Few other claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints specifically and the Latter Day Saints movement generally have received as much scrutiny and criticism than that there are living prophets on the earth today. “With reverence and gratitude,” wrote the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 2020, “we as His Apostles invite all to know––as we do––that the heavens are open. We affirm that God is making known His will for His beloved sons and daughters.”^86“

To quote Roger Keller, a professor of comparative religion at Brigham Young University: “To my knowledge, no other tradition has a doctrine of open canon or of a living prophet like the one among Latter-day Saints.”⁸⁷ The closest analog is the Papacy in the Catholic faith, though there are differences in how revelation functions with a Latter-day Saint prophet and the Pope. With the Pope, Catholics believe that he is guided by the Holy Spirit in guiding Catholics on matters of faith and practice. When the Pope speaks this guidance ex cathedra (or “from the throne”: the throne of Saint Peter), this guidance is believed to be infallible. This guidance from the Spirit is meant to guide Catholics in the context of existing Church tradition and scripture rather than give any new revelation that substantially differs from the current canon of scripture or expands upon it. In contrast, Latter-day Saints believe that the revelation the prophet receives comes from God to the prophet and may include entirely new commandments, doctrines, and revelations given to God’s children. Other religions certainly claim new revelations through oracles that give them some new meaning about God and what He wants us to do, but these individuals who have claimed revelations have not claimed themselves to be prophets that receive ongoing revelation from God.

Latter-day Saints believe that the necessity of a prophet is established by the Bible. Amos 3:7 is the most commonly-cited text: “Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7, NET Bible). ⁸⁸ The Apostle Paul in Ephesians boasts that the Church was “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (Ephesianians 2:20, NRSV).

Protestant critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have traditionally attacked this doctrine from the perspective of a doctrinal concept known as sola scriptura. There are various definitions of sola scriptura that differ more at the periphery than at the core. The core of the doctrine is that scripture alone––and in this case the Bible––is the sole, infallible rule of practice and faith for adherents of Christianity. Protestants believe that this doctrine is taught in the Bible itself. 

There are many problems with sola scriptura, and one of the most central is that it is a self-defeating proposition. As observed by Latter-day Saint apologist Robert Boylan, in order to have sola scriptura, one must have tota scriptura (all scripture). The fact of the matter is that, for every verse of the Bible that a Protestant might cite in support of the doctrine, that same verse did not exist in the collection of books known as the Protestant Bible until at least 300 years after the death of Jesus Christ. The scriptures that supposedly teach “the Bible alone” did not exist at the time that the individual writers cited supposedly told us that the Bible alone was going to be our infallible rule for faith and practice.⁸⁹ Also, for every verse that supposedly teaches sola scriptura, there is additional scripture and revelation that follows that verse–and this is the case for nearly every text commonly cited to prove sola scriptura! 2 Peter is considered by most biblical scholars to be the last book written and later included in the Protestant canon; but there are no verses used by defenders of sola scriptura in that book of scripture.

Other critics try to attack the doctrine of living prophets by citing supposedly failed prophecies that one or more have uttered, though there is a compelling framework to view these issues through that eliminates these criticisms.⁹⁰ Still others attack revelation by saying that all revelation is merely humans interpreting mundane neurological and biochemical phenomena as if they were revelations from an outside spiritual force; but these criticisms have been decisively shown to be wanting.⁹¹

Revelation from God is a gift to His children. It can help us resolve issues of knowing what the greater good is in times of moral dilemma. It can help us know some of the most profound truths about God and His plan for us. 

Most astonishingly, Latter-day Saints affirm that we, even as mortal children of God, can have access to all the revelations that the prophets have. Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated:

But what I desire to point attention to is the fact that revelation is not restricted to the prophet of God on earth. The visions of eternity are not reserved for Apostles—they are not reserved for the General Authorities. Revelation is something that should be received by every individual. God is no respecter of persons, and every soul, in the ultimate sense, is just as precious in his sight as the souls of those who are called to positions of leadership. Because he operates on principles of eternal, universal, and never-deviating law, any individual who abides the law that entitles him to get revelation can know exactly and precisely what President Kimball knows, can entertain angels just as well as Joseph Smith entertained them, and can be in tune in full measure with all of the things of the Spirit.⁹²

“We thank thee, O God, for a prophet, to guide us in these latter days!”