Three arguments are offered:
1. He has said enough, and nothing more needs saying, at least not from a direct Divine Source.
2. The prophets were intended to prepare the way for Christ, and after His mortal ministry and atonement the mission of the prophets had been accomplished.
3. We all are prophets (or can and should be)--God speaks to everyone without any prophet needed to stand in between man and his God.
Those who hold to the first argument carry the burden of demonstrating that man would not benefit from more of the word of God. If man could be helped by new revelation from God, then the love of God would surely provide it. The new and perplexing challenges to human happiness in our day suggest a deep need for continuing revelation.
In ancient times mankind was perplexed by many challenges to happiness--and the Lord spoke through prophets to help His children overcome those challenges. The fact that the human condition is no different (unless even worse) would seem to argue for a continuation of the same help from God. Moreover, the enormous--and often angry--disagreement over what God said and meant in the past would suggest a great need for God (who loves His children enough to be clear in His messages to them) to continue to speak to man with the clarity of contemporary language and modern relevance.
Regarding the second argument, it may be true that there is less of a need for a prophet while the Savior personally dwells on the earth. The Savior need not speak through anyone when He can do so directly. Speaking through prophets is what the Lord did prior to His mortal ministry, but what did He do after He ascended to heaven? Did He close the heavenly door behind Him and speak no more to man? If the risen Lord were to continue to speak to man from the heavens, He would speak through someone who would share it. That man would be a prophet. The record is clear that He continued to speak through His apostles and prophets after He returned to the presence of the Father. The Apostle Paul was converted long after the Savior's resurrection and ascension, and the word of God was spoken powerfully through Paul. In the ancient Americas there were many prophets who continued to transmit the word of God after the Savior's earthly ministry. Clearly the work of God did not end when the Savior returned to Heaven. It continues and will continue even until He returns to earth, and He will speak to guide those engaged in His work.
The third argument is a partial truth. The Lord wishes and intends for us all to be prophets. The concept of continuing revelation is not reserved for just one man on earth at a time. Moses, thousands of years ago, was confronted by this misconception when the man who would succeed him in leading Israel, Joshua, urged Moses to forbid others in the camp of Israel from prophesying. Rather than express any jealousy of his rights to revelation, Moses taught Joshua an important lesson about revelation, responding,
Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them! (Numbers 11:29)
Having established this principle, however, it must be understood that God is a God of order. Each person--man, woman, child--is privileged to receive revelation for his or her own sphere of responsibility. Parents may receive revelation for themselves and also for their family. It would be absurd and chaotic to suppose, though, that God would reveal to them His will for someone else or for another family. The Lord wants us all to be prophets, to be possessed of His spirit to receive direct revelation for our own walk of life. He has never meant for all of His children to receive revelation for each other or for the whole world.
As an orderly God, for matters involving the whole world the Lord speaks through someone whom He has called to receive revelation for the world. Moses was the one chosen by God to lead all Israel, and Moses had no fear that his responsibility for leading Israel would be diminished were all to receive revelation for their own individual conduct. As the Lord chose Moses to speak for all Israel in his day, the Lord has chosen men today through whom He speaks to all the world.
The first weekend in April, the Lord's prophet spoke to all the world, as he regularly does. His message was broadcast throughout the world. You can find the message on the Internet, at this link:
http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,49-1-1032,00.html
It could be that, while God speaks through a prophet today, men's attention is just as distracted now as it was when God spoke in the days of the ancient prophets. Now, just as then, those who pay attention will find the way to a happier and more successful life. Do we need guidance from God any less today than did the early Christians in the days of the Roman Empire? Fortunately God still speaks through prophets, as always.
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