Wednesday, May 27, 2020

T. Edgar Lyon and J.R. Dummelow on Prophets Being More Forth-Tellers than Fore-Tellers

In a book published by the LDS Department of Education, T. Edgar Lyon wrote the following about the function of prophets and apostles as, not fore-tellers, but forth-tellers:

 

Too often people suppose that the only function of a prophet of God is to predict future events. As a matter of fact, a search of the scriptures will indicate that most prophets have done relatively little predicting. Their primary purpose was to speak forth the word and will of the Lord to the contemporary world. Sometimes their utterances were designed to clarify past events. Most of their work was directed toward the improvement of day by day living. And as the Lord willed, they projected their teachings into the future. The following very significant declarations, some of which have been fulfilled in the century since they were given, are among the most prominent predictions of Joseph Smith that can be found in the Doctrine and Covenants(T. Edgar Lyon, Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price [Salt Lake City: LDS Department of Education and Deseret News Press, 1948], 115)

 

For a similar view from a non-LDS source, consider the following from J.R. Dummelow:

 

The Prophet’s Inspiration and Work.

The popular definition of a prophet is ‘one who predicts the future.’ This was the conception which heathen nations had of their inspired oracles, and it has very largely prevailed in the Christian Church regarding the Old Testament prophets. But such a view is narrow and misleading. The prophet is ‘one who speaks for God’—a forth-teller rather than a mere fore-teller. This is seen from Ex 71, where Aaron’s relation to Moses as his spokesman is compared with the prophet’s relation to God. The prophets were men who claimed to have received from Jehovah the truths which they spoke in His name. The bestowal of their prophetic gift is described in the phrase ‘The word of Jehovah came.’ The standing formula with which they prefaced their messages was, ‘Thus saith Jehovah.’ The prophet’s inspiration was the process by which the truth was brought home to him by the Divine Spirit. Though inscrutable by us it was an undoubted reality to his consciousness. God’s word to him was distinct from his own thoughts and desires (Jer 14, 15) as well as from the illusions of dreams (Jer 2328). It came from a self-attesting and irresistible power (Jer 2329, 30 Am 38). It compelled the prophet to utter it in spite of all natural hesitation and fear (Jer 209). The divine message might be presented in visionary form (Isa 6, Ezk); or suggested by some sight of everyday life (Jer 185, 6); or by some special circumstance to which God’s inspiration gave a new meaning (Jer 328). It might be uttered in plain words or in parables, or in symbolic actions, but in every case it was a declaration made in God’s name . . . They were first of all, and chiefly, preachers to their contemporaries. They addressed themselves to the political, social, and religious conditions among which they lived. A great part of their writings, which is unintelligible without a knowledge of these conditions, becomes in the light of this knowledge full of living interest and meaning. Each book, and each prophecy, must be placed in its historical setting. This may be done by the aid of the historical books of Scripture, taken along with the allusions of dates and events which the prophecies contain, and with the internal evidence they furnish as to the state of things they have in view. The prophetic books often supplement the historical ones, so that a complete picture of the state of Israel at any period can be got only by combining the particulars obtained from the two sources of information. When their writings are read in this way the prophets appear in their true light as preachers of righteousness, whether as political counselors, or as advocates of social or religious reform. (J.R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible [London: Macmillan and Co., 1909], xli-xlii, emphasis in original)