Prophets

I've met several people who believe that religion is all just a fictional story and only the gullible and desperate believe in it. I guess I can understand that to an extent. After all, I have to admit that some beliefs in some religions are pretty strange if you aren't familiar with it. So, when it comes to Christianity, how do we really know anything? Is it all just made up?

Again, I'm going to skip over the argument about whether the Bible is true or not (which might be the core argument of this whole topic for some - I apologize and will have to hold off on that particular aspect for the time being) and just assume that it is. An Old Testament prophet, by the name of Amos, gave us a great understanding about how

"Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)

Prophets. We know what we know because of people called prophets. Okay, so what exactly is a prophet and why does God work through them? A Book of Mormon prophet gives a good explanation:

"And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.

For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.

And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men." (Moroni 7:29-32)

First, angels, whose job it is to "call men unto repentance, and to...prepare the way among the children of men," teach those who have "strong faith and a firm mind" - the "chosen vessels of the Lord." These are the prophets. The prophets, then, teach the rest of us about the covenants, or promises, of the Lord.

Is that how it really works? Let's look at an example in the New Testament. After Jesus had risen from the dead, he visited his Apostles and told them:

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." (Mark 16:15-20)

In this case, Jesus himself came to teach these men and commanded them to go "and preach the gospel to every creature." When Jesus left, that is exactly what they did.

Another very important part of being a prophet is how exactly a person becomes one. We know that an angel (or Jesus himself in certain cases) has to come and minister, or teach, someone. That pretty much rules out me waking up one morning and saying, "Hey, I think I'm going to be a prophet today!" That is not just a decision I can make. When Jesus first started his mortal ministry, he hand-picked his Apostles and told them:

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:16)

It is Jesus, or Heavenly Father, that decides who will (or won't) become a prophet. It is just not something a person has control over. In fact, there are several times in the Old Testament that someone was called to be a prophet who really didn't want the job. Jonah comes to mind. I'm not going to get into that story at the moment, but it illustrates the point quite well.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, also mentioned this:

"And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." (Hebrews 5:4)

Actually, Paul brings up another interesting question. How was Aaron (brother of Moses) called? A quick trip back into the Old Testament helps us out with this. Here God is speaking to Moses after he freed the Israelites from Egypt:

"AND take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office." (Exodus 28:1,41)

This is interesting because Aaron and his sons weren't called to be prophets, but priests. However, it was still God who chose them - through his prophet. There are some implications there worth exploring, but not just yet.

All of this is fine and dandy, but it still leaves the question about why bother with prophets. Why doesn't Heavenly Father just appear to everyone? That way everyone would know and we wouldn't have to take anyone's word on it. That would certainly seem to make things easier. However, I have a suspicion that Heavenly Father would love to do just that, but such attempts in the past didn't seem to work out so well.

For example, let's go back to Moses. Right after receiving the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites reacted this way:

"And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven." (Exodus 20:18-22)

So prophets are a sort of mediator between God and the rest of humanity. Because of this, prophets have a very special role to fill - that of actual witnesses of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. The Apostle Peter, who Jesus chose during his mortal ministry, understood that not everyone has seen Jesus personally and it was the responsibility of the Apostles to testify to the gentiles:

"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:38-43)

Even Moses had this special witness, which I have mentioned before:

"And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." (Exodus 33:11)

In fact, all throughout time, the calling of a prophet has included a personal knowledge of the reality of Jesus Christ. The prophet Nephi recorded the following in the Book of Mormon:

"And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.

And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words." (2 Nephi 11:2-3)

The last phrase in there about more than one witness becomes very important when we realize that there has not been just one person who has testified of these things. The Bible is full of prophets - that is why it is called the Old Testament and the New Testament. They are testaments to the reality of Jesus Christ.

And finally, the Apostle Paul gives us a reason to heed the teaching of the prophets:

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" (Ephesians 4:11)

If we learn, study, and follow the teachings of the prophets, we will no longer be "carried about with every wind of doctrine." We will have a stable base, a rock if you will, upon which we can build our own faith, testimonies, and lives.

---

Previous
Next