Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 23; “The holy prophets have not only refused to follow erroneous human trends, but have pointed out these errors. No wonder the response to the prophets has not always been one of indifference. So often the prophets have been rejected because they first rejected the wrong ways of their own society.”
Leviticus 19:2; “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.”
When I saw this LDS teaching the other day I had to read it over a few times to make sure I really saw this correctly.
Holy prophets? Really? Holy smoke is what I think of that! Oh wait, that phrase is used for another organization when replacing their holy leader…sigh…
The message of what they wanted to convey fell on my deaf ears all because of the first two words of that sentence; holy prophets.
I find it strange they’d use this phrase in light of why Mormonism was so desperately needed. Joseph Smith wasted neither time nor words denouncing Catholicism and their verities yet they somehow forgot to drop her vocabulary along the way. What did Smith ‘restore’ if this is what’s still hanging around in the dark hallways of LDS teachings?
The transliteration for holy is hagios in the Greek. Strong’s definition says that it means sacred, pure, moral blameless or religious, ceremony (consecrated), most holy, saint.
Holman Bible Dictionary breaks this word down in four key points –
A characteristic unique to God’s nature which becomes the goal for human moral character. The idea of “holy” is important for an understanding of God, of worship, and of the people of God in the Bible. Holy has four distinct meanings.
First is “to be set apart.” This applies to places where God is present, like the Temple and the tabernacle, and to things and persons related to those holy places or to God Himself.
Next, it means to be “perfect, transcendent, or spiritually pure, evoking adoration and reverence.” This applies primarily to God, but secondarily to saints or godly people.
Next, it means something or someone who evokes “veneration or awe, being frightening beyond belief.” This is clearly the application to God and is the primary meaning of “holy.”
It is continued in the last definition, “filled with superhuman and potential fatal power.” This speaks of God, but also of places or things or persons which have been set apart by God’s presence. A saint is a holy person. To be sanctified is to be made holy.
Using the phrase ‘holy prophets’ denotes veneration and I see that I’m not alone in my thoughts on that! When the Bible refers to believers as ‘holy’ we understand this to mean that we’re being sanctified by God’s regenerative powers inside of us. We don’t refer to ourselves or other Christians as holy pastors or holy evangelists! We know and understand that our goal is such, but to label mortal man in this manner isn’t part of our vocabulary.
When I saw this teaching I thought of the picture released by the Church of their leaders who 
were dressed in all white at the Gilbert, AZ temple dedications not long ago. It screamed cult, not holy prophet for God.
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