Commenting on some extreme attitudes by some Latter-day Saints wherein the leaders of the Church trump Scripture in terms of their studies and other areas, Avraham Gileadi wrote the following:
Following a Prophet or Following Jesus Christ?
Others assume that so long as they “follow the prophet” and do what he says, their exaltation is assured. Brigham Young expressed much concern on this subject: “What a pity it would be if we were led by one man to utter destruction! Are you afraid of this? I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation . . . Those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and pinning their faith upon another’s sleeve, will never be capable of entering into celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate” (Journal of Discourses, Deseret Book, 1;312, 9:151.)
The Jews of Jesus’ day were led by one man to destruction by the Romans when he condemned Jesus to death at the hands of the Romans: “Caiphas, being the high priest that same year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not.’ And this he spoke not of himself, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for that nation” (John 11:49-51). Where God’s authority among his people’s leaders remain intact in spite of their own and their people’s wickedness—as occurred under Caiphas—even evil men having authority from God may prophesy what is true. They cannot, however, manifest God’s power. By the same token, they may teach righteousness, though they themselves don’t exemplify it (Matthew 23:1-3). Forty years later, the Romans surrounded Jerusalem. After experiencing a prolonged and horrific siege, over a million Jews perished or were taken captive.
In a similar vein, many excuse themselves from searching the scriptures by asserting that the “dead prophets” are less relevant than “living prophets.” They forget that the ancient prophets are still very much alive, which those know who “commune with the Church of the Firstborn” (Doctrine & Covenants 107:19). As Isaiah reminds us, “The word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8), while Peter cites “a more sure word of prophecy to which you do well to give heed . . . Prophecy came not in ancient times by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as moved upon by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19, 21). No word of God a living prophet utters can contradict the word of God by an earlier prophet. If so, that prophet is not of God. The same objectors to God’s cumulative word, moreover, seem to draw no distinction between prophecy and inspirational talks. Where ancient prophets predict endtime events when speaking by the Spirit of God, those events will assuredly come to pass (Isaiah 44:26) . . . Brigham Young pointed church members to the scriptures for a knowledge of the truth rather than to himself: “I do not want men to come to me or my brethren for testimony as to the truth of this work; but let them take the Scriptures of divine truth, and there the path is pointed out to them as plainly as ever a guidebook indicated the right path to the weary traveller. There they are directed to go, not to Brothers Brigham, Heber, or Daniel, or to any apostle or elder in Israel, but to the Father in the name of Jesus, and ask for the information they need” (Journal of Discourses, 12:96). (Avraham Gileadi, Endtime Prophecy: A Judeo-Mormon Analysis [San Diego: Hebraeus Press, 2018], 332-33, 408)
