When Joseph Smith began the School of the Prophets in 1833, he drew upon an established American tradition and the inspiration of God to create something that was at once familiar and unique.In the spring 2008 issue of Mormon Historical Studies, Joseph F. Darowski explored how other churches established "schools of the prophets" before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized. Darowski, a volume editor for the Joseph Smith Papers, looked at how these earlier schools were similar to what Joseph Smith created in Kirtland, Ohio — and also what made Joseph Smith's version different.The term "school of the prophets" had its roots firmly in the Old Testament. Darowski writes how the prophet Samuel gathered a group known as "the sons of the prophets." Elijah and Elisha did the same. These groups, where a prophet instructed students, gave a model or analogy for early schools in America.Harvard and Yale were both formed to educate clergy, according to Darowski. Until the 1740s, they were often called schools of the prophets. "In the sense used in the 17th and 18th centuries, the term prophet referred more particularly to a clerical teacher of the gospel rather than the head of a dispensation or a seer," he writes. It was "simply the functional equivalent of a seminary, theological academy or school of divinity."By the 1740s, many ministers began to lose confidence in Harvard and Yale. They didn't think there was enough emphasis on the conversion of potential ministers. Smaller schools of the prophets were formed and flourished. Eventually these small groups gave way to more formal seminaries. The concept of a school of the prophets, however, lingered until Joseph Smith formed one in Kirtland."The 1832 commandment authorizing a school of the prophets did not provide many specifics. It did not need to if the Saints already had a fundamental understanding of the typical course of study for a minister of the gospel," Darowski writes.The elements of a traditional American-style school of the prophets were well-known, according to Darowski. They included the study of languages, including Hebrew; the study of sciences, geography and mathematics; the study of scriptures and doctrine; acknowledgment of the importance of conversion; acceptance that behavior was as important as knowledge; understanding that a house of learning was by its nature a house apart; and use of the Socratic method of teaching with questions.Darowski didn't think that there was an "express bridge" between earlier ministry-training schools and the Kirtland School of the Prophets. But its pupils and teachers "likely had a fair idea" of what to expect. What intrigued Darowski wasn't the similarities, but how the tradition was "repurposed" by Joseph Smith, who used the School of the Prophets as a tool for creating unity — a means to establish a Zion society. "For every hint of an echo (with traditional American schools of the prophets), the Kirtland School of the Prophets also offered a new note as well," Darowski writes. "Joseph Smith incorporated priesthood offices, preparatory or initiatory ordinances, sacramental observances, and covenantal greetings."Joseph Smith organized progressively inclusive schools, including the School of the Prophets, School of the Elders, Hebrew school, Kirtland High School and University at Nauvoo.There was one more aspect that made the Kirtland School of the Prophets distinctive."One of the first orders of business after the school was established was the erection of a dedicated meeting house," Darowski writes. It wasn't to be a log room like many of the earlier schools of the prophets. It wouldn't be a frame home. It was to be a temple — and "ordinances associated with the first Kirtland School of the Prophets were dispensed with until the edifice was completed."Joseph Smith briefly resumed the School of the Prophets in 1835, but this gave way to an increased focus on "preparation for a long-anticipated solemn assembly and endowment of power preparatory to the redemption of Zion," Darowski writes. "Apparently after 1836, no formal 'School of the Prophets' was convened during the remainder of Joseph Smith's life."The Kirtland School of the Prophets was a school of the prophets like none other that had been seen in America. Darowski writes that it was innovative and refined from earlier traditions. "It was the opening of a new door." Like the Old Testament model, a prophet formed the Kirtland School of the Prophets. That prophet, according to Darowski, sought to build up a Zion society. "He pursued not just knowledge coupled with conversion, but a literal, transformational endowment of power from on high."
E-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com