photograph taken of stainglass window at the Church History Museum taken on April 6, 2012
One of the more well known prophets in scripture is Moses. He was reluctant to be God's messenger. In scripture, there no "odes" to the Moses. Some say this is so that we see the Exodus as the work of the Almightly and to avoid following or pseudo-worshipping of Moses as a god. Others say it is so we don't come to believe that we can only accomplish what the Lords asks when there is a strong leader.
The title of "prophet" is a sacred name and a calling given to a man. It expresses the personal relationship between a man and God. They talk with one another.. face to face. The idea that the title of prophet is either assumed or the title given to a man merely because of a rank and/or status is offensive to God.
A prophet speaks for and in behalf of the Lord to have us turn back to God (repent) and to testify of the reality of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. A prophet would never use words like.." I believe the Lord would have me say this"... for a prophet would KNOW that the Lord would have him speak those words. A prophet is commanded to speak those words, otherwise he would be held accountable. A prophet would not need to quote another man, but only the words the Lord puts in his mouth. However, many times a prophet will quote another prophets words.. like the words of Isaiah.
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Sidenote:
The Book of Mormon in Enos talks about "And there were exceedingly many prophets among us. I wonder how many is considered EXCEEDINGLY MANY... Obviously it is not just one...Is fifteen considered exceedingly many?
In Numbers 11:29 states.. "would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!"
But wait..isn't there a cap on the number of prophets on the earth? Did the Lord really mean ALL the Lord's people could be prophets? Wouldn't this cause chaos?
Another interesting to note in the Book of Enos is what manner these exceedingly many prophets spoke: "And there was nothing save it was exceeding harshness, preaching and prophesying of wars, and contentions, and destructions, and continually reminding them of death, and the duration of eternity, and the judgments and the power of God, and all these things—stirring them up continually to keep them in the fear of the Lord."
No wonder people reject and stone the prophets. They prefer to hear warm and fuzzy pleasantries that make them feel like all is well.
8 comments:
Right on David! We don't need warm fuzzies when repentence and testifying of the Savior is what we need. Thank you for all your good work!
Jerry and Karen Johnson
Great post!
Every 'true' prophet, ancient or modern, would be teaching the same doctrines and warning of the same things, so there would not be any confusion or contrary teachings.
The fact that the Presidents of the Church have taught 'contrary' doctrine from each other and 'contrary' to the scriptures, should be a huge red flag for all. But hardly anyone notices or cares or wants the responsibility to look into it and discern truth from error.
Not only have their been many 'prophets' throughout history, but I know that there have been at least as many, but probably far more, 'prophetesses' throughout history and even today, then Prophets.
And it's not the Lord who has kept these prophetesses from being heard, recognized and honored.
We are the apostolic, not the patriarchal church. Even though the Lord can, has, and will reveal anything He wants to anyone, we are relieved of the responsibility to command others. That belongs to the leadership. Thank God.
Actually, the leadership's responsibility is not to "command others". It is to "serve others". Jesus was the greatest of them all, and He considered Himself the least. His way was and is to invite, not to command. No man, no matter how big the church he thinks he runs (if it is Jesus' true church), was given the responsibility to COMMAND anyone; he was given the command to SERVE others. Thus, logically speaking ALL of us, including the hierarchy are "relieved of the responsibility to command others."
Anonymous A
A simple search in the scriptures under "command" will teach you your thinking is in error. For example, Alma 5:61 reads: "And now I, Alma, do command you in the language of him who hath commanded me, that ye observe to do the words which I have spoken unto you." Command or commanded is used close to 250 times in the Book of Mormon alone. That will give you some context.
What's funny is that if this happened to the Catholic church or the Seventh Day Adventist church or some other church, we'd be nodding our heads knowingly... yes, what do you expect - they're not the True Church.
I stand corrected.
In my frustration at being commanded in every little thing (what to wear, what hair is appropriate, what to speak, what to think, who we can talk to, what can and cannot be taught at church - even if it was taught by Joseph Smith and/or the scriptures), I made a blanket statement that was obviously false. Service is what the leaders are to do; my statements above stand - but God does command (not demand) and sometimes tells his servants to command in His name. I did ignore that. My apologies.
Anon A
No need to apologize... it's just a discussion.
I totally hear you on the haircut/white shirt/micromanagement issue. And I believe that service should be more of a focus, for all of us. And not just to be seen and praised by the world. Let not your right hand know what your left hand is doing... and all that.
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