KnoWhy #783 | March 18, 2025
Why Does God Give Revelation for the Church Only to the Presiding Prophet?
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
“But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses.” Doctrine and Covenants 28:2
The Know
In September 1830, Joseph Smith faced what Casey Paul Griffiths has called “the first ecclesiastical crisis in the young Church.”1 The Lord had previously revealed that Joseph Smith “was called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the first elder of this church” (Doctrine and Covenants 20:2). That same day, the Lord had also declared that the Saints should “give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; for his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:4–5).
Despite these clear expressions, the Church was still less than six months old, and some members did not yet fully understand the full implications of these revelatory instructions. This was especially made clear when Hiram Page, one of the Eight Witnesses, issued two alleged revelations “concerning the upbuilding of Zion, [and] the order of the Church” through a stone.2 Some members of the Church in Fayette, including Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmer family, knew that Joseph Smith used a seer stone to receive revelations in the past, and so they were willing to believe that Hiram Page had also made use of a similar stone.3
When Joseph arrived in Fayette for the upcoming September conference of the Church, he was shocked to find so many stalwart members believing these revelations “which were entirely at variance with the order of God’s house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as in our late revelations.”4 After spending a night in prayer and discussing the matter thoroughly with Oliver and the Whitmers, Joseph received the revelation now known as Doctrine and Covenants 28.
This revelation clarified, “No one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses. . . . For I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead. . . . For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 28:2, 7, 13; see also 35:18).
Even though the Lord clearly outlined on that occasion that only the prophet could receive revelation directing the Church and also how He would choose another leader for the Church after Joseph Smith, the same issue was raised a few months later in February 1831, when a woman identified as Mrs. Hubble would likewise claim to be receiving revelation for the entire Church.5 Again, the Lord reiterated that “there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations” except the living prophet, and “none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him. . . . And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; and this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me. For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received and shall receive through him whom I have appointed” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:3–7).
In another revelation received in 1835, the Lord further clarified that “the duty of the President of the office of the High Priesthood is to preside over the whole church, and . . . to be a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a prophet, having all the gifts of God which he bestows upon the head of the church” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:91–92). Thus, any new scripture for the Church—whether it be new revelations or inspired translations of scripture like the Book of Mormon or Book of Abraham—would only come through one who has presiding authority over the entire church.
Just as the Lord had promised, He did appoint a successor to Joseph Smith that was able and authorized to receive revelations for the Church following Joseph’s death. In March 1844, Joseph Smith met with the Twelve Apostles and bestowed upon them all the keys they would need to lead the Church. According to Orson Hyde, Joseph declared, “Upon the shoulders of the Twelve must the responsibility of leading this church hence forth rest until you shall appoint others to succeed you. . . . I roll the burthen and responsibility of leading this church off from my shoulders on to yours. Now, round up your shoulders and stand under it like men.”6
This law of succession was articulated in 1835, when the Lord provided that the Twelve, as a body, “form a quorum equal in authority and power to the three presidents [in the First Presidency]” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:24). When the prophet passes away, the senior apostle in each successive case is set apart by the Quorum of the Twelve as the next President of the Church. He is then able to reorganize the First Presidency and be sustained by the body of the Church. These keys have continuously been passed down in this manner until today. Therefore, any new revelation or scripture is authorized to come only through the living prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, following these revelations and principles that the Lord has repeatedly declared.7
The Why
After Joseph Smith received section 28 and read it at the September 1830 conference of the Church, Newel Knight recorded, “B[r]other Page as well as . . . the whole Church who were present renounced the Said Stone and all things connected with it, much to our satisfaction and happiness.”8 Emer Harris further noted that Hiram Page’s stone “was broke to powder and the writings burnt.”9
Ultimately, these early challenges “centered around one simple question: In a church in which anyone can receive revelation, who has the right to receive revelation for the whole church?”10 In both cases and elsewhere in Joseph Smith’s revelations, the answer was always the same: while individuals can receive revelation for their own lives or over their duly authorized stewardships, only the Lord’s presiding prophet can receive revelation for the whole Church.
Joseph would sum up this principle when he later wrote, “It is contrary to the economy of God for any member of the church or anyone to receive instruction for those in authority higher than themselves,” and therefore, any revelation would strictly be “for their own benefit and instruction, for the fundamental principles, government, and doctrine of the church is invested in the keys of the kingdom.”11
Following these repeated and clear instructions the Lord has given, this has been the consistent teaching of the prophets and apostles ever since. For example, President Dallin H. Oaks recently taught about the difference between personal revelation and revelation given to leaders of the Church, declaring each to be a vital line of communication. The personal line involves receiving answers to prayers and “is the source of our testimony of truth, of our knowledge, and of our personal guidance from a loving Heavenly Father”; the priesthood line—revelation given to the prophet—“is the channel by which God has spoken to His children through the scriptures in times past. And it is this line through which He currently speaks through the teachings and counsel of living prophets and apostles and other inspired leaders.”12 Both are necessary lines of communication with our Heavenly Father.
Elder Dale G. Renlund has also recently related that an individual reached out to him and “told me it had been revealed to him that additional scripture was buried under the ground floor of a building he tried to enter. He claimed that once he obtained the additional scripture, he knew he would receive the gift of translation, bring forth new scripture, and shape the doctrine and direction of the Church.” Elder Renlund told him that he was mistaken and further taught the Saints, “I did not need to pray about this request for one simple but profound reason: only the prophet receives revelation for the Church.”13
President Joseph Fielding Smith also taught, “The Lord will give his revelations in the proper way, to the one who is appointed to receive and dispense the word of God to the members of the Church.”14 These principles have been given to the world “that you may not be deceived” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:6).15 As modern disciples of Christ hold to this principle, the blessings of the Lord can flow freely upon them.
Dennis A. Wright, “The Hiram Page Stone: A Lesson in Church Government,” in The Doctrine and Covenants: A Book of Answers, ed. Leon R. Hartshorn, Dennis A. Wright, and Craig J. Ostler (Deseret Book, 1996), 85–94.
Dale G. Renlund, “A Framework for Personal Revelation,” October 2022 general conference.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Two Lines of Communication,” October 2010 general conference.
A. Gary Anderson, “Being Valiant by Following the Lord’s Anointed,” in The Heavens Are Open: The 1992 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History (Deseret Book, 1993), 34–47.
Leaun G. Otten, “Protection Against Deception,” in Heavens Are Open, 243–56.
- 1. Casey Paul Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4 vols. (Scripture Central; Cedar Fort, 2024), 1:273.
- 2. “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 54, The Joseph Smith Papers. According to Emer Harris, the brother of Martin Harris, these alleged revelations were about sixteen pages long. See Emer Harris statement in “Provo Utah Central Stake General Minutes, 1849–1977, Volume 10, 1855–1860,” April 6, 1856, 273, LR 9629 11, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.
- 3. For more context behind this event, see Steven C. Harper, Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Guided Tour Through Modern Revelations (Deseret Book, 2008), 95–96; Steven C. Harper, Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Scripture Central, 2021), 58–59; Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary, 1:273–75; Jeffrey G. Cannon, “‘All Things Must Be Done in Order,’” in Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Matthew McBride and James Goldberg (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016), 50–53; A. Gary Anderson, “The Prophet, Seer, and Revelator (D&C 28 and 43), in Studies in Scripture, vol. 1, The Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson (Deseret Book, 1989), 148–52.
- 4. “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834],” p. 54, The Joseph Smith Papers; spelling and punctuation modernized.
- 5. While it is not clear who Mrs. Hubble was, John Whitmer noted that she “professed to be a prophetess of the Lord, and professed to have many revelations, and knew that the Book of Mormon was true; and that she should become a teacher in the Church of Christ.” “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” p. 18, The Joseph Smith Papers; spelling and punctuation modernized. She had apparently deceived many new converts, warranting this revelation. For more context, see Harper, Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants, 147–51; Harper, Doctrine and Covenants Contexts, 94–96; Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary, 2:33–34; Cannon, “‘All Things Must Be Done in Order,’” 50–53; Anderson, “Prophet, Seer, and Revelator,” 152–54.
- 6. “Appendix 3: Orson Hyde, Statement about Quorum of the Twelve, circa Late March 1845,” pp. 1–2, The Joseph Smith Papers.
- 7. For a more complete discussion of prophetic succession in the Church, see Martin L. Hickman, “Succession in the Presidency,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (Macmillan, 1992), 3:1420–21.
- 8. Michael Hubbard MacKay and William G. Hartley, eds., The Rise of the Latter-day Saints: The Journals and Histories of Newel Knight (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Deseret Book, 2019), 22.
- 9. “Provo Utah Central Stake General Minutes,” 273. Two other traditions regarding the fate of Hiram’s stone are related in Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4 vols. (Deseret Book, 2000), 1:188–89, as two stones are maintained to be the stone used by Hiram Page that were in the RLDS Archives or private possession.
- 10. Griffiths, Scripture Central Commentary, 1:273.
- 11. “Letter to John S. Carter, 13 April 1833,” p. 30, The Joseph Smith Papers; spelling and punctuation modernized.
- 12. Dallin H. Oaks, “Two Lines of Communication,” October 2010 general conference.
- 13. Dale G. Renlund, “A Framework for Personal Revelation,” October 2022 general conference.
- 14. Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, April 1938, 65–67; see also Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, vol. 1 of 3 (Bookcraft, 1954), 288.
- 15. For more discussions on this principle, see A. Gary Anderson, “Being Valiant by Following the Lord’s Anointed,” in The Heavens Are Open: The 1992 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History (Deseret Book, 1993), 34–47; Leaun G. Otten, “Protection Against Deception,” in Heavens Are Open, 243–56.