Question about the LDS prophet

[ccjohnson23]

How is it decided that one will be the prophet? From hearing some of my Mormon friends talk, when Hinkley passes on, the next prophet is already waiting in line. What is the thinking here, and doesn't this contradict the definition of the word prophet?
I am not into Mormon bashing which I have seen on some forums, but rather am interested in learning more about it. My wife is Mormon. I personally am not, but would like to learn more.

 

[Natural Submission]

Hinkley is not a Prophet. A Prophet is Divinely appointed by God NOT by man. Until the two witnesses of the book of Revelation (Jesus and Elijah) rise, anyone that claims to be a Prophet is the furthest thing from it.

 

[ccjohnson23]

that was exactly my point.....but don't they call hinkley a prophet?

 

[toddbarrow]

To clear up your question simply, the LDS church believes that their Prophets are called by God, not by man.

 

[toddbarrow]

Hinkley is not a Prophet. A Prophet is Divinely appointed by God NOT by man. Until the two witnesses of the book of Revelation (Jesus and Elijah) rise, anyone that claims to be a Prophet is the furthest thing from it.

I'm not claiming that this is not true. However I would like to learn more about this statement. Where in the Bible is this located?

 

[jwix]

First of all its not Hinkley but Hinckley and second of all God chose millions of years who will be the next Prophet and reveals it to the Prophet by way of choosing who will be an Apostle. The Prophet is chosen by senority in the Apostles, whoever has been Apostle the longest is the next prophet.

 

[ccjohnson23]

so, Mormons actually believe that God speaks directly to hinckley (hinkley....whatever) and tells him who will be apostles?

Where do they speak?

 

[mormongurl]

President Hinckley is appointed by God he and the rest of the general presidency as well as the acting president of the qourum of the 12 apostles pick who are the apostles and then the church sustains them at general conferences brocasted on byutv..I truly believe that man is a prophet I have met him and there is no other man like him on earth today he's amazing after losing his sweet wife this past year he still keeps going like a 20 year old instead of an elderly man...Surely he is a prophet of God and I love him dearly

 

[mormongurl]

and he doesn't come down and speak to him he sees visions and God speaks to him like God would speak to us but in a stronger manner

 

[DeepShadow]

The church president (Gordon B. Hinckley) his counselors and all the Apostles are all "prophets, seers, and revelators." Only one is called to speak at any given time, but the others have all the keys to take the position if any thing happens to the one in the lead.

When he ordained the first twelve Apostles of this dispensation, Joseph Smith heaved a great sigh of relief, because that way the work would continue on no matter what happened to him. Not too terribly long afterward, he was martyred at Carthage. The church was shaken, but it didn't fall, because this foundation of apostles and prophets (his counselors) survived with all the keys and authority to carry on.

Does this make more sense?

 

[Katzpur]

In Ephesians 4:11-14, Paul said (regarding Christ): "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive…"

Jesus Christ built His Church on a foundation of prophets and apostles. As Paul explained, this organization was to exist until we all come into the unity of faith. To the best of my knowledge, we're not there yet! There are over 30,000 different Christian denominations in existence today. Why? Because the organization of the Church Christ established ceased to exist. What happens to any structure if the foundation is removed? Obviously, it crumbles and the structure it was supporting can no longer stand. Without living prophets, even those who are completely sincere in wanting to follow Jesus Christ don't know exactly what to believe. They are, as Paul said they'd be, like "children, tossed about by every wind of doctrine."

There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that can be used to justify the belief that a living prophet is no longer needed Christ's Church -- exactly as Peter led it in the beginning.

 

[reyjamiei]

How is it decided that one will be the prophet? From hearing some of my Mormon friends talk, when Hinkley passes on, the next prophet is already waiting in line. What is the thinking here, and doesn't this contradict the definition of the word prophet?
I am not into Mormon bashing which I have seen on some forums, but rather am interested in learning more about it. My wife is Mormon. I personally am not, but would like to learn more.

When Joseph Smith died there was contention between certain members of the Church who claimed to be the next leader/prophet. Some members thought that Joseph Smith III should be the next Prophet, others thought it should be Brigham Young. This caused the Church to split and the followers of Joseph Smith, III became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. James J. Strang also claimed to be the next Prophet, having a letter from Joseph Smith that was supposed to name him as his successor. To avoid anything like that from happening again and any confussion in the Church, The first presidency and the council of the twelve Apostles are set up so that there's always a leader for the Church and no one is wondering who the next Prophet will be. Since the members of the Church believe that all of their leaders are called by God, the person next in line to become Prophet is in that position because of his calling by God.

If I'm wrong on any of this, if anyone would like to clear it up, go ahead.

 

[dan]

When Joseph Smith died there was contention between certain members of the Church who claimed to be the next leader/prophet. Some members thought that Joseph Smith III should be the next Prophet, others thought it should be Brigham Young. This caused the Church to split and the followers of Joseph Smith, III became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. James J. Strang also claimed to be the next Prophet, having a letter from Joseph Smith that was supposed to name him as his successor. To avoid anything like that from happening again and any confussion in the Church, The first presidency and the council of the twelve Apostles are set up so that there's always a leader for the Church and no one is wondering who the next Prophet will be. Since the members of the Church believe that all of their leaders are called by God, the person next in line to become Prophet is in that position because of his calling by God.

If I'm wrong on any of this, if anyone would like to clear it up, go ahead.

The Prophet is always called from the Quorom of the Twelve Apostles. The Quorom meets together and they pray individually about who should be the next President. All of them hold the title of prophet, seer and revelator, so to call the President the "Prophet" is more of a superlative title (of all the prophets, he is THE prophet that leads the whole church. It is usually the member of the Twelve with the most time in the Quorom that is chosen, but there are instances when others have been called. The thirteen other apostles lay their hands on his head and give him authority to administer all of the keys of the priesthood.

There was a problem with Joseph Smith's successor, but the Quorom of the Twelve chose, by revelation, Brigham Young as the President, and it has followed that pattern ever since. The confusion was brought about by the lack of precedence and the ignorance of certain members of the church. Joseph Smith clearly outlined the manner in which a new prophet was to be chosen, but many ignored his counsel.

 

[Katzpur]

The Prophet is always called from the Quorom of the Twelve Apostles. The Quorom meets together and they pray individually about who should be the next President. All of them hold the title of prophet, seer and revelator, so to call the President the "Prophet" is more of a superlative title (of all the prophets, he is THE prophet that leads the whole church. It is usually the member of the Twelve with the most time in the Quorom that is chosen, but there are instances when others have been called. The thirteen other apostles lay their hands on his head and give him authority to administer all of the keys of the priesthood.

Hi, Dan.

I wonder why we haven't met yet. I'm assuming you're LDS. Am I right?

I'd just like to make a couple of quick comments about your post. First, I agree with you that all of the twelve members of the Quorum of the Twelve are considered "prophets, seers and revelators," I think that it's important to note -- for non-members of the Church who may otherwise be confused about the matter -- that while each of the members of the Quorum holds all of the keys of the kingdom of God – they hold these keys, this Priesthood authority, collectively. In other words, none of the individual Apostles may utilize this authority on his own. They must utilize it unanimously, as a single body.

I am curious about your remark about the senior member of the Quorum being the one most likely to become the next Prophet (i.e. President of the Church) when the current Prophet dies. I, too, realize that this rule for succession is not cast in concrete, but I am not aware of any instances when it was not followed, as your post implies. If there have been exceptions in the past, would you tell me the particulars? Thanks.

Kathryn

 

[dan]

Your statement about the Quorom of the Twelve operating as an individual body is right on. The First Presidency is equal in authority to all the Twelve put together. This authority is equal to all Seventy put together.

As far as the senior Apostle goes, most recently, Howard Hunter was not the senior Apostle when he was chosen as President. Some say the Brethren felt he needed to be President before he died and he didn't have much time left, which is evidenced by his short term as President.

I am LDS. I joined this blog a long time ago and have just recently had time to throw in my two cents. I am a convert to the church. I joined almost five years ago when I was twenty. I served a mission to Uruguay and am now at BYU studying ancient languages.

 

[Katzpur]

Hi, Dan.

The First Presidency is equal in authority to all the Twelve put together. This authority is equal to all Seventy put together.

I'm really wondering where you are getting this information. I've been a member of the Church my entire life (I'm way old ) and I've never heard anyone say that the authority of the Twelve together is equal to the authority of the Seventy together. I'm not saying you're wrong, but if you're right, this certainly comes as news to me.

As far as the senior Apostle goes, most recently, Howard Hunter was not the senior Apostle when he was chosen as President. Some say the Brethren felt he needed to be President before he died and he didn't have much time left, which is evidenced by his short term as President.

I'm afraid you're definitely mistaken about this. Perhaps you are confusing the individual who is the "Senior Apostle" (i.e. the President of the Quorum of the Twelve) with the individual who is the "acting" President of the Quorum of the Twelve. For instance, Boyd K. Packer is the "acting" President of the Quorum, since Thomas S. Monson (who is the actual President of the Quorum) is currently also President Hinckley's First Counselor. When President Hinckley dies, President Monson would likely succeed him as President of the Church, even though President Packer is always listed first whenever the members of the Quorum are named in order of seniority. If President Monson becomes the next President, it will be because he is next in line to do so. It won't be a deviation from the normal pattern.

I served a mission to Uruguay and am now at BYU studying ancient languages.

Cool! Who are some of your professors?

Kathryn

 

[dan]

I was mistaken. My point was that the first counselors generally are the next in line (usually being the Senior Apostle), but Hinckley was First Counselor when Hunter was called as President. Hunter wasn't in the FIrst Presidency at the time.

 

[dan]

Read D&C 107:25,26 for info about the authority of the Seventy and the Twelve (and 23,24 if you want).

 

[Katzpur]

Read D&C 107:25,26 for info about the authority of the Seventy and the Twelve (and 23,24 if you want).

Thanks. I just got through checking it out. That was something I didn't know.

 

[Sk8Joyful]

The church president (Gordon B. Hinckley) his counselors and all the Apostles are all "prophets, seers, and revelators."

Only one is called to speak at any given time, but the others have all the keys to take the position if any thing happens to the one in the lead.

Does this make more sense?

so you're saying, they are all "clairvoyant"?

Do you know each of us humans, as a *spiritual entity* was Blessed by GOD/Jesus Christ with this & other... abilities.

Does this make more sense?