are eye witnesses of the bodily resurrected Christ in the same way that the Apostles of old were eye witnesses. To be efficacious, their witness must be real and direct and personal and unassailable. Their witness cannot be second-hand or based on hearsay or speculation. A true witness must see with his eyes and feel with his hands. I affirm my belief that the fifteen living, ordained Apostles are such witnesses.

However, I also testify that such a witness is insufficient to know that the Resurrected Christ, as real as he may be, has actually redeemed us from the Fall and from our sins. It is one thing to know that Jesus was able to return from the dead. It is quite another to know that he can extend the promise of immortality to the rest of us and offer eternal life with the Father in his kingdom based on faithfulness and repentance. Such a knowledge can come only from the Holy Ghost as he testifies to each of us individually of our standing before God. We may not all get to be eye witnesses of the Resurrected Christ, but we can all have the witness of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, that he truly atoned for our sins and redeemed us from everlasting spiritual death. We can know just as surely by the power of the Holy Ghost as the Apostles know by personal experience, that we can receive and retain a remission of our sins through faith on Jesus Christ. We can know that we have been and are continuously forgiven as we make our way through this life with faith, hope and charity, through the pure love of Christ. We can know he is our friend even before we meet him in the flesh.

Thus, we can all have the gift of a testimony of Christ and can bear that testimony to all who need to hear it, even though we are not Apostles. The Apostles have a calling to bear a special witness to all the world. We may not bear the calling of Special Witnesses, but we have a righteous and effective testimony to bear to all we meet, to testify of what we know by the power of the Holy Ghost.

May the Lord find us so doing.