Apostles and Prophets

The Mormon doctrine defeats itself when they cite Ephesians 4:11 in an effort to prove that the true church must have a living prophet and living apostles on earth today. They point to the phrase "Til we all come to the unity of the Spirit" (Eph 4:13) and ask if that has yet been accomplished. They forget that if the verse is saying we must have "living" apostles and prophets until such a unity is accomplished, then what of their doctrine of no church at all on the earth during the "dark ages" when there was certainly no better unity than today?!?

But what does the verse teach? We must allow the scriptures to speak for themselves. See Eph 2:20 where we are told that the apostles and prophets are in the foundation of the church along with the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Chief Cornerstone. They are still there as the foundation of God's true church. We are today living in the superstructure of the church age, not the foundation. If we must have physically living apostles on earth today, who are in the foundation of the church, then it follows that we must also have the Chief Corner Stone, Jesus Christ, alive physically here on the earth today also!

In addition, the apostle Paul was an apostle to the Colossians by writing an epistle to them. They, as well as others, had not seen his "face in the flesh" (Col. 2:1). We enjoy his office as an apostle by the same means as they, by reading the epistles he wrote.