marineland Posted July 4, 2021 Posted July 4, 2021 I'm into lesson 2 of the manual (Religion 275) now. There are several references to the living *prophet* and living *prophets*. Is there only one or are all the 15 currently living apostles considered prophets? Ephesians 4:11 mentions "some apostles and some prophets". What's the difference in how things are in this church? Tony
ksfisher Posted July 4, 2021 Posted July 4, 2021 46 minutes ago, marineland said: I'm into lesson 2 of the manual (Religion 275) now. There are several references to the living *prophet* and living *prophets*. Is there only one or are all the 15 currently living apostles considered prophets? Ephesians 4:11 mentions "some apostles and some prophets". What's the difference in how things are in this church? Tony Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. At the biannual general conference of the LDS Church, the name of the President of the Church is presented to the members as "prophet, seer, and revelator and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".[7] Members are invited to sustain the president in these roles, and the signalling for any in opposition is also allowed. Additionally, the counselors in the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are sustained by the membership as "prophets, seers, and revelators".[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophet,_seer,_and_revelator 2
Kenngo1969 Posted July 4, 2021 Posted July 4, 2021 Generally, one Apostle who is not President of the Church of Jesus Christ does not act, alone, as a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. See Doctrine and Covenants 28:2. There are two ways for revelation that is binding on the Church of Jesus Christ to be received: (1) When the "Prophet, Seer, Revelator," and President of the Church of Jesus Christ, currently Russell M. Nelson receives such a revelation; and (2) When the fifteen men who are Prophets, Seers, and Revelators, speaking jointly and unanimously, proclaim such a revelation. Generally, when the President of the Church of Jesus Christ receives such a revelation, he will present it to the other fourteen Apostles, Prophets, and Revelators for their ratifying and sustaining vote, as happened with the revelation that all worthy male members of the Church of Jesus Christ age twelve and older were eligible to receive the Priesthood without regard to race. Hope this helps. 1
CV75 Posted July 4, 2021 Posted July 4, 2021 6 hours ago, marineland said: I'm into lesson 2 of the manual (Religion 275) now. There are several references to the living *prophet* and living *prophets*. Is there only one or are all the 15 currently living apostles considered prophets? Ephesians 4:11 mentions "some apostles and some prophets". What's the difference in how things are in this church? Tony RE Q1: When used in the singular, it refers to the President of the Church. when used in the plural, it refers to the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. RE Q2: I'm not finding Ephesians 4:11 mentioned in this lesson. What do you think is the connection? For me, it is that sometimes this scripture is used to demonstrate that the same organization exists now as then, irrespective of the differing translations, definitions and semantics of the names of the various offices over time, and the application and scope of responsibility within those offices. The full intent of this verse is found in verses 12-16 that follow, and in the chapter as a whole. 1
InCognitus Posted July 5, 2021 Posted July 5, 2021 8 hours ago, marineland said: I'm into lesson 2 of the manual (Religion 275) now. There are several references to the living *prophet* and living *prophets*. Is there only one or are all the 15 currently living apostles considered prophets? Ephesians 4:11 mentions "some apostles and some prophets". What's the difference in how things are in this church? Tony New Testament prophets prophesied of future events: (Acts 11-27-28, Acts 21:10-11). They made known God’s will (Acts 13:1-3), and they received revelation from God (Eph 3:2-5). An apostle in the New Testament is one who is chosen and sent out by Christ and appointed in the leadership of his church. They were chosen to be special witnesses of Christ (Acts 1:22). As you noted above, Ephesians 4:11 mentions "some apostles and some prophets", pointing out that these are offices and callings in Christ’s church that are set apart from the other membership. As Paul taught elsewhere: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?” (1 Cor 12:28-29) These verses make it clear that not all can be apostles or prophets, or even teachers, etc. The appointment of the apostles and prophets are foundational to the organization of the New Testament Christian church (Eph 2:20), and according to the context of the verse you mentioned from Ephesians, the offices and calling of apostles and prophets are to continue in Christ’s church until “we all come to a unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God”, so they are essential to us even today. And part of their stated purpose is so that we will not be like children, “tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Eph 4:11-14). They are to lead and guide the church in matters of the faith and doctrine. It’s evident from scripture that Peter was called as the chief apostle. It was to him that Jesus gave the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 16:18-19), and Peter is the one who received the vision of taking the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10, Acts 15:7), and Paul reported to Peter after his vision (Gal 1:18). And it is also evident from scripture that Peter, James, and John had a special function in the New Testament church, similar to how we understand the First Presidency of the church today. Peter, James, and John were singled out for many special privileges and blessings, such as witnessing the raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Mark 5:37), witnessing the appearance of Moses and Elijah at the mount of transfiguration (Matt 17:1-9), and of the suffering of Christ in Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-33). Now, to your question, “what’s the difference” in the church today? I would say that there is very little difference. It’s possible that the role of prophets may have more emphasis in the restored church simply because a prophet had to be called through which the restoration could take place, in a manner similar to how God revealed his temple covenants through Moses on Mount Sinai. But other than that, their function and organization seems to be the same. 1
marineland Posted July 7, 2021 Author Posted July 7, 2021 On 7/4/2021 at 6:42 PM, CV75 said: RE Q2: I'm not finding Ephesians 4:11 mentioned in this lesson. What do you think is the connection? I was just wondering if all the 15 apostles are also considered prophets or if there is just one prophet at a time for this church.
CV75 Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 2 minutes ago, marineland said: I was just wondering if all the 15 apostles are also considered prophets or if there is just one prophet at a time for this church. I hope this question has been answered to your satisfaction. Has it? 1
Kenngo1969 Posted July 7, 2021 Posted July 7, 2021 2 hours ago, marineland said: I was just wondering if all the 15 apostles are also considered prophets or if there is just one prophet at a time for this church. In the Church of Jesus Christ at any given time, only one man is the Prophet for the Church (and for the world, for those of its inhabitants who hearken). 1
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