THE Prophet

THE Prophet:

When it comes to prophets and The Prophet, I find it very useful to study the lives of Sidney Rigdon and the Three Witnesses, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris.

David Whitmer saw the angel Moroni, saw the golden plates; and, David Whitmer heard the voice of the Lord testifying that the Book of Mormon is true. David Whitmer was an eye-witness and was considered an Apostle of the Lord. However, when David Whitmer stopped keeping the commandments and set himself up as The Prophet in Missouri, his choices and actions brought him first to be condemned by the local High Council and eventually led to his excommunication from the Church. David Whitmer stepped over the line, and he never came back.

Sidney Rigdon witnessed possibly the greatest vision recorded in modern times – D&C 76.

D&C 76:20-24

20 And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness;

21 And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.

22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father --

24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

Having seen the Lord, Sidney Rigdon was an apostle of the Lord, even though Sidney was never formally ordained as such. Sydney was a prophet. Eventually, Sidney strayed and stopped sustaining The Prophet. One day, Joseph Smith said that Sydney could no longer be trusted. Apparently, Sydney had started working with and associating with the apostates of the Church and had started taking their side. Joseph Smith wanted to remove Sidney from the First Presidency, and I believe that Joseph even wanted to excommunicate Sydney; but, Hyrum Smith liked Sydney and persuaded Joseph to leave Sydney alone. Even though Sydney had seen the Lord, when Sydney wandered away from the Church, let his testimony lapse, and stopped sustaining the LDS Apostles, Sydney never came back. Sydney's stand against The Prophet led to Sydney's eventual downfall.

Martin Harris was an eye-witness of the golden plates and the angel Moroni. As one of the Three Witnesses, he was charged with helping to select the first quorum of Twelve Apostles in this dispensation. Martin Harris was considered an apostle or a special witness. In time, Martin Harris wandered away from the Church. He says that they left him. But, either way, Martin was separated from the Church for awhile. Eventually, he came back and was baptized again.

Of all the cases, the most interesting is Oliver Cowdery's case. Olivery Cowdery was one of the Three Witnesses. Olivery Cowdery was there when John the Baptist restored the Aaronic Priesthood to the earth. Oliver Cowdery was also there when Peter, James, and John ordained him and Joseph Smith to be Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oliver Cowdery was there when Jesus Christ, Moses, and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and restored the keys of the Gospel (D&C 110). Joseph Smith was The First Elder, The Prophet; and, Oliver Cowdery was the Second Elder and a prophet.

Eventually, Oliver Cowdery took a stand against Joseph Smith, and in effect forced Jesus Christ to choose between him and Joseph Smith. If we force the issue and force the Lord to choose between The Prophet and the other prophets, we know how that will turn out. The Lord chose Joseph Smith, and the Lord simply abandoned and rejected Olivery Cowdery. Oliver Cowdery was excommunicated, even though he was an eye-witness of Jesus Christ.

Later, when Oliver Cowdery decided to come back, he made it clear that he did not seek restoration to his former position as an Apostle. By then, Oliver knew that the Lord had continued to speak to Joseph Smith and that the Lord had stopped speaking to Oliver Cowdery. The Lord had chosen to go with The Prophet and had simply abandoned all the other prophets who had taken a stand against The Prophet. If we force the issue and force the Lord to choose, we know in advance which one the Lord is going to choose. Oliver Cowdery knew that his days as an Apostle were at an end and would never be restored to him during this life-time. He had taken a stand against The Prophet, and he now had to live out the consequences of his choice.

--

I believe that Denver Snuffer was a prophet. I know by Denver's own admission that Denver is not The Prophet.

I didn't fully realize that some people have actually been converted to Denver Snuffer, and they actually see Denver as The Prophet of the Church now.

Of course, that now explains to me why the Brethren would excommunicate Denver without giving him much of a chance to defend himself. They terminated Lowell Bennion when some at the LDS institute were starting to see Lowell as their Prophet; and, Lowell Bennion was one of my favorites. They fired Carlysle Hunsaker at the LDS Institute for basically the same reason – he was developing a following.

They have also zapped or fired other General Authorities (Paul Dunn), Institute Teachers, and Seminary Teachers who start to develop a following. They have done that all throughout the history of the LDS Church. One of the quickest ways to get excommunicated from the LDS Church (or to get fired from your Church job) is to develop a following and then have some of your followers start labeling you as the only true Prophet of the Church since Joseph Smith.

Denver has fallen into the same trap. Contrary to Denver's commands, some of his followers have taken to labeling him as The Prophet and forced the issue. When the Lord and the Brethren are forced to make a choice, we know which one they are going to choose.

I was one who was hoping and praying that Denver Snuffer would NOT be excommunicated. If I had known about Brent's case before it happened, I would have been hoping and praying for the same thing. I don't like seeing Latter-day Saints and/or Temple Recommend holders get excommunicated. Though never excommunicated, I left the Church or wandered away from the Church; and, I know firsthand what lies down that path. Nevertheless, I didn't like it when they excommunicated my cousin, because she is such a good humble person; in my opinion, they excommunicated the wrong one, but her former husband was the Bishop, and they went after her instead of going after the Bishop. It happens. They get it wrong. But, when they are forced to choose between a prophet and The Prophet, they tend to get that one right every time.

The only real flaw or weakness I ever observed with Denver Snuffer was the fact that he was overly fascinated with collecting lists of all the instances where the LDS Apostles and The Prophet allegedly made mistakes or had failed in some way. I noticed that Denver had this flaw or weakness right from the beginning. Instead of collecting lists of all the times that the LDS Prophets and The Prophet got it right and focusing his time and efforts there, Denver focused on the other side and eventually started writing chapters and then whole books about what he had discovered on the other side. Instead of focusing on the light, Denver focused on the dark more and more as he went along. Whether true or not, Denver was eventually perceived as having taken a public stand against the LDS Apostles and The Prophet. We all know that that's not going to end well.

I believe that Denver Snuffer is now on the path that Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, Orson Pratt, Orson Hyde, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris took during their apostleship. These men were all prophets of the Lord, but they were not The Prophet. These men left the Church for awhile or were excommunicated from the Church. All I can do now is wait to see whether Denver chooses to come back as Oliver Cowdery, Orson Pratt, Orson Hyde, and Martin Harris finally did; or, wait to see if Denver never comes back as Sidney Rigdon and David Whitmer did. Either way, that ball is now in his court.

The lesson is that, if a prophet (or his followers) forces the Lord or the Church to choose between him and The Prophet, the Lord and the LDS Church are going to choose to go with The Prophet, and they will simply abandon or excommunicate the other prophet.