The Mormon prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, recently died which leads to the question Why do Mormons have prophets and what do they do?
When a person reads the Bible, it becomes clear that God has often revealed His will, His word and even prophecies of the future to men and women since the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. A prophecy is a statement about the future and often comes in the form of a conditional declaration – an "if, then" statement. One example of this is the story of the prophet Jonah, the man swallowed by a whale when he tried to escape from his prophetic duties. When he finally came around to doing what God commanded him, Jonah went to the city of Ninevah and prophesied that the city would be destroyed if the people did not repent. In this case, the king of the city led his people in repenting and the city was spared.
In the scriptural record, there appears to be at least two types of prophets: those that prophecy, and those that have a spiritual leadership role in addition to prophesying. Miriam, the sister of Moses, was known as a prophetess and is an example of the first group. We believe that everyone who listens to the still, small voice of God can know His will for their own lives. Moses on the other hand, who led the Hebrews from Egypt, would be an example of the second group of prophets as leaders of a people. Other prophet-leaders include Joshua, Samuel, and Peter of the New Testament. Their role is even greater than the important task of sharing God's warnings with us. Moses established the priesthood of the Levites and the sacrifices that later became temple rites. Joshua, as a prophet and military leader, led the Hebrews out of the Sinai and into the land of Canaan. Peter, the most senior apostle, became the leader of the early Christian church after Christ's death.
Prophets serve to ensure that a single, unifying message is given of God, that His children will not be "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine." As is evident from the scriptures, God has followed this pattern of calling prophets from ancient times down to the time of Christ. Mormons believe that God has not changed this divine pattern of revealing His word to his prophets in our modern times. Joseph Smith was a result of this pattern of God calling prophets, as was Gordon Hinckley who recently passed away. We do not worship these prophet-leaders and we do not consider them infallible. All prophets are mortal and occasionally make mistakes. Even Peter, in a moment of fatigue and fear, denied knowing Jesus. But, as a church, we do have a great deal of respect for their roles and their personal sacrifices to dedicate their lives in the service of others.
Prophets are not qualified by education or lineage. Though Moses was an adopted prince of Egypt, he was an aging desert shepherd when called by God. Most Old Testament prophets came from ordinary backgrounds. In the New Testament, Peter and several apostles were fishermen. Joseph Smith was a farm boy. What all of these people did have in common was a willingness to follow the voice of God within themselves regardless of the personal cost. Gordon Hinckley was this type of person. And I look forward to God continuing this divine pattern of calling prophets well into the future.
