In Numbers 11 and 12 we receive some great, clarifying truths about receiving the gift of prophecy but also understanding the supreme role of the Prophet of the Lord, the presiding high priest.
In chapter 11 of Numbers it reads:
“And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:24-29).
There are several other examples of scripture of the gifts of the spirit given to common people that have received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Samuel the Lamanite is another example. He was given the spirit of prophecy and was told by an angel to deliver the prophecy to the people of Zarahemla, who were in a different land. He obeyed, even though there was a prophet amongst them by the name of Nephi. For some reason the Lord wanted to send an additional witness to those people. In the record, those that believe Samuel go to Nephi to receive the ordinance of baptism (Helaman 16:1). It appears that Nephi is the presiding high priest in Zarahemla.
Now we get to Numbers 12 that helps us understand the balance in the common man or woman receiving the spirit of prophecy and the Prophet, capital “P,” receiving prophecy for the church. It reads:
“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4 And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and cal, led Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
13 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee” (Numbers 12:1-13).
In verse 6 it seems to imply that the Lord will give visions and dreams to anyone filled with the spirit of prophecy. But, verses 7-8 clarify that the Lord’s presiding high priest Prophet, He will visit in person and speak to mouth to mouth.
So, Moses sheds marvelous light on the spirit of prophecy in these two chapters. We are to be filled with the spirit of prophecy as we receive the spiritual gift of the Holy Ghost, one of those gifts being the spirit of prophecy. But, we must never lose sight of who holds the keys to direct the whole church and who is a special witness of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We must always be humble to whom the Lord has appointed. Samuel was an example of this. He delivered his message and then let Nephi fulfill his role of providing the ordinances that he presided over.
Thanks be to God for the marvelous gifts of the spirit and for the gift of a living Prophet for the whole world!
A great talk to help someone understand little “p” prophets and big “P” Prophets is the talk, “Spiritual Gifts,” by Dallin H. Oaks, 1986.” https://www.lds.org/ensign/1986/09/spiritual-gifts?lang=eng
No comments:
Post a Comment