What is a Prophet?

Latter-day Saints believe the only way to salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ. It was He who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6).

But how does the Lord inform us of these things and of what we must do in order to return and live with Him again? How does He communicate to us of the difficulties facing us today, as in times past?

The Lord has always used prophets to convey the gospel message to his children throughout the ages. Indeed, the prophet Amos taught, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). We can see this pattern throughout the Old and New Testaments. In the beginning, the Lord revealed his gospel to Adam. Later, this same gospel was revealed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). After hundreds of years of bondage in Egypt, the Lord again called a prophet, Moses, to lead the children of Israel to freedom and to teach them the commandments of God. This pattern of calling prophets continued with Samuel, Nathan, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, Peter, and many others. Each of them received revelation from God on what the people were supposed to do. Their duty was to then teach the people. The people were free to accept or reject their words. When they accepted the prophets and kept the commandments, they prospered. When they rejected their words, they did not prosper. Often, these prophets wrote down their teachings and prophesying. These teachings can be found in the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon.

And so the pattern continues. God continues to call prophets in our day to reveal His will unto us his children. They are mediators between God and man and reveal God’s word to His children. As discussed in an earlier post, God called Joseph Smith to be a prophet in recent times. The Church was restored in 1830 by Joseph Smith and has had a continuing succession of prophets ever since. Today, the prophet is Thomas S. Monson. He is the prophet to the whole world and the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His duty to receive the word of God, teach the word of God to the people, lead the Church, and to act as a warning voice of spiritual dangers in the world.

Prophets are a necessary step in learning the gospel and developing faith. If the Lord appeared and told us directly of the gospel message, faith would not be necessary because we would have a perfect knowledge of God. By listening to and obeying the counsel of the prophets, the Spirit testifies in our minds and hearts that God exists, that he sent his Son to die for us, and that He has restored the gospel in its fulness on the earth today.


The picture of President Thomas S. Monson is courtesy of www.lds.org.