16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.
17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.
18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sustain the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church as “prophets, seers, and revelators.” As Ammon explains in these verses, if a person is a seer, he is also a revelator and a prophet.
- A seer is a person who receives revelation from God. This revelation is not limited to the present but can include knowledge about the past and about the future.
- A revelator is a person who makes known the truths he has learned from God.
- A prophet is a person who speaks on behalf of God (from the Greek prophētēs, “an interpreter or spokesman”).
So it’s pretty obvious why the three go together: a person who receives revelation (a seer) and is authorized to communicate that revelation to others (a revelator) is also acting as a spokesman for God (a prophet).
In 1980, Ezra Taft Benson gave a talk entitled “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet.” Here are a few of those fundamentals which are particularly relevant to Ammon’s words:
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
How do these three titles, taken together, help you to appreciate the blessings we receive through God’s chosen servants?