When President Russell M. Nelson was announced as the new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in January 2018, the expectation from the media and many members was that nothing much would change. NBC ran this headline: “Noted heart surgeon Russell Nelson unlikely to transform Mormon church as new president.” This idea that the Church won’t change stems from an assumption about how prophets and Divine Revelation operate. They don’t understand three things: What “Jesus leading this Church” means. How Divine Revelation works, and what Prophetic Emphasis is. Before I can talk about Prophetic Emphasis, I need to ensure you understand the first two.
Jesus Leads The Church via Divine Revelation
One of the core claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that the Church is led by Jesus Christ and that we have a prophet who communicates with the Lord via Divine Revelation. People assume that this means that the Lord is directing every minute detail of the Church. That through Divine Revelation, the Lord is telling the prophet in visions or directly with words, “do this” or “do that!” This is NOT what our doctrine teaches us, and if believed, it will cause a LOT of extremely bad downstream effects.
The Lord CAN and at times WILL give the prophets and apostles clear, direct communication and at times visions. Just like at times, we can receive extremely direct communications from the Holy Ghost. But overwhelmingly, the Lord follows the standard pattern of Divine Revelation, both with us and His Holy Prophets. Understanding this pattern is VITAL to understanding Prophetic Emphasis. The pattern by which most Divine Revelation in the Church and our lives is obtained is as follows:
- Recognize a problem/question that is within our preview.
NOTE: Within your perview means within your stewardship, IE, the area you have the right to actually receive Divine Revelation on. Seeking Divine Revelation on things outside your purview is a surefire way to be misled by false revelation. IE: Should I marry Emily? - Study it out.
Learn about the problem, ponder the issue, and potential solutions. Think of the consequences of each one (pros and cons). This includes praying and asking for guidance! - Choose what you think is the best solution.
VITAL NOTE: This step is us learning to use our agency. Too often, we skip steps 2 and 3 and ask the Lord to choose for us, IE, we simply pray “Should I marry Emily?” and then get frustrated when we don’t get an answer. We must learn that steps 2-3 are vital from Oliver’s experience in D&C 9:7-8 - Take your solution to the Lord and ask for confirmation that the solution is ACCEPTABLE to Him.
Not that it is perfect, not that it is the only right action, or the optimal action even, we are to pray if it is ACCEPTABLE to Him. IE, I want to marry Emily, I love her, she is temple worthy, and wants a family. Is this acceptable?” - The Lord, through Divine Revelation, will either:
A: Confirm the solution.
B: Reject the solution (return to step 2).
C: Give you a different solution.
VITAL NOTE: Any of the above three actions is considered “receiving Divine Revelation.” At times, He will give you no answer, expecting you to walk forward in faith. - Act on the Divine Revelation given in step 5. Or if no Divine Revelation is given, walk forward in faith until Divine Revelation is given.
The above pattern is extremely important to understand and is one of the least understood by members of the Church. I highly recommend reading a deeper dive into the topic in THIS article, “Why I Follow A Fallible Prophet, And You Should Too!“: And also this conference talk, “Learning to Recognize Answers to Prayer” by Elder Richard G. Scott, Oct. 1989
With the above pattern lightly touched upon, we can understand HOW the Lord is at the helm and leading the Church through Divine Revelation. Not that He is directing every move of the prophets, but that He is actively communicating via Divine Revelation to confirm their solutions, reject them, and at times giving them solutions they have not thought of before.
Prophetic Emphasis
Prophetic Emphasis comes when the prophet sees a current or pressing issue in the world or the Church, follows the above pattern to receive Divine Revelation, and then focuses on repeating that Divine Revelation to the Church to address the issue he feels is important. Elder Quentin L. Cook taught: “Prophets are inspired to provide us with prophetic priorities to protect us from dangers.”
A few examples of Prophetic Emphasis or priorities from prior prophets are:
President Benson saw the Church taking the Book of Mormon lightly; a hallmark theme of his ministry was focusing on the importance of the Book of Mormon; he gave multiple talks on the subject, as well as Ensign Articles, and Church programs and missionary efforts centered around ‘flooding the earth’ with the Book of Mormon.
President McKay saw the need to preach the gospel in all the world. He realized this required everyone to participate, and the theme of his Presidency was “Every Member a Missionary.” During his Presidency, membership of the Church nearly tripled.
President Hinckley oversaw the Church entering the digital era. He knew people were going to Google words like “Mormon” to find out what we believed in. His acceptable solution to the Lord was to lean into the nickname. Websites like Mormon.org were created, and “Meet the Mormons” as well as “Mormon Messages” and “Mormon Helping Hands” became iconic aspects of the Church. Allowing us to tell our story, leading to a massive shift worldwide in the perception of the Church. Leaning into the nickname allowed us to redefine our image in the world.
President Nelson saw the need to focus on Jesus Christ, our Temple Covenants, and being Peacemakers. During his Presidency, the Church focused on rebranding all our efforts to properly show the name and image of Christ. Now that people know “Mormons” were good people, President Nelson wanted to help clarify that “Mormons” are actually members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That we believe in Christ!
I hope the above illustrations show you that as the prophets see the current changing needs of the world and Church, their Prophetic Emphasis addresses them. And most of all, that as the needs and opportunities in the world and the Church change, Prophetic Emphasis changes too. It also should show you the importance of following the LIVING prophet’s emphasis. While it was acceptable during President Hinckley to capitalize on Google searches for “what is a Mormon?” or “what do Mormons believe?” by leaning into the nickname Mormon, it became inappropriate when President Nelson emphasized the proper name of the Church.
The above example with the name of the Church also illustrates another element of Divine Revelation and prophetic emphasis. Often, answers come line upon line. We want the Lord to simply dictate the entire D&C all at once in our lives and the Church. But that is not how it has ever been. Sure, there will be spurts of clarity, but the end is rarely seen from the beginning. Of this truth, Elder Richard G. Scott taught: “Seldom does the whole answer to a decisively important matter or complex problem come all at once. More often, it comes a piece at a time, without the end in sight.”
Conclusion: Prophetic Emphasis and Priorities Change, Our duty Remains the Same: Sustain the prophet!
As the Prophetic Emphasis and Priorities change from prophet to prophet, the things we are doing will change. Doctrine does NOT change, but policies and practices will always be changing. Just as NBC was wrong to think there would not be changes when Russell M. Nelson was called as the prophet, so too will they be wrong if they think that of any prophet. For as surely as the times, trials, and issues change, so too will the Prophetic Emphasis and priorities change.
Some things we love might be discontinued. Other things we dislike might remain the same. Others will appear to revert backwards, or things we really care about might be placed on the back burner
, so to speak. But our duty remains consistent: we must sustain the prophets! President Russell M. Nelson taught, “Our sustaining of prophets is a personal commitment that we will do our utmost to uphold their prophetic priorities.” Ultimately, we are to align our lives to the words of the Lord via scripture and His prophets. ALL of His prophets. With His mortal captian, the living prophet taking precedence.
In conclusion, I want to end with the words of President Benson and testify that they are true: “If we want to know how well we stand with the Lord then let us ask ourselves how well we stand with His mortal captain—how close do our lives harmonize with the Lord’s anointed—the living Prophet—President of the Church, and with the Quorum of the First Presidency” (Teachings: Ezra Taft Benson, p. 150).
If you liked this article on Prophetic Emphasis, you might like one of these articles too!
