King Limhi was apparently highly impressed that King Mosiah, in Zarahemla, had such a great gift as to be able to translate the twenty-four Jaredite plates. The great joy that knowing this gave to Limhi is mentioned twice (8:19; 21:28), because he sensed that "a great mystery is contained within these plates."
Ammon repeated a statement that had been made by King Mosiah back in Zarahemla and that is often repeated: "[A] seer is greater than a prophet" (8:15). We should also note Ammon’s explanation, which then delineates a distinction between prophethood and seership:
[A] seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God. But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known. (8:16–17)
With divine authority, a prophet, who is a spokesperson for God, can foretell what would, could, or should occur if people behave in certain ways. This may include foretelling promised blessings for keeping the commandments or promised woes for falling into apostate behavior. While each dispensation has great Prophets (capital P) who stand with priesthood keys at the head of God’s covenant people or God’s church, individuals (both men and women) can act as prophets or prophetesses (lowercase p) in their respective lives, families, and ecclesiastical roles.
In distinguishing between a prophet and a seer, Ammon explained that a seer is one who uses "means" (divine instruments) prepared by God and "through faith, might work mighty miracles." Ammon stated that seership is greater than prophethood because a seer unlocks the meanings of what happened in the past as well as in the future (8:17)—which would include past mysteries, secrets, obscured teachings, lost scripture, and hidden knowledge. As Limhi acknowledged, the instruments of seership are "doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all such mysteries to the children of men." According to Joseph Smith’s 1838 history, the angel Moroni indicated to the boy prophet that "the possession and use of [seer stones] were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times" (Joseph Smith—History 1:35).
With the restoration of God’s ancient order in our time came the restoration of the gift of seership. Members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators who direct the Church by means of divine revelation (Bible Dictionary, "Seer").
Book of Mormon Central, "Why is a Seer Greater than a Prophet?" KnoWhy 86 (April 26, 2016).
Ralph A. Britsch and Todd A. Britsch, "Prophet: Prophets," in The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 3:1164—1167.
David Noel Freedman, "Prophet: Biblical Prophets," in The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 3:1167–1170.
Steven C. Walker, "Seer," in The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 3:1292–1293.