LDS-Defender

Why A Modern Prophet and Revelation?

By: Gerald D. Woodard

A fundamental tenet of the LDS faith is the need – even the presence – of a latter-day prophet and personal revelation. The Articles of Faith of the LDS Church state:

We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth... We believe in the gift of ... revelation, visions... and so forth... and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God (Articles of Faith 1:6-7, 9)

What is the basis of that belief? Where do we, as Latter-Day Saints, find support for this claim that we need and have a modern-day prophet and that we receive revelation? We need simply turn to the Scriptures.

Why a Prophet?

The Old Testament tells us: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). The message here is very clear – everything the Lord does will be announced by his prophets. We are not left on our own to decipher what he would have of us. Guidance is available.

Just as Adam, Abraham, Moses and Peter led the Church in their day, the Lord's people today are led by a prophet if they choose to listen to him and follow Christ. The New Testament tells us: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40).

The Lord’s Church cannot be one in which doctrine varies from one congregation to another, from one pastor to another, or from one person to another. His Word is everlasting and does not change. He will not have us being led this way or that way, depending on which doctrine we follow. His doctrine is the same in all places. That was true in the Primitive Church, under the prophets of biblical times, and it is true today.

Is a Prophet Still Needed?

Detractors of the Church tell us that God has revealed all that He will reveal to us in the Bible, that it contains all that we need. They would have us believe that God no longer talks to men, that we are to rely on the ancient Word in today’s world. In a letter to his uncle, Silas Smith, Joseph Smith explained the error of this line of thought in the following way:

But you will admit that the word spoken to Noah was not sufficient for Abraham... Isaac, the promised seed, was not required to rest his hope alone upon the promises made to his father Abraham... Was not Isaac Abraham’s son? and could he not place implicit confidence in the veracity of his father as being a man of God? ... The same might be said on the subject of Jacob’s history. Why was it that the Lord spake to him concerning the same promise, after he had made it once to Abraham, and renewed it to Isaac? Why could not Jacob rest contented upon the word spoken to his fathers?  ... But will all this purchase an assurance for me, and waft me to the regions of eternal day, with my garments spotless, pure and white? Or, must I not rather obtain for myself, by my own faith and diligence in keeping the commandments of the Lord, an assurance of salvation for myself? And have I not an equal privilege with the ancient saints? And will not the Lord hear my prayers, and listen to my cries as soon as he ever did theirs, if I come to him in the manner they did?[1]

Those who say the Bible is all we need even go so far as to cite John from Revelation, when he writes: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book”

Since this is at the end of the final chapter of the final book in the Bible, they take this to mean not to add to Scriptures at all. The problem with this reasoning is twofold.

First, the books of the New Testament are not sorted by when they were written, but rather by length, with the exception of Revelation. Other writings by John in the New Testament were written after the book of Revelation, meaning that he added to it himself after writing that.

Second, the same prohibition on adding is found in several other places in the Bible, including Deuteronomy 4:2, and Proverbs 30:6. John’s prohibition clearly refers to adding to (or taking away from) the book of Revelation, not the Bible as a whole, which had not yet been compiled at the time of his writing. The website MormonAnswers.org has rightfully pointed out that “in its proper context, the passage in Revelation actually supports the teachings of the Book of Mormon that many plain and precious things would be taken away from the” scriptures.[2]

As a people who are striving to follow God and his Son Jesus Christ in these latter days, we have just as much need of revelation and leadership today as did the saints of old. It could even be said that we have a greater need in today’s world with all that it throws at us each day, as it becomes ever harder to follow that straight and narrow path and not be led astray by the wonderful but spiritually devastating distractions that this world offers.

Our Father in Heaven has not left us to our own devices in these latter days. He has provided the same guidance and leadership to us as he did to the saints of old. A prophet stands at the head of His Church today to guide the saints in their travails, just as the prophets of old did, from Adam to Peter. His is a Church of everlasting strength and guidance for his people.

Revelation continues

Just as a prophet is needed to guide the Church as a body in these latter days, so we also need revelation at all levels, from the prophet to each member of the Church. While the Prophet guides us as a Church, we must each seek revelation from on high in our own lives and in those areas where we lead. Bishops must seek revelation as they lead their congregations, parents must seek revelation as they raise their children and look after the affairs of their family, and we must all seek revelation in our lives, that we might be best able to travel this earthly path.

The Scripture that led Joseph to pray to seek guidance says it best: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). Our Father is there to guide us, just as an earthly father will always strive to direct his children in the right paths. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7).

Such revelation may come in many forms, from the still small voice, to a dream, to a simple burning in the bosom. Few are they who will receive the striking revelations received by Moses, Paul, or Joseph Smith – though it can occur. Joseph Smith stated:

The Lord cannot always be known by the thunder of His voice, by the display of His glory or by the manifestation of His power; and those that are the most anxious to see these things, are the least prepared to meet them, and were the Lord to manifest His power as He did to the children of Israel, such characters would be the first to say, “Let not the Lord speak any more, lest we His people die.”[3]

Most will be guided in some way by the Spirit or by others who are sent by the Spirit to point them in the right direction. The key is always to live our lives in such a way that we recognize it when it happens. In telling us to ask of God, James went on to say “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:6).

As Latter-Day Saints, we can be so bold as to say that we know that God still speaks to his appointed servants, and still leads each of us if we will but listen at the right times. His Prophet is there to instruct us, as were the prophets of old. His Spirit is there to guide us and to testify of the truthfulness of those teachings, if we will but listen to its quiet influence in our lives. We need only ask. We need only seek. We need only knock. His plan is still the same as it was in times of old. Man has changed, but He has not. If we turn to Him, like any good father, He will lead and direct us in the right direction.