Item Detail
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19438
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4
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10
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English
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Prophets and Prophecy in the Mormon Tradition(s)
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John Whitmer Historical Association Journal
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2006
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26
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1-16
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In this 2005 presidential address to the John Whitmer Historical Association, Shipps defines a prophet as one who speaks for God, and whose revelations persuade the listener to believe that his words are "the will and word of the Lord." In the beginning, as others have postulated, many may have followed Joseph Smith because of his visions and his translation of the Book of Mormon, however by the time the Church was organized in 1830 he was seen by his followers, not just as a translator and a seer, but also a prophet. Shipps explores the reasons why Joseph Smith's followers believed his words were the words of God. One explanation is that when Smith's prophecies foretold a future that turned out to be true, this gave legitimacy to his prophetic claim and provided his followers with "rational reasons for believing." Shipps refers to this as predictive prophecy and states that the Book of Mormon and the Book of Commandments (later the Doctrine and Covenants) are part of this predictive prophecy. Another issue discussed, is the idea of discernment. How did his followers discern that the revelations Smith put forth were true. Some of the revelations were voted on, and sometimes, such as in the case of the Kirtland Temple, the community experienced a collective "mystical" experience. However, it seems that mostly the members were left to their own devices to personally discern the truthfulness of the revelations. After the prophet's death there were divisions within the community. Shipps examines how the two main divisions look at prophecy today. She states that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a "people with a prophet" while the Community of Christ became a "prophetic people." Both Churchs' belief in an open cannon set them apart from the rest of Christianity.
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