Mormon Beliefs: Aricle of Faith 7
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
The Mormon Church is a church of miracles. It was so when Joseph Smith wrote the Articles of Faith, and it remains so today. If the sectarian notion that miracles have ceased existed two hundred years ago, scientific discovery must have increased such belief. The definition of miracle may be stretched to include the phrase "A miracle of modern science," and surely science, too, is a miracle of Providence, but the miracles found in the Mormon Church are the gifts of the Spirit described in 1 Corinthians 12, and attendant to the followers of Christ who have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The gift of tongues was the first gift of the Spirit manifest to the ancient apostles. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost descended upon them and when they spoke to the multitude every one heard them in their own language (Acts 2). In the Mormon Church, the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues is often attributed to the great missionary effort throughout the world. Many Mormon missionaries are called to serve in a nation which speaks a language unknown to them. The success with which they do this is a miracle. This is not always instantaneous fluency, though some Mormon missionaries have reported instances similar to the day of Pentecost. For most, with diligent effort, this gift is granted them and they achieve an accelerated grasp of the language. However, this “modern” view of a miracle has not replaced the gift of tongues as form of praise to the Lord. Paul said that a manifestation of the gift of tongues is for God to hear (1 Corinthians 14:2). In the Mormon Church, this miracle has, does, and will continue to occur. However, speaking in tongues is not regular form of worship in the Mormon Church. A person should not expect to miraculously speak in tongues, and the frequent occurrence of this would likely be pretended. Worship and reverence go hand-in-hand and the commotion of many speaking in tongues is not conducive to the Holy Spirit.
Miraculous healings comprise the majority of the recorded miracles of the Lord’s ministry. By the Savior’s authority, the blind saw, the deaf heard, and the lame walked. It is by this same authority that the Mormon Church administers the ordinance of healing to the sick. By the power of the priesthood, the elders of the Church lay their hands on the sick and bless them. These blessings are according to the faith of those involved. Not every blessing of the sick results in an immediate restoration to perfect health. All elders of the priesthood have the authority to bless the sick, but the gift of healing, as well as the faith to be healed, is found in varying degrees. He who blesses the sick must also be sensitive to the Spirit. It is by the power of God that healing is accomplished, so it must be the will of God to be done. Although the blessing may call for the sick to be healed, it may not be in the Lord’s plan at that time. However, blessings of the sick are not a rare occurrence and countless members of the Mormon Church have experiences with the gift of healing.
Visions and dreams are two of the methods by which the Lord communicates with man. Records of waking visions are had mostly by the prophets of God in the scriptures. These include meeting heavenly beings or seeing another place in past, present, or future. Moses spoke with the Lord on Mount Sinai, and Enoch was shown the entire course of humanity. The Mormon Church began with a vision. Joseph Smith was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ in 1820 and would experience many more visions of angels. Subsequent Mormon Church presidents have related visions when preaching to the general membership or when they felt it would strengthen the faith of the hearers. Dreams, too, are chronicled in ancient scripture as a means of communication from God to His prophets. The anecdotal evidence of the entire world is filled with experiences of divine communication in dreams to the individual. To the members of Mormonism, these are not merely fables of antiquity. God communicates to man still, in both visions and dreams.
The gift of prophecy is the ability to see things which are, things which were, and things which are to come. One who prophesies speaks in the place of God. Much more than fortune telling, the prophet works under the guidance of the Lord for the benefit of man. A prophet may relate information that has been known for centuries, but with the gift of prophecy, it is what the Lord desires people to hear at that time. Likewise a prophet can assure us of things past, such as the literal existence of Adam and Eve, Moses and the Exodus, and, most importantly, the divine ministry of Jesus Christ. The prediction of the future is never to inspire faith or convert the unbeliever, but is usually a voice of warning to the believers, that they may prepare and have their faith confirmed. The Mormon Church teaches that its president is the Lord’s prophet on earth, and to heed his counsel is to know the will of God.
Revelation is the communication of God to man in any of its forms. This may come as visions, dreams, or prophecy. Some have claimed to hear the voice of the Lord. The Mormon Church teaches that God communicates most often to man through the Holy Ghost, described as a still, small voice. This is not like the vision of Saul on the road to Damascus, but quiet promptings heard only by those listening. In the Mormon Church, revelation is not the territory of a select few, but the privilege of every individual. It is taught that only by personal revelation can anyone know a certain doctrine or belief to be true. And so each time the Holy Ghost visits a person to communicate, that is revelation. It is also the doctrine of the Mormon Church that revelation is bestowed in a hierarchy. In the organization of the priesthood, an individual may only receive revelation in behalf of those over whom he presides: the president for the whole church, a bishop for his congregation, and a father or mother for their family. In this way, a member holding no position and claiming revelation for the entire church may be known to be false. For examples of revelation in the Mormon Church, in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, each section is a separate revelation given to the prophet Joseph Smith or his successors.
Miracles have not ceased. The Mormon Church emphatically teaches this principle. But neither are they on display for amusement or curiosity. Faith must precede such gifts of the Spirit. These are gifts given to confirm and strengthen the faith of believers. As is written in Mark 16:17, “these signs shall follow them that believe.”