The Holy Prophets Are More Likely to Be Persecuted than Popular among the Worldly
Doctrine and Covenants 127:4
4 And again, verily thus saith the Lord: . . . [I]f they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven.
President Spencer W. Kimball said:
“Prophets have a way of jarring the carnal mind. Too often the holy prophets are wrongly perceived as harsh and as anxious to make a record in order to say, ‘I told you so.’ Those prophets I have known are the most loving of men. It is because of their love and integrity that they cannot modify the Lord’s message merely to make people feel comfortable. They are too kind to be so cruel. I am so grateful that prophets do not crave popularity.”
(“Listen to the Prophets,” Ensign, May 1978, 77.)