The Divine Role of Prophets

Prophets carry a divine mission – to guide God’s people and express the Lord’s will for the world. It is not an easy thing to do, nor is it often the popular thing to do, but throughout history mankind has been blessed to have prophets to give them warnings and advice. First and foremost in the mission of a prophet is to teach the people concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

A Glimpse of the Past - Moses
The most famous example of a prophet may be Moses of the Old Testament. He was called by the Lord through the burning bush on the mountain to free God’s people from the grasp of the Pharaoh. Through God’s power, the plagues of Egypt, Moses was able to carry out his mission to free the Children of Israel from Egypt. However, Moses’ calling did not end with leaving Egypt. Throughout the Holy Scriptures we see that once a man is called a prophet he is a prophet until he dies. In Moses’ case, he had to then teach the Children of Israel the ways of the Lord and how to leave behind the ways of Pharaoh.

In addition to being their spiritual leader he was also being their physical leader, guiding them to the Promised Land – the land promised to their fathers – Canaan. While in the wilderness Moses showed repeatedly that Jehovah is God, and that the people should follow Him. A snake was raised up on a stick to remind the Children of Israel of the Atonement of Christ:

"Behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live...  Cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins" (Alma 33:19, 22).

On Mount Sinai God gave unto Moses the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. It was also in this wilderness that the Tabernacle was constructed. In replace of the practices of the Egyptians, sacrifices were offered unto God, symbolic of Christ’s death for men.

The last thing concerning Moses I will mention is the Mosaic Law that was given by God to the Children of Israel. The laws given, the commandments that took part in it, all pointed to Christ and the work He had yet to do during His mortal ministry on earth.

"And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled" (2 Nephi 25:24).

Are There Modern Prophets?
The scriptures teach us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is also evident in the Holy Bible that God used prophets to teach his people from the time of Adam through the New Testament – a period of many thousands of years. If God followed this system for so long, and is an unchanging God, one can suppose he would do the same for us today.

The Lord’s Church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – was restored in 1830 by a man named Joseph Smith. With the restoration of the gospel came the restoration of the call of prophets, the first prophet in modern-days being Joseph Smith. Since the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith God has again guided his church through these divinely called men, and has given his word to the entire world. The current prophet of the Lord is Thomas S. Monson. Through him we may receive the word of the Lord, and be guided through the difficult circumstances of life.

But we must follow the teachings of the prophet.  Apostle Oaks teaches:  "It is not enough to know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that the gospel is true.  We must take the high road by acting upon that knowledge.  It is not enough to know that President [Thomas S. Monson] is God's prophet.  We must put his teachings to work in our lives." (Be Not Deceived, 2004.)  Eventually, by following the counsel of the prophets, we can again return to the Kingdom of God to live with Christ.

Testimonies Throughout Mormonism's History

Yesterday I made this video containing testimonies of eight of the sixteen latter-day prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism).  The prophets contained in this video are:

David O. McKay | Joseph Fielding Smith | Harold B. Lee | Spencer W. Kimball
Ezra Taft Benson | Howard W. Hunter | Gordon B. Hinckley | Thomas S. Monson

I love listening to the words of these prophets.  Their teachings help us live happier lives, be better people, and, most importantly, come closer to Christ.  I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be the church that has been set up through the guidance of the Lord himself, by the hands of Joseph Smith and his successors.

-----

If you would like to learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ, or Mormonism, check out some of the following sites:

Mormon Topics | http://mormontopics.org/eng/christ

LDS | https://www.lds.org/

Mormon | http://mormon.org/

If you have further questions there are missionaries ready to help answer your questions.  Just ask.

Chat with a Missionary | http://mormon.org/chat

What is Mormonism: Articles of Faith - Article #9

This post is another addition to the "What is Mormonism?" series of posts.  In this post I'll discuss the ninth Article of Faith.

We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

It is oft mentioned in the scriptures that God is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (see 2 Nephi 27:23; Mormon 9:9; Hebrews 13:8).  This scripture is an important part of Mormonism.  In Article 6 I talked of the restitution of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This restoration came when the Lord Jesus Christ, and God, the Father, visited the later-to-be-prophet Joseph Smith, just as he had done with the prophets of past dispensations.  We believe that God had spoken to his prophets in Biblical times just as he did with Joseph Smith (for example see Deuteronomy 34:10).

Because God is the same today as yesterday, we believe he speaks to his modern prophets (currently Thomas S. Monson is prophet of the Church).  An example of modern revelation is the Word of Wisdom given to the Prophet Joseph, recorded now in the Doctrine and Covenants section 89.  And because God is the same today as he will be tomorrow, we believe revelation will be given to prophets in the future.  We do not know what these future revelations will be, but we believe they will pertain to the kingdom of God.

---

If you have any questions concerning Mormonism or the Articles of Faith that have not been answered in this post, the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be happy to help answer your questions.

http://mormon.org/chat

Mormonism: A Living Prophet

Thomas S. Monson
Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Photo taken from LDS.org

Apostle M. Russell Ballard was once asked the question:  What makes Mormonism different than other religions?  His answer was a question of his own:  If Moses was alive on the earth today, would you listen to him?  The interviewer responded, saying, "Of course!  Everyone would listen!"  Elder Ballard responded by saying that is what makes us different than other churches.  We have a prophet that has the same authority Moses had in Biblical times.

The Church of Jesus Christ does have a modern-day, living prophet to watch over and lead the church.  As the 6th Article of Faith explains, "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."  Among the ancient Church of Jesus Christ were prophets to give the will of the Lord to the people.  The Doctrine and Covenants explains further the role of a prophet:

"What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same" (D&C 1:38).

A prophets speak to the church the will of the Lord.  I have heard the question, "What is the need for a prophet to speak on behalf of the Lord when I can pray to the Lord myself?"  While it is true that we can pray to the Lord for ourselves and learn what God wants us to do, we cannot do so on behalf of the entire church.  The church does many wonderful things on a global level - such as sending necessities during natural disasters, or giving food to those that do not have the money for it themselves.  These are things that have been organized by our prophets according to the revelations and inspiration they have received from God.

The prophet is also often called a "seer" or "revelator."  I will only briefly discuss these as I have at an earlier time made a post on this topic specifically.  You can read that earlier post here, if you want to know more: Seers Ancient and Modern.

A Seer, as defined in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Guide to the Scriptures, is "a person authorized of God to see with spiritual eyes things which God has hidden from the world... A seer knows the past, present, and future."

And a revelator is a person with the authority to reveal the will of God to the people.  In this way he is able to guide the people of the Church in righteous ways.

---

As is always the case, if you are confused about anything I have said here, or have any additional questions concerning The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism), you are welcome to ask the Mormon missionaries your questions here: http://mormon.org/chat.

Mormonism: The First Presidency

The First Presidency is the name given to the highest governing body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This governing body is made up of three apostles.  And so one must ask what an apostle is.  The dictionary's definition of 'apostle' is "any of the early followers of Jesus who carried the Christian message into the world."  But how does Mormonism define an apostle?  LDS.org defines it as follows:

"An 'apostle' is an ordained leader in the Melchizedek Priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Apostles are chosen through inspiration by the President of the Church, sustained by the general membership of the Church, and ordained by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by the laying on of hands.  In addition to serving as witnesses of Jesus Christ to all the world, as Jesus' apostles did, members of the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles hold the keys of the priesthood - that is, the rights of presidency."

When Christ lived on earth he chose twelve of his followers to be apostles.  These twelve helped watch over the disciples and teach them the gospel.  When the Lord visited those in the Western Hemisphere after his resurrection he did the same thing, choosing twelve to be apostles to watch over the church with the prophet.  And again, in the 19th century, when Christ was restoring his church on the earth he chose those to lead it.

In this dispensation fifteen apostles are chosen to watch over the church.  The senior apostle, the one who has served the longest in the calling of apostle, is also prophet of the church.  Of the remaining apostles that prophet chooses two counselors.  These three make the First Presidency.  The twelve remaining apostles make up what is called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

During the year 2008 the previous prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away and the next senior apostle took his place as prophet.  That apostle was Thomas S. Monson, having served as apostle since 1963.  His counselors are Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Here is a video with pictures of the First Presidencies, past and present, from Joseph Smith through Thomas S. Monson.  The video, titled "Mormonism:  The First Presidency," plays the song "We Thank Thee, O God, For A Prophet," as played by Spencer Mangum.  Music is used with permission.



For a little additional fun, I have created a couple quizzes on these first presidencies.  When you have watched the video enough and think you know who all the prophets are, follow the link below and take the prophet quizzes.

Name That Prophet!

The second Mormonism quiz on the presidency I created is much tougher.  This set of quizzes asks about the counselors to the prophets.  If you think you know the counselors over the years then follow the link below and see how much you know.

Mormonism Pop Quiz - The First Presidency

Joseph Smith and the Plates, Pt. 4 - The Missing Pages

Post number four in the series about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon is about Martin Harris, the missing pages, and how this mistake has been solved.

Martin Harris was the first scribe for Joseph Smith in translating the Nephite records.  This process would work by Joseph reading, translating and then speaking the words on the plates to Martin who would then write the translated record down on paper.

Before I continue on to the missing pages of transcript I will explain something concerning the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon, as you may or may not know, is actually a collection of fourteen books written by many prophets, as well as a small section called Words of Mormon that explains somewhat the make-up of these books.  The last prophet of the Nephites, Mormon, along with his son Moroni, went through all the records kept by the prophets and kings and chose fifteen to include in the abridged set of plates that were given to Joseph Smith.

You may have noticed that I said that Mormon and Moroni included fifteen books and the Book of Mormon is only fourteen.  This missing fifteenth is what is referred to as "the missing 116 pages."
In 1827 Joseph and Martin began work on translating and in the following year they completed the first book, the Book of Lehi, 116 pages long.  Joseph and those that believed in the gospel he taught had been persecuted and ridiculed for that entire year.  Martin was not exempt from this treatment and desired to take these finished pages back to his town to show his wife and friends that they were doing a real work.  He asked Joseph if he would pray to the Lord and ask if the pages could be taken home.  The answer was no.  Mr. Harris, however, asked if Joseph would pray again, and the answer was again no.  Determined to take these pages to show his wife and friends he plead that Joseph would ask again.

Martin eventually took the finished 116 pages with him.  When the time came that Joseph asked for them back they could not be found.  Someone had taken the pages and they could therefore not be returned to the Prophet.  At realizing this Joseph went to the Lord concerning the matter who took away the gift of translation, as well as took back the plates and interpreters, until the young Smith had proved his trust in the Lord.

Eventually the time came that Joseph Smith received the ancient records, interpreters and gift of translation again.  This time Martin Harris was not allowed to work as scribe.  Working in Mr. Harris' place was Oliver Cowdery.  They finished the work of translating the records but did not ever re-translate the Book of Lehi.

---

More on Joseph Smith and the Missing Pages:
116 Missing Pages
Revelation Concerning Joseph and Martin Harris Losing the Transcript:
Doctrine and Covenants, Section 3 and Section 10
Translating the Plates

Joseph Smith and the Plates, Pt. 1 - Moroni

Joseph Smith is visited by Moroni.

After the many religious posts I have made, I have failed to write about Joseph Smith and his role with the Book of Mormon, a huge part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As this is a big topic to write about, it will be broken up into multiple posts.  This first post will be on his receiving the plates from Moroni, the angel.

Moroni Is Introduced.
The Book of Mormon contains a summary of the records kept by a group of people that lived in the Western Hemisphere beginning in 600B.C.  This group of people eventually split into two groups - Nephites and Lamanites.  The record kept on the gold plates were written by the Nephites.  These Nephite civilization, when they rejected the teachings of the prophets, began to dwindle to extinction around 400A.D.  The last living prophet of the Nephites was named Moroni.  He is the one that finished the summary of all the Nephite records, and he buried them before he died so that the Lamanites would not find them to destroy them.  It is this same Moroni that visited Joseph Smith in the 1800's, this time as an angelic being.

Joseph Smith was first informed about the gold plates, containing the record we now call the Book of Mormon, the same night that he was visited by Moroni.  Indeed, it was during Moroni's first visit during a night in 1823 that Joseph was told of these things.  He, Joseph, writes the following concerning this night:

"He [Moroni] said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.  He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;" (Joseph Smith History 1:34).

Receiving the Plates.
Also in the vision in the night Joseph was shown the place where these plates were buried, which was on a hill named Cumorah near the Smith family farm.  Joseph went to the place where these plates were buried and there he met the angel Moroni again.  The angel showed the 17-year old boy the plates, as well as the other things buried with them, but he was told that he could not take them home at that time.

On that very day, for four years, these two met at this spot.  The angel taught the boy the things he would need to learn before he was allowed to obtain the plates.  It was during the year of 1827, when Joseph was 21, that the angel Moroni finally gave the plates to him.

And now the long and tedious task of translating these plates was to begin.

---

More about Joseph Smith:
Joseph Smith Papers
The Life of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith History
Joseph Smith and Moroni the Nephite

LDS General Conference

Tomorrow, October 6th, is the second day of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' 183nd Semiannual General Conference.  The first day was the Relief Society session last weekend.

So what is the LDS general conference?  The answer, as described by LDS.org, is that "General conference is a semiannual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  During general conference weekend, Church members and others gather worldwide in a series of two-hour sessions to receive inspiration and instruction from Church leaders."

And now one may ask who the Church leaders are that we will hear from.  We will be hearing from the First Presidency of the Church.  The First Presidency is composed of the President and living prophet of the church.  That man is President Thomas S. Monson.  Also in the First Presidency are the two counselors to the president.  These two counselors are Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Also speaking in these conference sessions will be the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  These twelve men also serve as prophets, seers and revelators.  The twelve that make up this quorum are:  Body K. Packer, L. Tom Perry, Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Richard G. Scott, Robert D. Hales, Jeffrey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, and Neil L. Andersen.

In addition to these fifteen men we will have the opportunity to hear from many other leaders in the church, both men and women.

These sessions of conference can be attended live at the Conference Center in Downtown, Salt Lake City, Utah.  For those that do not get that opportunity can listen to these conferences through the radio, or watch them on TV or streaming live on the internet.  Now there are millions of members of the church that will be watching and listening, and many more that are not members of the church that want to hear what is taught by the leaders of the church.

Tomorrow I have the opportunity of taking my little sister to watch one of these sessions live.  She has never had the opportunity before to see a prophet other than on a TV or computer screen.  This is a wonderful blessing and opportunity that we will love and cherish.

For those that are not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I will provide some links below where you can learn more.

Links

---

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (official website):
https://www.lds.org/
Watch/Listen to this year's general conference:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/october-2012-landing-page?lang=eng
Mormon Beliefs:
http://mormon.org/
The Current Prophet - President Thomas S. Monson:
http://www.lds.org/church/leader/thomas-s-monson?lang=eng

General Conference - Listen to the Prophet

For upwards of three months I have been listening to LDS General Conference talks as I drive, or on walks, or in my free-time.  If you do not know what General Conference is, it is an event that takes place twice a year as the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teach the members of the Church (and all others that want to listen).  If you do not know what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, you can chat with people that will be happy to tell you all about it by clicking the first link at the bottom of this page.

I began with listening to the speakers that I know and am familiar with already, such as:  Bruce R. McConkie, Marvin J. Ashton, Marion G. Romney, Gordon B. Hinckley, etc.  You may notice that the prophets and apostles listed above are people that have already died.  The reason being that they can give no more talks and so I can make a list of all their talks and not have to worry about adding on to it every once in a while.  But this week, as I finished the previous set of talks, I decided to begin listening to President Thomas S. Monson's talks, the current living prophet of the Church.  What I did not realize when I made this decision is that he has given over two hundred talks and devotionals, and has been speaking in General Conferences since the 60's.  But upon listening to the first few of them it is now okay with me that there is a lot of them.  In fact, it is great because he has such a warm voice and wonderful messages.  I'm sure, just like all of those before, I'm going to wish there were more when I finish.  Thankfully this time there will be, as he is still alive and will be giving many more talks as prophet of the Church.

For those that read this page this week, he will indeed be giving a few more in just a week or two at the quickly approaching Conference.  If you would like to watch this upcoming conference you can find out how by clicking the second link at the bottom of the page.  And if you want to know about the man, Thomas S. Monson, simply click on the third link below.

And now, in parting, I share a video of some past Conference messages by President Monson.  Enjoy!

Links:
1. Have questions about the Church? http://mormon.org/chat
2. Want to watch General Conference? https://www.lds.org/general-conference
3. More about Thomas S. Monson: http://www.lds.org/church/leader/thomas-s-monson?lang=eng

Come Listen To A Prophets Voice!

In the Book of Mormon there is a conversation between a man named Ammon and a king name Limhi.  What happened was that king Limhi found an ancient record of a language that no one in his kingdom can read or translate.  Ammon, with the company of several others, came into the kingdom and were asked if they had the power to translate languages.  Ammon said to king Limhi:

"I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God.  And the things are called interpreters... and whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer" (Mosiah 8:13).

The surprised but pleased king said that "a seer is greater than a prophet," if he can do such things (Mosiah 8:15).  Ammon explains that "a seer is a revelator and a prophet also" (Mosiah 8:16).  A seer is not greater than a prophet, but is a prophet.  Not only is he a prophet, but he is a revelator also.  A prophet, by definition and reality, is a man that speaks and acts by divine inspiration.  A revelator is one that reveals things.  And a seer, as explained by Ammon, is a man that "can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known" (Mosiah 8:17).

Just as there were the great ancient prophets, seers and revelators of the scriptures - Moses, Abraham, Elijah, etc. - so have been and continue to be great prophets, seers and revelators in recent history.  Thomas S. Monson, since the year of 2008, has been the living prophet, seer and revelator on the earth.  In addition to President Monson there are fourteen other men that hold the keys of prophets, seers, and revelators.

Twice a year these fifteen men, as well as other great men and women of the world, gather together to reveal and teach the things that the Lord has asked them to teach at that time.  This magnificent gathering is called LDS General Conference, and happens every April and October.  With it being the end of September it is nice to know that just a couple weeks away we will get to hear the words from prophets, seers and revelators, men with the powers explained above by Ammon in the Book of Mormon.

Come listen to a prophet's voice!