Right now, with the advantage of the internet, radio, TV, etc, a prophet's voice can reach any corner of the world. When that's true, how many prophets does the Lord need? One. And that's how many he will have.
Actually that's not true either, because there are 13 who are sustained as prophets, seers, etc. The quorum of the 12 are all sustained as prophets, among other titles. I guess it's safe to say that the Lord needs all 13 of them to get the work done and spread the word. And then He needs more than that - the quorums of the 70, as well as stake presidents, mission presidents, missionaries, bishops, and yes - the home teachers. I know it's ministers, but I'm so comfortable calling them home teachers that it's pretty hard to let it go.
But I digress.
So back in the day, let's say Book of Mormon times, how many prophets were there? Two that we know of. There was one at any given time (except during apostasy) in Jerusalem, and one in the American continent. When the Jaredites were there, and while they allowed a prophet, they had one too.
In 2 Nephi 29, the Lord defends himself against those who grumble that they want there to be only one book that has His word. "8 wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another..."And do you remember that the Lord said he had many sheep to visit after He visited the Nephites? Check out verses 11 and 12. He mentions his flock in the east, west, north and south, and in the islands. In verse 12, he mentions the Jews, the Nephites, the other tribes of the house of Israel, and then he says "I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it."
I guess that covers it. All nations. The people in Iceland? Check. Zambia? Yep. Samoa? Absolutely. By the way, if there were a reincarnation, I'd totally want to come back as a Polynesian. Polynesians rock.
"And they shall write the words which I shall speak to them, for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world".
But to me, the debate (I use the word loosely because there kinda isn't one) isn't about how many prophets there are. That's a pretty intellectual and therefore meaningless argument. What's important is that the Lord loves all of us, and He will provide a means for all of us to have access to truth. If I live in Micronesia, and it's 1829, and if I'm looking for truth, and if my government allows truth to be told, and if I'm open to that truth, there will be as much truth out there as the Lord can pour in the jar.
Once again, it's not that the Lord is not filling our cup - it's that we have a lid on the cup.
May we do more than acknowledge the Lord's word, whether it be the Bible, the Book of Mormon, or whether it be the inspired words of those who love us. May we prayerfully and intentionally remove the lid and allow the Lord to fill our souls. May we acknowledge the Lord's yearning to fill our cups and enlarge our souls, and allow him to do it by removing the blocks we've placed on this side of the pipe.
I've had days in my life when I knew the blocks were partly removed, and my soul was enlarged. I've had the other kinds of days too. Being filled is better. Let's all stretch for that.
