Shownotes
What do Latter-day Saints mean when they talk about a “living prophet”?
In this Faithfully Explore! episode, we answer a listener's question from eight-year-old Liam, who noticed a picture of a kind-looking older man on his neighbor’s refrigerator and wondered, “Why do they call him the prophet?”
Together, we explore what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe about prophets, spiritual guidance, General Conference, and following Jesus through kindness, prayer, service, and faith. Kids will imagine a guide with a lantern leading the way through a dark forest, learn how Latter-day Saints connect ancient prophets like Noah and Moses to modern-day leadership, and discover why many Latter-day Saints listen closely to the President of the Church.
This episode also introduces the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and General Conference in a simple, kid-friendly way. Along the journey, listeners will move their bodies in “Prophet’s Path,” hear a story about a child learning how prayer and peace can help people understand guidance, play “Prophet, Predictor, or Pal?”, and cross the Friendship Bridge to compare spiritual leaders in different faith traditions.
In This Episode
Children will learn:
- What Latter-day Saints believe a living prophet is
- Why prophets are often seen as spiritual guides
- How Latter-day Saints connect modern prophets with ancient biblical prophets
- What the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are
- What happens during General Conference
- How prophets are different from fortune-tellers or magical predictors
- How different faith communities look to leaders, teachers, and guides
- How kids can practice being helpful guides for others
Belief Backpack Takeaway
For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the prophet is a living leader who helps guide people through life’s choices, like a trusted guide holding a lantern on a dark trail.
This week’s reflection question:
Who is someone in your life who helps light the path when you are unsure what to do?
Weekly Compass Challenge
This week, try the Guide Challenge. Practice being a guide for someone else. You might help a younger sibling, explain a game to a friend, hold a door for someone, or offer encouragement when someone feels unsure.
Notice how it feels to help clear the path for another person.
For Families and Classrooms
This episode is a great fit for conversations about religious leadership, trusted guidance, community, service, and how different faith traditions understand wisdom and authority. Families and educators can use the episode to compare prophets, rabbis, imams, pastors, ministers, elders, monks, and the pope while encouraging children to notice both similarities and differences with respect.
Stay curious, stay kind, and keep faithfully exploring! 🧭🎒
Transcripts
Hey there, explorers.
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:Welcome back to Faithfully Explore,
the podcast where we pack our imaginary
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:backpacks, lace up our sturdiest
curiosity boots, and go on a journey
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:to understand the beautiful, different
ways people around the world live,
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:believe, and practice their faith.
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:I'm your host, Laura, and I'm so
glad you're here with me today.
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:If you're listening with a grown-up,
give them a high five right now.
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:Today, we are exploring a big, fascinating
question that came to us from a listener
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:named Liam, who is eight years old.
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:Liam noticed a picture of an older,
kind-looking man in a suit hanging
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:on his best friend's fridge.
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:Liam asked, "Why do my neighbors
call that man the prophet?
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:And what does he actually do?"
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:What a fantastic question, Liam.
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:Today, we are going to learn all
about what members of The Church of
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:Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
sometimes called LDS for short, mean
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:when they talk about a living prophet.
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:Are you ready to explore?
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:Faithfully Explore! Intro:
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:faithfully Explore!
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:is the name.
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:Learning together is our aim.
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:Beliefs around the globe we'll track,
filling up our Belief Backpack.
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:Laura: Let's dive in.
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:Imagine for a second that you and
your family are going on a hike
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:through a dense, deep forest.
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:The trees are huge.
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:The paths wind all over the place.
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:And as the sun starts to set,
it gets a little dark and
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:hard to see which way to go.
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:You might feel a little worried, right?
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:But then you see someone walking
up the front of the line.
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:They have a big, bright lantern
that lights up the path ahead.
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:They've walked this forest before.
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:They know where the slippery mud is, where
the sharp rocks are hidden, and exactly
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:which turn leads to a safe, warm cabin.
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:When members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints talk about a
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:prophet, that's exactly how they see him.
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:They see him as a spiritual guide
holding a lantern, helping them
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:navigate life's tricky paths.
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:They believe that just like a loving
parent gives their kids rules and
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:advice to keep them safe, God, whom
they call Heavenly Father, wants to
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:give his children on Earth guidance too.
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:And he sends those
messages through a prophet.
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:Now, the idea of a
prophet isn't new at all.
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:In fact, if you've ever read stories from
the Bible or the Torah, you've already met
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:some of history's most famous prophets.
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:Think about Noah, who built a massive
ark when a big storm was coming, or
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:Moses, who helped free his people and
held up his staff to part the Red Sea.
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:In ancient times, these prophets were
teachers, leaders, and messengers.
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:They told the people what God wanted
them to know, warned them about
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:dangers, and always reminded them to
love and take care of one another.
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:Latter-day Saints connect these
ancient stories directly to today.
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:They believe that God loves people living
right now just as much as he loved the
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:people in the Bible, so they believe God
still speaks to a living prophet today.
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:For Latter-day Saints, the prophet
isn't a magical superhero or a perfect
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:person who never makes a mistake.
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:He is a regular human being
chosen for a special job.
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:His most important job of all?
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:To be a special witness of Jesus Christ
and to teach people how to follow
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:Jesus' example of love and kindness.
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:Before we look at how the worldwide church
is organized, it's time to get moving.
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:Everybody stand up on your feet.
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:Let's play a quick game of Prophet's Path.
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:Start walking in place.
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:Imagine the prophet is telling us
to stretch high to see over a wall.
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:Reach your hands all
the way up to the sky.
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:Stretch, stretch, stretch.
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:Now we're gonna climb over that wall.
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:Lift one knee high and now the other.
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:Start walking again.
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:Uh-oh, the prophet warns us
there's a low branch on the trail.
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:Crouch down low and crawl under it.
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:Keep walking.
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:Now he says the path is clear, but we
need to move quickly to help a neighbor.
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:Run in place as fast as you can.
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:Five, four, three, two, one.
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:Great job.
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:Sit back down and take a deep
breath in and let it out.
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:So who is the prophet today?
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:In the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, the prophet is also the
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:president of the entire worldwide church.
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:Because looking after millions of church
members all over the world is a gigantic
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:job, the prophet doesn't do it alone.
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:He has a team.
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:He chooses two counselors to help
him, and together the three of them
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:are called the First Presidency.
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:Right under them is another group
of 12 leadership men called the
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:Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
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:Think of them like a council of
wise helpers who travel the world
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:to teach, organize humanitarian
aid, and visit church members
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:from Japan to Brazil to Utah.
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:But how do people actually hear
what the prophet is saying?
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:Twice a year, usually in April
and October, the church holds
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:a massive weekend of meetings
called General Conference.
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:During General Conference, the prophet
and other leaders stand and give talks
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:that are broadcast on television,
radio, and the internet worldwide.
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:People tune in from their living
rooms, sometimes even wearing pajamas,
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:and listen closely to the advice.
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:The prophet talks about things like:
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:being a good family member and friend,
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:saying daily prayers,
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:Helping people who are hungry
or lonely through service,
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:repenting, which means saying sorry and
trying to fix it when you make a mistake,
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:and choosing kindness even
when it's really hard.
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:To help us understand how a child might
think about all of this, let's listen to
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:a short story about a girl named Emma.
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:Emma was nine years old,
and she loved puzzles.
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:She loved the click of two pieces
snapping together perfectly.
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:One Saturday afternoon, Emma was sitting
on her living room floor working on
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:a massive puzzle of a coral reef.
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:Her family was listening to General
Conference on the TV in the background.
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:Dallin H Oaks: My dear brothers and
sisters, welcome to General Conference
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:Laura: The prophet was speaking.
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:He was talking about how important
it is to find inner peace, even when
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:the world feels loud or confusing.
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:Emma paused, a blue puzzle piece shaped
like a starfish hovering in her hand.
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:She looked over at her dad, who was
listening intently while folding laundry.
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:"Dad," Emma asked, "why do we
listen so carefully to him?
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:How do we actually know that what he's
teaching is what God wants us to do?
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:" Her dad smiled, set down a folded
towel, and sat on the floor next to her.
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:" That is a really honest question, Emma.
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:You know how when you're stuck on a puzzle
piece, you look at the picture on top
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:of the box to see where the piece fits?"
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:Emma nodded.
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:"Well," her dad said, "the
prophet gives us the big picture.
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:He reminds us of God's love,
but he doesn't expect us to
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:believe in him without thinking.
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:Our church teaches that every
single person can pray and ask
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:God quietly in their own hearts
if the prophet's words are true.
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:When you feel a warm, peaceful feeling
inside, like a puzzle piece clicking
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:into place, that's how you know."
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:Emma looked back down
at her starfish piece.
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:She found its spot, pressed it
down, and heard a satisfying click.
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:She closed her eyes for a second, felt
the quiet warmth of her living room,
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:and thought about how nice it felt to
try to be kinder to her little brother.
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:She smiled.
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:The pieces of advice were
starting to make sense.
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:Latter-day Saints often share
stories about past prophets to teach
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:lessons about faith and resilience.
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:One famous story is about a
prophet named Lorenzo Snow, who
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:lived over a hundred years ago.
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:In the late 1890s, there was a terrible
drought in the desert state of Utah,
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:where many church members lived.
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:A drought means it hadn't rained
for a very, very long time.
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:The ground was cracked.
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:Where the crops should be was
regular dirt, and the farmers
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:were worried they wouldn't have
enough money or food to survive.
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:Prophet Lorenzo Snow traveled out
to a small, dusty town called St.
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:George.
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:He stood before the worried
townspeople and felt inspired
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:to give them a promise from God.
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:He told them if they would faithfully
pay their tithing, God would send rain.
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:Tithing is a practice in which
church members donate one-tenth of
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:their income to help the church care
for their poor and build temples.
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:The people trusted President Snow.
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:Even though they were broke, they
gave what they could to help others.
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:A few months later, the sky
grew dark with heavy clouds.
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:The rain poured down, soaking the
thirsty earth and saving the crops.
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:For Latter-day Saints, this true
story is a powerful reminder of
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:how trusting a spiritual leader's
guidance can bring peace and blessings
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:during a stormy season of life.
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:let's cross our friendship bridge.
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:As we explore different faiths on
this podcast, it's always wonderful
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:to look at our Friendship Bridge,
the place where we see how different
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:religions share similar ideas, even
if they do things a little uniquely.
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:Many world religions have a single
leader or a group of respected
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:leaders who guide their communities.
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:In the Catholic tradition, millions of
people look to the Pope in Rome as their
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:global spiritual leader and earthly guide.
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:In Jewish communities, people seek wisdom,
teaching, and counseling from a rabbi.
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:In Muslim communities, an imam
leads prayer and offers spiritual
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:direction based on the Quran.
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:In many Protestant churches, a pastor or
minister preaches from the pulpit every
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:Sunday to look after their congregation.
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:While each of these faiths
understands authority and leadership
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:differently, the core heart of
the role is beautifully similar.
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:Every community values having a wise
teacher to help them understand how to
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:love God and become better human beings.
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:What's inside our belief
backpack this week?
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:Before we head home, let's open
up our Belief Backpack and look
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:at the idea we're taking with us
today: a guide with a lantern.
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:For members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, the prophet
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:is a living leader who helps guide
them through life's choices, just like
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:an experienced guide on a dark trail.
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:Do you have someone in your life
who's a guide with a lantern?
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:Every week, I give our explorers
a little challenge to help bring
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:our journey into our daily lives.
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:This week's challenge is inspired
by the prophet's role as a guide.
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:Sometime this week, practice
being a guide for someone else.
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:You could help a young sibling tie
their shoes or show a friend how
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:to play a game they don't know.
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:Notice how good it feels to help
someone else find their path.
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:Thank you for exploring with me today.
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:It's beautiful to learn about the
ways our friends and neighbors find
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:direction, hope, and peace in their lives.
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:I'm Laura, and I'll see you
next time on Faithfully Explore.
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:Remember to stay curious, stay
kind, and keep exploring that
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:wonderful world around you.
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:Faithfully Explore! Outro:
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:Faithfully Explore!
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:is about you.
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:Let's grow kinder together it's true!
