Array

Prophets and Church leaders/Revelation after Joseph Smith: Difference between revisions
 
(168 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
==Criticism==
{{Main Page}}
*If every President of the Church is a prophet, seer, and revelator, why have so few revelations after Joseph Smith been added to the Doctrine and Covenants?
<onlyinclude>
*Revelations used to be printed in Church periodicals such as the ''Times and Seasons'' and the ''Evening and Morning Star''. Why are revelations no longer published on an ongoing basis?  
{{H1
|L=Mormonism and prophets/Revelation after Joseph Smith
|H=Revelation after Joseph Smith
|S=If every President of the Church is a prophet, seer, and revelator, why have so few revelations after Joseph Smith been added to the Doctrine and Covenants? Revelations used to be printed in Church periodicals such as the Times and Seasons and the Evening and Morning Star. Why are revelations no longer published on an ongoing basis?
|L1=Modern prophets and prophecy
|L2=Apostles as personal witnesses of Christ
|L3=Divine manifestations since the time of Joseph Smith
|L4=Fulfillment of prophecy
|L5=Blessings given by Oliver Cowdery
|L6=Brigham Young ordination blessing
|L7=Criticisms of Thomas S. Monson
|L8=Joseph F. Smith at the Reed Smoot hearings
}}
</onlyinclude>
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Revelation after Joseph Smith/Do modern prophets prophesy}}
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Apostles as personal witnesses of Christ}}
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Divine manifestations since the time of Joseph Smith}}
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Prophecy fulfillment}}
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Revelation after Joseph Smith/Oliver Cowdery}}
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Revelation_after_Joseph_Smith/David Whitmer/Brigham Young ordination blessing}}
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Revelation after Joseph Smith/Thomas S. Monson/Claims that President Monson doesn't bear witness of foundational doctrines}}
{{:Mormonism and prophets/Revelation_after_Joseph_Smith/Joseph F. Smith at Smoot hearings}}


===Source(s) of the criticism===
*{{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=Chapter 15}}


==Response==
The Doctrine and Covenants contains foundations revelations establishing core doctrines, the organization of the Church and the priesthood, and the manner of ordinances. Prophets after Joseph Smith have and continue to receive revelation, but only in a few circumstances have these revelations been foundational enough to necessitate them being added to the LDS canon.


This pattern is reflected in the Bible as well. Moses, the founding prophet of that dispensation, produced five books of scripture, which were the basis of religious instruction for the next several centuries. The books that followed Moses for the next couple centuries were mostly historical accounts (Joshua, Judges, Ruth), with only occasional revelations recorded by subsequent prophets.


Joseph himself stopped receiving so many revelations as the government of the church was established.  At this point in his life he said that the Lord should not be petitioned for every little thing, especially if revelations on the same subject had already been given or information "about the things the knowledge of which men ought to obtain in all cencerity before God for themselves."  After the 12 apostles were organized the number of revelations that Joseph received decreased dramatically.  Around 1835 Joseph stopped receiving revelations as people remember him to have done, nine years before his martyrdom.{{ref|bushman1}}
<!-- PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->


===Revelation continues in the Church===
[[es:El Mormonismo y los profetas/Revelación después de que José Smith]]
Elder John A. Widtsoe explained that we still have revelation in the Church, even if it is not being added to the Doctrine and Covenants:
[[pt:Mormonismo e Profetas/Revelação depois de Joseph Smith]]
 
:There is...need of continuous revelation. However, we must understand that there are two classes of revelation given by God to man. The first deals with the structure and content of the plan of salvation. Once given it does not need to be given again. Adam received it. *** Christ gave the same revelation to man in His dispensation. So did Joseph Smith in his dispensation. The foundation, or platform, once given does not need to be given again unless men forget the truth.
 
:Then there are revelations that fit the changes in our lives, meet our new needs, help us overcome unforeseen conditions—revelations for our daily guidance.
 
:This great country, the United States of America, has found itself in a great depression. We have the Gospel. What did the Lord do? He spoke to his Prophet, and we have what is known as the Welfare Program. It is the application of the eternal principles of the Gospel to present day needs. It is as revelation. We have that type of revelation continuously.
 
:So, when people say: "We ought to have revelation now as we did in the day of Joseph," we must answer, "Open your eyes; we do have revelation every day; such as we need from day to day."
 
:Revelations have been given to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith and President Heber J. Grant. Every one of them has had revelation whereby the Church has been guided.{{ref|widtsoe1}}
 
==19th Century==
 
===Brigham Young===
 
:I have flattered myself, if I am as faithful as I know how to be to my God, and my brethren, and to all my covenants, and faithful in the discharge of my duty, when I have lived to be as old as was Moses when the Lord appeared to him, that perhaps I then may hold communion with the Lord, as did Moses. I am not now in that position, though I know much more than I did twenty, ten, or five years ago. But have I yet lived to the state of perfection that I can commune in person with the Father and the Son at my will and pleasure? No, though I hold myself in readiness that he can wield me at his will and pleasure. If I am faithful until I am eighty years of age, perhaps the Lord will appear to me and personally dictate me in the management of his Church and people. A little over twenty years, and if I am faithful, perhaps I will obtain that favour with my Father and God.
 
:I am not to obtain this privilege at once or in a moment. True, Joseph Smith in his youth had revelations from God. He saw and understood for himself. Are you acquainted with his life? You can read the history of it. I was acquainted with him during many years. He had heavenly visions; angels administered to him. The vision of his mind was opened to see and understand heavenly things. He revealed the will of the Lord to the people, and yet but few were really acquainted with brother Joseph. He had all the weaknesses a man could have when the vision was not upon him, when he was left to himself. He was constituted like other men, and would have required years and years longer in the flesh to become a Moses in all things. For the length of time he lived, he was as good a man as ever lived in the flesh, Jesus excepted. It was so ordered that a man has to live and gain by his experience that knowledge and wisdom, and that degree of stability in his character that will present him favourably to the heavenly hosts at all times and under all circumstances. Let us, then, resolve and act upon the principle of constant improvement.{{ref|by.1}}
 
===Wilford Woodruff===
 
:The Apostles, in their labors, had to work on the same principle that the Saints in both former and latter days have had to work upon—namely the principle of faith. Joseph Smith had to work by faith. It is true that he had a knowledge of a great many things, as the Saints in former days had, but in many things he had to exercise faith . . . When the members of Zion's Camp were called, many of us had never beheld each others' faces; we were strangers to each other and many had never seen the prophet. We had been scattered abroad, like corn sifted in a sieve, throughout the nation. We were young men, and were called upon in that early day to go up and redeem Zion, and what we had to do we had to do by faith. We assembled together from the various States at Kirtland and went up to redeem Zion, in fulfilment of the commandment of God unto us. God accepted our works as He did the works of Abraham. We accomplished a great deal, though apostates and unbelievers many times asked the question, "What have you done?" We gained an experience that we never could have gained in any other way. We had the privilege of beholding the face of the prophet, and we had the privilege of travelling a thousand miles with him, and seeing the workings of the Spirit of God with him, and the revelations of Jesus Christ unto him and the fulfilment of those revelations. And he gathered some two hundred Elders from throughout the nation in that early day and sent us broadcast into the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Had I not gone up with Zion's Camp I should not have been here to-day, and I presume that would have been the case with many others in this Territory. By going there we were thrust into the vineyard to preach the Gospel, and the Lord accepted our labors. And in all our labors and persecutions, with lives often at stake, we have had to work and live by faith.{{ref|ww.1}}
 
===Heber C. Kimball===
 
:I know this. I know it by revelation by the Spirit of God, for in this way my Heavenly Father communes with me, and maketh known unto me his mind and will. I have never seen him in person, but when I see my brethren I see his image, and I discover the attributes of God in them.{{ref|hck.1}}
 
===Orson Pratt===
 
:I have thought the reason why we have not enjoyed these gifts more fully is, because we have not sought for them as diligently as we ought. I speak for one, I have not sought as diligently as I might have done. More than forty years have passed away since these promises were made. I have been blessed with some revelations and prophecies, and with dreams of things that have come to pass; but as to seeing things as a seer, and beholding heavenly things in open vision, I have not attained to these things. And who is to blame for this? Not the Lord; not brother Joseph—they are not to blame. And so it is with the promises made to you in your confirmations and endowments, and by the patriarchs, in your patriarchal blessings; we do not live up to our privileges as saints of God and elders of Israel; for though we receive many blessings that are promised to us, we do not receive them in their fullness, because we do not seek for them as diligently and faithfully as we should.{{ref|orson.1}}
 
:Where is there a servant of God in all the Church of Latter-day Saints that has enjoyed the same privileges that many of the first of the servants of God did 1,800 years ago on the Eastern continent? There are scarcely any. Have we beheld Jesus face to face? Have we conversed with him as Peter, James, and John, and the others of the Twelve did in that day and age of the world? No, we have not. There may have been some few exceptions. Have we attained even to the blessings of the lesser Priesthood, to say nothing about the higher blessings of the greater Priesthood? What are the blessings promised to the lesser Priesthood? They are not only to hold authority and administer in the name of the Lord in temporal things, and administer in certain outward ordinances; but there are privileges that the lesser Priesthood enjoy far exceeding those temporal administrations. They were to have the privilege of conversing with angels. Did you ever reflect or realize how great a privilege this is?
 
:Is it not a great privilege to go before the Lord and receive the ministration of angels, and instructions from their mouths with regard to what should be spoken to the people? But very few of the lesser Priesthood who sit under the sound of my voice, or who are to be found upon the whole earth, have attained to this privilege. If the lesser Priesthood have not attained to it, let us inquire concerning those that hold still higher authority, concerning the Elders, Seventies, High Priests, the Twelve, the various Bishops, and the various authorities and presiding Elders over different Branches and settlements. Have they even attained to the blessings of the lesser Priesthood? No. With the exception of a very few individuals who may have come up to their privileges, who may have had the visions of eternity opened to them, and may have conversed with angels, and received instructions with regard to their callings and duties, and what they shall say to the people; but, with the exception of these few individuals, the others are away in the back grounds. And when we come to speak of the higher privileges, beyond that of receiving the administration of angels, you can scarcely find a man in all the Latter-day Kingdom that has come up to them. I have not. I speak it to my shame, and I speak it, as brother Gates spoke concerning himself, with shame, that I have not attained to the privileges that pertain to the higher Priesthood. What are these privileges? They are plainly laid down in the word of God. Those holding that Priesthood have the privilege not only of receiving the ministration of angels, but to have the heavens opened to them, and to behold the face of God . . . How many of us have gone forth and received our errand from the Lord by the voice of the Spirit of revelation, before we have ventured before the people to teach the things of the kingdom of God? Although I have often prayed and sought earnestly and humbly that I might be assisted to preach to the people, and to say something to benefit them, yet I have not, by my earnestness and diligence and faith, been able to obtain those revelations and visions that belong to the High Priesthood and to the Apostleship, that I might know what to preach to the people to the extent of our privileges for their edification. Yet I do know the Lord has blessed me and my brethren, and given us a portion of his Spirit; and our hearts have been dictated, as I believe, by the spirit of wisdom and counsel; and the things of the kingdom of God have been made known to us in the very moment; and we have been able to speak to them, but not in that power and demonstration that belongs to the Priesthood of the living God.{{ref|orson.2}}
 
 
==20th Century==
 
===James E. Faust===
 
:Mine is the certain knowledge that Jesus is our divine Savior, Redeemer, and the son of God the Father.  I know of his reality by a sure perception so sacred I cannot give utterance to it.  I know and testify with an absolute awareness that Joseph Smith restored the keys of the fulness of times and that every President of the Church has held those keys, as does President Gordon B. Hinckley today.{{ref|faust.1}}
 
===Harold B. Lee===
 
:With all my soul and conviction, and knowing the seriousness and import of that testimony, I tell you that I know that he lives. I am conscious of his presence much of the time when I have needed him most; I have known it out of the whisperings of the night, the impressions of the daytime when there were things for which I was responsible and on which I could receive guidance. So I testify to you and tell you that he is closer to the leaders of this Church than you have any idea. Listen to the leaders of this Church and follow their footsteps in righteousness, if you would learn not only by study but also by faith, which testimony I bear most humbly and sincerely in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.{{ref|lee.1}}
 
===Dallin H. Oaks===
 
:Why don't our talks in general conference and local meetings say more about the miracles we have seen?  Most of the miracles we experience are not to be shared.  Consistent with the teachings of the scriptures, we hold them sacred and share them only when the Spirit prompts us to do so…In bearing testimonies and in our public addresses we rarely mention our most miraculous experiences, and we rarely rely on signs that the gospel is true.  We usually just affirm our testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel and give few details on how we obtained it.  Why is this?  Signs _follow_ those that believe.  Seeking a miracle to convert someone is improper sign seeking.  By the same token, it is usually inappropriate to recite miraculous circumstances to a general audience that includes people with very different levels of spiritual maturity.  To a general audience, miracles will be faith-reinforcing for some but an inappropriate sign for others.{{ref|oaks.1}}
 
:Visions do happen. Voices are heard from beyond the veil. I know this. But these experiences are exceptional. And those who have these great and exceptional experiences rarely speak of them publicly because we are instructed not to do so (see D&C 63:64) and because we understand that the channels of revelation will be closed if we show these things before the world.{{ref|oaks.2}}
 
===Boyd K. Packer===
 
:There has come, these last several years, a succession of announcements that show our day to be a day of intense revelation, equaled, perhaps, only in those days of beginning, 150 years ago  But then, as now, the world did not believe. They say that ordinary men are not inspired; that there are no prophets, no apostles; that angels do not minister unto men—not to ordinary men.  That doubt and disbelief have not changed. But now, as then, their disbelief cannot change the truth.  We lay no claim to being Apostles of the world—but of the Lord Jesus Christ. The test is not whether men will believe, but whether the Lord has called us—and of that there is no doubt.  We do not talk of those sacred interviews that qualify the servants of the Lord to bear a special witness of Him, for we have been commanded not to do so.  But we are free, indeed, we are obliged, to bear that special witness…Like all of my Brethren, I too come from among the ordinary people of the Church. I am the seventy–eighth man to be accepted by ordination into the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation.  Compared to the others who have been called, I am nowhere near their equal, save it be, perhaps, in the certainty of the witness we share.  I feel compelled, on this 150th anniversary of the Church, to certify to you that I know that the day of miracles has not ceased.  I know that angels minister unto men.  I am a witness to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father; that He has a body of flesh and bone; that He knows those who are His servants here and that He is known of them.  I know that He directs this Church now, as He established it then, through a prophet of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.{{ref|packer.1}}
 
:Dreams and visions and visitations are not uncommon in the Church and are a part of all that the Lord has revealed in this dispensation. Thus a worthy Church member may be the recipient of a marvelous spiritual experience. I have come to know that these experiences are personal and are to be kept private. Recipients should ponder them in their heart and not talk lightly about them.{{ref|packer.2}}
 
:I did not accept it [my spiritual witness] as a commission or a setting apart. It was a testimony, a witness, the witness. From that time to this, my challenge has not been with obedience, nor with resolution or diligence; it has been with restraint! The challenge has been to temper myself and bridle my impulsive Danish personality. It has been to keep sacred and keep private that which each of us must learn for one's own self. Such an experience is at once a light to follow and a burden to carry.{{ref|packer.3}}
 
:Revelation continues with us today. The promptings of the Spirit, the dreams, and the visions and the visitations, and the ministering of angels all are with us now. And the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost “is a lamp unto [our] feet, and a light unto [our] path.” (Ps. 119:105.) Of that I bear witness, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.{{ref|packer.4}}
 
:All teachers are, of course, themselves students. While as teachers there are some difficult questions that we can hardly attempt to answer, likewise as students there are some questions that we could not in propriety ask.
One question of this type I am asked occasionally, usually by someone who is curious, is, "Have you seen Him?" That is a question that I have never asked of another. I have not asked that question of my Brethren in the Council of the Twelve, thinking that it would be so sacred and so personal that one would have to have some special inspiration—indeed, some authorization—even to ask it.
Though I have not asked that question of others, I have heard them answer it—but not when they were asked. I have heard one of my Brethren declare, "I know, from experiences too sacred to relate, that Jesus is the Christ." I have heard another testify, "I know that God lives, I know that the Lord lives, and more than that, I know the Lord." I repeat: they have answered this question not when they were asked, but under the prompting of the Spirit, on sacred occasions, when "the Spirit beareth record." (D&C 1:39.)
There are some things just too sacred to discuss: not secret, but sacred; not to be discussed, but to be harbored and protected and regarded with the deepest of reverence.{{ref|packer.5}}
 
:"Have you seen Him?' That is a question that I have never asked of another. I have not asked that question of my brethren in the Quorum, thinking that it would be so sacred and so personal that one would have to have some special inspiration, indeed, some authorization, even to ask it.… I have come to know what the Prophet Alma meant:
 
::"It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
 
::"And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full." ({{s||Alma|12|9-10}}.)
 
:There are those who hear testimonies borne in the Church, by those in high station and by members in the wards and branches, all using the same words-"I know that God lives; I know that Jesus is the Christ," and come to question, "Why cannot it be said in plainer words? Why aren't they more explicit and more descriptive. Cannot the Apostles say more?"
 
:Some seek for a witness to be given in some new and dramatic and different way.… To one who is honestly seeking, the testimony borne in these simple phrases is enough; for it is the Spirit that beareth record, not the words.{{note|packer.6}}
 
===Marion G. Romney===
 
:[In his journal, Marion G. Romney wrote:] I don't know just how to answer people when they ask the question, "Have you seen the Lord?" I think that the witness that I have and the witness that each of us has, and the details of how it came, are too sacred to tell. I have never told anybody some of the experiences I have had, not even my wife. I know that God lives. I not only know that he lives, but I know him.{{ref|romney.1}}
 
===1978 Revelation===
 
Many witnesses described the 1978 revelation on the priesthood.  Wrote the past LDS Church Historian:
 
:As a historian I sought to learn the particulars and record them in my private diary. The following account is based on dozens of interviews with persons who talked with church officials after the revelation was announced. Although members of the Twelve and the First Presidency with whom I sought interviews felt they should not elaborate on what happened, I learned details from family members and friends to whom they had made comments. . . .
 
:Those in attendance said that as [President Kimball] began his earnest prayer, they suddenly realized that it was not Kimball's prayer, but the Lord speaking through him. A revelation was being declared. Kimball himself realized that the words were not his but the Lord's. During that prayer some of the Twelve -- at least two who have said so publicly -- were transported into a celestial atmosphere, saw a divine presence and the figures of former presidents of the church (portraits of whom were hanging on the walls around them) smiling to indicate their approval and sanction. . . .
 
:At the end of the heavenly manifestation Kimball, weeping for joy, confronted the church members, many of them also sobbing, and asked if they sustained this heavenly instruction. Embracing, all nodded vigorously and jubilantly their sanction. There had been a startling and commanding revelation from God -- an ineffable experience.
 
:Two of the apostles present described the experience as a "day of Pentecost" similar to the one in the Kirtland Temple on April 6, 1836, the day of its dedication. They saw a heavenly personage and heard heavenly music. To the temple-clothed members, the gathering, incredible and without compare, was the greatest single event of their lives. Those I talked with wept as they spoke of it. All were certain they had witnessed a revelation from God.{{ref|arrington.1}}
 
Elder David B. Haight said of the same experience:
 
:I would hope someday that our great-grandson Mark and others of our posterity would have similar spiritual experiences and that they would feel the spiritual power and influence of this gospel. I hope that Mark and others will have opportunities such as I had when I was in the temple when President Spencer W. Kimball received the revelation regarding the priesthood. I was the junior member of the Quorum of the Twelve. I was there. I was there with the outpouring of the Spirit in that room so strong that none of us could speak afterwards. We just left quietly to go back to the office. No one could say anything because of the powerful outpouring of the heavenly spiritual experience.
 
:But just a few hours after the announcement was made to the press, I was assigned to attend a stake conference in Detroit, Michigan. When my plane landed in Chicago, I noticed an edition of the Chicago Tribune on the newsstand. The headline in the paper said, "Mormons Give Blacks Priesthood." And the subheading said, "President Kimball Claims to Have Received a Revelation." I bought a copy of the newspaper. I stared at one word in that subheading: claims. It stood out to me just like it was in red neon. As I walked along the hallway to make my plane connection, I thought, Here I am now in Chicago walking through this busy airport, yet I was a witness to this revelation. I was there. I witnessed it. I felt that heavenly influence. I was part of it. Little did the editor of that newspaper realize the truth of that revelation when he wrote, "Claims to Have Received a Revelation." Little did he know, or the printer, or the man who put the ink on the press, or the one who delivered the newspaper -- little did any of them know that it was truly a revelation from God. Little did they know what I knew because I was a witness to it.{{ref|haight.1}}
<!--
==Conclusion==
 
-->
 
==Endnotes==
# {{note|bushman1}} {{RSR1 | start=257}}
# {{note|widtsoe1}} John A. Widtsoe, "Modern Revelation and Modern Questions," ''The Deseret News'', Church Section, 28 January 1939, 6.
<!--19th century-->
#{{note|by.1}} {{JD1|author=Brigham Young|date=September 1, 1859|vol=7|start=243-244}}
#{{note|ww.1}} {{JD1|author=Wilford Woodruff|date=December 12, 1869|vol=13|start=158}}
#{{note|hck.1}} {{JD1|author=Heber C. Kimball|date = 19 February 1865|vol=11|start=82}}
#{{note|orson.1}} {{JD1|author=Orson Pratt|date=May 11, 1878|vol=25|start=146-147}}
#{{note|orson.2}} {{JD1|author=Orson Pratt|date=18 Sept 1859|vol=7|start=309-310, 312}}
<!--20th century-->
#{{note|oaks.1}}Dallin H. Oaks, "Miracles," CES Fireside in Calgary, Canada, 7 May 2000, 3.
#{{note|oaks.2}} {{Ensign1|author=Dallin H. Oaks|article=Teaching and Learning by the Spirit|date=March 1997|start=14}}{{nl}}
#{{note|packer.1}} {{Ensign1|author=Boyd K. Packer|article=A Tribute to the Rank and File of the Church|date=May 1980|start=65}}{{nl}}
#{{note|packer.2}} Boyd K. Packer, ''The Things of the Soul'' (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997), 56 [Address given at Young Adults Church Education System broadcast 7 November 1993.]
#{{note|packer.3}} Boyd K. Packer, cited in Lucile C. Tate, ''Boyd K. Packer: A Watchman on the Tower'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1995), 60.
#{{note|packer.4}} {{Ensign1|author=Boyd K. Packer|article=Revelation in a Changing World|date=November 1989|start=16}} {{nl}}
#{{note|packer.5}} Boyd K. Packer, ''Teach Ye Diligently'' (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975), 86–87.
#{{note|packer.6}} {{Ensign1|author=Boyd K. Packer|date=June 1971|start=87–88}} {{nl}}
#{{note|romney.1}} Marion G. Romney, cited in F. Burton Howard, ''Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1988), 222.
<!--1978 revelation-->
# {{note|arrington.1}} Leonard J. Arrington, ''Adventures of a Church Historian'' (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998), 176-177
# {{note|haight.1}} {{Ensign1|author=David B. Haight|article=This Work Is True|date=May 1996|start=22}} {{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=d7e27cf34f40c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}}
 
==Further reading==
 
===FAIR wiki articles===
*[[Open canon vs. closed canon]]
{{ProphecyWiki}}
===FAIR web site===
{{ProphecyFAIR}}
===External links===
*{{Ensign1|author=Spencer W. Kimball|article=''Gospel Forum'': The official revelations to the Church apparently ended with the 1890 Manifesto issued by President Wilford Woodruff. What is the position of the Church on continuous revelation?”|date=February 1971|start=20}}{{link|url=http://beta.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=12738e3c2344b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}} <small>Note that this article pre-dates the 1978 revelation on priesthood to President Kimball.</small>
{{ProphecyLinks}}
 
===Printed material===
{{ProphecyPrint}}

Latest revision as of 06:04, 31 May 2024


Revelation after Joseph Smith

Summary: If every President of the Church is a prophet, seer, and revelator, why have so few revelations after Joseph Smith been added to the Doctrine and Covenants? Revelations used to be printed in Church periodicals such as the Times and Seasons and the Evening and Morning Star. Why are revelations no longer published on an ongoing basis?


Jump to Subtopic:


Modern prophets and prophecy

Summary: Is they anything special about prophets that set them apart from others, or are they simply "men of their time?" Do modern day prophets actually prophesy of anything?


Jump to details:


Characteristics of Church Leaders
Succession of the President of the Church
Criticisms related to Church leaders
Doctrine and official statements
Other

President Harold B. Lee responds to these questions

Harold B. Lee,   'Stand Ye in Holy Places'


May I bear my own testimony. Some years ago two missionaries came to me with what seemed to them to be a very difficult question. A young Methodist minister had laughed at them when they had said that apostles were necessary today in order for the true church to be upon the earth. They said that the minister said, “Do you realize that when the apostles met to choose one to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judas, they said it had to be one who companied with them and had been a witness of all things pertaining to the mission and resurrection of the Lord? How can you say you have apostles, if that be the measure of an apostle?”

And so these young men said, “What shall we answer?”

I said to them, “Go back and ask your minister friend two questions. First, how did the Apostle Paul gain what was necessary to be called an apostle? He didn’t know the Lord, had no personal acquaintance. He hadn’t accompanied the apostles. He hadn’t been a witness of the ministry nor of the resurrection of the Lord. How did he gain his testimony sufficient to be an apostle? And the second question you ask him is, How does he know that all who are today apostles have not likewise received that witness?”

I bear witness to you that those who hold the apostolic calling may, and do, know of the reality of the mission of the Lord. To know is to be born and quickened in the inner man.[1]



1835 Apostolic Charge

In 1829, the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that twelve disciples were to be called to "go into all the world to preach my gospel unto every creature."[2] In 1835, twelve men were chosen to be the twelve apostles in fulfillment of this commandment.[3] They were called to be "special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world" and given responsibility, "under the direction of the Presidency of the Church, agreeable to the institution of heaven; to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations."[4] After the twelve apostles were blessed, Oliver Cowdery (then serving in the First Presidency), gave them a charge. Part of that included the injunction:

But ​it is necessary that you receive a testimony from Heaven for yourselves, so that you can bear testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon. And that you have seen the face of God: that is more than the testimony of an Angel. When the proper time arrives, you shall be able to bear this testimony to the world. When you bear testimony that you have seen God. This testimony God will never suffer to fall, but will bear you out. although many will not give heed, yet others will. You will, therefore, see the necessity of getting this testimony from Heaven. Never cease striving until you have seen God, face to face. Strengthen your faith, cast off your doubts, your sins and all your unbelief and nothing can prevent you from coming to God. your ordination is not full and complete till God has laid his hand upon you. We require as much to qualify us as did those who have gone before us. God is the same. If the Saviour in former days laid his hands on his deciples. Why not in the latter Days.[5]

Because of this charge, some have wondered if every member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, including those living in our day, have to see Christ in person to receive this same testimony and bear it to the world.

First, it should be noted that later Apostles have clarified that the witness of Christ required to be an Apostle does not require an in-person visitation from the Savior. Joseph F. Smith explained, "These twelve disciples of Christ are supposed to be eye and ear witnesses of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. It is not permissible for them to say, I believe, simply; I have accepted it simply because I believe it. Read the revelation, the Lord informs us they must know, they must get the knowledge for themselves, it must be with them as though they had seen with their eyes and heard with their ears and they know the truth."[6] Joseph Fielding Smith echoed this by stating, "Every member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles should have, and I feel sure have had, the knowledge of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This does not have to come by direct visitation of the Savior, but it does come from the testimony of the Holy Ghost. . . . The testimony of the Holy Ghost is the strongest testimony that can be given."[7] He also stated, more than 30 years after being called as an apostle:

I did not live in the days of our Savior; he has not come to me in person. I have not beheld him. His Father and he have not felt it necessary to grant me such a great blessing as this. But it is not necessary. I have felt his presence. I know that the Holy Spirit has enlightened my mind and revealed him unto me, so that I do love my Redeemer, I hope, and feel it is true, better than everything else in this life.[8]


Not Before the World

This of course does not preclude modern-day apostles from seeing Christ. Many of the modern-day apostles have spoken of special experiences, although very carefully. That they exercise great care in proclaiming these experiences is not surprising, when one considers that these must be held as most sacred as pearls of their testimonies. We are all familiar with the command from the Master not to cast our pearls before the swine[9]. Thus, it should be no surprise that modern day apostles do not shout from the rooftops or speak to reporters or even refer frequently in general conferences to such experiences. Dallin H. Oaks explained:

Why don't our talks in general conference and local meetings say more about the miracles we have seen? Most of the miracles we experience are not to be shared. Consistent with the teachings of the scriptures, we hold them sacred and share them only when the Spirit prompts us to do so. . . . In bearing testimonies and in our public addresses we rarely mention our most miraculous experiences, and we rarely rely on signs that the gospel is true. We usually just affirm our testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel and give few details on how we obtained it.[10]

Marion G. Romney likewise observed, “I don’t know just how to answer people when they ask the question, 'Have you seen the Lord?' I think that the witness that I have and the witness that each [of the apostles] has, and the details of how it came, are too sacred to tell. I have never told anybody some of the experiences I have had, not even my wife. I know that God lives. I not only know that He lives, but I know Him.”[11] Boyd K. Packer also explained the limited sharing of spiritual experiences:

I made a rule for myself a number of years ago with reference to this subject [of keeping spiritual experiences sacred]. When someone relates a spiritual experience to me, personally or in a small, intimate group, I make it a rigid rule not to talk about it thereafter. I assume that it was told to me in a moment of trust and confidence, and therefore I never talk about it. If, however, on some future occasion I hear that individual talk about it in public in a large gathering, or where a number of people are present, then I know that it has been stated publicly and I can feel free under the right circumstances to relate it. But I know many, many sacred and important things that have been related to me by others that I will not discuss unless I am privileged to do so under the rule stated above. I know that others of the Brethren have the same feeling.[12]

However, modern-day Church leaders will obliquely share special experiences that allow them to bear Apostolic testimony, as Boyd K. Packer explained:

Though I have not asked that question of others, I have heard them answer it—but not when they were asked. I have heard one of my Brethren declare, "I know, from experiences too sacred to relate, that Jesus is the Christ." I have heard another testify, "I know that God lives, I know that the Lord lives, and more than that, I know the Lord." I repeat: they have answered this question not when they were asked, but under the prompting of the Spirit, on sacred occasions, when "the Spirit beareth record." (D&C 1:39.) There are some things just too sacred to discuss: not secret, but sacred; not to be discussed, but to be harbored and protected and regarded with the deepest of reverence.[13]

He also reminded us, “Do not mistake our reverent hesitation to speak glibly or too frequently of Him to mean that we do not know Him. Our brethren of Judah knew Him in ancient times, our brethren of Ephraim also. He is no stranger to His Saints, to His prophets and Apostles now.”[14]

The Apostles also bear plain testimony to all the world of the living reality of Jesus Christ. President Packer explained:

We do not talk of those sacred interviews that qualify the servants of the Lord to bear a special witness of Him, for we have been commanded not to do so. But we are free, indeed, we are obliged, to bear that special witness. . . . I am a witness to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father; that He has a body of flesh and bone; that He knows those who are His servants here and that He is known of them. I know that He directs this Church now, as He established it then, through a prophet of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.[15]


Modern witnesses of Christ

Dallin H. Oaks

"Visions do happen. Voices are heard from beyond the veil. I know this. But these experiences are exceptional. And those who have these great and exceptional experiences rarely speak of them publicly because we are instructed not to do so (see D&C 63:64) and because we understand that the channels of revelation will be closed if we show these things before the world."[16]

Boyd K. Packer

“I feel compelled, on this 150th anniversary of the Church, to certify to you that I know that the day of miracles has not ceased. I know that angels minister unto men. I am a witness to the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father; that He has a body of flesh and bone; that He knows those who are His servants here and that He is known of them.”[17] “The Lord reveals His will through dreams and visions, visitations, through angels, through His own voice, and through the voice of His servants.”[18]

Wilford Woodruff

  • President W[ilford] Woodruff told some of the Saints that our Saviour had appeared unto him in the East Room in the Holy of Holies, & told him that He had accepted of the [Salt Lake] Temple & of the dedication services, & that the Lord forgave us His Saints who had assisted in any manner towards the erection and completion of the Temple—that our sins were forgiven us by the Lord Jesus Christ.… Pres[iden]t Woodruff said the House had been full of revelation, more so than he had ever witnessed at any dedication of the previous Temples and he had been present at all of them from Kirtland to this present one.[19]
  • I feel at liberty to reveal to this assembly this morning what has been revealed to me since we were here yesterday morning. If the veil could be taken from our eyes and we could see into the spirit world, we would see that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor had gathered together every spirit that ever dwelt in the flesh in this Church since its organization. We would also see the faithful apostles and elders of the Nephites who dwelt in the flesh in the days of Jesus Christ. In that assembly we would also see Isaiah and every prophet and apostle that ever prophesied of the great work of God. In the midst of these spirits we would see the Son of God, the Savior, who presides and guides and controls the preparing of the kingdom of God on the earth and in heaven.[20]
  • I know what the will of God is concerning this people, and if they will take the counsel we give them, all will be well with them…. Speaking of the administration of angels. I never asked the Lord in my life to send me an angel or to show me any miracle…. I have had the administration of angels in my day and time, though I never prayed for an angel. I have had, in several instances, the administration of holy messengers….The room was filled with light. A messenger came to me. We had a long conversation. He laid before me as if in a panorama, the signs of the last days, and told me what was coming to pass. I saw the sun turned to darkness, the moon to blood, the stars fall from heaven. I saw the resurrection day. I saw armies of men in the first resurrection, clothed with the robes of the Holy Priesthood. I saw the second resurrection. I saw a great many signs that were presented before me, by this personage; and among the rest, there were seven lions, as of burning brass, set in the heavens. He says, "That is one of the signs that will appear in the heavens before the coming of the Son of Man. It is a sign of the various dispensations."…. Now, I have had all these testimonies, and they are true. But with all these, I have never had any testimony since I have been in the flesh, that has been greater than the testimony of the Holy Ghost. That is the strongest testimony that can be given to me or to any man in the flesh. Now, every man has a right to that, and when he obtains it, it is a living witness to him.…I know what awaits this nation. I know what awaits the Latter-day Saints. Many things have been shown to me by vision and by revelation.[21]

George Q. Cannon

  • “I know that Jesus lives; for I have seen Him.”[22]
  • “I have been greatly favored of the Lord. My mind has been rapt in vision and have saw the beauties and Glory of God. I have saw and conversed with the Savior face to face. God will bestow this upon you.”[23]

Lorenzo Snow

From Lorenzo Snow's granddaughter: In the large corridor leading into the celestial room, I was walking several steps ahead of grand-pa when he stopped me and said: "Wait a moment, Allie, I want to tell you something. It was right here that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me at the time of the death of President Woodruff. He instructed me to go right ahead and reorganize the First Presidency of the Church at once and not wait as had been done after the death of the previous presidents, and that I was to succeed President Woodruff."

Then grand-pa came a step nearer and held out his left hand and said: "He stood right here, about three feet above the floor. It looked as though He stood on a plate of solid gold."

Grand-pa told me what a glorious personage the Savior is and described His hands, feet, countenance and beautiful white robes, all of which were of such a glory of whiteness and brightness that he could hardly gaze upon Him.

Then [grand-pa] came another step nearer and put his right hand on my head and said: "Now, grand-daughter, I want you to remember that this is the testimony of your grand-father, that he told you with his own lips that he actually saw the Savior, here in the Temple, and talked with Him face to face.”[24]

David O. McKay

"Brethren, I know as I know I am looking into your faces that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that he is my Savior, as real as he was when Thomas said, with bowed head, “My Lord my God!”"[25]

Harold B. Lee

  • I know that this is the Lord's work. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he is closer to this Church and appears more often in holy places than any of us realize, excepting those to whom he makes personal appearance.[26]

Elsewhere he said:

  • I shall never forget my feelings of loneliness the Saturday night after I was told by the President of the Church that I was to be sustained the next day as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. That was a sleepless night….
And then one of the Brethren, who arranged for Sunday evening radio programs, said, "Now you know that after having been ordained, you are a special witness to the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ. We want you to give the Easter talk next Sunday night."
The assignment was to bear testimony of the mission of the Lord concerning His resurrection, His life, and His ministry, so I went to a room in the Church Office Building where I could be alone, and I read the Gospels, particularly those that had to do with the closing days and weeks and months of the life of Jesus. And as I read, I realized that I was having a new experience.
It wasn't any longer just a story; it seemed as though I was actually seeing the events about which I was reading, and when I gave my talk and closed with my testimony, I said, "I am now the least of all my brethren and want to witness to you that I know, as I have never known before this call came, that Jesus is the Savior of this world. He lives and He died for us." Why did I know? Because there had come a witness, that special kind of a witness, that may have been the more sure word of prophecy that one must have if he is to be a special witness. [27]
  • May I bear my own testimony. Some years ago two missionaries came to me with what seemed to them to be a very difficult question. A young Methodist minister had laughed at them when they had said that apostles were necessary today in order for the true church to be upon the earth. They said that the minister said, "Do you realize that when the apostles met to choose one to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judas, they said it had to be one who companied with them and had been a witness of all things pertaining to the mission and resurrection of the Lord? How can you say you have apostles, if that be the measure of an apostle?"
And so these young men said, "What shall we answer?"
I said to them, "Go back and ask your minister friend two questions. First, how did the Apostle Paul gain what was necessary to be called an apostle? He didn't know the Lord, had no personal acquaintance. He hadn't accompanied the apostles. He hadn't been a witness of the ministry nor of the resurrection of the Lord. How did he gain his testimony sufficient to be an apostle? And the second question you ask him is, How does he know that all who are today apostles have not likewise received that witness?"
I bear witness to you that those who hold the apostolic calling may, and do, know of the reality of the mission of the Lord. To know is to be born and quickened in the inner man.[28]

Spencer W. Kimball

  • “I know that God lives. I know that Jesus Christ lives,” said…my predecessor, “for I have seen him.” I bear this testimony to you brethren in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.[29]
  • Brethren and Sisters, we come now to the close of this great conference. You have heard from most of the Brethren, as I have said and their testimonies have been inspiring. What they have told you is true. It has come from their hearts. They have this same testimony, and they know it is true. They are true servants sent to you from our Heavenly Father. I pray that you will be listening, that you will be remembering, that you will take these many truths with you to your homes and in your lives and to your families. Brethren and Sisters, I want to add to these testimonies of these prophets my testimony that I know that He lives. And I know that we may see him, and that we may be with him, and that we may enjoy his presence always if we will live the commandments of the Lord and do the things which we have been commanded by him to do and reminded by the Brethren to do.[30]

Ezra Taft Benson

  • “As one of those called as special witnesses, I add my testimony to those of fellow Apostles: He lives! He lives with resurrected body. There is no truth or fact of which I am more assured, or know better by personal experience, than the truth of the literal resurrection of our Lord.”[31]


Source(s) of the criticism
Critical sources

Notes

  1. ↑ Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye in Holy Places (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co., 1974), 64–65.
  2. ↑ D&C 18꞉28; cf. 26–39.
  3. ↑ "Record of the Twelve, 14 February–28 August 1835," entry for 14 February 1835, josephsmithpapers.org.
  4. ↑ D&C 107꞉23,33.
  5. ↑ "Minutes and Blessings, 21 February 1835," in Minute Book 1, pages 159–160, josephsmithpapers.org.
  6. ↑ Joseph F. Smith, April 1916 general conference, in Conference Report, page 6.
  7. ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation (Bookcraft, 1956), 1:153–154.
  8. ↑ "Chapter 2: Our Savior, Jesus Christ," Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith.
  9. ↑ Matthew 7꞉6
  10. ↑ Dallin H. Oaks, "Miracles," Ensign, June 2001.
  11. ↑ Marion G. Romney, in F. Burton Howard, Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1988), 222.
  12. ↑ Boyd K. Packer, Teach Ye Diligently (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975), 326.
  13. ↑ Packer, Teach Ye Diligently, 86–87.
  14. ↑ Boyd K. Packer, “Scriptures,” October 1982 general conference.
  15. ↑ Boyd K. Packer, "A Tribute to the Rank and File of the Church," April 1980 general conference.
  16. ↑ Dallin H. Oaks, "Teaching and Learning by the Spirit," Ensign, March 1997.
  17. ↑ Boyd K. Packer, "A Tribute to the Rank and File of the Church," April 1980 general conference.
  18. ↑ Boyd K. Packer, “Personal Revelation: The Gift, the Test, and the Promise,” October 1994 general conference.
  19. ↑ Wilford Woodruff, in Collected Discourses Delivered by: President Wilford Woodruff, His Two Counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, edited by Brian H. Stuy, 5 vol. (BHS Publishing, 1987–1992), 5:225.; citing John Lee Jones biography (no date) and Minutes of Salt Lake Temple dedication on 6–24 April 1893, 16th session, 13 April 1893.
  20. ↑ Woodruff in Stuy, Collected Discourses 3:274; citing third dedicatory session and Archibald Bennett, Saviors on Mount Zion, 142–143.
  21. ↑ Wilford Woodruff, “Administration of Angels,” (3 March 1889); in Stuy, Collected Discourses 1:216–218.
  22. ↑ George Q. Cannon, “Supporting Church Leaders,” (6 October 1896), reported in The Deseret Weekly 53 (31 October 1896): 610; reproduced in Stuy, Collected Discourses 5:225.
  23. ↑ Cannon, in Stuy, Collected Discourses, 3:285, citing Francis Asbury Hammond, Journal, 20 April 1893.
  24. ↑ "Chapter 20: The Kingdom of God Moves Forward," Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow.
  25. ↑ David O. McKay, Conference Report (April 1949): 182.
  26. ↑ Harold B. Lee, “Everlasting Covenant,” MIA conference address, 29 June 1969, 9–10; cited in Living Prophets for a Living Church (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1973), 119; also in Teachings of Harold B. Lee, 11 and portion in Ye Are the Light of the World (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1974), 10.
  27. ↑ Harold B. Lee, Joint Nottingham and Leicester Conference Nottingham Stake, England, 2 September 1973; cited in “Speaking for Himself—President Lee’s Stories,” Ensign (February 1974): 18; also in Hartshorn, 337.
  28. ↑ Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye in Holy Places (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co., 1974), 64–65.
  29. ↑ Spencer W. Kimball, “Strengthening the Family—the Basic Unit of the Church,” general conference, April 1978. President Kimball attributed this quote to John Taylor. The actual quote is from George Q. Cannon (see here). See discussion in Dennis C. Davis, Letter to the editor, Sunstone 15:5/8 (November 1991).
  30. ↑ Spencer W. Kimball, “The Cause is Just and Worthy,” Ensign (May 1974): 119.
  31. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, “Five Marks of the Divinity of Jesus Christ,” University of Utah fireside, 9 December 1979. Published in New Era 10 (December 1980): 48 and Ensign (December 2001).


Divine manifestations since the time of Joseph Smith


Jump to details:


Fulfillment of prophecy

Summary: The fulfillment of prophecy does not end with death--blessings, promises, and fulfillment extend into the Millennial years of the Lord.


Jump to details:


Blessings given by Oliver Cowdery


Jump to details:


Brigham Young ordination blessing

Summary: FairMormon has found no criticism about the blessing given to Brigham Young upon his ordination as an apostle. His blessing is referenced by at least one other blessing, however, and so is included here for reference.


Jump to details:


Criticisms of Thomas S. Monson


Jump to details:


Joseph F. Smith at the Reed Smoot hearings

Summary: It is claimed that at the Smoot hearings, Joseph F. Smith said that he never received revelation.


Jump to details:

Retrieved from "http://104.237.154.152/answers/index.php?title=Prophets_and_Church_leaders/Revelation_after_Joseph_Smith&oldid=262507"