Does God Speak to Prophets Today?

In March of 1842, Joseph Smith published what has become known as the Wentworth Letter. Mr. Wentworth was the Editor of the Chicago Democrat and he asked Joseph Smith to give him a brief history of the rise and progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the end of the letter Joseph included thirteen articles of faith that described the beliefs of the LDS Church. Three of those articles are:

We believe in God the eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”

We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, viz.: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.”

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.” (Articles of Faith)

From those three statements we learn that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that God is our eternal Father and Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Savior. We also believe that the Holy Ghost is real and testifies of the other two. We also believe that the church that Jesus Christ established during his mortal ministry in Jerusalem had prophets and apostles as the foundation upon which the rest was built. Remember what Paul said to the Ephesians:

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; (Ephesians 2:19-20)

The last declaration not only affirms our belief in the revelations that are contained in the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Mormon which are all ancient revelations, but that God continues to speak to prophets today and that he will always reveal his will to us through his prophets. Remember the promise of the Prophet Amos:

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

Christ was the chief corner stone, or the head of the church anciently and he still is today. He spoke to the ancient Israelites and the Christian Church in the meridian of time through prophets and apostles and he continues to do so today.  

Joseph Smith and the First Vision

 In 1831, the Lord speaking through the Prophet Joseph Smith gave the world this warning:

Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together.

For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.

And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days.

Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear:

Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;

And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth

And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;

And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually—

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. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 1)

Prophets have always been the mouth of the Lord to the world, not just to the covenant people. God is no respecter of persons and he speaks today as always through his prophets to the entire world. If we give heed to the prophet’s words we are blessed, if we do not heed his to warnings we do not prosper, but forfeit the blessings that he desires to give us.

Some might ask how often revelations are received. Elder John K. Carmack spoke at BYU Idaho about the fact that the church is guided by revelation from God today. He tells of an experience he had when he was in the mission home in Salt Lake City prior to serving as a full-time missionary. He said that in one of the meetings Joseph F. Merrill was answering questions from the missionaries when one of them asked him when was the last time that the church received a revelation from God? He said: “last Thursday in the Salt Lake Temple”. The Prophet and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles meet every Thursday in the Salt Lake Temple to discuss the affairs of the church and receive revelation from Jesus Christ who is the head of his church.

Who is the Lord’s prophet today? Russell M. Nelson, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe he has been called of God to be his prophet, seer and revelator on the earth at this time. He is the Lord’s mouthpiece today, even as Moses was to ancient Israel. Like Moses, President Nelson’s desire is to bring all of Heavenly Father’s children to the “mountain of the Lord” to behold the face of God. If we follow the prophets and apostles counsel, we can be worthy of the spirit of the Holy Ghost to dwell in us and he will teach us all things we need to know to return as families to dwell with God eternally.

Russell M. Nelson

I know Russell M. Nelson is God’s prophet on the earth today and if we give heed to his teachings we will prosper and know what the Lord would have us do to keep ourselves unspotted from the evils of the world.

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Is the Bible All the Word of God We Have?

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe “the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God (Articles of Faith 8). We love the Bible, but we believe that the Lord speaks to all of his children and many of their written words have been recorded as scripture. We also believe that the Lord continues to speak to his prophets today and their words are scripture (Doctrine and Covenants 1:37-38). Thousands of years prior to the publication of the Book of Mormon, the Lord knew that when that many would try to disprove the Book of Mormon by saying that the Bible was all that is needed. He told an ancient American prophet:

And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.

Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?

Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?

Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.

And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.

Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.

For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.

And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews. (2 Nephi 29:3-13)

Many Christians will point out that John in his book of revelation said that anyone that adds to the Bible would be cursed. (Revelation 22:18) but John was referring to the prophecies contained in that one book, not the entire bible. The Bible as we have it was not published until hundreds of years after John’s revelation was published. If what John wrote about adding to the bible is to be taken literally to mean the bible, then we would have to discard everything after the writings of Moses because he said the same thing about his writings (Deuteronomy 12:32). It is foolish to limit the Lord’s ability to call prophets and speak to us and give us revelation to help us with our needs today.

The Book of Mormon is a second witness to the divinity of Jesus Christ. The title page declares that it was:

Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God. . . to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations. (Book of Mormon – Title Page)

The Bible as we have it today has been changed many times and was subject to mistranslation and interpretation by those who wrote the ancient texts. John Wycliffe was the first to completely translate the Bible into English in the 14^th century. William Tyndale was the first to print the Bible in English in 1525. King Henry VIII commissioned the “Great Bible” that was taken mainly from Tyndale’s version of the old and new testaments. Several other versions of the bible were also published (the Geneva Bible and the Bishop’s Bible are two examples). In 1604, King James I commissioned the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, made up of 47 scholars, to publish a new translation of the Bible and in 1611 the King James Bible was published and became the official version used by most Christian churches. The purpose of the King James Bible was to overcome the “perceived problems of earlier translations”. Each of these Bible versions differed in which books were included in the compiled texts. (History of the King James Version)

Because the Bible was subject to the interpretations of the men that translated the texts, errors and misinterpretations were included in the bible. The Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God and is correct and without error. The Prophet Joseph Smith said 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 any other book”. (Why is the Book of Mormon the Most Correct of Any Book on Earth?)

Back to my original question – is the Bible all the word of God that we have? My answer is no. The scriptures testify that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If that is true then if he called and spoke to prophets anciently why would he not do so today? Our testimony is that he does speak through his prophets today and those words are recorded and published as scripture. Not only do we have the Bible, but we have the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. We also have the Doctrine and Covenants (which is a compilation of the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith) and the Pearl of Great Price which contains the writings of Moses and Abraham and other writings from the Prophet Joseph Smith.

All of these prove that “I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?” (2 Nephi 29:7)

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Why Do Mormons Believe in A Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ?

One of the fundamental differences between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christian Churches is we believe that the Church of Jesus Christ as established by the Savior during his mortal ministry did not survive after the Apostles were all killed. After the Apostles died, the priesthood authority they held died with them and no one was left that was “authorized” to administer the saving ordinances and lead the church. The Church of Jesus Christ had ceased to exist; an apostasy had occurred.

With the loss of the priesthood authority, changes in doctrine began and as the Apostle Paul had warned that they would be “removed from the grace of Christ unto another gospel . . . and would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). Paul also warned that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Some of the perversions that those teachers with “itching ears” brought in were the concept of the trinity, the purpose and manner of baptism, the doctrine of predestination, the idea of selling indulgences to absolve sin, and the idea that revelation had ceased and the heavens were sealed. It took hundreds of years for the teachings of Jesus Christ to be totally perverted and unrecognizable. There were many who professed differing teaching on these principles and in 325 AD, Constantine convened the Nicaean Council to try to come up with some agreement on what teachings were accepted and which ones were rejected. This council was not based on revelation from heaven but on the philosophies espoused by leaders of the church at the time.

President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote of the affect this apostasy:

“Following the Savior’s death, the Church He had established drifted into apostasy. Fulfilled were the words of Isaiah, who said, “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:5).

“Paul’s letters cried out for strength among the followers of Christ, lest they fall into the ways of the wicked one. But a spirit of apostasy ultimately prevailed.⁵

“The centuries rolled on. A cloud of darkness settled over the earth. Isaiah described it: “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people” (Isa. 60:2).

“It was a season of plunder and suffering, marked by long and bloody conflict. … It was an age of hopelessness, a time of masters and serfs.

“The first thousand years passed, and the second millennium dawned. Its earlier centuries were a continuation of the former. It was a time fraught with fear and suffering.” (Teachings of the Presidents: Gordon B. Hinckley Chapter 1)

Then President Hinckley writes of the reformation and finally the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

“Somehow, in that long season of darkness, a candle was lighted. The age of Renaissance brought with it a flowering of learning, art, and science. There came a movement of bold and courageous men and women who looked heavenward in acknowledgment of God and His divine Son. We speak of it as the Reformation.

“Reformers worked to change the [Christian] church, notably such men as Luther, Melanchthon, Hus, Zwingli, and Tyndale. These were men of great courage, some of whom suffered cruel deaths because of their beliefs. Protestantism was born with its cry for reformation. When that reformation was not realized, the reformers organized churches of their own. They did so without priesthood authority. Their one desire was to find a niche in which they might worship God as they felt He should be worshiped.

“After centuries of darkness and pain and struggle, the time was ripe for the restoration of the gospel. Ancient prophets had spoken of this long-awaited day.

“All of the history of the past had pointed to this season. The centuries with all of their suffering and all their hope had come and gone. The Almighty Judge of the nations, the Living God, determined that the times of which the prophets had spoken had arrived. Daniel had foreseen a stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands and which became a great mountain and filled the whole earth [see Daniel 2:35, 44].” (Teachings of the Presidents: Gordon B. Hinckley Chapter 1)

An important principle that we need to understand is that the Church that Christ established when he was on the earth was not the first time it had been established. Another name for the Church of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it has existed from the beginning of time.

Fundamental to the beliefs of the LDS faith is that prior to being born on this earth we lived with Heavenly Father as his spirit children. The Lord tells Jeremiah “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. “ (Jeremiah 1:5). We read in the Book of Abraham of a council that was held in heaven prior to the earth even being created that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was taught and understood be everyone there:

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.

And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him. (Abraham 3:22-28)

These scriptures show that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has always existed. It was taught to Adam and Eve after they were driven out of the Garden of Eden (Moses 5:5-16), and again to Enoch (Moses 7:7-11), to Noah (Moses 8:19), to Abraham (Abraham 2:8-11), and to Moses (Moses 8:19). The Lord ushered in a new dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by calling a new prophet to lead his church and each dispensation eventually experienced an apostasy and lost the priesthood authority to administer the gospel ordinances. Jesus Christ established his Gospel in the meridian times and that Gospel was lost through apostasy when the Apostles died.

Because the priesthood, the authority from God to act in his name, was lost no reformer would have been able to establish the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. None of the reformers ever claimed authority from God to establish his church. In the spring of 1820 a fourteen year old boy named Joseph Smith decided to ask God which church he should join and went to pray. That day ushered in a new dispensation when Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and told him that none of the existing churches were true and that he should join none of them. The Lord Jesus Christ told Joseph further that all the existing churches “draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach the doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof” (Joseph Smith History).

For the first time in 1800 years the heavens were opened and a new prophet was called and given the authority to establish the true Church of Jesus Christ again on the earth. On May 18, 1829 John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and gave them the Aaronic Priesthood and the power to baptize. John the Baptist said he was under the direction of Peter, James, and John who held the keys to the higher priesthood and that that priesthood would also be given to them (Doctrine and Covenants 13). Later that same month, Peter, James and John did appear to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and ordained them to the Melchizedek Priesthood (Doctrine and Covenants 128:20)

The Prophet Joseph Smith was commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to officially establish his true church again on the earth and on April 6, 1830 was organized according to the laws of the state of New York. (see Doctrine and Covenants Introduction and Doctrine and Covenants 20:1). The Lord Jesus Christ has declared that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30)

The Apostle Peter told the people in temple in Jerusalem to “repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out” and that they should accept Christ “whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3:19-21). That time of restitution of all things is here and so is the Church of Jesus Christ.

Why do Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) believe in a restored gospel of Jesus Christ? The answer to that question is because the Church of Jesus Christ that the Savior established when he was on the earth was lost after all the Apostles were killed and the priesthood authority that they held was taken from the earth. The only way to re-establish the true church would be through a new dispensation of the gospel and the calling of a new prophet and restoring the priesthood to act in God’s name again. Members of Christ’s church again have the mandate to take his Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people and to prepare the earth for the second coming of the Savior Jesus Christ.

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