The Prophet Hall of Fame
I am a sports fan, so I often fall into that type of thinking. So I hope you don't find this inappropriate, but I thought today about what it would be like if there were a Prophet Hall of Fame started. And if so, who would get in on the first ballot. The way this works in many sports halls of fame is that there are a certain amount of people who get to nominate proposed members. Anyone who is on a certain percentage of the ballots (say 75%) gets in. Anyone with less than that does not get in. If I had to vote on who would get in to the Prophet Hall of Fame I would nominate:
Joseph Smith
Yes, he would be my first choice. The head of the last dispensation - enough said. No it's not. The First Vision, THE vision (D&C 76), translating the Book of Mormon, all those revelations in the D&C, The KFD, a martyr to boot. Are you kidding me? The stats just jump out. And then there is the statement that Joseph has done more for the salvation of men than anyone save Jesus. Joseph Smith is a sure first ballot Hall of Famer.
Moses
Moses has to get in. Leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, all those miracles, parting the Red Sea, the 10 commandments, the burning bush, serpents on a stick. Get out of here! Moses has to be on your list.
Abraham
The grandfather of the whole house of Israel. Heard of the Abrahamic covenant? The sacrifice of Isaac. Gotta go with Abraham on this.
Isaiah
Prophecies Galore. If you get quoted that often by Christ and other prophets you must be doing something right. Great are the words of Isaiah.
Nephi
Yep, Nephi. Look in the BofM index under Nephi and you see the term 'great prophet'. As far as I can tell nobody else in the BofM gets 'great prophet' billing in the index. Getting the brass plates, getting asked to build a ship to cross the ocean and all he wants to know is where to find ore. Ore! I'm an engineer, and I would be asking a lot more questions than where to find freakin' ore. The interpretive vision of the tree of life, jedi-like shock powers. Great prophet indeed.
Well, there is my top five for my initial ballot. Feel free to give your own ballot and nominate your own Hall of Fame Prophets. Go ahead and argue with me about my selections. Feel free to list more than five if you wish, but remember that part of what makes the Hall of Fame special is who is not in.
posted by Eric Nielson @ 10:00 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Father Adam... Partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge so that we can all exist in physical bodies.
Abraham is the all-time great patriarch, but does he make the cut as a Hall of Fame prophet? What did he preach and to whom? Enoch beats Abraham as a prophet.
Also, Noah beats Nephi. Predicting destruction of the whole world beats destruction of Jerusalem, and his boat was bigger.
Jeff:
Good call on Adam. I think if the truth were known, many of us underestimate Adam as Prophet. Where do you think he might fall on the list?
John:
The book of Abraham has some great stuff in it, no? I think Abraham has to stay. But Enoch is pretty huge. I had considered Adam, but I admit that Enoch didn't even cross my mind. His whole city translated? Quite an accomplishment. Enoch probably should go on the list as well.
John:
Noah was just a glorified weatherman :). Besides, didn't he get drunk once.
Anyway, I think your point about Enoch is better. What are the teachings of Noah? Still, gathering all those animals was quite a feat. I'll have to think about Noah a bit.
This is interesting. I think if Joseph Smith were to do this excercize, he would hand over a copy of Section 110.
Personally, I'm going to go with Enoch and Elijah. Anyone that can get a functioning Zion amidst Babylon as got my vote and you just can't beat the whole fire from heaven competition.
I like Joseph, becasue we know him best. He is a real human.
From Moses ch. 8:
"Noah prophesied, and taught the things of God." "Noah called upon the children of men that they should repent."
And then the finale: "Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying: Hearken, and give heed unto my words; Believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you."
I would have to include Samuel the Lamanite, based on his great and very specific prophecies of the coming of Christ, not to mention his giving a very specific time frame for both the birth of Christ and the destruction of the Nephite civilization (now that's bold).
J:
Thanks for chiming in here. Seems like Enoch may have been my biggest omisiion. I'll have to review section 110. Elijah is another possibility. After reading Moggets stuff at FPR I should have listed him.
John:
Thanks for the Noah reference. Perhaps I am underestimating him. But all prophets say to repent.
Anonymous:
Interesting choice in Samuel the Lamanite. Specific prophecy is hard to beat. I'm just not sure he makes it is on a first ballot.
Whew, some tough arguments here...
After some intense deliberation, I'm going to have to go with Jesus Christ.
Although according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame rules, inductee must have been a player. Does Christ really count as a prophet or is he like, the prophet Head Coach/General Manager?
Christ does not count Ryan.
He is in a league by himself.
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