In his
article in the March 2020 Ensign, “The
Lord Leads His Church through Prophets and Apostles,” Dallin Oaks discussed the
issue of the scope and formation of Latter-day Saint doctrine, emphasising the united voice of both the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve:
Prophets and
Apostles Act Through Councils
The Lord leads His Church through prophets
(plural) and apostles (plural), as they act through councils. There are many
illustrations of this.
The Lord calls one prophet to initiate a new
dispensation. Then, when that new restoration grows and matures, doctrines and
policies for the group are revealed and taught through an organization led by
apostles and prophets. Thus, as the restored Church grew and matured in this
final dispensation, the Lord revealed that its most important business and most
difficult cases should be decided by a council of the First Presidency and
Twelve Apostles (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:78-79). Otherwise, they would
not be “entitled to the same blessings which the decisions of a quorum of three
presidents were anciently” (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:29).
All of this shows the Lord’s direction that
His Church must be governed by councils of apostles and prophets. This protects
and promotes the unity that is essential in the Lord’s Church.
“The Lord in the beginning of this work
revealed that there should be three high priests to preside over the High
Priesthood of his Church and over the whole Church,” President Joseph F. Smith
(1838-1918) taught in the general conference where he was sustained as
President of the Church (Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 223). He affirmed the
importance of three high priests in
the presidency by declaring “that it is wrong for one man to exercise all the
authority and power of presidency in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine,
5th ed. [1939], 176-77). He added, “The Lord never did intend that one man
should have all power, and for that reason he has placed in his Church,
presidents, apostles, high priests, seventies, [etc]” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 177).
The reference to the plural, prophets and apostles, is also prominent in this familiar teaching by Joseph
Fielding Smith (1876-1972): “There is one thing which we should have exceedingly
clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor the First Presidency,
nor all the united voice of the First
Presidency and the Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth
council to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord” (Joseph
Fielding Smith, “Eternal
Keys and the Right to Preside,” Ensign,
July 1972, 88).
To become
the official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ, the individual teachings
of apostles and even prophets need to be affirmed through the process of
approval by other apostles and prophets. This is illustrated in the Bible in the
approving action of the Apostles when Peter reported his revelation to take the
gospel to the Gentiles (see Acts 11:1, 18). Similarly, when the dispute over
the need for circumcision was brought to the Apostles, Peter reminded them of
the significance of the revelation he had received, and the council then
approved and settled the dispute with a conforming epistle to the Church (see
Acts 15).
Similarly,
in the restored Church, doctrine is not canonized until the body of the Church
has received it by the law of common consent (see Doctrine and Covenants 26:2;
28:13). That principle was revealed in 1830 and has been applied since that
time (see
Doctrine and Covenants, introduction to section 138; explanations to Official
Declaration 2; and Boyd K. Packer, The
Holy Temple [1980], 202).This practice, which had not been followed by
churches existing during the period we call the Apostasy, protects gospel
truths from being altered or influenced by private ideas or individual opinions.
(Dallin H. Oaks, “The
Lord Leads His Church through Prophets and Apostles,” Ensign, March 2020, pp. 16-17; emphasis in bold added).
Further Reading