THE MORMONS AND THEIR PROPHETSBiblical Perspective
If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. Deut. 18:22
The Mormon church places a great deal of emphasis upon the presumed truthfulness, inerrancy, and divine inspiration of its prophets
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THROUGHOUT THIS STUDY REMEMBER THE
FOLLOWING QUOTESA) Mormon prophets "...stand as mediators between God and mortals." (James Talmage, found in Articles of Faith, p.228.)
B) "The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not the mind of God."
(Ezra Taft Benson, Doctrine and Covenants, 1982 ed., p.292; According to a letter from F. M. Watson, Sect. to the First Presidency, this statement is considered scripture by the Mormon hierarchy) emphasis added
C) "The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works. ...(T)he Mormon prophet speaks for the Lord in everything ... on any matter - temporal or spiritual. The most casual of the prophet's utterances have to be treated as doctrines, not merely formal revelations preceded by the traditional phrase, 'Thus saith the Lord. ... Nothing a Mormon president says can be incorrect... (he)must be obeyed even when he contradicts scripture or statements of past presidents. ...The prophet and the presidency-the living prophet and the first presidency follow them and be blessed - reject them and suffer.""
(Ezra Taft Benson, 2/26/1980, 10:00 AM MST, at BYU devotional assembly. Found in the 'Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophets,' p.3 & 13; also see Ogden Standard Examiner, 2/26/80, p. 2A) emphasis added
D) "I will make a statement here that has been brought against me as a crime...that Brigham Young has said, 'when he sends forth his discourses to the world they may call them 'Scripture'.' I say now when they are copied and approved by me they are as good Scripture as is couched in this Bible." (Brigham Young, found in Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, p.264)
E) "... thou shalt give heed unto all his (the prophet's) words and commandments ... for his words ye shall receive as from mine (God's) own mouth."
(parenthesis added, BirghamYoung giving a prophecy claiming divine inspiration for all of his revelations, found in Doctrine & Covenanvts, 21:4-5)
F) "...if the prophet of God should tell me that a certain principle or theory which I might have learned was not true... I should consider it my duty... to abandon that principle or theory."
(Wilford Woodruff, found in Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, p. 83)
G) "Any Latter-day Saint who denounces or opposes... any plan or doctrine advocated by the prophets, seers, and revelators of the Church is cultivating the spirit of apostasy.... When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan - it is God's plan. When they point the way there is no other which is safe."
(The Improvement Era, June 1945, p. 354, Deseret News, Church Section, May 26, 1945, see also The Ensign, November, 1978 p. 108, and The Ensign, August 1979, p. 2-3)
Some Interesting Examples of Joseph Smith's "Prophecies" 1) "... be in readiness to move into Jackson county in two years from the eleventh of September next, which is the appointed time for the redemption of Zion."
(Dated August 16, 1834, found in History of the Church, Vol. 2, p.145) emphasis added.
According to this prophecy, Zion was to be redeemed no later than September 11, 1837. It still has not happened!!!
2) "Behold the destroyer I have sent forth to destroy and lay waste mine enemies; and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine heritage, and to blaspheme my name upon the lands..."
(found in Doctrine & Covenants 105:15) emphasis added.
Joseph Smith's 'enemies' killed him in 1844, and many 'enemies' of the Mormon church are still around today.!!!
3) "...I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it." (found in Doctrine & Covenants 127:2) emphasis added
Less than two years later, on July 27,1844 this prophecy was proven false because, as noted above, Joseph Smith's enemies killed him !!!
4) "Behold, I, the Lord, have brought you together that the promise might be fulfilled, that the faithful among you should be preserved and rejoice together in the land of Missouri. I the Lord, promise the faithful and cannot lie."
(found in Doctrine & Covenants 62:6) emphasis added
The "you" referred to above was Smith's party which had arrived in Missouri to settle. However, two years after this "prophecy" was given by Smith, the Mormons were driven from Missouri and several of his original party were killed and others had their homes burned. So much for being preserved in the land of Missouri!!!
5) "And it shall come to pass in due time that I will give this city into your hands, that you shall have power over it... and its wealth pertaining to gold and silver shall be yours."
(found in the 1981 ed. of Doctrine and Covenants) emphasis added
This prophecy was proclaimed by Smith while he, his brother Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery were in Salem, MA in 1836 investigating a rumor that they could obtain a large sum of money for the church in this city. No such sum was obtained!!!
6) "President Smith then stated that the meeting had been called, because God had commanded it... it was the will of God that those who went to Zion... should be ordained to the ministry, and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time, for the coming of the Lord, which was nigh - even fifty-six years should wind up the scene."
(found in History of the Church, Vol. 1, p 182) emphasis added
This prophecy was given February 14, 1835. Fifty-six years later was February 14, 1891. Needless to say, the Lord did not come on February 14, 1891 and "wind up the scene"!!!
7) "...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..."
(found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:1-5) emphasis added
This prophecy was given in September 1832. Jackson County, Missouri was at that time considered to be Zion by the Mormon church, and the city of Independence was the New Jerusalem. Obviously, no Mormon temple has ever been erected on the spot spoken of by Joseph Smith. Since every person alive in September 1832 has passed away, it goes without saying that this is a false prophecy.
The present day Mormon leadership cannot accept this fact. Therefore, they maintain that the term 'generation' did not refer to those who were alive in 1832, but to a 'dispensation' (see Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, p.497) The problem with this interpretation is that it is unquestionably an attempt to close the barn door after the horse has left.
You see, as recently as 1963, Mormon prophets such as Joseph Fielding Smith maintained that the term 'generation' referred to those who were alive at the time the church's founder Joseph Smith uttered this prophecy in 1832. Another prophet, George Q. Cannon declared earlier: "The day is near when a Temple shall be reared in the Center Stake of Zion, and the Lord has said his glory shall rest on that House in this generation, that is in the generation in which the revelation was given." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, p.344). Still another prophet, Orson Pratt stated: "God promised in the year 1832 that we should, before the generation then living had passed away... return and build up the temple of the Most High where we formerly laid the cornerstone." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, p.344). emphasis added That generation is gone - where is the temple!!
8) "Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered ... And behold, there is none other place appointed than that which I have appointed; neither shall there be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed, for the work of gathering of my saints - Until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them; and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion."
(found in Doctrine and Covenants 101:17, 20 & 21) emphasis added
This revelation was given December 16, 1833. Keep in mind that this prophecy was given by Joseph Smith inspite of the fact that the Mormons had been kicked out of Jackson County, MO in November of that same year. Notwithstanding there expulsion, Jackson County was (according to this prophecy) Zion, and no other place could be considered Zion until JacksonCounty was so packed with Mormons that there was no longer room for them. Nine years later however, Smith declared "The whole of America is Zion from North to South" (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p.318). Brigham Young declared that Zion was, "...at the City of the Great Salt Lake, in the valleys of the Mountains, in the settlements of Utah Territory." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p.253). Needless to say, the Mormons have moved Zioneven though there is plenty of room in Missouri!!
Some Interesting Examples Of Brigham Young's "Prophecies"1) "Twenty Six years will not pass away before the Elders of this church will be as much thought of as kings on their thrones."
(found in Journal of Discourses, Vol. 4, p.40) emphasis added
This prophecy was made in 1856. Needless to say, Mormon elders do not enjoy this level of prestige!!!
2) "In twelve years I will either be President of the United States or will dictate who shall be."
(found in Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder, by Harold Schindler, University of Utah Press, 1966, p. 250) emphasis added.
As any student of American history knows, this prophecy was never fulfilled!!!
Modern "Prophecies" 1) "... the Lord decreed that the children of Cain (blacks) should not have the privilege of bearing the priesthood until Abel had posterity who could have the priesthood and that will be in the far distant future. When this is accomplished on some other world, then the restrictions will be removed from the children of Cain who have been true in this 'second' estate."
( emphasis added, Answer to Gospel Questions, Vol. 2, p. 188, given by Joseph Fielding Smith in 1958)
The Mormon church admitted blacks to the priesthood in 1978, only 20 years after Smith's prophecy. Needless to say, this was done here on the earth and not on some distant planet!!!