ldsfaqs wrote:The scriptures are not "less important", they are in fact JUST AS important.
ldsfaqs wrote:But when there is a living prophet on the earth, that prophet IS more "vital" to the world...
“When he concluded, Brother Joseph turned to Brother Brigham Young and said, ‘Brother Brigham I want you to go to the podium and tell us your views with regard to the living oracles and the written word of God.’ Brother Brigham took the stand, and he took the Bible, and laid it down; he took the Book of Mormon, and laid it down; and he took the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and laid it down before him, and he said: ‘There is the written word of God to us, concerning the work of God from the beginning of the world, almost, to our day. And now,’ said he, ‘when compared with the living oracles those books are nothing to me; those books do not convey the word of God direct to us now, as do the words of a Prophet or a man bearing the Holy Priesthood in our day and generation. I would rather have the living oracles than all the writing in the books.’ That was the course he pursued. When he was through, Brother Joseph said to the congregation; ‘Brother Brigham has told you the word of the Lord, and he has told you the truth.’” (Conference Report, October 1897, pp. 18–19.)
http://www.LDS.org/liahona/1981/06/four ... he-prophet"...when compared with the living oracles those books {referring to the Bible and Book of Mormon} are nothing to me...."
ldsfaqs, I hope you are now going to explain how the above phrase (taken from Presidents 'Fourteen Fundamentals of Following the Prophet where he quotes Joseph Smith) actually means the same as:
"...when compared with the living oracles those books {referring to the Bible and Book of Mormon} are of equal value to me...."
Here, within the same talk by President Benson, is further confirmation that the current living Prophet is more important and more valid in what he says than scripture:
Third: The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
God’s revelation to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the Ark. Noah needed his own revelation. Therefore the most important prophet so far as you and I are concerned is the one living in our day and age to whom the Lord is currently revealing His will for us. Therefore the most important reading we can do is any of the words of the prophet contained each month in our Church Magazines. Our instructions about what we should do for each six months are found in the General Conference addresses which are printed in the Church magazine.
Beware of those who would set up the dead prophets against the living prophets, for the living prophets always take precedence.
The scriptures are merely the words of dead Prophets.