Passing the Mantle

At this time of prophetic succession in the Church, it is interesting to look in the scriptures how one prophet has taken the place of another.  One of the themes I think we see is the respect and honor that they pay to their predecessors.  The most famous story, of course, is that of Elisha and Elijah.  Elijah was the prophet of the Lord, and Elisha and the “sons of the prophets” knew that his time of departure from mortality was near.  Elijah told Elisha, “Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el,” but Elisha responded, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.”  Elijah again said to Elisha, “Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho.”  But Elisha answered in the same manner: “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.”  A third time Elijah said to Elisha, “Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan,” and Elisha again avowed his allegiance to stay with and follow Elijah.  Elijah miraculously parted the waters of the Jordan and they went across, and then “There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”  Elisha “took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him,” went back to the waters of the Jordan river, and parted them in the same manner that Elijah had done.  Clearly the mantle—physically and spiritually—of Elijah had fallen upon Elisha (2 Kings 2:2-13).  This story shows first that before receiving the mantle of the prophet himself, Elisha knew how to follow; he was devoted to following Elijah while he was alive no matter where he went.  Surely this story of him following the prophet Elijah physically also represented how he spiritually followed his prophet and mentor. 

               As we look at other prophets in the Book of Mormon in particular I think we similarly see the devotion and respect and obedience that they gave to their predecessors.  For example, Jacob, who appears to have succeeded Nephi as the spiritual leader of the early Nephites, started his portion of the record by telling how he was trying to be obedient to Nephi’s words: “Wherefore, Nephi gave me, Jacob, a commandment concerning the small plates, upon which these things are engraven.”  He further stated, “I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil the commandment of my brother Nephi” (Jacob 1:1, 8).   Even at the end of his ministry, King Benjamin taught the words of his father, their former leader, to the people: “O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah” (Mosiah 2:32).  Mosiah, the son of King Benjamin, similarly gave respect and honor to his father near the end of his life: “If ye could have men for your kings who would do even as my father Benjamin did for this people—I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you” (Mosiah 29:13).   

               I think we see the same kind of reverence for his predecessor in President Nelson, particularly in last general conference when he told of his own efforts to follow President Monson’s counsel from the previous general conference.  He said, “Remember in the Sunday morning session of the April 2017 general conference, President Thomas S. Monson pleaded with ‘each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day.’”  President Nelson then spoke of his own diligent efforts to follow this counsel in that he “made lists of what the Book of Mormon is, what it affirms, what it refutes, what it fulfills, what it clarifies, and what it reveals.”  And then he invited others to likewise follow the counsel of the prophet.  Just like Elisha, before receiving his mantle President Nelson showed that he knows how to follow the prophet himself.  And his example along so many of the great leaders of the scriptures who showed humility before their own leaders gives us our model to follow.