Did Joseph Smith utter false prophecies?
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Most (but not "all"...right
F.A.R.M.S.?) of the "false prophecies" that critics attribute
to Joseph Smith are not prophecies at all, but commandments that were
not obeyed either because
the Latter-day Saints were not faithful or because their enemies
prevented them from doing so1.
For example, though the Lord commanded the Saints to built a temple in
Independence2, they were
expelled from Jackson County and later from the state of Missouri. After
the Saints had settled at Nauvoo, Illinois, the Lord told the prophet
Joseph Smith:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a
commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and
those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to
perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come
upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it
behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of
men, but to accept of their offerings. (D&C 124:49-?*)3
There are similar statements in the Bible4. For
example, the prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah, "Thus saith the Lord,
Set thine house in order: for
thou shalt die, and not live" (2 Kings 20:1). But after the king pleaded
with the Lord, the prophet delivered a new message, saying that 15 years
would be added to his life. The Lord told Moses that he would destroy
the Israelites and make of Moses a greater nation than they. When Moses
protested that this would be wrong, the Lord changed his mind (Numbers
14:11-20)5.
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1. What!? Since when can God's
enemies prevent God from accomplishing His will? What kind of a god do
Mormons worship? Secondly, what about Doctrine & Covenants 3:1 |
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The works and the designs and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated,
neither can they come to naught |
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2. No, this was a prophecy. It
could be argued that the Far West Missouri prophecy was a command to build
(but again begs the question as to why God can't overcome opposition), because
it says "I command you" (D&C 115:7-12). However, the
Missouri Temple prophecy of D&C 84 makes no such distinction - it says the
temple "shall be reared" on the consecrated spot. To make the prophecy
more clear, it even says the temple shall be reared in the lifetime of those
then living (in 1832). |
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Doctrine & Covenants 84:1-5, 31
September 22-23, 1832
“A REVELATION of Jesus Christ
unto his servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and six elders as they united their
hearts and lifted their voices on high. Yea, the word of the Lord
concerning his church, established in the last days for the restoration of
his people, as he has spoken by the mouth of his prophets, and for the
gathering of his saints to stand upon Mount Zion which shall be the city of
New Jerusalem. Which city shall be built
beginning at the temple lot, which is appointed by the finger of the
Lord…Verily, this is the word of the Lord, that the city New Jerusalem,
shall be built by the gathering of the saints,
beginning at this place, even the place of the temple, which temple shall be
reared in this generation. For verily this generation
shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord, and a
cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord
which shall fill the house…which house shall be built unto the Lord in this
generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed.
It is now 2006. Here is the "consecrated
spot": |
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3. Wow! What a convenient
"revelation"! Joseph's god "reveals" he's not up for any challenge!
If people work against him, he just gives up! |
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4. No, there aren't. In fact,
throughout the Bible the Christian God deals decisively with those who rise
against Him over and over again. Take a look at Exodus, the life of
David...oh heck - just open a page in the Old Testament and odds are you'll
find God overcoming His enemies through natural or super-natural means. |
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5. In both of these examples, the timing
of the event had not played out. In fact, the timing of the
prophetic declaration itself had not played out. In other words, the
dialogue (or conversation) had not ended. In 2 Kings, we see that
Hezekiah's immediate reaction was to turn away from Isaiah and weep bitterly
and plead his case to God. Isaiah, not surprisingly, seeing the great
distress and having no other business there, began to leave.
God, however, stops Isaiah from leaving and tells him to go back (2 Kings
20:4) as he has heard Hezekiah's response and honored Hezekiah's prayer by
adding years to his life. Moses, likewise, is
in a dialogue with God. God hears the compassion and love Moses has
for the people and acts accordingly.
In neither of these biblical cases is there a
close-ended prophecy that fails (like the Missouri Temple prophecy).
In neither of these cases does a stated time period lapse without the
prophetic event occurring and does God then come back after the fact
to excuse His lack of action. There are no cases like that
in the Bible...only in Mormon scripture. |
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If you would like an in depth analysis of five other Joseph Smith prophecies
that failed to come to pass, click here for our Solving
the Mormon Puzzle program.
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