“Whatever the prophet says—God said it.”

 

📣 “Whether by My Voice or My Servants” — But Who Are They?

“What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away… whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
(D&C 1:38)

This verse gets quoted a lot.

Especially in conference talks.
Especially to say:
“Whatever the prophet says—God said it.”

But is that what the verse actually means?

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👀 Read It Again… and Then Look at Verse 14

Jump back just a few verses:

“They will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of His servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles…”
(D&C 1:14)

Hold on.

That’s three distinct voices:

• The voice of the Lord

• The voice of His servants

• The words of the prophets and apostles

So they’re not all the same.
They’re listed separately.
Which means... we can’t just assume “servants” = “prophets and apostles.”

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👼 Who Are the Lord’s Servants?

Servants, in scripture, are often angels—sent directly from the Lord with a message.

Here’s how King Benjamin described it:

“Awake; and I awoke, and behold he stood before me…”
(Mosiah 3:2)

“When King Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel…”
(Mosiah 4:1)

That’s the pattern.

The Lord sends a messenger.
The messenger delivers the exact words.
The servant’s voice is the Lord’s—because it came from Him.

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🗣️ Not Every Message Is His Message

Now yes—a prophet can deliver a true message from God.

But if a prophet does not receive it from God, it’s not the Lord’s voice. Period.

And when a prophet does receive it from God—they say so. They testify. They declare it.

King Benjamin didn’t say,
“I feel impressed…”
He said:
“An angel of God came and stood before me.”

There’s a difference.

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❗ What This Doesn’t Say

This verse does not say:

“Whatever the president of the Church says is the same as the Lord’s voice.”

It says:

“…whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants…”

And it’s up to us to discern:
Is it the Lord? Or not?

Not every policy. Not every handbook update. Not every correlated quote from the pulpit qualifies.

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🧭 What We’re Really Being Asked to Do

God isn’t asking us to blindly follow.
He’s inviting us to listen deeply.

To test every spirit.
To measure every word.
To seek the Lord’s voice—wherever He sends it.

Sometimes it comes through a prophet.
Sometimes it comes through a stranger.
Sometimes it comes through an angel in the middle of the night.

But always—always—the test is the same:

Does it sound like Jesus?
Does it pierce your soul?
Does it lead you toward Zion… or Babylon?

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🔦 Final Thought

This isn’t about casting doubt.
It’s about waking up.

Because when the arm of the Lord is revealed—like verse 14 says—it won’t be about who had the highest title. It’ll be about who heard His voice.

Whether by His own voice…
or the voice of a servant you never expected.