Something I\u2019ve been thinking about lately is the role of prophets in the LDS church. It goes without saying, I think, that they act as God\u2019s mouthpiece, dictating to us what God would have us know as a collective body.<\/p>\n
Something that seems less clear to me is their role in interpreting scripture.<\/p>\n
When one of the 15 prophets, seers, and revelators uses a scripture in general conference, for example, to illustrate or prove a point, is that divine endorsement of that interpretation? Can we safely assume that what they say is God\u2019s intention when that scripture was originally revealed?<\/p>\n
Assuming yes, then are Latter-day Saints\u00a0whose beliefs differed from that interpretation bound to change their personal beliefs to match that interpretation?<\/p>\n
Is it apostasy to interpret a scripture differently from how a prophet interprets it? Should beliefs among Mormons be homogeneous or\u00a0is it completely acceptable to believe different things?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"