This week's Sunday School lesson is on importance of living prophets. As much as I love the scriptures and as important as they are I must agree that having a living prophet is far superior as far as receiving instruction from God pertinent to us in our day. His precepts and commandments are eternal and never change but additional instruction is needed for every age and dispensation. This is important on two counts.
President John Taylor pointed out that 'Adam's revelation did not instruct Noah to build his ark; nor did Noah's revelation tell Lot to forsake Sodom; nor did either of these speak of the departure of children of Israel from Egypt.....'(Millenial Star Vol 9, p.323). In other words, each dispensation and time has its challenges and needs and require God's instruction unique to the present situation. For this we need a prophet at the helm. Some of the issues the modern day prophets have spoken out about that earlier prophets, even in this dispensation, had no insight about are pornography, sex change operations, abortion, homosexuality. Can you think of others?
Another reason why we need to uphold the principle of living prophets is because we are a church that believes in continuous revelation. If we did not have a living prophet at the helm who receives revelation for the church collectively, we could not possibly believe that God could give us revelation individually and personally. God continues to speak to His children and he does so in both of these ways. A living prophet is a true witness of this truth.
When the Church was organised on 6 April 1830 and it was written in stone, through revelation, that Joseph Smith was the prophet of this dispensation, the Lord gave all those who receive his word, 'as if from mine own mouth' an incredible promise. It is found in D&C 21:5, 6:
"For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory".
We should all want the powers of darkness dispersed before us. The adversary is real and powerful and we need to take him seriously. If we yield our ears to the counsel of the living prophets, and implement their instructions, we need not fear.
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