Lesson 79

Prophets and Revelation (Part 1)

Prepare to Learn

Prepare your mind and heart to learn. As you prayerfully study the scriptures, you can learn through the Spirit and receive personal revelation that meets your needs.

Begin your study with prayer.

On January 14, 2018, President Russell M. Nelson was set apart as the prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reflect upon how your life has been blessed by the guidance and teachings of living prophets.

As you watch this video, look for why God calls prophets.

A Scenario

Consider this scenario:

One of your friends, who is not a member of the Church, asks you, “I heard that Mormons believe that God speaks to prophets. What do prophets do? Why is this an important part of your religion?”

Think about how you would respond to your friend’s question.

Prophets and Revelation

As you learn about prophets and revelation today, look for what is unique about our belief in living prophets and continuing revelation.

Read paragraphs 5.1 and 5.3 in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document, looking for phrases that describe the roles and responsibilities of prophets. You may want to mark the phrases that you find.

1. Answer the following questions:

• What are some roles and responsibilities of prophets?

• How have you personally been blessed as prophets have fulfilled one or more of these roles?

A Calling from God

We learn from the first sentence of paragraph 5.1 in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document that a prophet is a person who has been called by God to speak for Him. You may want to mark this statement in your copy of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document.

President Russell M. Nelson explains how God’s way of calling prophets is different from the world’s way of choosing leaders. You can read the text for this video here: “Sustaining the Prophets,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 74–75.

President Russell M. Nelson explains how God’s way of calling prophets is different from the world’s way of choosing leaders.

“All leaders in the Lord’s Church are called by proper authority. No prophet or any other leader in this Church, for that matter, has ever called himself or herself. No prophet has ever been elected. The Lord made that clear when He said, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you’ [John 15:16]. You and I do not ‘vote’ on Church leaders at any level. We do, though, have the privilege of sustaining them” (Russell M. Nelson, “Sustaining the Prophets,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 74–75).

Why is it important that prophets are called by God rather than by self-appointment or popular vote?

A Call to Be an Apostle

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described being called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by President Thomas S. Monson. What promise did President Monson give Elder Stevenson? You can read the text for this video here: “Plain and Precious Truths,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 91.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described being called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by President Thomas S. Monson. What promise did President Monson give Elder Stevenson?

“President [Thomas S.] Monson described that acting on the will of the Lord, he was extending a call to the Quorum of the Twelve to me. He asked me if I would accept this call, to which, following what I am sure was a very undignified audible gasp, in complete shock, I responded affirmatively. And then, before I could even verbalize a tsunami of indescribable emotion, most of which were feelings of inadequacy, President Monson kindly reached out to me, describing how he was called many years ago as an Apostle by President David O. McKay, at which time he too felt inadequate. He calmly instructed me, ‘Bishop Stevenson, the Lord will qualify those whom He calls.’ These soothing words of a prophet have been a source of peace, a calm in a storm of painful self-examination and tender feelings in the ensuing agonizing hours which have passed day and night since then” (Gary E. Stevenson, “Plain and Precious Truths,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 91).

2. Answer the following questions:

• Why would it have been important for Elder Stevenson to know that President Monson was “acting on the will of the Lord” when he called Elder Stevenson to be an Apostle?

• Why is it important to know that the Lord will qualify the prophets and apostles whom He chooses to speak for Him?

Guided by Personal Revelation

Read paragraphs 5.2, 5.4, and 5.5 of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document, and mark all of the phrases you can find that are related to revelation.

Why is it important for us to be guided by personal revelation from the Holy Ghost in addition to the revelations received by prophets?

Doctrinal Mastery: Jeremiah 1:4–5

Jeremiah 1:4–5 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider marking this passage in a distinctive way so you can locate it more easily.

As recorded in the first chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord called Jeremiah to be a prophet and commanded him to preach repentance to the wicked people in Jerusalem. This occurred during roughly the same time period in which the Lord commanded the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi to preach repentance to the Jews.

Read Jeremiah 1:4–5, looking for when the Lord called Jeremiah to be a prophet.

What Is Foreordination?

The word ordained in Jeremiah 1:5 refers to foreordination, which is “God’s premortal ordination [or setting apart] of His valiant spirit children to fulfill certain missions during their mortal lives” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Foreordination,” scriptures.lds.org).

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) explained how God’s prophets and also all those who are called to minister to others in this life, men and women, were foreordained to their calling.

“Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 511).

How does knowing that all prophets have been foreordained by God to perform their calling on the earth impact the way you view them and receive their words?

A Living Prophet

Let’s review again this key statement of doctrine: A prophet is a person who has been called by God to speak for Him. When someone is called as an Apostle, he is also called as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

How are we blessed to be led by prophets who speak for God?

Doctrinal Mastery: Amos 3:7

Amos 3:7 is another doctrinal mastery passage from the Old Testament. This passage helps teach that prophets speak for God. Consider marking this passage in a distinctive way so you can locate it more easily.

During the lifetime of the prophet Amos, the people of Israel and the nations nearby were very wicked and had rejected many prophets. God called Amos as a prophet (see Amos 7:14–15) and commanded him to warn the Israelites to repent or else they would be destroyed.

Read Amos 3:7, looking for what God will always do through His prophets.

The Words of God

Through revelation, prophets are able to speak on behalf of God and reveal truths that would otherwise be unknown. We have prophets and apostles on the earth today who have been called by God and who have the authority to speak God’s words.

3. Answer the following questions:

• What are some examples of truths that God has revealed through His prophets in our dispensation?

• When have you felt that a prophet was speaking the words of God to you?

The Words of the Prophets

We have identified the following truth in this lesson:

• A prophet is a person who has been called by God to speak for Him.

Consider teaching this truth to a friend or to your family.