You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Prophets’ category.
A few weeks ago, in Gospel Principles Sunday School class, I taught about the importance of scripture.
The conversation was interesting because there were some investigators (people considering joining the Mormon church) as well as some “seasoned” Mormons in attendance. When I asked questions about the importance of scripture, I noticed that most of the non-Mormons revered the Bible and most of the Mormons in the class acknowledged the Bible, but didn’t hold it as high as the Book of Mormon.
Mormons’ View of Scriptures
For those of you who are not as familiar with Mormons’ view of scriptures, I’ll briefly go over each scripture along with some quotes by LDS prophets on each.
If you ask a Mormon if they believe in the Bible the answer will always be “yes”. However, for most Mormons there is a little asterisk next to that yes because, according to Mormon belief:
We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly (see Articles of Faith 1:8)
Mormons believe that there was an apostasy after the original apostles died and over the years, parts of the Bible were removed, therefore the Bible is not the complete book that it once was.
In fact, the Book of Mormon has scriptures that discuss the “plain and precious truths” that were taken away from the Bible, thus making the Bible an incomplete book as to containing the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith worked throughout his life on what he called the “inspired version” of the Bible, which includes additions to the King James Bible that he received through revelation. Although he never was able to complete the version, Mormons have the Joseph Smith Translation included in many of their scriptures (they do not claim this to be the official Bible, but have it to offer “insight”.)
In speaking about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Mormons’ founder and first prophet, declared
I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book (Book of Mormon Introduction)
Many Mormon Apostles and Prophets have voiced of the importance of the Book of Mormon and even declare blessings that will come into ones’ life when studying the Book. The late prophet, Ezra Taft Benson said:
It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. (see talk: The Book of Mormon: Keystone of our Religion)
Since this talk was given by Ezra Taft Benson in 1986, I feel that many Mormons have focused heavily on reading the Book of Mormon above any other scripture, which is what I witnessed in the Sunday School class.
The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) are revelations that were given to Mormon prophets (mostly Joseph Smith) dealing with various doctrines and organizational structure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) that aren’t found in either the Bible or Book of Mormon in detail.
Some of the key revelations (in my opinion) include: how to receive answers to prayer, organizational structure of the Church, Priesthood defined and execution of callings within the priesthood, revelation on the Three degrees of glory (heaven), and The Word of Wisdom (no alcohol, coffee, etc.).
Other revelations that have had some controversy around them are: polygamy, temple ordinances (including eternal marriage) and baptisms for the dead
The Pearl of Great Price (PGP) has two books (Moses and Abraham) that Joseph Smith translated from papyri that was found. It contains more details on the first books of Genesis in the Bible.
Joseph Smith’s history is also included here. The history is mainly his account of his First Vision, or when God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him to reestablish Jesus’ church.
In addition to these books, the PGP has the Articles of Faith (similar to a Creed), a revelation from a later prophet declaring it illegal to practice polygamy anymore, and a revelation extending the priesthood to black members.
One of the unique aspects of Mormonism is the claim that their church leaders are prophets, or mouthpieces, for the Lord. As such, most Mormons believe that the writings of the apostles and prophet found in Church publications such as the Ensign are to be considered scriptural.
Which Scripture is Most Important?
A case can be made for each scripture. For example, without the Bible, there wouldn’t be any of the other scriptures because Joseph Smith was led to pray for guidance from a scripture he read from the Bible.
On the other hand, Mormon prophets have declared the Book of Mormon the most important book…but if Mormons only had the Book of Mormon, they wouldn’t know exactly how to run the church and additional components to the faith such as the Word of Wisdom, eternal marriage, etc. wouldn’t exist.
Finally, I can see how some people would feel that Modern-day Prophets’ revelations trump all of the other scriptures (such as doing away with polygamy and using water instead of wine for communion).
Just for fun, I’ll close with a poll for you to rank what you feel is the most important scripture.
This article is inspired by an experience I had at my new Ward (congregation) at church a few weeks ago.
In preparing for General Conference, the Bishop (Pastor) of the ward was giving a lesson to the adults in the congregation. He was asking certain questions and getting feedback from the members. I can’t remember the exact question he asked, but it was something along the lines of “What is a prophet?” Some one answered and he replied that the answer was wrong and emphasized that ONLY men are called to be prophets and women do not get that calling.
The way he said it made me cringe as I thought about all the ladies in the room and as my thoughts turned to the public perception that I’ve heard many times that the Mormon Church is male shovanistic.
I came very close to raising my hand and correcting him, but I decided it wasn’t the right time and place to do that. So, I’m doing it here.
In this article, I will first define what a prophet is, according to LDS, or Mormon, scripture. I will then identify women prophets in the scriptures and share modern day examples as well.
Definition of a Prophet
In LDS scripture, the Bible Dictionary defines a prophet as follows:
The work of a Hebrew prophet was to act as God’s messenger and make known God’s will. The message was usually prefaced with the words “Thus saith Jehovah.” He taught men about God’s character, showing the full meaning of his dealings with Israel in the past. It was therefore part of the prophetic office to preserve and edit the records of the nation’s history; and such historical books as Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings were known by the Jews as the former Prophets. It was also the prophet’s duty to denounce sin and foretell its punishment, and to redress, so far as he could, both public and private wrongs. He was to be, above all, a preacher of righteousness. When the people had fallen away from a true faith in Jehovah, the prophets had to try to restore that faith and remove false views about the character of God and the nature of the Divine requirement. In certain cases prophets predicted future events, e.g., there are the very important prophecies announcing the coming of Messiah’s kingdom; but as a rule a prophet was a forthteller rather than a foreteller. In a general sense a prophet is anyone who has a testimony of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost, as in Num. 11:25–29; Rev. 19:10.
As you can see from the definition, Mormon scripture does not define a prophet as being gender specific and a few key elements on what a prophet is stand out to me:
- A prophet is God’s messenger
- A prophet denounces sin and fortells of consequences to sin
- A prophet can predict future events
- A prophet is a preacher of righteousness
- Having a testimony of Jesus by the Holy Ghost qualifies as being a prophet
Women Prophets in Scripture
Having defined what a prophet is, the next step is to identify women in scripture who were prophets. From what I’ve read, the following women were prophets of varying degrees and are found in Christian Bibles: Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Noadiah, Isaiah’s wife, Anna, and the daughters of Phillip. In addition to these specifically named ladies, there are other women discussed in scripture as being leaders in the early Christian church.
People who claim that men have a monopoly on being a prophet are not basing their views on scriptural facts. Clearly, there were women prophets.
Modern Day Women Prophets
I had a hard time coming up with examples of modern-day women prophets. Perhaps some of you can help me here. The closest thing I came across (which is another topic) was that in the early Mormon Church, women could give priesthood blessings.
Personally, I have had one example of a woman in a leadership position that prophesied to me. She was my mission president’s wife. I wrote about it a few years ago, but the short story is that she prophesied to me that if I worked as hard as I could each day of my mission, that my then rebellious brother would turn things around and go on a mission. He ended up turning things around and going on a mission.
In conclusion, I’d like to remphasize the scriptural foundation that women can be prophets. I would like to hear your personal reasons why (or why not) you believe this to be true and if you have any examples to share, even better!
Grace for Grace 
Recent Comments