Why is it that anciently there were 12 apostles but now there are 14 apostles and the prophet? Isn’t the church supposed to be the same today as it was in Christ’s time?
Hi friend. One would expect that the organization of the modern church would be similar to Christ's ancient church, since our modern church is a restoration of ancient Christianity. Indeed, this is the case. We have apostles and prophets in our days, just as the ancient church did.
The most important thing that was "restored," however, is the ancient apostolic authority that Christ gave to His followers. This authority has once again opened the heavens to modern revelation (divine guidance/communication) for the church as a whole. There are currently 15 apostles instead of 12 because God has instructed us to form both the Counsel of the Twelve Apostles as well as the First Presidency, comprised of an additional three individuals, analogous to Peter, James, and John anciently. This minor alteration was realized according to Christ's restored apostolic authority, under the guidance of modern revelation. If it is His will, God can change the organization of the church in minor or major ways to accomodate the changing needs of His children.
I hope this answer helps!
Pamela Bonta
2013-04-21 07:31:35
The first mention of there being twelve apostles comes from Paul, and is only mentioned once by him. He also wrote of there being other apostles who were called by God as he was: Barnabas, Silas, Apollos, Andronicus, Timothy, and Junia.
It is interesting that the Gospels differ in who the original Apostles were. Both Matthew and Mark list Thaddeus as an Apostle, but Luke lists 'Judas the son of James'. The Gospel of John does not give a list of the Apostles, and gives names not included in the other Gospels (Nathanael, Thomas Didymus) and James son of Alphaeus, Matthew and Simon the Zealot are not mentioned at all. Some gospels name Matthew as the tax collector who was asked to be a disciple by Christ; others say his name was Levi.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Mary of Magdala was also an Apostle, and is called 'the Apostle to the Apostle': Christ gave her mission to proclaim the risen Lord to the other Apostles.
The most important thing that was "restored," however, is the ancient apostolic authority that Christ gave to His followers. This authority has once again opened the heavens to modern revelation (divine guidance/communication) for the church as a whole. There are currently 15 apostles instead of 12 because God has instructed us to form both the Counsel of the Twelve Apostles as well as the First Presidency, comprised of an additional three individuals, analogous to Peter, James, and John anciently. This minor alteration was realized according to Christ's restored apostolic authority, under the guidance of modern revelation. If it is His will, God can change the organization of the church in minor or major ways to accomodate the changing needs of His children.
I hope this answer helps!
It is interesting that the Gospels differ in who the original Apostles were. Both Matthew and Mark list Thaddeus as an Apostle, but Luke lists 'Judas the son of James'. The Gospel of John does not give a list of the Apostles, and gives names not included in the other Gospels (Nathanael, Thomas Didymus) and James son of Alphaeus, Matthew and Simon the Zealot are not mentioned at all. Some gospels name Matthew as the tax collector who was asked to be a disciple by Christ; others say his name was Levi.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Mary of Magdala was also an Apostle, and is called 'the Apostle to the Apostle': Christ gave her mission to proclaim the risen Lord to the other Apostles.
You may also want to read about Apostles in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Apostle