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)