Monday, May 11, 2020

The Holy Spirit vs. the need for Modern Prophets?




Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:13-15)

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. (1 John 2:27)

Sometimes to create a false dichotomy (Holy Spirit vs. modern prophets and apostles) some critics appeal to these two texts against Latter-day Saint ecclesiology. Note the following questions from Ron Rhodes and Marian Bodine based on these two Johannine texts:

·       Would you please read aloud from John 16:13-15?
·       Next, would you please read aloud from 1 John 2:27?
·       According to these verses, what is the one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in our lives today?
·       With the Holy Spirit as our teacher, as promised in Scripture, how can anyone say that we remain in darkness (or apostasy) without a prophet of God on the earth?
·       Would you say that the Holy Spirit is incapable of keeping us out of darkness? (Ron Rhodes and Marian Bodine, Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons [Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House Publishers, 1995], 79)

There are a number of problems with this.

Firstly, Latter-day Saints do affirm that one can rely upon the Holy Spirit for guidance, not simply an internal witness of the truth of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel. Take the following from Brigham Young, second president of the Church:

They say that the Bible needs interpreting; that it does not mean what it sets forth; that the Holy Ghost has not been given since the days of the Apostles; that there is no need of any more revelation, the canon of Scripture being full. My KNOWLEDGE is, if you will follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, every man and woman will be put in possession of the Holy Ghost every person will become a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and an expounder of truth. They will know things that are, that will be, and that have been. They will understand things in heaven, things on the earth, and things under the earth, things of time, and things of eternity, according to their several callings and capacities. (JOD 1:243| July 24, 1853)

Secondly, there has to be doctrinal checks and balances. Anyone can purport to be a true believer (Rhodes and Bodine, notwithstanding holding to a form of eternal security, would agree that there have been many false converts who have feigned being true, spirit-filled converts) and possess the Holy Spirit. However, there must be an active source of authority that can ensure that the purported promptings and teachings one receives from the Holy Spirit are genuine and teaching in accordance with the truth of the Gospel. If the model Rhodes and Bodine proposes was true, we would end up with ecclesiological and epistemological mayhem. We see this within the so-called pale of Protestant orthodox, both today and historically, on central issues that affect salvation itself (e.g., baptismal regeneration).

Thirdly, absolutizing the texts in the way that Rhodes and Bodine does, one will have to end up with a very low ecclesiology, but this flies in the face of texts such as Matt 16:18-19; 18:18; John 20:23; Eph 4:11-14; and Acts 15, among many other texts evidencing a high ecclesiology. Indeed, with respect to Acts 15, one would have to ask why the early Church would have to convene a council in Jerusalem and rely upon the teaching authority of the Church itself in its decisions as opposed to all individual believers being led to the truth of the issues debated. For a fuller discussion of Acts 15 and issues relating to ecclesiology, see:


The ecclesiology of Acts 15 alone shows that the model Rhodes and Bodine proposes was alien to the early Church.

Finally, if all one needs is the Holy Spirit, then Scripture (in the theology of Rhodes and Bodine, a category exhausted by the Bible [see the discussion of sola scriptura above]) is not the sole, infallible source of faith—the Holy Spirit and guidance thereof is. Indeed, it would mean that, at least since Pentecost with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Scripture would be defunct as an ultimate authority!

As we see, the claims of Rhodes and Bodine (and other Protestant critics of the Restored Gospel) is fallacious and problematic to the nth degree.