Things As They Really Are: Prophets
By Bethany Tolley
This post is part of a series called Things As They Really Are.
When I was young, I remember having a memory card game to help me learn all the prophets since Joseph Smith. The cards were a steely blue with off-white lines. Black and white faces stared back up at me. I learned to remember the names by the distinctive looks on their faces. Some looked grumpy to me, some solemn. Some had a twinkle in their eye and a small turn up at the lips. Some were thin and some stocky. Some were going bald and some had a head of wavy, retro-styled hair. I came to understand from this simple diversity that these men were distinctly human.
Fast forward to my junior year in high school, when big bangs and tapered jeans had finally ended. Gordon B. Hinckley had just succeeded Howard W. Hunter as the prophet. During General Conference, watched via a large box TV over a satellite dish, I tucked overgrown bangs behind my right ear. Then, I listened to President Hinckley speak. When he spoke, the Holy Ghost testified to me that he was indeed a prophet of God. It took place in a small moment with no fireworks. But God made it clear that although Gordon was very much a man, he was also much more than a man. In that moment, something changed in me. I began to listen to him differently. I was more anxious to hear what he had to say, over the others.
I have received the same witness for each and every prophet since that time. The distinction of these men as prophets of God was important enough that the Holy Ghost took the time to make sure I knew it. He took the time to witness to me of the mantle of prophet because it’s not just nice-to-know. It’s critical truth.
We live in a time where, for the first time, many are discovering that prophets are imperfect humans. Many are having to learn what it really means to have a prophet of God: a man who is human but also God’s mouthpiece.
I suspect it was equally as difficult for the Israelites after four hundred years of bondage in Egypt to trust Moses. His initial actions in Pharoah’s court upped their workload. Then, not all the plagues impacted only the Egyptians. The Israelites suffered too. Then, Moses got all nitpicky about how they worshipped God, spurning their cultural use of idols. Many times, the Israelites, who had been begging God for deliverance and guidance, wished to be back in slavery in Egypt rather than to have and follow a living prophet. Having a living prophet wasn’t all that they had hoped it would be. His delivering them from Egypt was great, but they didn’t particularly like everything he said. His prophetic guidance spanned gospel doctrine as well as health and civic issues. Those who spurned his prophetic guidance ended up drinking bitter water, died from the bites of poisonous serpents, or minimally wandered around for forty years unworthy to enter the promised land.
Moses made lots of human mistakes, yet, God made it quite clear on numerous occasions that despite Moses’ failings and weaknesses, he was His chosen prophet and God expected them to obey him as His representative. God has said, “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 my own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38).
Joseph Smith was also a human. He made mistakes. Yet, God repeatedly reassured the Saints of his role as prophet. God repeatedly had to remind the Saints that Joseph’s place, role, and mission were never in jeopardy unless he failed to repent, which he always did (Doctrine and Covenants 21:5-7; 28:2,7,12-13). A lot of people didn’t like this. They had different expectations for what a prophet should be.
What should a prophet be? Prophet’s act as messengers for God and make known God’s will for us (Bible Dictionary – Prophet, Amos 3:7). They teach us about God’s character and help us to interpret and understand His workings in the scriptures and in our own lives. Prophets who are also seers can translate sacred records. Prophets dispense the fulness of the gospel ordinances and covenants and preach righteousness. They are forth tellers (they tell it like it is, not how we want to hear it) and from time-to-time predict future events as inspired by God (Bible Dictionary – Prophet).
As the turmoil in our world increases, I know that having a living prophet is perhaps more important than in any other time in history. It is easy to focus on a prophet’s humanity. But I think there is far more value in focusing on gaining a testimony of their calling as a prophet of God. God upholds His prophets despite their human weakness, and selects and prepares them for their specific time in the world. “Knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth,” God calls upon His prophets “from heaven, and [gives] them commandments…that it might be fulfilled…the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:17-19).
I thank Thee, oh God, for a prophet, to guide us in these latter days… (LDS Hymns #19).
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