JOEL - I'm sure that those women mentioned in the Bible, who
were called "prophetess", did hold some kind of
special standing or leadership position in their
religious community. But there is no indication that
they ever held the priesthood. They all had the
testimony of Jesus and had a special gift of prophecy
but that gift does not require priesthood.
The word "prophet" comes from the Greek prophetes,
which means "inspired teacher." By scriptural
definition, a prophet is anyone who has a testimony of
Jesus Christ and is moved by the Holy Ghost (Rev.
19:10). This goes for both males and females.
President Wilford Woodruff said of Brigham Young to a
congregation:
"He is a prophet, I am a prophet, you are, and anybody
is a prophet who has the testimony of Jesus Christ,
for that is the spirit of prophecy" (Journal of
Discourses 13:165)
The gift of prophecy is a special spiritual gift that
is available to every worthy member of the Church.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie has said:
"Every member of the
Church - acting in submission to the laws and system
which the Lord has ordained - is expected to have the
gift of prophecy. It is by this gift that a testimony
of the truth comes." (Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft, 1958, p. 542.)
President Joseph Fielding Smith has said:
"Our sisters
are entitled just as much to the inspiration for their
needs of the Holy Spirit as are the men. They are
entitled to the gift of prophecy concerning matters
that would be essential for them to know as it is for
the men." (Take heed to Yourselves, comp. Joseph
Fielding Smith, Jr., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book,
1971, p. 259.)
Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve wrote:
"No special ordination in the Priesthood is
essential to man’s receiving the gift of prophecy.
This gift may be possessed by women also." (Articles
of Faith, 12th ed., Salt Lake City: The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1924, pp. 228-29.)
I think the confusion about this comes in because the
First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
are sustained as "prophets, seers, and revelators",
and the term "prophet" is often used in referring to
the President of the Church. However, in these usages,
the term prophetess is not used as a
female counterpart to a prophet. There is no office,
calling, or position of prophetess within the
priesthood, nor any other area of jurisdiction, nor
were there in olden times such priesthood offices or
callings that could have given rise to such usage.
The senior prophet and president of the Church today is the
only prophet who can receive revelation for the entire Church, with the sustaining support of the other Apostles and church members.
So the answer to your last question is that we do have many women in the Church today who could be called a prophetess. My own wife has demonstrated the ability to prophesy about many spiritual things in regards to herself and our family and even the Church. When she has noticed some problem that she has encountered as a member of the church she would come up with ideas and solutions that, at first, other people would laugh at. But then a few years later the Church leaders come up with the same ideas and solutions. No one laughs at her ideas anymore :-)