Anyone can declare something, but only a person with authority can proclaim it.
Nearly all of the proclamations in the Old Testament were issued by kings, including Asa (1 Kings 15:22), Belshazzar (Daniel 5:29), and Cyrus (Ezra 1:1). In the Book of Mormon, kings Benjamin, Limhi, and Mosiah all issued proclamations (Mosiah 1:10; 7:17; 27:2), as did multiple chief judges (Alma 27:21; 61:6) and the governor Lachoneus (3 Nephi 3:13, 22). A proclamation does more than convey information; it obligates its recipients to do something.
There are plenty of scriptural examples of prophets proclaiming messages from God to kings. For example:
- Moses spoke with divine authority when he commanded Pharaoh, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1).
- Jonah warned the people of Ninevah, including their king, that their city would be overthrown if they didn’t repent (Jonah 3:4-7).
- Abinadi delivered a similar warning, even prophesying that “the life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace” (Mosiah 12:3).
No wonder Moses and Jonah were both reluctant to accept these difficult assignments. They would both be entering the jurisdiction of a powerful earthly leader and issuing commands as though they were actually in charge! We don’t know how Abinadi responded to his call, but since he told the king, “I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands” (Mosiah 17:9), he clearly understood the danger in the assignment.
In 1841, as church members began to establish the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to write a document which must have seemed audacious:
You are now called immediately to make a solemn proclamation of my gospel, and of this stake which I have planted to be a cornerstone of Zion, which shall be polished with the refinement which is after the similitude of a palace.
This proclamation shall be made to all the kings of the world, to the four corners thereof, to the honorable president-elect, and the high-minded governors of the nation in which you live, and to all the nations of the earth scattered abroad.
Doctrine and Covenants 124:2-3
All the kings of the world? The president-elect (William Henry Harrison)? High-minded (proud or haughty) governors, including Lilburn Boggs of Missouri and Thomas Carlin of Illinois? Why would any of them listen to Joseph Smith? And yet the Lord instructed him to write a solemn proclamation, urging them to come “with your gold and your silver, to the help of my people, to the house of the daughters of Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:11).
The Lord instructed Joseph to write this document “in the spirit of meekness,” but also not to be intimidated by these leaders, “for they are as grass, and all their glory as the flower thereof which soon falleth” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:4, 7; see also Isaiah 40:6-8; 1 Peter 1:24-25; Isaiah 51:12; 2 Nephi 8:12).
Four days earlier, the First Presidency of the Church had published a “Proclamation to the Saints Scattered Abroad” in the January 15 issue of the Times and Seasons newspaper. This document invites all church members to come to Nauvoo and “unite with us in the great work of the last days.” The audience of this proclamation had already accepted Joseph Smith as their prophet and were inclined to follow his guidance.
The new proclamation would be more challenging to write. Joseph Smith began drafting it in subsequent months, but his version was never completed nor published. After his martyrdom in 1844, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote and published a proclamation matching the description in section 124.
Since that time, church leaders have issued four additional proclamations:
- “Proclamation of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles to the World” (1865) – Reaffirms the prophetic authority of church leaders and discredits Lucy Mack Smith’s biography of Joseph Smith as inaccurate and unauthorized.
- “Proclamation from the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (1980) – On the 150th anniversary of the organization of the Church, this document testifies of the Restoration of the Church, the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, and the efficacy of the doctrines and practices of the Church.
- “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” (1995) – Reaffirms doctrines relating to gender, marriage, and family responsibilities. Issues a call for “responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
- “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World” (2020) – In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, this document reaffirms the identity of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christ’s New Testament church restored. It invites all people to learn for themselves by personal revelation that this is true.
Today, I will be grateful for prophets who are willing to boldly proclaim truths with authority from God even when their worldly authority is limited. I will strive to amplify prophetic voices and declare truths, even when those truths are unpopular.