It makes complete sense that if you are to trust what someone
says, you consider several things: track record, honesty, integrity, openness, response
to direct questions, etc. If you examined a broker’s track record and found
he/she was wrong about which stocks to buy significantly more often than they
were right, you would probably not allow them to invest your hard-earned green
backs.
Constant tardiness, poor work performance and excessive
customer complaints would not yield an employee the vacant VP position at his
place of employment.
A lying, crooked, money spending, self-centered
politician does not encourage the votes of her constituents.
Obviously the track record of an individual is very
important. The same is true when it comes to those who are to teach us the
Word. It is an amazing responsibility and those of us searching for the Truth
have a responsibility to research the track record of the would-be teacher.
The LDS organization holds to the belief that Joseph
Smith Jr. was a prophet of God. This means that he received messages from the
all-knowing, all-mighty, all-present God. Therefore it is reasonable to
conclude that any message we receive from this individual is absolutely, and
beyond the shadow of a doubt, TRUE.
Deuteronomy 18:22 confirms this by stating:
When a prophet speaks in
the name of the LORD, if the thing does
not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken.
The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
The introduction page of the Book of Mormon states that
Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon “by the gift and power of God”
further emphasizing that Joseph Smith claimed direct contact with God and that
his messages were directly from God.
It is, therefore, completely fair (and smart)
to look at what Joseph Smith has proclaimed in the past…in other words: Let’s
examine his track record!
First, Mr. Smith wrote in the Doctrine
& Covenants 84:2-5 that a Mormon temple would be built in “the
Western boundaries of the state of Missouri”. In verse four Joseph
Smith narrowed the time line by stating the “temple shall be reared in this generation.
Let’s stop right here for a few seconds. We all know
that when speaking plain English “this generation” means the generation in
which the speaker lives and is a part of. We also understand that the speaker
sees the generation in which he lives as separate from ones past and those to
come. There is generally no confusion when this phrased is used. However, a man
I know, who served two terms as a Mormon Bishop, and is still a dedicated Mormon,
stated something to this effect:
“When reading scripture it is not possible to know
exactly how long a generation is. Some say it’s 70 years others say it’s up to
100 or more.”
OK, let’s run with that line of logic and see where it
takes us. We’ll examine it on three fronts.
1.
No way to tell how long a generation is:
Let’s say I predict that there will be a snow storm of
such magnitude in England that busses will be covered in snow, travel will be
impossible and a state of emergency will be declared. However I give no
definite date. I leave it open ended. This basically tells everyone that I am
predicting this will happen at some time between the moment I say it and the
end of the world. How miraculous is that? Anyone could be a “prophet” if it was
that easy. Personally I don’t see why anyone is to be admired for such a vague
prediction.
Exodus 1: 6- Now
Joseph and all his brothers and all that
generation died, but the Israelites were
exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became
so numerous that the land was filled with them.
Clearly this is Biblical
confirmation that while the number of years each brother lived is not mention,
they all are clearly seen to have belonged to one single generation- aka common
sense.
Thus
there were fourteen generations in
all from Abraham to David, fourteen
from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen
from the exile to the Messiah.
When
we put number to things or groups of things it is because we see a definite
beginning, end and/or separation of those things- days, weeks, months, years
and also generations.
2.
The use of the word this: Smith used the word “this”
to describe the generation of which he spoke. Plainly he understood that
there was a definite beginning and end to the generation in which he lived. It was
not a statement of indefinite time. It was a statement in which he showed that
he knew there would be an end to the generation he spoke of and a beginning of
another.
3.
Generation equals parent, child,
grandchild, etc.
Stand in any public place with a father, son and
grandson present and yell loudly while pointing to the trio, “These three are
of one family, a father, son and grandson. How many generations are they?” The
unanimous answer will be “Three.” So apparently the general public understands
what a generation is without the need to know exactly how many years equal a generation.
When considering the accuracy of this prophecy Joseph
Smith plainly failed! No matter how you look at it a generation is definable and Smith himself put a
finite description on the generation he spoke of. That generation has long
passed which means that this prophecy has failed, period.
Let’s look at the Civil War Prophecy next. It is found
in Doctrine and Covenants 87: 1--4 which states
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly
come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually
terminate in the death and misery of many souls;
2 And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations,
beginning at this place.
3 For behold, the
Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern
States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is
called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend
themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.
4 And it shall come
to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters,
who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war.
I've underlined certain words to drive home important points.
Smith claimed that
this message was from The Lord and that this event was shortly to come. So if
this was from God then it should have happened exactly as written shortly after
Smith spoke it.
But, this is what we
actually find in history:
·
South Carolina had already rebelled when
Smith wrote of “the rebellion of South Carolina”
·
That rebellion did NOT spark the civil war
(1833) - the war began in 1860.
·
War was not poured out on the entire
nation.
·
The slaves did not “rise up against their
masters” as a major part of the war... it was primarily a war of white men
against white men, North against South.
Here’s another one to consider:
Doctrine & Covenants 103:13-25 speaks of the men of
Zion's camp, who were organized to march to Missouri and RESCUE the Mormons
there (verse 24). Verse 25 promises they would avenge God's enemies.
But in the History of the Church, Vol. 3, page 39 and
following describes the failure of Zion's camp to do as predicted! God's OWN
presence supposedly went with them according to verses 20 and 26...but the whole
thing failed!
When considering this prophecy we must understand that
not only does general history record that this prophecy failed but the very organization that believes in
and teaches of the accuracy of Joseph Smith’s prophecies has recorded this one
as a failure.
That’s
very significant, don’t you think?
How about Mr. Smith’s attempt at predicting the second coming
of Christ? Before we investigate its accuracy let’s consider a Bible passage
about this event.
Matthew 25: 1-13 is a parable that ends with verse 13 emphasizing
that we
“do not know the day or the hour” of
Jesus’ return.
For anyone to then take it upon themselves to predict when Jesus
would return is to contradict God- a.k.a. dangerous!
The “History of the Church”, Vol. 2, page 182 records
that Joseph Smith said the coming of the Lord was…
“nigh — even 56 years should wind up the scene.”
This statement was made in 1835. Add 56 years to 1835
and you get 1891. This seems to be a little off, by 121 years….and counting.
Again- this “prophecy” was not a prophecy at all. It is
another FAILED attempt at prophecy!
One last prediction:
In Church History, Vol. 2, pp. 380-381, Joseph Smith
said he saw, in a vision of the CELESTIAL kingdom,
“the 12 apostles of the Lamb who are now upon the
earth.”
But the History of the Church later records the
apostasy and final excommunication of 5 of the 12 apostles referred to in this
vision:
·
Lyman Johnson Vol. 3:20
·
Luke Johnson - Vol. 2:528
·
William McLellin - Vol. 3:31
·
William Smith - Vol. 7:483
·
Thomas Marsh - Vol. 4:284
So according to Smith these listed men would one day be
in the Celestial Kingdom with God. But, if they were excommunicated this means (according to Mormon philosophy)
that they were doomed to never enter that realm. This contradiction means the
LDS organization, again recorded a failed prophecy of their own prophet, leader
and founder.
In
closing
Deuteronomy 18:22 clearly states that if a predicted event
does not come true then the person who spoke it did not speak on the behalf of
God. Only one failure is needed in order to show that the speaker is a false
prophet, ONE.
We have reviewed only a few of Smith’s multiple failed
attempts at predicting the future.
Furthermore the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints- the very organization he founded- recorded (in
their own historic writings) the failures of their supposed
prophet!
I pray that any Mormon who reads this will research it
to see if anything said here is true. Pick up your Church history and read what
is recorded, compare it to Smith’s predictions then ask yourself, “If he failed
at prophecy, can he really be a prophet of God?”
Nothin’ but love for ya!!
Ephesians 4:15
Your friend,
S.T.I.L (Speaking Truth in Love)
